Strictly Professional (15 page)

“This is ridiculous.” She slipped off the table and got dressed.

Several moments later, she sat behind the steering wheel of her car and stared out the windshield. She inhaled a ragged breath, fighting the tears threatening to fall again before she started her car and backed out of the parking lot.

When she made it home, she pushed open her front door and threw her purse across the counter. She headed for the refrigerator for a bottle of water, only to be pulled up against a firm chest behind her. A large hand clamped down on her mouth, stifling the scream before it could pass her lips.

Chapter Seven

“You thought I’d forget, huh, Savannah?”

Tony.

She tried to pry his fingers from her mouth, but he wasn’t letting go.

“Those fuckers wouldn’t even let me bail out of jail the night you had your boyfriend the cop drag me in. I had to spend two fucking nights locked up with those mother-fuckers.” He pushed her down on the couch and stood over her.

“I’m sorry, Tony.” She shrank away from the fury in his eyes.

“No you’re not! You planned that whole thing, didn’t you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You invited me over here—talked about how your parents wanted you to have a grandchild for them and then came onto me...”

“I didn’t come onto you, Tony. You tried to force yourself on me.”

“You’re a fucking tease! A lying bitch!” His hand came down hard across her cheek in a slap that snapped her head around. She whimpered and tried to curl into a ball. “You wanted it. You always wanted it—even in high school. You practically begged me to fuck you that first night.” He grabbed a fist full of hair and forced her to sit back up. His mouth ground against hers, smashing her lips against her teeth until she tasted blood. She pushed against his chest until he released her mouth.

“Tony.”

“That’s it, baby. Beg me for it. You know you want me to fuck you like I used to. Hard and rough.” He chuckled. “You always did like it a bit on the sadistic side.”

“Stop it!” She tried to knee him in the balls, but he managed to avoid her blow.

“Ah. Not again, baby. I’m onto your tricks this time.”

He yanked her off the couch by her arm and forced her to stand in front of him with one hand clamped onto her breast. She moaned with pain when he pinched her already-tender nipples.

“See you want it rough.”

“Please, don’t do this.”

Spinning her around, he slapped her again and forced her against the wall with his body. “I should do you just like this.” He tugged at her jeans with grunts and groans.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and sobs wracked her body. “You’ll hurt my baby, Tony. Please don’t hurt my baby.”

He froze. Ragged breaths rasped against her cheek. His chest pressed against her breast, hard and firm. “You’re pregnant?”

“Yes,” she whispered, hoping the thought of a child would keep him from forcing himself on her.

“Fuck!” He let her go and stepped back. His fingers cut a path through his short hair as he cussed again. The hatred in his eyes scorched her to her soul and she shivered. “This isn’t over, Savannah.”

She slid down the wall and winced when the door slammed behind him.

Several moments later, something sticky coated her leg and the smell of fresh blood met her nose. She bit her lip and reached for the phone.

“Nine one one. What’s your emergency?”

“I need an ambulance. I’ve been assaulted and I think I’m losing my baby.”

* * * *

“Doctor Cooper?”

He forced his attention back to the x-ray in front of him. “Yeah?”

“You should have taken tonight off. You look beat.”

A dry chuckle left his lips and he focused on the face of the nurse. “Thanks for your concern, Kristi. I am. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

She cocked an eyebrow and said, “When do you sleep? You’re here all the time.”

He shrugged.
Not in the last eight weeks anyway.
“Well, when I am home, I don’t sleep much either, so I might as well make some money.”

“Hopefully it will be a quiet night, then.”

“Ah, shit!”

“What?”

“You said the Q word. Now all hell’s going to break loose!”

She held up her hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t mean it! Really!”

They laughed until one of technicians manning the radio came around the desk and said, “We’ve got an ambulance coming in. I think it will need a priority room.”

Brandon frowned. They usually didn’t do that unless the patient worked there. “What’s coming in?”

“An assault. They didn’t tell me who, just that the patient is one of our employees.”

“Bad?”

“Not sure. She’s stable.”

Brandon looked at the board and said, “Room six’s open. Block it and we’ll take it in there.”

He grabbed a chart and headed down the hall to examine the next one in line until the ambulance got there.

The door to the room opened with the pressure of his hand. “Mr. Sanders? I’m Doctor Cooper. What seems to be the problem?”

Holy shit! It can’t be! Tony Sanders. Well, well.

“I cut up my hand pretty good earlier.”

Brandon grabbed some gloves and took the other man’s hand in his to examine the cuts. “What did you do to cut your hand up like this?”

“I...uh...locked my keys in my car so I broke the window to get in.”

Why don’t I believe you?

“You smashed the window on your car to get inside with your hand?”

“Yeah.”

Brandon heard commotion down the hall and he assumed the ambulance had arrived. “Well, I’m going to have to stitch a couple of those lacerations. They are pretty deep, but I’ve got an ambulance that just rolled in, so it might take a little bit. When did you have a Tetanus shot last?”

Tony shrugged. “Don’t have a clue.”

“I’ll have the nurse give you one and then I’ll sew you up. Hang tight right here.”

Brandon shook his head and pulled open the door before he headed back down the hall toward the nurses’ station. Several people stood in the doorway to exam six where he’d told them to put the ambulance patient—the employee—and he frowned. He told Kristi to give Tony a shot and order an x-ray of his hand to make sure nothing was broken before he moved toward the ruckus.

“All right, people. Let me see what we have.” He moved toward the top of the bed. “Someone give me a report.”

“She was assaulted in her home. Bruises to the face. No loss of consciousness, but she’s got some vaginal bleeding...” The paramedic’s voice trailed off when Brandon got to the top of the bed and realized who lay on the gurney.

“Savannah?” He brushed the hair out of her eyes. “What happened?”

The eye that wasn’t swollen shut opened and she whispered through cracked lips, “Brandon?”

“Who did this to you?”

She closed her eyes again and tried to shake her head.

“Tell me, Savannah.”

“No. I’ll deal with this.”

The room grew quiet. “Doctor Cooper. What kind of tests do you want?”

“Uh. A CT of the head, x-rays of her neck.” He focused on Savannah’s face. “Where is your pain?”

“Just my neck and face.”

“She’s got some vaginal bleeding too,” the paramedic reported.

“An abdomen CT then.”

“No!”

“But you’re bleeding, Savannah. We need to know what the problem is.”

She closed her eyes a moment and a tear slipped from her eye into her hair. “It’s nothing that can be fixed. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

“I don’t understand.”

Her eyes opened again. “I need to talk to you.”

He frowned. “Okay.”

She shifted her gaze to some of the others around them before it returned to him. “In private.”

“Can you all leave us a minute?”

“Sure doc,” the group chorused around them, but when the door shut behind the crowd, his gaze focused on her face.

“What’s going on?”

She licked her dry lips and another tear slipped out.

“Don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.” A watery smile rippled across her lips. “You need to order an ultrasound first.”

“Ultrasound? Of what?”

“My abdomen. Transvaginal, preferably.”

“Why?”

A sigh slipped from between her lips. “I need to know if I’m losing the baby.”

“The what?”

“The baby. Our baby.”

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“God, Savannah. Why didn’t you tell me?” He took her hand in his and she choked back a laugh.

“After what you said?”

“I know what I said. I was angry.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Hell! I still am!”

She pulled her hand out of his grasp and said, “Great, Brandon. Thanks.”

“Savannah...”

“Order the damned tests and I want another physician.”

“Too bad. You’re stuck with me.”

“Then transfer me.”

He laughed. “You know they wouldn’t do that.”

“They will if I request it and I’m requesting it.”

“Damn! You can be a bitch, you know that?”

“Yeah. He said the same thing before he hit me.”

* * * *

“Thanks, Tracy,” Savannah said after the nurse pulled the blanket up around her.

“You’re welcome, Doctor Gibson. You need anything, just holler.”

“I will.”

“Has the bleeding stopped?”

“Yeah. For the most part, thank goodness.”

“I bet you’re glad.”

Savannah’s hand went to her still-flat stomach. “Yes, I am. I haven’t even really had the chance to absorb it. I only found out this morning. I’m thrilled I didn’t lose it.”

“Did you even get a chance to tell the daddy?”

She bit her lip.
Brandon.
“Sort of. He didn’t find out in the best way.”

“Well, I’m glad you are feeling better, even if you can’t see out of that eye.”