“She was injured?”
Eddie blinked at his urgent tone. “Perp punched her and knocked her to the floor. She’s pretty banged up and needs a couple stitches but she won’t leave her patient.”
“What room?”
Eddie gave him a careful look. “You okay, man?”
“What the hell room are they in?”
The officer told him and Daniel didn’t bother waiting for the elevator, he just raced for the stairs, his heart pounding.
He wouldn’t say he was intimately familiar with the sprawling hospital but he had been here many times on other cases. He knew his way enough to find the room Eddie had indicated, and in moments he reached the medical wing.
Even if the officer hadn’t given him the room number, he would have known it instantly by the crowd of people milling around. His own uniform seemed to smooth the way as he fought his way through until he made it to the room.
He found Lauren just outside the doorway, gesturing to another Salt Lake police officer he didn’t recognize.
She was holding a blood-soaked bandage to her cheek and her face was pale and drawn. Rage burned through him at whatever bastard might have hurt her and he wanted to fold her against him and keep her safe from the world.
She cut off her words the moment she saw him.
“Daniel!” she exclaimed, shock and relief mingling in her voice. Before he quite knew how it happened, she seemed to slide into his arms, pressing her uninjured cheek against the fabric of his uniform and holding on tight.
She felt delicate and fragile against him and despite the layers of his coat, he could feel the tiny shudders that shook her frame.
She sagged against him for only a moment, just long enough for him to want to tighten his arms and hold on forever. After entirely too short a time, she pulled away, a rosy flush replacing the pale, washed-out look she had worn when he first saw her.
He wanted to pull her back into his arms but he knew they didn’t have that kind of relationship. The only reason she had turned to him in the first place was likely because he represented a familiar face, comfort and security amid her trauma.
Already, he could see her replacing the defenses between them and once more becoming the cool, controlled physician who could handle anything.
“What happened?” he asked.
She let out a breath. “It was terrible. Absolutely awful. I walked into the room to check on Rosa about half an hour ago and found a janitor with his hands around her neck, choking the life out of her. Only he obviously wasn’t really a janitor. She says he was the same one who attacked her.”
“How is she?”
Her eyes softened and he had the impression that had been exactly the right thing to say, though he wasn’t quite sure why.
“Petrified and shocked. She keeps saying mi bebé over and over. Physically, I don’t think she was injured by the latest attack but she’s severely traumatized by it.”
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