impressed.” Kate winked. “It’s just that maybe I have my own idea.”
“And what eez dat?” Greg asked, bringing his wineglass together with hers for a toast.
“Bedroom. Say, two minutes? I’m just going to freshen up and make myself smell great.”
Greg scratched his chin and dropped the silly accent. “I can live with that.”
Kate jumped up, giving him a teasing kiss on the lips. Then she hurried into the bathroom, removing her T-shirt and kicking off her jeans.
She hopped in the shower, her pores reviving as the warm spray splashed on her face. With Greg’s insane hours and all the stress of the past year, they’d become like some old married couple. They’d forgotten what it was like to just have fun. Kate let the water soak her hair and run down her body and lathered herself in a sexy lavender-scented soap she’d found at Sephora.
Suddenly the shower door opened. Greg hopped in, an impish grin on his face. “Sorry, couldn’t wait.”
Kate’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “So … what took you so long?”
They kissed, the hot spray beating down on them. Greg pulled her close to him, and every cell in her body seemed to spring alive.
“You smell fantastic,” he sighed, his chin nuzzling against her shoulders, while his hands massaged the tightness of her buttocks, her breasts.
“And you smell like the ER.” Kate grinned. “Or is that the chili sauce speaking?”
He shrugged apologetically. “Lidocaine.”
“Oh.” She widened her eyes, feeling him press warmly up against her. “But I see you’ve brought along the pad Thai.”
They laughed, and Greg turned her around, easing her back gently as he guided himself into her.
“Good plan, Kate.”
He always knew the way to make her forget everything. She knew how lucky she was. They rocked a few moments, his hands on her thighs. The feel of him inside her made her body fill with warmth, her heart quicken. Kate let out a gasp, her breath intensifying. Then faster and harder as the spray splashed over them and they slapped against each other’s thighs. Their rhythm started to build, and she tightened inside. Greg was panting, too. The rush was beautiful. Kate closed her eyes. A few moments later, he was pressed up against her in the warm spray and her heart beat feverishly, her body both freed and coiled.
“Sorry about dinner,” he teased.
“No sweat.” Kate nestled her head on his shoulder and sighed. “This’ll have to do.”
Later they did have dinner. In bed. Right out of the containers.
They watched the Jack Black movie and laughed out loud. Kate rested her head crosswise on Greg’s chest. Fergus was curled up at the foot of their bed in his basket. She hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time.
“More wine maintenant, s’il vous plaît,” Kate said, tipping her empty glass.
“Your turn.” He shook his head. “I’ve been slaving in the kitchen all day.”
“My turn?” She kicked him playfully. “It’s my night.”
“Oh, like you didn’t already get enough?”
“Okay.” Kate gave in. She threw on her nightshirt. “See if I come back with anything for you.”
The phone rang.
“Fuck.” Greg sighed loudly. They’d learned to hate the sound of the phone at unexpected times. It was usually the hospital, calling for him to come in.
Kate fumbled for the phone. The number on the screen wasn’t familiar. At least it wasn’t the hospital. “Hello,” she answered.
“Kate, this is Tom O’Hearn. Tina’s father.”
“Hi!” She wondered why he was calling so late at night. His voice sounded weary and strained.
“Kate, something terrible has happened.…”
Kate looked anxiously at Greg, a tremor of nerves rippling down her spine. “What?”
“Tina’s been shot, Kate. She’s in the OR now. It’s bad. They don’t know if she’s going to pull through.”
They rushed there as fast as they could, throwing on sweatpants and pullovers, catching a taxi up to the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, about thirty minutes away.
The whole way up, Greg squeezed her hand. Over the Triborough Bridge and onto the Bronx River Parkway. It didn’t make sense. How could Tina have been shot? Kate had just left her. Her father said she was in the OR now. Pull through, Kate kept repeating to herself, trying to control her nerves. C’mon, Tina, you’ve got to make it through.
The cab pulled into the emergency entrance. Greg knew precisely where to go. They ran up the stairs to the Trauma Center ER on the fourth floor.
Kate spotted Tom and Ellen O’Hearn, Tina’s parents, huddled on a bench outside the operating room. They jumped up as soon as they saw her and hugged her. She introduced Greg. The O’Hearns’ anxious faces reflected the same deep-set worry that Kate knew was on her own.
“How is she?” Kate asked.
Tina was still in surgery. She had been shot in the back of the head. Just outside the lab, as she was leaving. Right on the street. Things didn’t look so good. She’d lost a lot of blood, but she was holding on.
“It’s bad, Kate.” Tina’s father just shook his head. “She’s fighting. There’s been a lot of tissue damage. The doctors say they just don’t know.”
Greg squeezed Tom’s arm and said he would try to get an update from someone inside.
“Who could have done this?” Kate asked numbly, taking a seat next to Ellen on the bench. “How did this happen?”
“Apparently it was just as she left the lab.” Tom shrugged, helpless. “Right out on the street. On Morris Avenue. The police were here earlier. Some people spotted the person running away. They think it might be gang-related.”
“Gang-related?” Kate’s eyes went wide. “What the hell does Tina have to do with gangs?”
“Some kind of initiation rite, they said. These animals supposedly prove themselves by doing some random killing. They said it was like he was waiting for someone on the street as she came out of the lab. She had just called us, Kate. A few minutes before. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Kate reached over and hugged him. But what started out as only a throbbing in the pit of her stomach grew into something
