you have to stop struggling. You’re going to pull your IV out.” The man’s voice was firm, but not unkind.
Sounds that had melded into a dull roar began to make sense. The machines beeping, moans and sobs, wheels clattering as a cart rolled across the floor. She was in the hospital. Was Mia here? Was she hurt? They would ask questions. Questions that were better left unanswered. “Ugh.”
“It’s okay, honey. Just relax.” An elderly nurse patted her arm.
Yeah right. She started to cough.
The hands that had worked so hard to restrain her now eased her up. Someone raised the back of the stretcher and tucked the torn sleeve of her blouse up to adjust the IV.
Once the coughing fit subsided, she fell back against the bed. She rubbed her chest, but it didn’t relieve her pain.
Someone adjusted a tube under her nose. Oxygen? Had she pulled it free in her struggles?
“Welcome back, Ryleigh. I’m Dr. Martin. Do you know where you are?”
The small cubicle housed a variety of machines, a tray holding an assortment of instruments and bloody cloths, the doctor, and two nurses. “I’m in the hospital.” Rawness scratched her throat. “What happened?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” The doctor had kind eyes, but his concerned frown hardened them.
Ryleigh licked her lips, but it did little to relieve the dryness. She tried to swallow, which led to another coughing episode.
A nurse pressed a paper cup into her hand.
Grateful, Ryleigh popped an ice chip into her mouth and moved it around, hoping to ease the worst of the discomfort and stall for time. Her stomach turned over, and she abandoned the cup on the counter beside her.
“There was an earthquake?”
The doctor nodded distractedly as he studied Ryleigh’s eyes.
“Is my sister here? I have to find my sister.” She sat up and tugged the tubing from beneath her nose.
“Hey, hey, hold on.” He stilled her hands, took the oxygen from her, and returned it to its place. “I’m not sure if your sister’s here, hon, but we can find out for you. Just lie back down so I can finish up here. What’s your sister’s name?”
“Mia.” She settled back down, tried to fight back the fear and co-operate.
“Her full name?”
Ryleigh dropped her head back without answering and reached for her head.
The doctor stopped her. “You have stitches in your head.” He pressed a piece of gauze against the injury and taped it into place. “Can you tell me what—”
“Please, doctor. I need to find my sister.” Pain hammered through her head. Her hands shook. Nausea threatened.
The doctor nodded to one of the nurses, who turned and left the room. “Don’t worry, honey. The nurse won’t be long. If your sister’s here she’ll find her.” He sat back and studied Ryleigh. “There, you’re all done. How do you feel?”
Ryleigh breathed a small sigh of relief. A safe topic. “Everything hurts.”
“You’ll feel better in a couple of days.” He patted her knee. “Just sit tight, and I’ll be back in a few minutes. We’re going to do some x-rays and clean up your feet and legs.” He stood, pulled the curtain aside and was instantly swallowed up by the bedlam of the emergency room.
She hadn’t noticed the stinging before the doctor mentioned it, but now it stole every bit of her concentration. Her feet and knees were on fire. She turned one foot up to examine the bottom and dropped it back down just as quickly. Ouch. Would she be able to walk? Well, she didn’t have a choice. She had to find Mia and get out of there. The last thing she needed was a social worker breathing down her neck. She’d be eighteen in less than a year, and then she could be Mia’s legal guardian. In the meantime, they both had to lay low and keep from drawing attention to themselves.
She sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the stretcher. Everything swam in and out of focus, and she gripped the bed tightly. Sweat coated her forehead. She stared straight ahead trying to steady her vision.
A shadow moved toward her.
She squinted in an effort to bring the shape into focus. Was she hallucinating?
The silhouette moved toward her, the same figure that had emerged from the flames just before she’d escaped the building. The sea of people parted as he strode through the chaos.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she struggled to swallow.
He didn’t seem much older than her, yet he exuded confidence and strength, power even. His features became more defined as he moved closer. Shaggy dark hair, strong jaw, full lips, cold, hard, intense eyes that locked onto hers, sucked her in, caged her.
A jolt of fear shot through her. Who was he? And why was he here? Had he been hurt in the earthquake? Somehow she didn’t think so. His black jeans and long-sleeved black shirt didn’t have a mark on them, unlike her own tattered skirt and blouse. Not to mention the ruined panty hose shredded around her legs.
He elicited strong feelings in her, conflicting emotions that made no sense. Why was she so afraid of him? More importantly, why was she so inexplicably drawn to him? She ripped her gaze away and pushed her hair behind her ears with shaky hands, the movement breaking the hypnotic trance he held over her.
She pulled the oxygen from her face and dropped the tubing onto the counter but had no clue how to disconnect the IV. The thought of pulling the needle out of her arm sent bile rushing back up her throat. She forced it down again and searched the room for another solution. A pole on wheels stood in the corner. Perfect. She’d hang the IV bag from the pole and push it with her as she’d seen other patients doing.
She scanned the floor in search of her shoes. The pang of regret only lasted a moment when she remembered shucking the dreaded pumps somewhere in her rush to escape the building. “All right, here goes.”
Ryleigh sucked in a breath and held it as she pushed off the gurney and lowered her feet gently to the cold tile floor. The cool tile soothed the burn, but then she took her first step. Pain flared up her leg and into her hip. Her knee buckled, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the fall.
Instead of hitting the floor as she’d expected, she crashed against a warm, hard body. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped, filling her lungs with a deep, rich, earthy scent.
“Whoa, are you all right?”
“I’m sorry.” She found herself face to face with the man of her dreams. “I…I…umm…”
He grinned.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“Where are you trying to go?” He looked down at her bruised, swollen knee and his grin quickly turned to a frown. “You shouldn’t be trying to stand.”
Heat crept up her cheeks. “I have to find my sister.” No way would
