copyright 2004 by Esther Mitchell
The piercing sound of a siren yanked Jaye abruptly from the arms of sleep, and fantasies of a man she wasn’t allowed to want, in her waking hours. Bolting upright in bed, she scrambled blindly on the nightstand for her cell phone as the siren went on and on. That sound was her ring-tone for the hospital, guaranteed to wake her no matter how deeply she slept.
Heart in her throat, she punched talk as she lifted the unit to her ear. “Dr. Michaels.”
“Ma’am, it’s Chief James, in Trauma. Did you have your patient scheduled to be moved, tonight?”
She didn’t have to ask which patient. She only had one in Trauma. Jaye’s chest constricted to the point of pain, and she couldn’t breathe for a long moment, before she managed a hoarse, “No.”
There was a pause. “I was afraid of that. Commander, we’re short one patient – your Mr. Watkins.”
Jaye bit back her first response – that he wasn’t her anything; not anymore. But that would be unprofessional, and admit to way more than Jaye was comfortable with, at the moment. Instead, she focused on the immediate problem.
“He suffers from mild insomnia. Have you checked the cafeteria or waiting rooms, yet?”
“Yes, ma’am. No one in the hospital’s seen him since last bed check.”
Jaye’s heart took up residence in her throat, but she forced it back in rhythm. She refused to panic. Instead, she drew even breaths against the suffocating fear that closed around her. Eyes closed, she tried to think. Where did you go, Trevor?
A soundless howl reverberated through her body, followed by the rustle of leaves. Jaye froze. She sat on the edge of her bed, and yet if she didn’t know better, she’d think she was crouched in the bushes. She swallowed hard. Now was the wrong time for hallucinations.
Grimly, she snapped on the bedside lamp and rose to her feet as she addressed Lydia James over the phone. “I’ll be there ASAP. Just keep looking. And, Chief…”
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“If you find him and he’s not fully awake, no one is to go near him until I get there. Got that?”
“If we find him, Commander, he’s all yours,” Chief James promised, and the relief in her voice couldn’t be more obvious. As she hung up the phone, a new grimness tugged at Jaye. If she was right, Trevor’s problems were far from over. In fact, she’d wager her life that they were just beginning.
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When the hunter becomes the hunted, can love show him the way back to life? HOPE OF HEAVEN (Book #2 of Project Prometheus), now available at http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/hope-of-heaven/prod_128.html And watch for this title, SHADOW WALKER, coming soon!
