Because of You by Julie Cannon

Author:Julie Cannon
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781626392564
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2014-08-22T07:00:00+00:00

*

Barrett ran down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of Kelly’s door. A nurse in a pressed white uniform hurried out from behind a desk piled high with charts and papers. A meal tray with remnants of someone’s dinner was balanced precariously on top of a nearby trashcan.

“Ms. Taylor, I’m Peggy Stone. I’m the one who called you.”

Barrett needed to get into Kelly’s room, and the last thing she wanted to do was chat with some nurse.

“I have to talk to you before you go in,” she added, touching Barrett’s arm when she didn’t stop.

Barrett forced herself to take a breath and try to control herself. “Thank you for calling me,” she said calmly, but still anxious to see Kelly.

The nurse nodded. “She woke up disoriented. She panicked and started pulling out her IVs, which of course caused blood to stream out of her arm, which upset her even more.”

Barrett nodded in turn. “Okay.”

“We couldn’t get her to calm down. She was thrashing around and knocking over the equipment, and we were afraid she might hurt herself more than she already had.” The nurse paled.

“What? What happened?” Barrett was fighting every urge to push the well-meaning nurse out of the way and see for herself.

“We had to restrain her.”

“You what? Don’t you have any idea what she’s been through?” Barrett clenched her teeth in anger. “She was a hostage for months, chained to a tree and tied up like an animal. For God’s sake, she must have gone out of her mind.”

Barrett ran her hands through her hair, mussing it more than it already was. She ached for Kelly and what she must have gone through, what she was still going through. “Get out of my way.” She was almost growling.

“She’s sedated right now. Dr.—”

Barrett didn’t wait to hear what else the nurse was saying but stepped around her and pushed open the door.

The light on the wall above Kelly’s bed was on, the sconce diffusing the otherwise harsh hospital-room light. Kelly was lying motionless on the bed, the sheets tucked neatly around her. Barrett froze when she saw the leather restraints around Kelly’s wrists and ankles.

“Oh, Kelly,” she whispered, and forced her feet to move. She stopped at the side of the bed, resting her hand lightly on Kelly’s. It was cool, and in a moment of panic Barrett thought she was dead. The beep of the heart monitor seeped into her brain, reminding her that Kelly was simply sedated. If the shallow rise and fall of her chest was any indication, simply sedated was not the case.

“Kelly. It’s Barrett. I’m here,” Barrett said, gently stroking Kelly’s hand. “I’m here now and I’m not leaving again.” The normal cadence of the heart monitor sputtered, and Barrett’s own heart skipped in tandem.

“Kelly, it’s okay. You’re all right. You’re here in Panama and I’m right beside you. Just sleep a little longer and you’ll feel much better when you wake up.” The monitor slowly resumed the rhythmic beeps, but another, faster set was coming from the machine below it.

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