Vin sat in the office throwing the squishy ball between his hands as he stared out at the other desks. "This is ridiculous," He muttered. "I should have carried her out of the house this morning and tossed her in the jeep."
"Yes," Josiah answered. "Because she's not being bullied enough at home. Vin, this has to be up to Ariel. We can't force her into something she doesn't want to do."
"So we wait until he beats her to death and then we go to the police and tell them that Masters was an abusive husband. I think Ariel's death would have already proved that one."
Josiah leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "It's a crazy world we live in, Vin. No on said it was perfect."
"I want to protect her, Josiah, but I end up walking away from her every time."
Josiah leaned up in his chair, waiting for the creaking to stop before he said, "So, next time don't."
"You're right," Vin grabbed the keys to the jeep out of his desk drawer and ran out of the office.
Ariel slammed the door against him and Vin stuck his booted foot in the opening to keep it from closing all the way. "I want to talk to you."
"I don't want to talk to you!" She glanced around with her eyes. "Someone might see you and tell Matthew."
"Then let them because you won't be here when he gets back. I'm taking you with me. Grab a bag and let's go." Ariel loosened up on the door and Vin gently pushed it open and stepped inside. Ariel took a few steps back. "I'll take you to my friend's house or Cassy's house. I'll take you anywhere you want to go. Just go! Please, Ariel, get away from him."
"He's my husband," Ariel cried. Tears sprang from her eyes and Vin longed to reach out and hold her but he stayed where he was. He couldn't stand to see a woman cry anymore than his friends could. "I can't leave him."
"But he can hit you. He can humiliate you. He can keep you from going outside and spending time with friends. He can beat you senseless. But you can't leave him. That's a load of bull, Ariel."
His phone rang. It was JD's ring, a signal to Vin. "That's my friend telling me that Matt's on his way home. Please leave him, Ariel. You are strong enough to leave him and you have my number when you're ready to do just that." Vin stepped to the door and opened it. Cool air brushed past him into the house. "I'll talk to you soon, Ariel." And with that he left her and took off in his jeep.
Cassy was updating some charts at the Emergency room desk when an ambulance pulled into the bay and the gurney was pushed through the doors. After seeing the shock of red hair beneath the white sheet, Cassy's stomach dropped. She knew instantly who was under that sheet. Dropping the chart on the desk, Cassy grabbed her stethoscope and joined the EMT's.
"What happened?" Cassy asked the group, her mind already forming the answer.
Matthew Masters was walking quickly beside the gurney. "She tripped and fell down the stairs at our house," He was practically crying.
"Sure she did," Cassy breathed at the same time that Matthew said, "I heard her scream." She turned to Matthew. "You're going to have to leave, sir. We need the room to work on your wife." When Matthew hesitated, Cassy screamed at him to leave.
She had all the nurses and even the EMT's attention with that and as she pulled back the sheet on Ariel's bruised body, Cassy glanced at the head trauma nurse named Florence. Cassy handed her cell phone over from the pocket of her scrubs. "Florence, take my cell phone and call Chris. His number's programmed in. Tell him Ariel was brought in beaten by her husband." Florence nodded. "Make the call somewhere quietly. Chris will answer when he sees my number, but on the off chance he can't, call Vin Tanner. His number is in there too and tell him the same thing. Tell him her husband came in with her."
Florence nodded her understanding just as Ariel began to regain consciousness. Her moans of pain caused Cassy to reassure her quietly as they began to work on her.
"Checkmate," Chris announced as he and Buck sat on opposite sides of the chess board. The others had gone home hours before and now Chris and Buck sat outside in the cool night air playing chess.
Buck was sober and that was more than Chris could have hoped for.
"You want another game?" Buck asked as Chris' phone went off. Buck recognized it as Cassy's ring and Chris answered it as it started on the third ring.
"Hey, doc!"
"Chris, it's Florence from the ER. Cassy asked me to call you."
"Is Cassy all right?" At that statement, Buck glanced up from the board as Chris stood.
"She's all right, but she wanted me to call and tell you that Ariel is in the Emergency Room. Her husband is with her."
When Florence said Ariel's name, Chris ran into the house to grab his truck keys. He came back out seconds later already headed to the truck. Buck was right behind him. "Florence, call security and have them close by. Matthew Masters is a threat to Ariel and shouldn't leave with her. Do you understand me, Florence?"
"Yes." Her voice was shaky.
"Okay, Florence, I'm on my way to the hospital now."
He hung up and dropped his phone in the cup holder. "Masters beat Ariel up and she's in the ER."
Buck was slipping his seatbelt on. "Cassy will rip him a new one if we don't get there to stop her."
"I know," Chris said and tapped on the gas a little harder.
Chris could hear the raised voices the second he stepped into the Emergency Room. Whatever was going on had the staff and waiting patients in the waiting room curious.
"She's not going with you!" Chris heard a female voice yell.
"Here that?" Buck asked as they headed through the bay doors.
Chris knew that voice anywhere and when he saw Cassy standing in front of a cubicle with two guards and Matthew Masters standing across from her, Chris was proud. As long as he had known Cassy, she had been a person to stand up for what she believed in and took care of those who couldn't take care of themselves. To her, Ariel Masters was one of those people. Right now, she had her finger pointed in Masters' face while the two guards held him back.
"I want to go home," Chris heard Ariel say in a small voice as he and Buck approached the commotion.
"Who are you to tell me I can't take my wife home. She says she's fine. I'm taking her home." Matthew broke away from the guards hold and took a daunting step toward Cassy.
Even though the guards were there, Chris quickened his pace and got in between Cassy and Matthew. His hand rested against Matthew's chest. He smiled widely. "You might want to take a very big step backward, Mr. Masters, and rethink coming toward the doc again unless you would like to see what my fist looks like up close."
Unshaken, Matthew took a step back and straightened his suit jacket. "I'm a lawyer and I can sue this hospital. Now my wife says she's fine and wants to go home. I'm taking her home."
With Buck watching Matthew, Chris turned to Cassy. "What's your medical advice, doctor?" She was in her workplace so Chris was showing her the respect she deserved." Chris gave her a smile that no one could see but them. It softened Cassy's face.
"Considering she fell down a flight of stairs, she has no broken bones or internal injuries. What she does have is a concussion and several severe contusions. We need to keep her overnight at least to monitor the concussion."
"I'm fine," A voice said from behind Cassy. Ariel came shuffling out of the cubicle. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. "I tripped and fell down the stairs, but I'm fine." Looking at Cassy, she inflected, "Really, I am."
"You have a concussion, Ariel."
"And I can take care of myself at home." Ariel glanced up at her husband. "Matthew, please take me home."
"Of course, sweetheart." Matthew reached out and took her arm. Ariel winced at what must have been a bruise on her arm, but Matthew didn't let go. Chris saw Cassy ready to intervene, but Chris put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head slightly.
A nurse delivered the paperwork and a wheelchair for Ariel. Matthew signed the papers and the nurse wheeled Ariel out with Matthew walking behind them.
"He's escalating," Buck told them as Cassy spoke with the guards.
"I know," He dug in his pocket for his truck keys. "You still have their address, right? Take my truck and follow them home. Call me if they take any detours. I'll find a ride home."
Buck nodded and walked out.
Chris turned his full attention to Cassy who had retreated into a closed room off from the ER. Chris followed her and closed the heavy door behind him. It had the same setup as one of the outside cubicles, but it was bigger and quieter. Cassy was pacing the floor in front of a clean gurney.
"You all right, slugger." Chris asked as he leaned against the wall and watched her pace. He was really falling in love with this woman.
"I'm six seconds away from screaming." Chris waited for the scream and instead—in six seconds—watched her kick the gurney with her sneakered foot. "I'm really, really, beginning to hate this guy. He's going to kill her, Chris. He's going to kill her and the next time I see her she'll be on a morgue table instead of a gurney." She gave the gurney one last kick.
Chris wrapped his arms around her and pressed her back against his chest. His chin fit perfectly against the top of her head. "She has to make the first move, Cassy. We can't force her to leave him." He felt Cassy relax in his arms and he turned her around to face him. With his right hand, he brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek. "You did everything you could do and more," Chris whispered in the ear he just brushed the hair behind.
Cassy leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's going to be all right, Cassy." He lifted her head. "Now, I'm going to go get something to eat in the vending machine and then hang out in the waiting room for the end of your shift. Then you're going to drive me home and spend the rest of the dawn hours with me."