A/N: Thanks for reviewing, ErinJordan, max2013, Guest, Paulina Ann, and Guest! Very much appreciated. Second to the last chapter here, and I'm trying to post this from an airport with spotty wifi. Keeping my fingers crossed that this works. Thanks to those reading as well!
Chapter 52
Joe hurried into the Brooklyn Hospital ER. He stopped by the main desk and held out his federal ID. "You just had an ambulance arrive with a young woman in it. I need to see her."
The staff member manning the desk looked up at Joe with a bored expression on her face. Clearly, she had seen it all and then some.
"Go through those doors and head straight back. I'll buzz you in."
"Thanks," Joe said, waiting until the automatic doors opened for him.
He ran down the corridor, neatly avoiding other staff members and equipment carts, until he reached the end of the hall. Agent Young was already there, standing behind two other agents, who had cordoned off the hallway with their presence.
"Where's Iola?" Joe demanded.
"Two doors down on your left." Agent Young replied. "Cooper Armstrong is with her. Oh, and just so you know, this incident is classified. We don't want word of it getting out to anyone. That means we have to keep Armstrong hidden. He's too high profile. The hospital staff and ambulance crew interacting with Miss Morton will be signing non-disclosure agreements. In case the HIPPA privacy laws aren't enough to keep them quiet."
Joe nodded. He didn't care about any of that. He needed to see Iola.
"I'll be debriefing you after things calm down here." Agent Young patted him on the shoulder. "Good job, son. You helped prevent this day from being a total disaster."
Joe almost snorted. He didn't feel like he'd done anything to save Iola, in spite of what his boss thought. She would have been killed without Armstrong there. He needed to apologize to her. He'd failed her big time. Again.
"I'm going to check on her now," Joe said to Agent Young, who nodded.
Joe knocked softly on the hospital room door, then stepped inside. Iola wasn't there.
Cooper Armstrong was seated on a plastic chair, his head in his hands, staring at the floor. He looked up when Joe entered.
"They've taken her upstairs for some tests," Cooper said.
Joe's stomach clenched. "Do they know if she's hurt badly?"
Cooper shook his head. "No. And they won't let me accompany her. I hate waiting here like this. I feel helpless."
"Me, too," Joe said.
The door opened again, and a young man in dark blue scrubs, holding a clipboard, entered.
"Hi, my name is James. I'm here to get some information on Iola Morton," he said. "Can either one of you help me with that?"
Before Joe could respond, Cooper spoke up. "I'm with Miss Morton. What do you need to know?"
Joe rolled his eyes. Possessive much?
"Just a few quick questions," James said. "We've given her a mild sedative, so she's not really up to answering at the moment."
At the look of alarm on Cooper's face, James said quickly, "Don't worry, she's fine. We just wanted to help her relax a bit."
Cooper nodded.
"Okay, so do you know if she has any allergies we should be aware of?"
"I'm sorry, I don't," Cooper said.
"Shellfish," Joe replied, trying not to sound smug. "No drug allergies."
James turned to Joe. "Okay, thanks."
"How about her blood type?"
Cooper shook his head.
"A," Joe said. "A positive."
"Great," James said, checking off a box on his form.
Joe looked over at Cooper who mouthed 'thanks'. Joe nodded. Armstrong didn't really know much about Iola at all. Some boyfriend he was.
"Okay, just one more thing before we take her into x-ray," James said. "Is there any possibility Miss Morton could be pregnant?"
Pregnant? Joe almost laughed. He hadn't been with Iola in over four years. He figured he could positively answer 'no' to that question.
"Um…I don't think so," Cooper spoke up. "If she is, it would be very early. But we're quite careful, so I'll say no."
Joe froze.
"Great," James said. "She'll be back down here as soon as the tests are finished. Thanks for your help."
James left and an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Joe couldn't speak. Iola had slept with Armstrong? The thought of it made him want to vomit. How could she have done that?
Armstrong was staring at him.
Joe swallowed hard and clenched his fists at his side. It was all he could do to not fly across the room and grab Armstrong in a choke hold. He should kill him. How dare he take advantage of Iola in that way. She was vulnerable and naïve. Joe had known this jerk had only wanted to get in her pants from the beginning. Why hadn't Iola listened to him?
"I love her," Cooper said. His voice was firm and emphatic. It was a declaration.
"You don't even know her," Joe hissed.
"I don't know as much about her as some of her friends from childhood do, I agree," Cooper said.
"You couldn't answer half of that guy's questions," Joe protested.
"No, I can't tick off every box on an admittance form," Cooper agreed. "Not yet. But I know her heart."
Joe snorted. "Bullshit. You don't know her like I do, and you never will. You're nothing but a phony actor who's taking advantage of a woman in a very vulnerable position."
Cooper's eyes went dark, and his voice dropped two octaves as he spoke, low and quiet. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Iola is not a passing fancy for me. She is exactly who I've been searching for my entire life. You have no idea what we have together."
Joe's voice rose. "You've known her for a month. What could you possibly have together in a month?"
Cooper exhaled deeply and looked up at Joe. "This is not the time or the place for this discussion. All of my focus is on Iola at the moment. I honestly don't care what you think of my relationship with her. I don't owe you an explanation. Nor will you be getting one."
Before Joe could say anything more, the door to the room opened again. Agent Young stepped inside.
"I need to speak with Mr. Armstrong, Joe. Do you mind?"
"Not at all," Joe said, glaring at Cooper as he exited the hospital room.
Joe was fuming as he stepped into the hallway. They'd had sex. Iola and Cooper Armstrong. He closed his eyes to try and fight off the images that popped into his mind. Joe couldn't imagine Iola giving into that actor so quickly. It had to be coercion on Armstrong's part. He knew Iola didn't love Armstrong. She couldn't.
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone buzzing. Joe glanced down to see a text from Callie.
I'm here in the ER. Where's Frank?
Joe headed down the hall, where he spotted Frank still talking with Agent Donovan.
"Callie's in the waiting room," Joe said, in a flat tone.
"Thanks," Frank said, then turned to Donovan. "Can you have them send her back?"
Agent Donovan laughed as he took out his phone and dialed the ER desk. "She's not going to want to get within ten feet of you."
Frank grinned. "Probably not. But we'll make up for it later."
OOOoooOOO
Callie tried to stay calm as she waited for Frank. She knew he was fine…or reasonably so. But her mind still couldn't help imagining all kinds of horrible scenarios.
Not to mention, she was worried sick about Iola, who was clearly not fine.
She paced the waiting room several more times, until a woman seated at the front desk summoned her.
Callie hurried over.
"You can go back now, Miss Shaw. I'll buzz you in."
"Thank you," Callie breathed as she proceeded through the automatic doors.
She ran for Frank as soon as she saw him in the hallway. When she got within a foot of him, she stopped short. He was dripping wet.
"You smell…funky," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"Eau de East River, I'm afraid." Frank chuckled. "You probably don't want to touch me right now. I'm a walking Superfund site."
Agent Donovan laughed. "You know they have decontamination showers here. You should use one of them. I can round up a pair of scrubs for you to wear home."
"That sounds great," Frank said. "Oh, and you might want to drag the river where I fell in. I can't be sure, but I think I might have spotted Jimmy Hoffa down there."
Agent Donovan snorted. "Only Hoffa? That explosion must not have been as big as I thought."
"Explosion? What explosion?" Callie demanded, fear clutching at her heart again.
Frank winked at her. "I'll tell you later, honey. We can't really talk here."
Callie knew he was stalling, but she let it go for now. "Where's Iola?"
"She's upstairs, having some tests done," Frank said. "They'll bring her down when they've finished."
Callie's eyes filled with tears. "Will she be okay? How bad was she hurt? What did that idiot do to her?"
Frank reached out and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine. The doctors are taking good care of her."
Agent Donovan interrupted. "Follow me and I'll show you where the de-con showers are. If you stand there dripping East River on the floor much longer, someone on staff is going to declare you a bio-hazard."
"I'll be back," Frank said to Callie. "You wait here for me."
Callie nodded.
As Frank followed Agent Donovan down the hall, Callie noticed Joe leaning against a wall about ten feet away from her. She hurried toward him.
"Tell me what's going on with Iola," she demanded.
"We don't know much right now. They've taken her upstairs for some x-rays and other tests. Armstrong's in her room being debriefed by Agent Young." Joe gestured toward a closed door across from them.
Callie furrowed her brow. "Why does Cooper need to be debriefed?"
"He's the one who saved her," Joe said in a dull voice. "He pulled the prince away from her and knocked him out cold. I was too far away. She would have been dead by the time I got to her."
"Wow," Callie said. "That must have been intense."
"It was. The prince had a knife on Iola. He'd already hit her and kicked her. Her arm was bleeding. The guy was insane." Joe stared at Callie. "Do you know that asshat planted a car full of explosives and left it in the parking garage of the Family Center? He was going to reenact that day at the mall. Luckily, Frank found the car and drove it into the East River. He jumped out just before it detonated, or we'd all have been dead."
Callie swayed as she heard that. Frank had driven a car rigged with a bomb? That was set to go off any second?
Joe shook his head. "He's damn lucky the prince didn't remote detonate that thing. Or he'd have been a goner."
Callie gripped Joe's arm hard and tried to swallow.
Joe glanced down at her, and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry. Cal, you're as white as a sheet. Are you going to faint on me? Don't faint. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry. Frank's fine. He's fine, Cal."
Callie nodded.
"Come over here and sit down." Joe led her to a row of chairs against the wall, and pushed her down by her shoulders. "You stay here. I'll get you some water from that cooler. Don't faint. Put your head between your knees."
Callie gulped and took a deep, shaky, breath, while Joe hurried to grab a paper cup and fill it with water. He jogged back to her side and took the seat next to her.
"Here, drink this."
Callie sipped the ice cold water and felt a little better. She reminded herself that she'd just seen Frank and he was safe. She couldn't think about the car bomb. Not now. Maybe not ever.
"I'm okay," she said to Joe, taking another small sip of water.
"Is Iola really sleeping with Armstrong?" Joe asked.
Callie choked, spewing the water back into her cup. "What?" she managed between coughs.
"You heard me," Joe said. "Armstrong told an orderly that they were."
Callie wasn't sure she'd understood Joe. "Why would Cooper tell some random orderly he was having sex with Iola?"
Joe sighed. "The guy asked if Iola could be pregnant. They needed to know before taking her into x-ray."
Well, that made sense. Callie cleared her throat before she spoke.
Joe interrupted her thoughts. "I figured Armstrong was just lying to irritate me. Iola wouldn't sleep with that half-assed actor. It's not her style."
Oh, boy. Callie reached for her phone. Time for Joe to face reality. She scrolled to Iola's text from earlier today and handed the phone to Joe. "It's true."
She watched as Joe read through Iola's texts to her. Callie mentally recalled what they'd said.
Woo hoo! We need more information. Specifically, how is sex with a British accent?
Amazing. Intense. Romantic. Perfect. I love him so much. And he loves me, too.
Joe swallowed hard, and Callie felt her heart sink. She and Joe had had their moments since grade school, but she cared about him a lot. And she knew this had to hurt.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Joe looked at her, tears in his eyes. "Why?"
Callie sighed and reached for his hand. She would be honest. Because it was time Joe faced the truth.
"I know this is difficult, and I'm so sorry," she began. "But Iola is in love with Cooper. She's not coming back to you, Joe. She never was. That day in the mall four years ago? Iola meant it when she said she'd broken up with you. She and I have talked about this. Iola knew back then that you two would never make it as a couple."
"I'm not that same guy anymore."
"No, you're not," Callie agreed. "But it's more than that. You and Iola are too much alike. Think back, Joe. You guys fought. A lot. And can you tell me honestly that you haven't argued since she's been home?"
Joe looked down.
Callie continued. "I don't think you've looked at your relationship with Iola realistically. You've been viewing it through rose-colored glasses all these years. You've made it into the perfect fantasy. You've turned Iola into something she wasn't. And isn't. I'm not saying that you two didn't love each other. I know you did. But neither one of you is perfect. And neither was your relationship. You two didn't even share the same interests. You were so into sports. Iola was into theater, literature, and dance. Sure, she'd go to all your games, but when you weren't playing, she was sitting in the bleachers reading a book. Think back, Joe. Really think back…to the arguments, the tears, the drama. You two were Bayport High's version of an afternoon soap opera."
OOO
Joe listened to Callie while stared down at the text Iola had sent her. Iola thought that sex with Cooper was amazing and perfect. She was in love. And not with him. He had lost her. All over again.
Joe glanced up as the door to the hospital room opened and Agent Young stepped out. He walked toward Joe and shook his hand. "Cooper told me how you distracted the prince so he could grab him. Quick thinking on your part. You stopped the situation from being worse than it could have been. Nice work."
Joe snorted. "I didn't do anything."
"You two protected Miss Morton, and that's what important. That she was rescued. You worked as a team and saved her life." Agent Young patted Joe on the shoulder. "I'll see you in the office tomorrow morning so we can close out this case. Right now, I have to go upstairs and check on the prince. He's in surgery. Complications from his infection. Doesn't look good."
"Can't say I'm sorry about that," Joe said.
"Me neither," replied Agent Young, heading for the nearest stairwell.
The elevator down the hall pinged, and an orderly emerged, pushing a gurney. Joe thought he heard a giggle coming from the patient.
Callie clutched at his arm. "Is that Iola?"
"It sounded like her," Joe said. He and Callie stood as the orderly approached. He was followed by a doctor, who moved ahead of the gurney and knocked on the hospital room door where Iola had been with Cooper.
It was Iola. And she was smiling. Joe smiled back at her.
"Iola?" Callie gasped. "Are you okay?"
"I'm grrrrreat!" Iola slurred.
The door to the room opened, and Cooper appeared. His expression was anxious when he spotted Iola. "Is she all right?"
"Let's get her inside, and I'll talk to you," the doctor said.
Cooper held the door, and the orderly turned the gurney around, so that he could get Iola into the room in the correct position.
"Whee!" Iola called out.
The doctor chuckled. "We gave her the good drugs."
"Can we come in?" Callie asked. "I'm her best friend."
The doctor hesitated, and Joe pulled out his FBI identification. "She's with me."
The doctor nodded. Callie and Joe followed him into the hospital room.
Cooper was bent over the gurney, stroking Iola's hair off her face and gazing down at her. He kissed her forehead.
Callie clutched Joe's arm. "Oh, he's so tender with her."
Joe looked.
And it hit him.
Hard.
Cooper really did love Iola. He could see it in the actor's eyes.
Callie was right.
Joe had been a fool.
After Iola had been kidnapped, he'd made her into someone she wasn't. He'd turned their ordinary teen relationship into the love story of the century.
Maybe Iola had been right.
They wouldn't have made it past high school.
