Sitting at the nurse's station outside ICU, she grew more and more impatient as the day wore on. After she had found the perfect target, her day off had rolled around. She tried to switch with another nurse, but prior plans prohibited the change.
While she had been off, Doctor Kokoris had been moved to another floor. Absently her hand slid inside the pocket of her uniform and fondled the vial that she had pilfered earlier. Eagerly she waited for her relief so that she could take her break. She just had one stop to make along the way to the cafeteria.
--
Shay lay watching Frank while he slept. She stroked his hair, lovingly wishing there was a way to make things easier for him. His sleep was less than peaceful, she could see that in the way his head would twitch from time to time and the painful groans he would emit. She wanted to take his pain and make it her own. In a sense she did just that. Her emotions mirrored his, but, unfortunately, it did not make his suffering go away. Perhaps lessened it a bit, but far from leaving him completely.
She gasped audibly when he awakened suddenly and sat bolt upright, grasping her by the shoulders. "We have to get to the hospital. Hurry!"
"Frank, what..." She stared after him as he flew from the bed and hurried into his clothing. His adrenaline had to be pumping wildly for him to be moving so quickly in spite of his injuries.
"Hurry up, Baby! I'll explain on the way," he assured her as he dressed.
Shay only nodded when she saw the anxious look in his dark eyes. He was not messing around. Whatever had him worried must be extremely serious.
***
Nick lay in his bed somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. It was the sedatives, of course. He had finally been able to convince Michelle, with the help of Matt, that she needed rest as much as he did. Although she refused to leave the hospital, she did agree to lie down in the nurse's lounge. He was alone with his thoughts now, and he wished sleep would take him completely. There were times he was not quite sure if he was really safe or still being held captive and simply hallucinating. He did not like that feeling at all.
He almost released an irritated sigh in his half-asleep state when he heard the door to his room creak open. Leave me alone! he screamed silently. He refused to open his eyes. If it wasn't a nurse coming in to check his vitals, it was one of the staff at the medical center dropping by to offer their best wishes for a speedy recovery. He wished they would all just leave him be for just a little while, at least until he got a hold on his emotions.
She approached the bed quietly, removing the vial and syringe when she neared him. His eyes were closed and it looked as though he was sleeping peacefully. He should be; his chart indicated he was pumped full of sedatives. His face was cut and bruised, much more so than when he was brought in the night of his car accident. She wondered what could have happened to him during her day off that caused such wounds. It made little difference; her agenda was still the same, no matter the state his normally handsome face was in.
Slowly, steadily, she inserted the needle into the vial and pulled back on the plunger, drawing the clear liquid into the syringe. She gazed down upon the doctor almost lovingly. She wondered if he would ever know what she had done for him? How she had taken care to end his suffering? She smiled a little as she took the IV tubing into one hand and tested the syringe with the other. Soon things would be calm for him and he would never have to know another moment of anguish again. She inserted the needle into the tube and pressed the plunger down. She watched as the clear, deadly liquid flowed unhindered down the tubing, nearing the needle inserted directly into his vein.
The sudden banging of the door startled her and she squealed as rough hands grabbed her, tossing her away from the bed. She crashed against a chair and landed painfully on her backside, screaming "nooooooo!" when the IV tube was pulled from Doctor Kokoris' wrist just before the liquid hit his vein. It seemed like it was all happening in slow motion, when in reality it was mere seconds before a hand closed around her throat, dragging her to her feet.
"What was in the syringe?" a male voice demanded vehemently.
She looked up into familiar eyes and gasped. He...he... She looked toward the bed and found that Doctor Kokoris lay in the bed watching her though disbelieving eyes. She looked back to the man who held her by the throat. They were the same...twins. Her head spun with the realization. There were two of them. The one that held her now was the one she had intended to put out of his misery. The one with no memory. What a fatal error that would have been.
Frank tightened his grip on her throat. "What was in that syringe?" he demanded again, through clenched teeth.
"Ep... Epinephrine," she gasped as she clawed at his hand.
Frank felt the growl leave his throat before he was able to stop it. Epinephrine was a synthetic chemical twin of adrenaline, the bodily substance that produces the so-called flight-or-fight instinct. For patients suffering a cardiac arrest, it can be a lifesaver. Injected into a person with a healthy heart, it can cause anxiety, nervousness, a hike in blood pressure, and skyrocketing heart rates. Too much at once...death.
Shay entered the room and slapped handcuffs none too gently on the vile woman. She was surprised to see the nurse, Sheila Laird, was a mousy creature, very petite, with auburn hair, and oddly shaped moss-green colored eyes. Once the woman was cuffed, Frank released his hold on her and gave her a forceful shove, causing her to fall back into the chair behind her.
"To think she enjoys taking lives instead of saving them," Frank commented bitingly.
Alex and Cody entered, hauled the "Angel of Death" to her feet, and removed her from the room. It was only then that Frank and Shay turned to Nick, who watched them through wide eyes. "Are you okay?" Frank asked while both Doctor Slingerland and Michelle checked him over. Frank had called them while he and Shay were en route. Unbeknownst to Sheila Laird, she was being watched closely. She would have a hand in no more deaths in her lifetime.
"Don't expect me to feel gratitude," Nick bit out unappreciatively. The irony of the situation did not escape him. The realization of just why Frank had come to haunt the hallways of the medical center had come back to him. Not only had he taken Frank's place in some torturous quest to gain information about someone named Sonny Walker, but he almost had become victim to the very reason for Frank's presence in the first place.
Frank nodded but did not let on that his cousin's words wounded him. "No, Nick, I don't expect gratitude. I don't expect anything. The only thing I do want..."
"I don't care what you want!" Nick bellowed. "What I want is for you, your wife, and your damned all-important team to get the hell out of my life!"
Frank felt Shay's hand slip into his and he clung to her for support. "We're leaving, Nick. No one wants to cause you further distress."
"Get out. Just get out!" He slumped back onto the bed and closed his eyes. "Everyone JUST GET OUT!" He watched Matt usher a protesting Michelle from the room just in front of Frank and Shay. "No...Shelley, please don't go." Matt released Michelle's arm and she went to his bedside, immediately taking the hand he offered.
Shay stopped suddenly and turned toward Nick. "Nick, we've left information with Michelle for you to contact Doctor Monica Gardner. If you let no one else help you, please let Monica. I beg you."
Her plea was met by a firm, unyielding voice. "Get out. Your husband is dead to me. There is nothing you can do about it."
***
Frank tossed in bed for what seemed the hundredth time that evening. Sleep was elusive, his guilt for what Nick had experienced had not lessened even after the latest report from Monica. She had shared little because of the patient-doctor confidentiality, but she said he was making progress and, with time, he would find the control that had been stripped from him during his torment. She had also said that Nick's ladylove had proved to be an asset in his treatment. She was not coddling him, although she was very supportive and in tune to his needs. If he kept on track and did not give up on his treatment, he would be fine.
Nearly two weeks had passed since Nick was found and Sheila Laird was apprehended. In that time, the search for Rudolf Folterung had met with little success. He had managed to elude authorities, although the search was ongoing. It did not appear as though he had left the country, but no one could say for sure. Frank would not rest until he was apprehended.
Shay heard his heavy sigh as he tried to settle into a comfortable position. Had he even slept an hour this night? She rolled onto her side and laid a comforting hand on his bare back, right between his shoulder blades. "Talk to me, Tiger." When he did not respond, she inched closer and pressed a soft kiss to the middle of his spine. "You've distanced yourself since our return. Please don't shut me out." Another sigh left his lips.
He knew she meant well, she always did. He just did not have the first clue how to talk about this situation. He knew what she would say, that it was not his fault, but that would not make him feel less guilty. He rolled onto his back and gathered her into his embrace. "Ashling, I promise you, I'm not trying to exclude you. I just know what you're going to tell me."
She smiled softly. "Maybe you do, Frank. And you know I'm right."
"Of course, aren't you always?" he quipped, shifting slightly to press a tiny kiss to the top of her head.
She propped herself up on one elbow to see his face. "Most of the time," she answered jokingly. "But, you know I am this time. Baby, it's so beyond your control that you and Nick are identical."
He nodded but said nothing. She was leaning over him now, her lips just a breath from his and her fingers danced lightly over his chest. She was trying to distract him from his thoughts and it was almost working.
"And you had no way of knowing that someone would come after you looking for information regarding the whereabouts of one Sonny Walker," she continued her reasoning while her hand trailed his chest and shoulders.
"I know," he whispered when she slid her body along his, pressing soft kisses to his chest and abdomen.
"Never could you imagine any of the things that happened would have happened. You are not God, as much as you sometimes behave as though you are," she admonished tenderly and then ran her tongue along the trail of soft hair from his navel on downward.
"Ahhh, damn," he moaned erotically when her tongue circled his growing hardness. "I love you, so very much, Ashling."
Shay lifted her head and smiled mischievously. "I know. You especially love my diversionary tactics."
He closed his eyes when she returned to her 'tactic' and plunged his hands into her hair. "I love everything about you," he assured her, giving in to the pleasure of her skillful ministrations. He lost himself in the feel of the moment, shutting out any thoughts save his love for her, until the shrill ringing of the telephone ended his pleasure.
"Sonofabitch," he growled irritably. He was oh so close to his release, and if it was one of his team, he was going to take great pleasure in choking the life from whoever it was the next time he saw them.
Shay pressed her hand firmly to his chest when he began to move. "Ignore it, Tiger. The machine can get it."
He smiled wickedly and eased back down to the bed. "Sounds like a plan."
Shay winked and slid her tongue down the length of his hardness, taking her own pleasure in hearing his sexual moan. "You can do me, later," she whispered.
"Damn, woman...you really know how to push my buttons," he groaned, letting the erotic feel of her soft lips and warm mouth return him to that state of pleasure he was enjoying before the phone began to ring.
"Although you escaped me without giving me the information I desired...know that you have not heard the last from me, Mr. Donovan," a voice boomed over the answering machine.
Shay gasped as she pulled back and scrambled, frightened, into Frank's arms and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. Neither had ever heard the voice before, but both were more than aware that it belonged to the twisted person behind Nick's torture. He was letting them know that he would not be stopped so easily. Shay trembled in Frank's arms and he could do nothing more than hold her, praying he would be ready if there came a time that the caller would come after him again.
***
Epilogue to follow...