To Forgive & Hold Safe (The Broken Men Chronicles - #4)(SAMPLE ONLY)

Chapter 3

© Carey Decevito, 2016

Chapter 3

When Craig retreated, I turned toward the emergency entrance, observing the chaos of an unruly weekend night through the floor to ceiling windows.

I wondered if any of Hannah's relatives had been contacted, if any of those people sitting in those waiting room seats, at the very moment, had come for her.

All of a sudden, I grew more apprehensive.

You came to see if she was okay, I reminded myself.

I walked through the sliding glass doors to be met by crying babies and an assortment of worried, sickly and irritated people.  I smiled when I saw Marie at the triage desk.  A familiar face always helped.

"Hey, Marie," I said.  "I need a favor."

The woman looked at me with an arched brow, her eyes travelling from my face down to my toes and then came back up to stop at my shirt.

"What the hell happened to you?"

I looked down.

My front was covered in dirt and some dried blood.  It hadn't occurred to me that I should have changed before heading out.

"That's why I'm here," I said.  "A woman was brought in not too long ago.  I was the one to call 9-1-1 and stayed until they came."

"Her name?" she asked.

"Hannah Parsons."

"You know I shouldn't be doing this, right?" she said.

"I promised her," I said.  "She lost her husband tonight.  I-I promised her that I wouldn't leave.  I just want to know if she's okay."

Marie gulped and nodded at the desperation in my voice.  I saw the look shift in her eyes and I knew.

"Okay," she whispered.  She paused before her fingers hit the keys to the keyboard in front of her and eyed my face.  "Are you okay?"

"Why is everyone asking me that?"  My sudden burst of frustration even caught me by surprise.

"It's just..." she said and I knew she was bringing back the past.  She had been there that night when my family and I were brought in.  "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

"No, I'm sorry," I said.  "I'm fine...really.  Just a little tired."

She nodded, gave me a forced smile and proceeded to find the information that I asked for.

"I see nothing in here.  She's in surgery but I don't think she's out yet because I don't see a room assignment," Marie said.

"Can you tell me if anyone's been contacted?"

"We haven't found anything as of yet but the police were looking into it," she said.  I nodded.  "I'm not supposed to do this but..."

"Is Hannah Parsons' family here?" I heard behind me.

"Here," I said without thinking and turned to the voice, dismissing the arched brow and tight-lipped expression that had made its way onto Marie's face.

The man in the scrubs eyed me from top to bottom.

"Well you look like you've seen better days," the mid-fifty's doctor said before presenting his hand.  "I'm Doctor Caruthers.  I'm the surgeon who operated on Mrs. Parsons.  May I ask your relationship?"

"I found her," I said.

"And you're family?" he asked.

"No, not exactly."