Make Me Melt(36)

The second malpractice case involved a young woman who had been admitted to the hospital with severe stomach pains. The doctors had diagnosed a ruptured appendix and had performed emergency surgery. During the procedure, the woman had gone into cardiac arrest on the operating table and had actually died. The surgeons were able to resuscitate her, but she had suffered permanent brain damage as a result. She’d survived for a week, before she had been taken off life support. An autopsy revealed she’d had an underlying, previously undiagnosed heart condition, which had been exacerbated by the anesthesia. Judge Banks had ruled in favor of the hospital.

Caroline looked over to where her father lay. He was a good judge and a good man. She knew that with all her heart. But she had a hard time believing he had ruled in favor of the hospital in both cases. Could he have made a mistake in these instances? Medical malpractice wasn’t Caroline’s specialty, so perhaps there were some underlying legalities that she didn’t fully comprehend. But she could absolutely understand why the victims’ loved ones might want to harm her father for his ruling. Nothing about it seemed fair.

At that moment, her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw it was Patrick Dougherty, the social worker from Richmond.

“Hi, Patrick,” she said.

She strained to listen, but the reception in the hotel was spotty at best, and she could only make out every third or fourth word that he said.

“Patrick,” she said, interrupting his flow of words. “You’re breaking up. I’m going to take the phone outside and call you right back.”

Grimacing, she disconnected the call, hoping he didn’t think she’d just arbitrarily hung up on him. Stepping out into the corridor, she looked for Jason, but neither he nor Deputy Black were anywhere in sight.

“Have you seen either Marshal Cooper or Deputy Black?” she asked the guard who stood vigil outside her father’s door.

“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy replied. “They had some calls to make but couldn’t get any reception. I believe they stepped outside.” He indicated the exit sign at the far end of the corridor.

“Thanks,” Caroline said.

Her father’s room was on the third floor of the hospital, but if she took the stairwell to the ground floor, she would be directly across from one of the main hospital entries that led to a small parking lot at the side of the hospital. Certain that was where Jason and Agent Black had gone, she made her way to the exit door.

“Ma’am?” The guard looked concerned. “I believe Marshal Cooper will be right back if you’d like to wait.”

“That’s okay,” she demurred. “I know where to find him.”

He was halfway to his feet, clearly uncertain what to do, since his own assignment was to stand guard outside the judge’s hospital room. For a moment, Caroline felt sympathy for him.

“Please don’t worry about me,” she called. “I’ll probably run into the marshal and his deputy in the stairwell.”

But he was speaking into his earpiece, and Caroline pushed the door open and quickly made her way down the stairwell. On the first floor, she found herself in a wide corridor, bustling with medical personnel and visitors. Directly across from the stairwell entrance was a revolving door that led to the parking lot. Pushing through the doors, she looked around for Jason or Deputy Black, frowning when she didn’t see either one of them.

It was possible they had taken the elevator back up to the third floor, in which case Jason wasn’t going to be pleased to find her gone. Quickly, she redialed Patrick’s number.

“Hey, Caroline,” he said. “I’m glad you called me back. How’s your father doing?”

“He’s actually showing signs of improvement,” Caroline said. “Is everything okay out there?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” he assured her. “I just wanted to be sure you were okay, and to let you know that Devon Lawton was placed into a foster home. I think it’s going to work out for him.”

Before she could respond, a hand descended on her shoulder and spun her around. She found herself staring into Jason’s face, and if his eyes had reminded her of tempered glass before, now they were positively shardlike.

“That’s wonderful, Patrick. Look, I have to go,” she said hastily. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to give you a call later today, okay?”

She disconnected the call, knowing her expression looked guilty.

“Let’s go,” Jason said. Without waiting for a response, he took her elbow in a firm grip and steered her back toward the building. At the entrance, he stiff-armed the revolving door, preventing anyone from using it, as he cleared a way for her. Then he hustled her effortlessly inside and over to the stairwell.

Only when they had climbed quickly to the third floor, and she was breathless and panting, did he finally pull her to a stop and push her up against the wall.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he said, his eyes blazing into hers. Then he bent his head to claim her mouth in a kiss that was both demanding and exhilarating. Pinned between his hard body and the wall, Caroline could only hang on.

Slowly, the kiss changed and became softer. Deeper.

She gave a hum of approval and slid her hands to his back, clutching him tighter. He stroked her tongue with his own, pushing past her teeth to explore her more fully. Caroline felt light-headed, but whether it was from their mad dash up the stairs or from his kiss, she couldn’t tell.