Make Me Melt(52)

The nurse lowered a pocketbook to the floor of the stall, and Caroline raised her eyebrows. Didn’t the woman know there was a hook on the back of the door? There was no way she’d ever let her own pocketbook come in contact with a bathroom floor, no matter how clean and hygienic it appeared. Her eyes narrowed briefly on the handbag, thinking it seemed vaguely familiar, before she brushed the thought away.

She left the stall a moment later and moved to the sink to wash her hands. Bending over, she splashed cool water against her face. She heard the flush, and then the stall door opened. Caroline straightened, reaching for the paper towels, when her eyes met those of the other woman.

With a swift gasp, she spun around. Not a nurse, but the housekeeper from next door to where her father lived. What had the police officer said her name was? Marisola Perez?

“What are you doing here?” she managed, but she thought she already knew.

Marisola’s features were twisted in grief and hatred, and tears filled her dark eyes. Holding her purse in one hand, she reached into the bag and withdrew a gun. Letting the handbag drop to the floor, she advanced on Caroline, who was too stunned to move, never mind scream.

“An eye for an eye,” she said brokenly. “A child for a child. I lost my daughter, and your father did nothing. My daughter came to this very hospital for an appendix operation. A simple procedure, the doctors said. But she died.” A sob escaped her, and she pressed her free hand to her mouth. “She came out of the surgery with such severe brain damage that she never woke up again. I had to pull the plug that kept her alive. No mother should ever have to do that!”

Her voice had risen, and Caroline could see the woman was shaking. Caroline gripped the edge of the sink, her eyes on the gun. “I know your story,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you. For what you went through.”


“I have had to live without my daughter,” Marisola cried. “I wanted justice, but your father denied me that. I’m glad now that he didn’t die when I shot him. I’ve had to suffer life without my child. Now he will know that same pain!”

With a hoarse cry, she raised the gun. Without conscious thought, Caroline grabbed the ice bucket and flung it at the woman. Ice and water flew everywhere, and Marisola flinched as ice cubes struck her in the face. There was a sharp retort as the gun discharged, and Caroline felt the air stir near her face before the mirror exploded behind her.

Marisola’s feet slipped on the wet surface of the floor, and her face registered her surprise as she lost her balance. Her arms pinwheeled as she sought to regain her footing. Caroline spun away as Marisola tried to aim the gun at her.

Then the door of the bathroom exploded inward, and Jason was there, his own weapon drawn, followed hard by Colton and the FBI agents. In an instant, Caroline was in his arms, and the three other men restrained the woman, knocking the gun from her hand as they bore her down to the floor and wrenched her arms behind her back.

Marisola was sobbing and screaming at the same time, deep, anguished sobs that were full of grief and fury. “My daughter is dead, and he didn’t care,” she cried. “It’s only right that he lose his daughter, that he knows how it feels!”

The two FBI agents hauled the struggling woman to her feet and dragged her, still screaming, out of the bathroom. Caroline clung to Jason, unwilling to let him go.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, setting her away from him and sweeping her body with one all-encompassing look. “Did she hurt you?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“Christ,” he muttered. “Thank God.”

He hauled her back into his arms, and she could feel the deep thump of his heart beneath her ear. His breathing was a little uneven, and when he finally pulled back to tip her face up, she realized his hand was trembling.

“I’m okay,” she repeated, humbled and chastened by his obvious fear for her safety.

His eyes blazed down at her, and now that she was safe, she saw the anger that had crept in. His fingers tightened around her upper arms where he held her.

“I want to throttle you, Caroline Banks. What in hell were you thinking? You know better than to go anywhere alone. We’ve been through this over and over. Jesus!”

He released her to jerk away, raking a hand over his hair. When he turned back around, he was clearly still furious but had managed to regain some control over his temper. He held his arm out to her. “C’mon, let’s go.”

She moved toward him, and he held her snugly against his side as he led her out of the bathroom. In the corridor, a crowd had gathered, drawn by the gunshot and Marisola’s impassioned screams. Caroline could see her being led away by two police officers. Next to the ice machine, the man with the flowers stood with his back pressed against the wall, his eyes wide with shock as he watched the scene. Jason led her away, walking with her until they reached a quiet spot with nobody else in sight. Only then did he push her up against the wall, pinning her there with the hard weight of his body. He bracketed her face in his hands, searching her eyes.

“I don’t ever want to go through something like that again,” he muttered. “When I think how close I came to losing you—”

“No,” Caroline said, covering his hands with her own. “You didn’t. I’m fine. She wouldn’t have hurt me. I’m strong, and I would have stopped her.”