Bombshell: A BWWM Billionaire Amnesia Romance Suspense Novel (12 page)

Chapter Twenty

“Where’s surgery?” Merrick asked as he raced into the hospital.

“What’s the patient’s name?”

“Bombshell, I mean, Mona Lisa Flynn, I mean, Mona Lisa Van Dyke.”

“Just a moment, please.” The receptionist typed the name into her computer. “Sixth floor. Doctor Armavir.”

She handed Merrick his visitor’s badge. He thanked her, the hurried to the elevators, his heart pounding. All he knew from Tony was that Bombshell had some kind of reaction in the middle of the MRI, and has been in surgery ever since.

Stepping out of the elevator he spotted Tony right away.

Tony came over to Merrick and gave him a comforting embrace.

Merrick’s voice cracked, “How is she?” He dreaded the answer.

“I don’t know anything, yet. She still in surgery is all they’ll tell me.”

The surgeon appeared, looking tired. “Are you Mr. Flynn?”

“How is she?”

“She’s out of surgery and stable.”

Merrick let out a breath. He’d feared the worse.

“What happened to her?” Tony asked.

“There was a foreign object in her brain. The MRI made it move, and so we had to take it out.

He pulled a small plastic bag out of his pocket. Merrick stared at the tiny sliver of glass. Guilt twisted in his stomach.

“What is that?” Tony asked.

“It’s actually a sliver of glass with traces of a metallic film, which was a good thing or we would have never seen in during the MRI. You’re girl is actually very lucky. Any farther into the brain, and it could have been fatal.”

“Did you get it all out?”

“Yes, we did,” the doctor said with utmost confidence.

A nurse stepped into the doorway. “Doctor Armavir? Can I talk to you a moment, please?”

“Excuse me,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.”

“It’s all my fault,” Merrick said to Tony as soon as they left the doctor’s office.

“You can’t blame yourself, dude,” Tony said.

Merrick shook his head. “Yes, I can. I should have taken her straight to a hospital after the window was shot out. I never should have let some hick country doctor who was so blind he couldn’t even drive do the job. I never should have pretended to be her fiancé or made her come here in a vibrating helicopter, while a piece of goddamn glass was stuck in her brain trying to kill her.”

The doctor returned and continued, “Unfortunately, in order to get to the errant splinter of glass, we were force to cut through some healthy brain matter. It’s vital that her brain has a chance to heal, so we’ve induced a coma and we won’t release her from it until tomorrow at some point.”

“Then she’ll be alright?”

“Difficult to say. According to the information we had from her initial visit, she’s been experiencing severe amnesia, as a result of a car accident—is that correct?”

“Yes, actually—she’s forgotten everything about herself that happened prior to a few days ago.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, even her name.”

The doctor made some notes in his file.

“Can you tell me if she’s had any incidents where she’s shown signs of remembering something frightening from her past?”

“Yes,” Merrick said. “Yesterday, she freaked out. Got all scared.”

“So, she’s had some trauma recently. Do you think it was from the accident? What happened in the accident? You say this accident occurred a few days ago—I didn’t see any bruises or lacerations. Can you tell me more about how she got her head injury?”

“Actually,” Merrick said—bowing his head a little, “it wasn’t a car accident—someone shot the window while she was in the car. The window shattered, but she said she was fine. It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized there was a large piece of glass in her skull.”

“Oh, I see, so, a few hours after the accident you went to the hospital to have the glass removed. Is that correct?”

“Not exactly,” Merrick said, his head drooping a little more.

“You did it yourself?” the doctor said.

“No, I had a doctor do it,” Merrick said. “But we weren’t near a hospital, so he didn’t have any decent equipment.”

“I see,” the doctor said, his face twisting in disapproval. “Could I get the name of that doctor, please?”

“Uh, I’m sorry—I don’t remember his name.”

“Where was his office, then?”

“Uh, he came to us, I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I have other patients to take care of. Just one more thing.”

Merrick and Tony waited uncomfortably, wondering how this doctor would judge them next. He went to his desk and flipped a Rolodex, then pulled out his prescription pad and wrote down a number.

“I’m not too worried about the brain injury, but I’m very concerned about her state of mind and her amnesia. I don’t believe it was caused by the accident or the glass in her skull. But I’m not an expert in this field—this woman is. I suggest you contact her so she can be around when our young lady comes out of her coma.”

Merrick took the name and put it in his pocket.

“Thank you, Doctor,” they said, then left his office.

Since Bombshell would remain in a coma and in the hospital overnight, the two men went back to the beach house.

It was getting dark when Merrick parked in the driveway. They were halfway up the driveway when their front door flew open and Mama G came running out the front door. “Why didn’t you call me?” she said. “I’m so sorry about your fiancée, Merrick. Have you heard anything? Is she going to be alright?”

“What are you doing here, Mama G?” Tony asked.

Mama G shifted her shoulder and put her nose in the air. “Why shouldn’t I be here? You’re my boys, aren’t you? I heard about Bombshell being in the hospital, and I thought you boys might be hungry when you got back. I put a lasagna and salad in the fridge. I wasn’t going to stay and cramp your style, Romeo.”

“It’s okay, Mama G,” Merrick said. “I’m glad you’re here. We need to talk.”

Tony shot Merrick an look which said,
Are you sure you want to tell her?

Merrick nodded. “Yeah, Mom, please stay and eat with us. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you about Bombshell. I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”

Mama G’s face lit up at the dinner invitation, then got a little pinched at the news she’d been lied to. Then she shrugged her shoulders and pulled both of her boys into a big hug. “You two wash up. I’ll get dinner on the table. Give me fifteen minutes to reheat the lasagna.”

Merrick went to his room to change into shorts and a t-shirt, then called the referral doctor, a Doctor Suzanna Garcia. He got her answering service and left a message, stressing that his call was urgent and she’d be extremely well compensated if she could come to Atlantic City tomorrow. To his surprise, he received a call back less than five minutes later.

“Hello, is this Merrick Flynn?” said a sultry voice.

“Doctor Garcia?”

“What’s so important that you’d bribe me to come to Atlantic City, and how much are we talking about? Because I do have some free time, and I adore gambling.”

“Then you’re in luck, doctor,” Merrick said, “because I own a casino. How about your usual hourly rate—plus I’ll put you up in a suite and give you two thousand dollars in play money?”

“How about you put me up in a penthouse and make it ten thousand?”

“Done,” Merrick said. Never before had he appreciated the power of his wealth. “Great, then I’ll send a helicopter for you first thing in the morning?”

“I don’t do helicopters, but you can make travel arrangements with my assistant. Is this a cell? I’ll text you her number.”

Merrick got her assistant’s name. He’d put Linda on this. She was good with booking flights, and she could set up the free play and the suite as well.

“Thank you so much—you don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

“Merrick, are you coming—your food’s getting cold.”

“Just a minute, Ma,” Merrick yelled over his shoulder, as he covered the phone with his hand. He took a breath and spoke in a normal voice. “Thank you again, Doctor…”

“Before you go running to Mommy, can you tell me a little about my patient?”

Merrick laughed. “Uh, yes, sure, Doctor—high level. She’s twenty-something, severe amnesia. Twice she’s freaked out like she’s under attack or really afraid. They just took a small piece of glass out of her head after an MRI gone bad—and she thinks I’m her fiancé, but the truth is, I don’t even know her real name or anything about her—I’ve only known her a few days.”

Merrick couldn’t believe he was being that honest with the woman. What if she told the other doctor, and the insurance card was questioned? Then again, what did he care? He didn’t need insurance to pay for this. He had all the money in the world—he’d just been reluctant to spend it, until. “Deep pockets, short arms,” is what Tony always said about him. But, not anymore. For Bombshell and her health and wellbeing, money was no object.

“Hello?”

“I’m sorry,” Merrick said. He’d forgotten he was on the phone. “Was there anything else you needed?”

“Yes, one more thing.”

“Name it.”

“Be sure to invite me to the wedding.”

Merrick hung up and shook his head. Hadn’t he told her that the engagement was fake? What was she implying?

Over turkey lasagna, fresh bread and a tossed salad, Merrick told Mama G everything. Well, almost everything – he’d left out the erotic bits.

Mama G was very understanding.

“So, you say you’re not really engaged—but that’s just a formality, isn’t it? You do love her, don’t you?”

Merrick blinked. Did he love her? Is that what that strange shrink had been implying? Was how he felt about Bombshell obvious to everyone in the world but himself?

True, ever since he’d seen her on that stage, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, worrying about her, fantasizing about her. But was it love, or just an attraction and some hero/victim shit?

He wasn’t about to admit anything just yet—not until he understood it himself.  

Chapter Twenty One

The next morning, Merrick went back to the hospital and sat in the waiting room. Bombshell was expected to come out of her induced coma at any point, and he wanted to be there in case she asked for him. The psych doctor had texted that she’d be coming straight to the hospital after landing at the airport, and Merrick made sure Linda sent a limo. He did a little work while he sat around in the waiting room of the hospital.

It was getting close to noon when he got a call from a number he didn’t recognize.

“Merrick Flynn?” said a serious female voice.

“Yes, this is Merrick Flynn.”

“This is Special Agent Carson with the FBI. Can you tell me your current location? I’d like to have a chat with you, in person.”

Merrick’s brain raced and his pulse quickened. Why does the FBI want to speak to me? Did I do something wrong? Had Bombshell done something wrong? 

“What’s this about?”

“I understand you hired a Private Detective, a Mr. Giovanni Brunetti to look into a certain county sheriff. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about, but not on the phone. Where are you, Mr. Flynn? I’m in Atlantic City—but you weren’t at your hotel.”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something right now. I have a friend in the hospital.”

“Well, tell me where you are, I’ll drive over—we’ll meet for ten minutes —then you can go back to your friend.”

Reluctantly, Merrick gave her his location. He hung up and called Tony. The call went to voicemail. He called Giovanni and got his voicemail. He didn’t bother to leave either a message. He paced the waiting room and checked his watch. He’d need to go downstairs soon.

What if he was going to be arrested? What if they put him in jail and he’d never see Bombshell again.

She’d been placed in a recovery room, but the nursing staff on that floor did not allow any visitors, she he hadn’t been able to see her.

Well, he wasn’t going to let some bossy nurses stop him from at least saying goodbye. Making himself as small as he could considering his almost seven feet of height, he walked decisively past the nurses’ station. No one tried to stop him, so he hurried around the ward, peering quickly into each until her found Bombshell’s.

As soon as he saw her, his stomach fluttered and his heart gave a lurch. It was so good to see her alive. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her. A tear ran down his cheek. It had been almost twenty-four hours since he’d last seen her.

There was no one around so he moved into the room. She was still in a coma, her breathing steady, her chest rising and falling in even motions. Her eyelids twitched as if she was having a dream. Her face seemed relaxed, so he hoped it was a sweet dream.

“Bombshell,” he said, whispering as he crouched closer. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

She didn’t respond.

His throat closed and his words became thick with emotion. “Please come back to me soon. Please be okay. I-- I love you.”

He kissed her forehead softly. Then he went downstairs to face the music.