Cop's Passion (20 page)

Mike really was
a softie but he obviously didn’t want anyone to know that, which
was funny considering how confident he was about everything else he
did and said.

Locking the
house behind her, Maddy went back to her own home where Chaz met
her at the door. Scooping him up, she went to the lounge and
dropped down on the sofa. Picking up the remote, she flicked on the
television and watched a couple of shows before the news came
on.

When the news
did appear, it chilled her. A live recording showed that one of the
streets in a suburb on the other side of the city was in trouble. A
house party had turned into a riot due to gate-crashes. Drunken
teenagers and older people were yelling obscenities. Police cars
had cordoned off the areas, and riot police were moving in
quickly.

Her heart sunk
when she saw that a similar problem was occurring in another area
of the city as well. She tried to spot Mike amongst the uniformed
officers, but couldn’t find him. Curled up on the sofa, she watched
worriedly as the rioting got worse with bottles and weapons being
used by the gate crashers as the police tried to restore order.

The live
recording stopped as the news switched to something else, with the
promise of returning for an update.

Looking down at
Chaz where he snoozed with his head against her knee, she sent up a
quick, silent prayer that Mike would be safe. While she had no
doubt that he could look after himself, riots were dangerous,
police work was dangerous, and more than one cop had been badly
hurt or even killed in the line of duty. Killed protecting the
public.

All she could
do was wait and be there when he got home. She refused to think
about the ‘if’ he got home. It was something every man or woman who
went with a cop had in the back of their mind, but it was something
she refused to dwell on. After being nearly stabbed in the A &
E Department by a deranged drug addict, and seeing the police and
security battling the violent druggies and drunks when they were
brought in, she knew many jobs had their dangers.

She awoke to
find some on-line shopping program on the television and a check of
her watch showed that it was three in the morning. She peeked out
the window but all was dark at Mike’s house. She couldn’t very well
go over and see if he was home, she didn’t have that right. More
than likely he was asleep.

She hoped.

Going to bed,
she slept restlessly and was up early. She’d just finished her
shower and gotten dressed when a knock sounded on her door. Opening
it, she found the young cop who’d been waiting for Mike in the car
the previous afternoon.

Fear
automatically tugged at her. “Yes?”

“Uh - Maddy,
isn’t it?”

“Yes. Is
something wrong with Mike?”

“I’m Alan. And
no, Mike’s fine. Sort of.” He hesitated.

She stepped out
onto the veranda, frowning in concern. “What do you mean, sort of?
Is he in hospital?”

“No, but…” Alan
hesitated again, then sighed. “If he ever finds out I came across
here, he will gut me like a wild boar.”

That sounded
like Mike was okay. Maddy glanced towards his half of the
duplex.

“Things got a
little wild last night in the suburbs,” Alan said.

“So I saw on
the TV.” She flicked a glance across him assessingly, noting his
creased clothes, shadowed jaw, tired eyes and the primapore on his
arm. “You okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”
He smiled briefly before frowning again in concern. “Look, Mike’s a
stubborn bastard so I'm just going to tell you.”

That sounded
ominous. Maddy studied Alan, sure she wasn’t going to like what she
heard.

“You’re a
nurse, so you’ll know what to do.” Alan’s frown grew deeper. “There
were a lot of weapons being used last night and Mike happened to
get hit in the head with a bottle.”

“Oh no.” Maddy
started forward. “Where is he?”

Alan grabbed
her arm. “He’s at home, but you need to listen to me, okay?”

Both curious
and alarmed at Alan’s reactions, Maddy stopped and nodded.
“Okay.”

“He got hit on
the side of his head. I thought he was going to collapse, but he
sort of staggered but then kept going. Blood…you know. Anyway, he
seemed okay. The ambulance crew checked him after but he refused to
go to hospital, said he was fine apart from a headache. The sarge
made him go for a check-up and stitches. Mike, well, Mike got
stitched up and came back home.”

Maddy’s brows
rose in surprise. “He didn’t stay for observation overnight?”

“No.”

“Which bloody
doctor saw him?”

“Some quack in
the A & E. Said it was fine for Mike to go home as he hadn’t
lost consciousness and looked fine apart from the cut on his
head.”

“What an arse.
Did he do any scans or anything? Did the doctor even bother to
check if Mike lived alone, if he had someone to check up on him?”
Maddy looked over at Mike’s house in growing concern and anger.

“I don’t know.”
Alan ran a hand through his thick, short hair. “Mike wasn’t keen on
waiting around. He seemed okay, his usual tough self. You
know.”

“Oh yeah, I
know all right.”

“So I brought
him home.”

Maddy studied
Alan. “You want me to check up on him.”

“Could you?
He’s alone at home.”

“You didn’t
have to ask, I’m going to do it anyway.” She smiled reassuringly at
him. “Go home, have a shower and something to eat, and go to bed.
Take the phone off the hook and have a hot Milo before you go to
sleep, it’ll help you relax.”

His smile was
both relieved and amused. “Yes, nurse.”

He was about to
leave when Maddy asked, “How’d he get into the house? I locked
it.”

“He always
keeps a spare set at work.”

“Bloody
typical. He’s such a boy scout.”

Alan laughed
while he took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to
her. “Here’s my phone number in case you need me.”

“Thanks.”

He walked back
to the patrol car idling in her drive. Getting in, he waved to her
and backed out before driving off.

Maddy
immediately retrieved Mike’s keys and went to his home. She knocked
but when there was no answer, she opened the door and entered to
find that all was quiet. Moving through the house, she glanced into
the rooms until she came to his bedroom. Sure enough, he was asleep
on the bed. He’d simply kicked off his uniform and boots, all of
which lay on the floor, and flopped beneath the light covers.

Crossing the
room, she came to a stop beside the bed and studied him. In sleep
he still looked dangerous. He certainly wasn’t resting easy, a
slight frown between his brows. A primapore patch near his hairline
was a startling white against his tanned skin. Below the surface
she could see the hint of darkness that meant there’d been some
bleeding after the stitches had been put in.

For several
seconds she watched him sleep, not wanting to wake him if he was
exhausted, but reluctant to simply walk away.

Finally, she
leaned over and called his name softly. When there was no answer,
she repeated his name louder. Still no answer. Reaching out, she
laid one hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

Groggily, he
opened his eyes a fraction. “Maddy?” His speech was a little
slurred, but whether it was from exhaustion or something more
sinister, she didn’t know.

“Yes.” She sat
beside him on the bed, and he reached out with one hand, letting it
flop heavily onto her thigh. His eyes started to close again. “Open
your eyes, Mike.”

“Tired…” He
slurred.

“Mike, I want
you to open your eyes right now.”

He obeyed, but
it seemed to take a lot of effort.

“Do you know
where you are?” She leaned closer to look at his pupils.

“Yes…no…the
riot.” He sighed and started to slide away into sleep again.

Picking up his
hand, she gave it a firm squeeze. “Mike!”

“My head
hurts.” He opened his eyes a fraction but they weren’t focussing
properly. “I need some Panadol.”

“You need a
doctor.” She stood up. “I’m calling an ambulance.”

“What? No.” He
lurched up in the bed and almost fell over the side.

Maddy quickly
grabbed him, placing her shoulder into his armpit. He slung an arm
around her shoulders and tried to stand upright, only to weave.

“Mike, you’ve
got concussion,” she began, when he suddenly paled and staggered
away.

“Gonna be
sick,” he muttered.

He headed
towards the bathroom with Maddy on his heels. He nearly fell over
the toilet, his arm shooting out to splay his hand on the wall. He
vomited, clutching his aching head with his free hand.

“Easy, baby.”
She placed a cool hand on his forehead and immediately felt him
ease his damp forehead more fully into her palm. “It’s all right.
I’ll call for an ambulance.”

“No. No
ambulance. I just…need some sleep…”

“Listen to me,
you stubborn oaf,” Maddy said sternly. “You’re going to the
hospital, like it or not.”

“No.”

“I’ll drag you
out by your big feet if I have to. You don’t have a choice.”

He looked
sideways at her out of bleary eyes. “I’m not…going…in an
ambulance.”

“You left your
jacket in the car. I - what the hell…?” Alan’s astonished voice
came from the doorway.

Maddy looked
around in relief. “Great. You can get the ambulance for me.”

“What?
Ambulance?” Alan looked at Mike. “Shit. You don’t look so
good.”

“Fine…” Mike
said, and started to list to the side.

Maddy jammed
her shoulder into his armpit again and gestured to Alan. “On his
other side. We need to get him to the hospital.”

“Not going,”
Mike said faintly.

“Concussion,”
she told Alan as he hurriedly wedged himself under Mike’s other
arm. “Help me get him to the bed and then you call the
ambulance.”

Maddy and Alan
staggered out of the bathroom with Mike between them. He was so
heavy he practically made both of them sag at the knees but neither
complained.

“The ambulance
could take awhile to get here,” Alan said. “I can get him to the
hospital faster in the patrol car.”

Maddy cast an
anxious look up at Mike. He looked down blearily at her. “Mum?”

“Cripes,” said
Alan. “He is bad.”

“Your car,”
Maddy decided. “Let’s go.”

“He won’t be
happy going out in just his boxers,” Alan stated as they stumbled
from the bedroom.

“You’re worried
about his modesty?” Maddy braced herself as Mike leaned heavily on
her. “Now? Seriously?”

“Not me, but he
will be.”

“He can suck it
up,” she shot back.

“Whoa.”

“Clothes…” Mike
mumbled.

“Let’s just get
him out to the car.” Worried, Maddy looked at Alan across Mike’s
broad chest. “Concussion is dangerous.”

They got him to
the car and managed to push him into the back seat. Both were
breathing hard by the time Alan climbed into the front seat and
Maddy into the back, which was awkward with Mike toppling over to
land against her chest.

Half of Maddy
wished they’d waited for the ambulance, while the other half argued
that he needed to get to a hospital fast, that every second
counted. Whatever, it was done now.

Alan had the
lights and siren on before they even left the driveway, and he
radioed ahead to someone. The hospital appeared in record time, and
before they’d even pulled up outside a stretcher and several
orderlies, a nurse and a doctor were waiting.

Maddy got out
carefully and one of the orderlies eased in at the same time,
taking Mike’s weight.

Mike was still
aware enough to mutter, “I’m fine…”

“Sure you are.”
She stood back to allow the staff to work. With practised
manoeuvres they got Mike onto the stretcher, helped by the fact
that he actually managed to stand upright for several seconds,
enabling them to push the stretcher behind him.

The stretcher
containing Mike was wheeled inside, and Maddy followed with Alan on
her heels and the doctor by her side.

“I’m Dr Rick
Reed,” the doctor said. “What happened?”

“Hit in the
head by a bottle early this morning,” Alan replied.

“His speech is
slurred,” Maddy added. “Pupils dilated. He’s confused. He’s got
concussion.”

Dr Reed looked
down at her. “Has he had any medication?”

“Not from me,”
Alan said when she glanced back at him.

“Nor me,” she
said. “He was here this morning, by the way.”

“Okay. Wait
here.” The doctor pointed to the few spare chairs in the waiting
room. “Someone will be out to see you both shortly.”

It seemed to
take forever. Alan went outside to talk on his mobile phone to
someone, presumably the police station, while Maddy sat and
worriedly jiggled her foot up and down. She glanced at the clock
several times and watched people coming and going, all the while
wishing she could be with Mike or that someone would tell her
something. Alan came back in and sat beside her. He looked tired
and she smiled at him and patted his hand. He smiled back and
slumped in the seat.

It was a couple
of hours later before the doctor came out. “Maddy?”

“Yes?” Heart
beating fast, Maddy stood up.

“Come this
way.” He gestured to a small room on the side and she followed him
in again with Alan right on her heels. The doctor slid his hands
into the pockets of his white coat. “Mike has concussion, you were
correct. He should never have been let out of hospital this
morning.”

“You think?”
Angrily, Maddy folded her arms. “You weren’t the doctor on this
morning, were you?”

“No.” His
bright green eyes regarded her steadily. “But it will be looked
into.”

She nodded
before focussing on her main concern. “So how is Mike?”