Harmonized (9 page)

Zig's plan for round two involved making love against the wall in his hallway. It was rough and fun and fast. Round three was steamy shower sex.

She'd nearly wept at the sight of his injured shoulder when they were drying off after their lovemaking. Somehow she hadn't seen it before.

“I was hiding the scar from you,” he admitted, color high in his cheeks. “It was a stupid mistake that nearly cost me and Jules our lives.”

While he was towel-drying her hair, he explained how he'd been stabbed during the investigation by a crooked cop, a man he'd mistaken for a friend. That cop then stuffed Zig and Jules into the trunk of a car, where Zig would have died had Jules not used his cell phone to call for help.

“Then in the hospital I nearly died again of a staph infection. I should have been back on regular duty two months ago, but I've been manning the desk. The doctors cleared me to return to active duty only yesterday.” He stopped drying her hair and started stroking the towel between her legs.

Karma shifted, wanting him to stop and wanting him to continue at the same time. “I want to know how the story ends.”

“I lived. They gave me the Silver Star. The end.” He tossed the towel to the floor then picked her up and carried her to the bed.

Karma and Zig made it to his California king–size bed after three in the morning. His plans had been plentiful and left her delightfully achy. She'd been asleep for only a half hour when her cell phone rang.

Dazed and disoriented, she sat up and would have fallen out of bed had Zig not looped an arm around her waist.

“It's your phone. Want me to get it?” He sounded remarkably alert for a man who'd had less than an hour of sleep.

“Yes, please.”

Zig was out of the room and back again before Karma found the light. She switched it on to see him proudly naked, her phone pressed to his ear. He winked at her as he spoke into it. “Karma's phone.”

His smile disappeared in an instant. Zig's eyes filled with concern as he crossed to his dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans. Tugging them on he said, “Thank you. We're on our way.”

Karma was out of bed before he'd clicked off and tossed the phone onto the nightstand. “What's wrong? Please tell me that Wesley's okay.”

Wearing only his jeans, with the top button undone, Zig turned to her. “That was Nurse O'Bryan on the phone. Your friend Gwyn has taken a sudden turn for the worse.”

The weather had changed from sleet to freezing rain to snow while they'd been making love. Zig maneuvered his truck on the treacherous roads as fast as he dared, but Karma still fidgeted next to him.

“They haven't had time to salt the streets yet,” he told her as they lumbered up the drive to the hospital for the third time tonight. Christ, had it really been less than a day?

“I know. It's fine.” Her words belied the worry on her face.

The guest parking lot was unplowed, and several cars had been left sideways between spaces. “Karma, I'm going to drop you at the front door. I'll meet you in Gwyn's room, okay?”

She nodded but kept her gaze on the picture of Wesley she'd carried with her like a talisman. “She needs to hold on. We're going to find him. Right?”

“Right,” he agreed, although he couldn't be certain. The baby had been taken five days earlier. That was a long time. Plenty of time to get out of the city, out of the state, even out of the country. He couldn't tell Karma that at the moment, though.

His truck slid to a stop at the front entrance. When she opened the door, the cab light came on and Karma gasped. “His color is fading again. It's hardly visible. Oh God, Zig
.
I don't know what to do. We need to look for him.”

“No, you need to be with your friend.” He kissed her cheek and touched his forehead to hers. “Now go. I'll park and call Seth. See if he can check out Tara's and Tina's places again. But right now, you need to be with Gwyn.”

Karma nodded once then hustled into the hospital.

Zig found a spot in the covered parking lot. It was a long, cold, walk but if it meant no one was going to slam into his baby because they'd never learned to drive in the snow, it'd be worth it.

The emergency room entrance was closer than the main one. Hospital workers didn't like civilians using the ER entrance to visit patients, but he was balls-shriveling cold. If he had to flash his badge to get past triage, he'd do it.

Inside, it was wall-to-wall people with a variety of injuries and illnesses. Some wore surgical masks. There were eight victims with arms or legs that appeared broken. An old man comforted his equally old wife as she fussed in a wheelchair. At least four homeless men and one woman were camped out, trying to escape the cold.

It was crazy busy for half-past four in the morning on a Saturday.

“Excuse me, sir.” A tall gray-haired nurse in red scrubs decorated with pink hearts stood up behind the counter and waved Zig over. “If you're ambulatory—”

“Hello! I was here first!” A short woman with choppy blond hair, and a squat face, pushed passed him. “I've been waiting. My baby is sick.”

The nurse gave him a patient smile and held up her index finger. She turned to the blond, her smile considerably cooler. “Ma'am, as I told you an hour ago, your son has been checked on. Unless there's been a change in his condition, you'll need to wait to see the doctor.”

“This is because I don't have insurance, isn't it?”

Zig took a half step back from the woman, who looked ready to start screaming. She set down the baby carrier she'd had in her arms and fisted her hands at the hips of her hideous brown dress.

He glanced into the carrier and his heart stopped. It was Wesley. He'd been staring at the picture all night and he'd know that child anywhere. The little blond was right: he was sick.

Zig slowly tugged out his badge and palmed it. Then he unfastened the strap on his gun beneath his coat. He caught the eye of the security guard a few feet away and flashed his badge at his hip, low and fast.

The lanky old man didn't rush but moved in Zig's direction.

“Fine! I'll take my baby to another hospital,” the woman yelled. Zig stepped between her and Wesley's carrier. “Excuse me! Get out of my way. You're blocking my baby, you asshole.”

Zig stepped one leg over the carrier, keeping it between his calves. “Are you Tara or are you Tina?”

The blond blanched at the second name. The intent to run was plain in her eyes. He snapped out a hand and latched onto her wrist before she moved. “Help! He's hurting me! He's trying to steal my baby! Help!”

Several people leapt to their feet, but Zig held up his badge. “I am the police. Stay in your seats.”

The security guard, wearing a badge that read “Appleton,” reinforced Zig's words by waving the people back. Then he held out a pair of handcuffs to Zig. “Need these?”

“Thanks.” Zig snagged them in one hand, while hanging onto Tina with the other. “Don't carry mine off duty.”

Appleton nodded and continued to wave the crowd back.

“You have the right to remain silent,” he said to Tina, pushing her face against the triage nurse's window. Zig managed to snap the restraints on the squirming, weeping woman as he Mirandized her.

He turned to Appleton. “I need to call this in. Can you keep an eye on her?”

Appleton glared down at the sobbing Tina, who'd slumped to the floor. “My partner at the door called the police when you flashed your badge. They'll be here any minute. Did she really kidnap this gingersnap?”

Zig squatted down and lifted Wesley from the carrier. His little body remained limp. He didn't even open his eyes. Straightening, he turned to the triage nurse. “This is Wesley Bremer. He has CAH. I think he's going into crisis.”

The nurse called for help. A doctor and another nurse raced out of the back. Wesley was out of Zig's arms and being taken into the recesses of the hospital when two patrolmen came in. Zig gave them a quick rundown, all the while Tina screamed.

“No! You can't take him away. He needs me. I'm his mother now. Gwyn's dead. I pushed her off that bridge. Give me back my baby! He needs me! He needs me!”

The uniformed officers hauled Tina's struggling body out of the hospital to a round of applause. The same people who'd been ready to attack Zig, now clapped.

People were so fucked up.

“Where did they take Wesley?” Zig asked the triage nurse who'd remained remarkably calm, if somewhat pale during the whole scene.

She pointed to the ceiling with her silver pen. “Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Fifth floor.” He'd started toward the elevator when she called out, “How did you know?”

“I've been searching for that boy all night.”

***

Karma held Gwyn's hand, feeling like a complete failure. She hadn't found Wesley. She'd been too busy having sex.

“I swear Gwyn, if you wake up, I will find Wesley.” Karma squeezed her friend's cold fingers. “I'll put him in your arms. Just don't give up. Don't check out on me. We're close. I can feel it.”

“Karma?” Zig's voice floated in from the open doorway. “We found him. Wesley's upstairs. I just came from seeing him.”

Nurse O'Bryan came into the room, tears glistening in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. She carried a temporary medical bracelet. She compared it to the one on Gwyn's wrist then attached it. “I have something for you, Ms. Bremer. I've seen your baby myself. He's going to need you. Come on, wake up now. Wesley's going to be hungry soon.”

Relief and fear mingled in a swampy mess of emotions that had tears tracking down Karma's face. She leapt into Zig's arms for a quick hug. “Thank you, thank you!”

Then she turned to Gwyn and squeezed her hand, hoping and praying for a reaction. Nothing. Her heart sank. She lowered her head to her friend's hand.

“Give her time. She's got a reason to wake up now.”

“You're awake!” Karma said, two days later. Relief flooded through her. She practically tossed the pot of violets she'd been carrying into Gwyn's room at Zig, then rushed to her friend's bedside. “I was so worried. We came as soon as we got the call from Nurse O'Bryan.”

“Had to wake up sometime, didn't I?” Gwyn asked, her voice still scratchy from having been on a ventilator for days. She gently rocked Wesley with her uninjured arm. “Doc says Wesley and I are going to live.”

“I'm so glad,” Karma said around the lump in her throat.

“Do you remember what happened the night you were hurt?” Zig asked, after setting the flowering plant on the windowsill. He pulled out his notebook.

When Gwyn cast a curious look at Karma, Karma explained, “Gwyn, this is Officer Zig Harmon. He's the one who found Wesley.”

Tears dripped from Gwyn's eyes. Her aura pulsed from the sunny yellow of joy to the indigo of grief and back again. “Thank you. Thank you for bringing my baby back to me.”

Zig's cheeks reddened. He always looked so adorable when he blushed. Karma couldn't resist squeezing his hand. When he cleared his throat, his eyes were all cop. “You're welcome. Can you tell me what you remember?”

“Oh, well, my neighbor Tina knocked on my door in the middle of the night. She said she got a call that her boyfriend had been in a car accident. He was being rushed to the hospital. She sounded frantic and begged me to take her. I offered to pay for a cab because I didn't want to take Wesley out in that weather. But she said she'd already called one an hour before. Happens sometimes in my neighborhood. Cabbies have to cross the tracks to get to us and sometimes don't want to bother.”

“So you agreed to drive her to the hospital?” Zig's voice was calm, gentle.

“Yes, I agreed. I'd just put Wesley in his seat when pain exploded in the back of my skull. The next thing I knew, we were at the top of the bridge and she was trying to push me over the railing. I remember trying to hold on to her hands, but then I fell. I don't remember anything after that until I woke up here.”

“She's locked up now and won't be getting out for a long time.” Zig paused, rubbing his chin. “Do you have any idea why she told the police at the scene she was Tara Twomey?”

Gwyn frowned. “No. I didn't even know they knew each other.” Her mouth formed a small
o
then she shut her eyes briefly. “Wait, I think I remember something. Tara came to my apartment one night before the baby was born. She was drunk and loud. Several neighbors came into the hallway and stared as she begged to come inside. It was really embarrassing.

“I told her, ‘Tara Twomey, you need to go home and sleep it off.' I remember I said her full name because after, I cringed. It was something my mother always did when she was mad at me.” Gwyn shifted Wesley to her shoulder and patted his back. “Anyway, Tina was there. She stopped me the next day as I was taking out the trash. I had no idea she was psycho. She seemed really nice when she checked on me. Guess you can never tell about some people.”

“Guess you can't,” Zig agreed.

Karma listened quietly, her stomach jittering at the idea of how close her friend had come to dying. After a few more minutes, a nurse Karma didn't recognize came in.

“Okay everybody, visiting hours are over.” The nurse smiled, but there was no mistaking the command in her voice. “Momma and baby need their rest.”

“We'll be back tomorrow.” Karma kissed Wesley on the top of his head and hugged her friend before following Zig out.

They were already at his truck before she screwed up the courage to tell Zig her big news. Placing her hand on his arm, she pulled him to a stop before he could open her door. “Zig, the past two days with you have been wonderful. I know we haven't talked about the future, with me so focused on being there for Gwyn and Wesley, but I have been making plans.

“I got a job this afternoon. I ran into the little brother of an old friend in the hospital cafeteria. He was visiting his dad who was recovering from a heart attack.” She shook her head and focused on her news. “Anyway, Ross mentioned needing help at his restaurant. Starting next week, I'll be the new manager of the Boxing Cat.”

“So you're staying in town officially then?” The heat and delight in his gaze made her heart beat faster. He kissed her full and slow right there in the freezing parking lot. But she barely noticed the cold with is mouth on hers making the blood in her veins race. Slowly, he pulled back from the kiss but kept his arms around her. “I'm glad,
mi amor
.”

Now the cold did seep in, making her shiver. He laughed, unlocked the passenger door, and helped her in. After climbing in on the driver's side, Zig asked, “Are you sure you wouldn't rather go back to nursing school? This waitress thing can be temporary.”

Karma shook her head. “No, I'm done with nursing. After years of taking care of Mama, I can't do it anymore. And it's not a waitress thing, I'll be the new restaurant manager. I'm really excited about my job. Best part? Someone else does all the cooking. It's perfect.”

Zig's eyes sparkled. He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers. Lightly. Tenderly. “Yes, it is.”

Glowing and warm, she asked, “Do you mind dropping me at my father's house? It's time I faced him.”

“How about we go together?” He gave her hand a squeeze then put the truck into drive.

“Are you sure you want to do that? I have no idea if he'll be happy to see me or not.” Nerves and hope did funny things to a belly. Hers was jumping. “I called him while I was picking out the violets for Gwyn, but we didn't really talk. It might be tense there.”

“I can handle tense.” He kissed her cheek. “Of course I want to go with you. And you're doing the right thing, Karma. It'll probably go better than you think. You won't be happy until you've made peace with him.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “I want to make you happy, on one condition.”

“Why do you want me happy?” She swallowed and prayed she still had his heart.

“I love you, silly woman.” He arched his eyebrow at her, mimicking her.

“I love you too,” she said happily, then paused. “What's the one condition?”

“Stay with me.”

“I will. Forever, if you'll let me.”