Hide My Light: A Romantic Suspense Thriller Novel (Hide Me Series Book 3) (10 page)

West again woke early after an uncomfortable night of sleeping in the chair and holding Katerina’s hand. He knew that it had helped her before, and he wouldn’t take the chance of moving away from her bedside if it could possibly be doing anything for her. He lifted his head and rolled his shoulders, then opened his eyes.

Katerina was staring at him.

West’s eyes widened and he wondered if she was lucid.

“Hungry,” she whispered.

“Katerina!” he cried. “Baby, you are awake.” He stood up, ignoring the twinges in his back and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hungry,” she said again, her voice limp and soft.

“Yeah, OK, let me get you something!” He searched around the room until he found the energy bars the nurses had been bringing him. He'd had very little appetite and hadn't eaten them. He ripped the wrapper of one open and held it out to her. Katerina tried to lift her hand but it faltered only a few inches above the bed.

“Here, I’ll hold it for you. Can you chew?”

He held the bar to her mouth but then noticed the tube in her nose, going down into her stomach. The one they had been feeding her through. She couldn’t eat with that in. “Hold on,” he said, putting the energy bar down. He looked towards the door, then shook his head. If he notified the nurses, they would insist he wait until the doctor came to examine her before he gave her anything to eat. He wasn’t going to take that chance. Sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than gain permission, and this was certainly one of those times.

“Katerina, I have to take this tube out. Close your eyes and relax, it will be over in a moment.”

Katerina closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. West gently peeled off the tape affixing the tube to her face and then smoothly pulled it out of her. She coughed only once and then her eyes fixed on his again. Did he see anguish in them? He prayed not.

West snatched the energy bar off of the table and held it to her mouth. Katerina took large bites and chewed and swallowed vigorously. Within a moment, the entire bar was gone. “Water,” she whispered.

“OK.” He smiled down at her, so glad to see that she was awake. Then he realized he was ignoring her request and scrambled to fill it. He opened a bottle of water and held it to her lips. Katerina drank half the bottle down and then asked for more food.

“Do you want me to call the doctor? He can order you an actual meal.”

“Can’t wait that long,” she said, shaking her head slightly from side to side.

West grabbed another energy bar and held it to her lips. Again, it was gone in only a few moments. “Any more?” Katerina asked hopefully, her voice sounding stronger. West looked at her appraisingly. Was he doing the right thing, giving her food? Her color looked better than it had when she’d woken up, and she seemed to have a little more strength now too, lifting her hand all the way off the bed and gesturing for more. Yes, he was doing the right thing. He found another bar and held it to her lips. She chewed and swallowed until it was gone, then asked for more water and seemed to relax slightly.

She stared at West openly. “I’m a murderer,” she finally said.

West grasped her hand, his heart sick. “No, no, baby. No. It was self-defense. You had no choice. And you probably didn’t even mean it-”

“Did mean it!” she hissed, her voice and face hardening. “I wanted him to die. He shot you and he wouldn’t let me help you!”

West nodded thoughtfully. So she had done it purposely. Her power was astounding, and maybe a little scary. But it didn't seem that way to him. He was the one she had saved by doing it. And he understood. Something from that incident connected them now in a way they hadn't been connected before. She was his everything and he would always understand her. “It was still self-defense, baby, even if you meant it. He asked for it. He’s been asking for it for years. If it hadn't been you, it would’ve been some cop forced to shoot him on the street. But maybe only after he had killed me and you and maybe even more people.”

Katerina’s gaze softened, as she thought this over. Finally, she looked at him again and spoke to him. “What about you? How is your …” She trailed off, her eyes glittering, unable to say the words.

West grinned and lifted up his shirt, revealing the tiny scar on the side of his chest where the bullet had entered. “My gunshot wound?” he said, his grin growing wider. “By the time I woke up in the van, it was completely closed off, new skin grown over the hole and everything. Even the pain was just a memory.”

Her eyes widened and she reached her hand out shakily. West grabbed her wrist and guided her fingers to his chest where she could probe the tiny indentation. “Where’s the bullet?”

“Still in there. I got a chest x-ray and its sitting just behind my heart.”

“Is that safe?”

West shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, people have shrapnel and bullets left inside them all the time. Just call me 50 Cent.”

Katerina laughed then her face sharpened again. “Hungry,” she said.

“I don’t have any more food. We’ll have to have the doctor order you breakfast.”

Katerina nodded and West rang for a nurse. One came in quickly, and her face showed surprise when she saw Katerina was awake. She hurried to the bed and checked all of her vital signs. “Any pain, dear?” she asked.

Katerina shook her head no.

“What happened to your NG tube?” the nurse asked, looking at West accusingly.

“I took it out,” Katerina said strongly, catching the nurse's eye. “It was irritating me. Plus I want to eat real food.”

The nurse nodded quickly. “I will call the doctor and see what he says.”

The nurse left the room and Katerina looked at West, her eyes daring him to say something about her lie. He held up his hands and laughed. “Hey, I’m on your side.”

Her face softened and she smiled at him. West watched her closely, marveling at her strength. He hoped the doctor didn’t try to give her a hard time about eating. She seemed like she would tell him off quickly in her current mood.

The nurse returned quickly with Katerina’s doctor. He walked up to Katerina, a gentle smile on his face. “How are you feeling Miss Holloway?”

“Hungry.”                                                                                   

He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. “Well that’s wonderful. Jeanine, order her some breakfast please and tell them to bring it up right away.”

The nurse nodded and left the room. The doctor began to examine Katerina, asking her if she was able to sit up. Katerina pushed herself into a sitting position and he had her move to the very end of the bed so he could check her reflexes.

“Very good Miss Holloway, you are doing wonderfully. I would like you to stay in bed for the rest of today and maybe early tomorrow. If you are able to keep food down, I will ask you to try standing then. Does that sound good?”

Katerina nodded and West heard her stomach growl loudly.

The doctor laughed. “It’s a good thing we have food on the way for you, isn’t it?” His face grew serious and he looked at West, then back to Katerina. “Miss Holloway, I need to give you some information regarding your convalescence, and I would like to speak to you alone. I’m going to ask your friend here to leave.”

Katerina looked scared for a moment then she shook her head no. “I want West to stay.”

“Very well,” the doctor said, not seeming to mind at all. “Can you tell me what happened to precipitate your collapse, Miss Holloway?”

Katerina shook her head hesitantly. She didn’t know what West had told people, but she couldn’t imagine he had told them the truth.

The doctor nodded and made a notation in his chart. “You suffered a minor myocardial infarction at some point.”

Katerina’s eyes widened and she looked at West. West’s heart went out to her at the shock and pain he saw in her eyes. The doctor sure was blunt, just spitting it out like that.

“Like I said, it was minor, and I don’t expect you to have any long-term debilitating effects, but we will need to keep an eye on it. Once you are up and walking around, we will need to see how your heart handles the stress.”

Katerina nodded and West wondered what she was thinking. He knew what
he
was thinking. The doctor was going to see the aftereffects of a miracle healing shortly.

“I will be back shortly to see how you tolerate food, and unless you have any more questions for me, I need to leave to see other patients now.”

Katerina shook her head. “Thank you Doctor,” she said to him, her voice mollified.

The doctor left and West hurried to Katerina’s bedside, taking her hand. “You OK?”

Katerina nodded, turning her sad and scared eyes on him. “I had a heart attack?” she said her voice quavering.

“That’s what he said,” he told her gently. “But don’t worry about it. I’m sure you can …” His voice dropped as if someone could be listening. “… heal it.”

“Yes,” she said, sounding far away.

The door to the small room opened and a cafeteria worker with a tray came in and set it down in front of her. Katerina couldn’t wait for one more moment, she took off the stainless steel cover that was over the food and handed it to West, thanking the worker absently and then picking up her fork to dig in, not noticing when the worker took the lid from West and left. She had eggs, French toast, sausage, and a small bowl of cereal with a glass of orange juice. She started methodically on the eggs and worked her way around the tray until everything was gone. She drank the entire glass of orange juice and sat back, wiping her lips. “That was good, but I’m still hungry,” she said. West smiled and shook his head. “Why don’t I order in? There are several restaurants nearby that will deliver to a hospital room. What do you feel like? Pizza? Subs? Chinese food?”

“Yes,” Katerina said with a smile on her face.

West laughed. “Why don’t we start with pizza?”

Katerina nodded and West picked up the phone. He called a nearby pizza place and ordered two large pizzas, thinking that he might finally want some food also. As he was talking, he watched Katerina probe her left ear gently with her fingers, and then place her hands over her chest. When he was done, he hung up the phone and approached the bed quietly, not wanting to disturb her, thinking maybe she was starting to heal herself.

Katerina threw him a disturbed glance, then looked back down at her hands over her chest. “Nothing’s happening,” she said.

West simply watched her, confident that she knew what she was doing.

Katerina screwed up her face in concentration and laid both of her hands over the center of her chest. A minute later, she threw up her hands and looked at West, shaking her head. “It’s not happening. My hands aren't getting hot.”

“Do your hands always get hot when you heal something?”

“They always have before. I’ve only done it a few times and they got hot every time. When I put them on your chest they got so hot they almost caught your shirt on fire.”

West shook his head, picking up one of her slim hands and examining it closely. “How did they not burn up if they were that hot?”

“I don’t know!” Katerina cried. “I don’t know how all of this works. I just know I put my hands over the area that is hurt and I say
heal
inside my head, but it’s not working right now.”

West gathered Katerina’s hands in his. “Maybe it’s working without your hands getting hot,” he said.

Katerina’s eyes negated his statement. “It’s not. I would know if it was working. I can feel it inside of me.”

West nodded placatingly, he believed her. “Maybe you’re just too drained,” he said. “You should rest more.”

The door to the tiny hospital room opened and a nurse came in. “Did you like the breakfast?” she said brightly, moving the table with the food tray on it to the side so she could get to Katerina. She didn’t seem to notice when Katerina didn’t respond, but she picked up Katerina’s hand and put an oxygen saturation probe on the end of one finger. Katerina reached over with her other hand and grasped the woman’s arm. When the nurse looked at her, Katerina smiled and said “Thank you for taking care of me,” her hand still on the woman’s arm.

The nurse smiled back and genuine warmth entered her eyes. “You are very welcome. I’m glad to see you awake and eating and doing so well.”

Katerina nodded and she let go of the woman’s wrist, her own arm slipping back to her side. She stared straight ahead at the wall across from her bed until the nurse finished what she was doing and left the room. Then Katerina came to life, struggling to sit up in the bed and grabbing West by the shirt.

“Nothing, West. I didn’t get anything off of her. I asked as strongly as I could and I got nothing!”

West thought about her words for a moment, not totally sure what she was saying. Then he understood. “Do you mean your powers are gone?”

Katerina laughed wildly. “God, I hate that word. Powers. But it doesn’t matter anymore, because yes! They are gone!”

“Calm down, Katerina,” West admonished. “Don’t get too excited. Maybe you’re just too tired or too hungry for them to work right now.”

Katerina shook her head happily. “Nope, they’re gone, I can tell.” She put a finger on West’s arm, pointedly, then her eyes narrowed in confusion.

“What?” West said. “Do you get something from me?”

“Kind of. But not what I usually get from you. I only get a kind of dull emotion and a little bit of color. Blue, like always.” She concentrated on her fingers and West could tell she was trying harder now. He didn’t feel anything, no tingles or drawing sensation like he usually did when she did this. She shook her head. “No, it’s not the same. I still get something from you but it’s tiny, barely there. Maybe it’s only because our relationship is special,” she said looking up at him with hope in her eyes.

“Maybe,” West said, unwilling to say anything that would make her unhappy.

She brightened immediately when he said that. She squeezed his hands hard. “West, maybe it’s gone forever. Maybe I can be a normal person again!”

“Maybe,” West repeated, smiling lightly at her. He loved to see the joy in her eyes. He would give anything to see it continue.

Katerina’s eyes found something behind him and he turned to see what she was looking at. The flowers and balloons.

“Oh,” he said. “Those are from Emma Masterson, and those are from Jordan.”

Jordan!
he thought. He needed to call Jordan! He pulled his hands gently out of Katerina’s grasp and picked up the phone, dialing room eight sixty-two. Jordan answered immediately.

“Jordan, she’s awake," he said.

Jordan squealed in his ear and said she’d be right up.

He grinned at Katerina. “Jordan is coming up.”

“Coming up from where?”

“Blaise's room.”

Katerina gave him a knowing look and he smiled back. “She said she took vacation from work and she’s going to nurse Blaise back to health.”

“Are they together then?”

West shrugged a shoulder. “Neither one of them has really said. There have been other things going on.”

Katerina rubbed her hands together like he had said yes. “How exciting for her!”

The door to the small room opened again and Jordan walked in looking like she just came from the salon - blond ponytail bobbing and perfect makeup on her face. She was holding someone’s hand behind her. Blaise, dressed in a hospital gown followed her in.

West crossed the room in an instant and shook Blaise’s hand, then helped him into a chair. “Should you really be up and walking already?” he asked Blaise.

“The doctor said I could walk, and I feel great. I just have a bit of stiffness on this side,” he said running his hands along the right side of his torso.

“That’s so wonderful,” Katerina said from the bed.

“Yep, thanks to you,” Blaise said.

Katerina looked at West, alarmed. She didn’t know if he had told anyone about her newly discovered and already-lost healing ability.

West shook his head slightly back and forth.

Blaise held up his hands. “I mean, if you’re going to get shot, the best place to do it is in a room with two paramedics, am I right?”

Jordan giggled and took Blaise's hand. “You’re right,” she said.

Katerina nodded, relieved. She didn’t know how she felt about Blaise knowing what she had done. She didn’t feel that she had done much, certainly not as much as she had done for West, but she hadn’t known how then. It seemed that the power of the healing had increased each time she had used it.

Katerina held out her hand, looking at Jordan.

Jordan came right over and took her hand, smiling at her. “I was so worried about you, Katerina. I wish you would stop getting in all these messes.”

Jordan’s face fell as she seemed to realize what she had said. “Oh, Katerina – I didn’t mean –”

Katerina shushed her. She smiled at Jordan and then did her little mental trick of drinking Jordan in, asking what there was to know about Jordan. Nothing came.

“Guess what, Jordan. You’re going to finally get your wish. It looks like I’ve lost my psychometric ability.”

Jordan’s brow furrowed in worry and then her face broke out in a smile. “And you’re happy about that?” she asked tentatively.

Katerina threw back her head and laughed. “I’m thrilled about that! Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jordan shrugged lightly. “I don’t know, it kind of made you special.”

“If special is almost being killed three times and getting everyone around you almost killed too, then I don’t ever want to be special again.”

“Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit,” Jordan said. West and Blaise snickered behind her. “If you’re happy, I’m happy,” she told Katerina.

“I’m happy,” Katerina said.

A knock sounded on the door and the pizza delivery man stuck his head in. West paid the man and grabbed the pizza, glad he had gotten two of them so he could offer some to Jordan and Blaise. The morning whiled away as the old friends talked and laughed, until a nurse came looking for Blaise and scolded him heavily. Jordan and Blaise retreated back to his room, leaving Katerina and West alone.

West studied Katerina, noting her deep color and how her cheekbones had plumped up a little. She had eaten almost an entire pizza herself and still seemed able to eat more. He wondered at her incredible metabolism. Even if she didn’t have the ability to heal anymore, her body was still doing something.

He leaned close to her. “How many times have I told you that I love you?”

Katerina took his hand. “Not enough.”

“I love you. I love you. I love you.”

***

That afternoon, after Katerina took a long, healing nap, as West and Katerina tried to focus their attention to thoughts of what their new life might be like, both of them carefully skirting around the issue that neither of them had a job anymore, a knock at the door interrupted them. This time, it was Craig Masterson his gold badge and black gun on his belt. His eyes widened in surprise and his face brightened as soon as he saw Katerina was awake.

Katerina smiled back and West was surprised to see the warmth in it. She seemed to genuinely like him, in spite of everything.

Craig shook West's hand and then turned to Katerina on the bed. “I just want to say that I am deeply sorry for not believing you the other day when you told me what had happened with Deputy Director Ronan.”

Katerina shook her head wonderingly. “Apology accepted. I understand that it’s hard to believe. I barely believed it myself sometimes.”

Craig smiled broadly and got right on the business. “I must confess that I came by for a reason. I wanted to let you know our current investigation status. We still only have one suspect. The national security director, and he is getting somewhat desperate with our continued questioning of him. Word is, his senate handler is about to ask the president to bar us from any investigative action against him. If that happens, it would tie our hands completely.”

West shook his head, his face troubled. “They can do that?”

“They can. Our government can do whatever they want. I think that with enough time, I’d be able to prove that he did it – if he did – but at this point it doesn’t seem like I have much time.”

He turned to Katerina. “Any chance you’d be willing to help us? Maybe we could pull a fast one on him?”

Katerina looked worried. “Explain please."

“We can be certain that the man knows who the ‘psychic paramedic’ is, and I believe if we bring him in for an interview, then present you in front of him and ask him if he gives consent for you to touch him to see what he knows about the incident, then we can rattle him - possibly get a confession out of him.”

West broke in. “That wouldn’t put her in danger?”

Craig shook his head. “I don’t believe so. Everyone involved in this case already knows who she is. In fact, I think we could use this plan to take all of the danger off of her. We could explain that she knew nothing about who had killed Ronan, only that someone had. That she had seen nothing and been told nothing. We could come open and clean about that part and remove any chance that somebody would continue to try to hunt her down to find out what she knows. And we won’t take it far enough that she actually touches him. I don’t think we will need to. I think what we should do is pull him in for an interview, put him into a room with some people he thinks are also suspects, then ask each of them in turn if they will agree to have Katerina touch them. When he says no and they say yes, that’s our first nail in his coffin. So far, he hasn't backed down at all, about anything. He is acting completely innocent. I actually almost believe him, heck I want to believe him. This is the national security director to the president and it’s destroying my peace of mind to think that he is a murderer. But so far, the scant evidence that we have all points to him.”

Katerina shook her head softly and West watched a smile cross her face. “Well … it sounds like a good plan but I don’t have my power anymore.” She reached her hand out and touched Craig on the arm. He looked down at her hand slowly. “See? I don’t get anything from you. I can only get something very light from West – but my relationship with him has always been special,” Katerina said, her eyes catching his.

“It’s completely gone?”

“Yes.”

Craig paused for a long moment, and then paced in a rough circle in the only open area of the room, his expression deep in thought. Finally he stopped and looked at Katerina. “Someone should tell the reporters that.”

“Reporters?” Katerina asked, dread in her voice.

“There’s reporters everywhere. They haven’t figured out your room number yet, but someone …” His face grew dark. “ … Someone leaked the autopsy report of Kurt Kane and said you were in the van when he died. The reporters are speculating all the different ways that you could’ve had something to do with it.”

Katerina’s face fell hard. West rushed to her and snatched up her hand. He knew this was one of her biggest fears. He murmured softly to her, trying to tell her it would be OK. It would die down. He wouldn't let anyone talk to her if she didn’t want.

“Sorry to be the one to tell you that,” Craig said, noticing Katerina’s dismay. He paced again in another short circle and then said almost under his breath, “What if we bluff him? I didn’t want you to touch him anyway, so even if you don’t have the ability, he just needs to think that you do.”