Into a Dangerous Mind (41 page)

The nurse pushed her aside to examine Kathy.
 
“She’s unconscious.
 
Hit the call button on the bed.”

“Wait,” Cassidy ordered.
 
She reached out with her power to assess Kathy’s condition.

“We can’t wait,” protested the nurse.

Cassidy ignored her.

She breathed an audible sigh of relief and turned to look at the nurse.
 
“She’ll have a headache, but she’ll be fine.”
 
Cassidy wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did.

The nurse, obviously upset, stepped around Cassidy and hit the call button herself, then huffed out of the room muttering something about finding an orderly.

Cassidy took Kathy’s hand in her own.
 
She closed her eyes and let her power spin out toward Kathy once more.
 
Like a homing beacon, her gift found the door inside Kathy’s mind.
 
It stood half open and there were fresh rips of tissue where the door had been forced.

A smile creased her lips.
 
“My guess would be you’re going to start experiencing all the psychic things I did right after the Reaper attacked me the first time.”
 
Twin pangs of sympathy and joy for her friend flowed through her.
 
At least Kathy’s powers weren’t opened by a maniac trying to kill her.
 
But guilt stabbed at Cassidy as she reminded herself the end result could have been Kathy’s death, no matter the intent.

“But hopefully you won’t be as shocked as I was, since you saw me go through it first.”

The nurse burst through the door with Dr. King and two orderlies hot on her heels.
 
“She refused to hit the call button for help when Miss Martin fainted, cracking her head pretty good on the floor.
 
This woman could have caused a relapse of her concussion.”
 
She waved her finger at Cassidy accusingly.

Dr. King sighed as if she was used to dealing with the excitable nurse.
 
“I hardly think it’s a criminal offense, Meg.”
 
Dr. King knelt to check on Kathy.

“Cass, how bad is she hurt?” said a raspy voice from behind her.

Cassidy’s heart lodged in her throat.
 
She glanced toward the bed and Zach stared back at her.
 
“Zach!”

The hospital room erupted into chaos.
 
Cassidy jumped up and headed toward Zach.
 
The nurse and the orderlies were torn between seeing to Kathy and checking on Zach.

“Hold it!”
 
Dr. King’s voice cut through the din and halted everyone in their tracks.
 
“Meg,” she addressed the nurse.
 
“Get Miss Martin down to x-ray.
 
I’ll check on Mr. Hatcher.
 
Orderlies, help Meg and then you can go.”

Meg looked like she would object, but finally nodded and set about following the doctor’s orders.

“How bad is she hurt?” asked Zach again stubbornly.

Cassidy grabbed his hand.
 
“Her powers were forced open, but she’ll be okay,” she said softly so only he could hear.

Dr. King answered the question.
 
“She’s probably fine.
 
Meg can be a little excitable and overprotective at times.”

Zach nodded.
 
“How long have I been out?”

“Longer than I would’ve liked,” answered the doctor cryptically as she checked his pupils.
 
“How do you feel?”

“Like I fell off a building.”

“Can you move everything?
 
Toes?
 
Fingers?”

“Yes, but my head hurts like hell.”

Dr. King’s pixie face lit in a bright smile.
 
“Good.
 
That means you’re healing.
 
Welcome back to the world, Mr. Hatcher.”

Zach scowled.
 
“I hate cocky doctors.”

“Too bad.
 
I love obstinate patients.”
 
She turned to Cassidy.
 
“From what I can tell, Mr. Congeniality here will be fine, but I’m going to schedule a few more tests to make sure.”
 
She chuckled at Zach’s muffled curse behind her.
 
“He needs to take it easy—he’s still got a concussion and the bullet wound is in the initial healing stage.”

She nodded toward the door where the nurse disappeared with Kathy.
 
“Miss Martin will be fine as well.
 
Looks like she just hit her head when she fainted, but I’d like to make sure.
 
I’ll let you know what I find.”
 
She turned and headed toward the door.
 
“I suggest you all get some rest before I’m forced to readmit you and drug you myself,” she said over her shoulder.

Zach squeezed Cassidy’s hand and for the first time noticed the IV attached to his arms and the beeping instruments all around him.
 
He looked up into Cassidy’s face and caught his breath at her beauty and at the love for him swimming in her gaze.
 
He glanced beyond her as Anderson stepped inside the room and stood quietly by the door.

He returned his attention to Cassidy.
 
“It’s good to be back.
 
Thanks for coming in after me…” he trailed off as something poked him on Cassidy’s hand.
 
She didn’t normally wear much jewelry, so pure curiosity had him turning her hand over.
 
His guts turned to ice as the diamond and sapphires glinted up at him.
 
“Grammy’s ring….”
 
He looked up at Cassidy. “Why are you wearing this?” he demanded gripping her hand tightly.

Anderson stepped forward.
 
“Cassidy, will you give us a minute?”

Cassidy started as if struck, then glanced over at Anderson.
 
At his nod, her eyes filled with tears.
 
She pulled the ring off of her finger, placed it in Zach’s hand and slipped silently from the room.

Tension built inside Zach as the familiar psychic energy flowing from the ring zinged through him.
 
The last time he’d seen this ring, he’d given it to Cassidy to practice her powers.
 
How had it gone from that to her wearing it?
 
And why did the sight of it adorning her hand make him both relieved and guilty?

“Anderson, what’s going on?”

Anderson crossed his arms and stared down at him.
 
“Other than you being the biggest asshole I’ve ever met, we’ve been quite busy while you’ve been on siesta.
 
Forgive me for taking the job Dix usually does, but someone has to kick your ass.
 
You and I both know Diane wasn’t the right one for you.
 
And now you have a chance to give it freely to the woman who is.”
 
He gestured toward the door Cassidy disappeared through.
 
“So what’s the problem?”

Zach had thought many times of his Grandmother’s ring since he met Cassidy.
 
Lately, he’d entertained thoughts of what it would look like on Cassidy’s finger, winking in the stage lights while she played—her cello cradled against her like a lover.
 
He shook his head and cursed as pain assaulted him.

Familiar guilt washed over him—guilt that he’d never loved Diane enough to give her the ring while she was alive.
 
He pushed it away and it morphed into anger.

her to wear it.”

made that necessary.
 
I told the hospital staff she was your fiancée so they’d let her stay by your side.
 
Besides, you’d already be engaged if you’d quit rationalizing and admit you belong together.
 
She spent the last week sitting by your side and battling with nurses, doctors and anyone else who dared tell her to move.
 
So I’d cut her a little slack.
 
I don’t think you appreciate what she and Kathy risked for you.”

Zach started to object, but Anderson plowed over him.

—to get you back.
 
If you don’t like my methods, then that’s just too damn bad.”

Foggy pieces of the last week came together inside Zach’s mind.
 
He remembered sensing Cassidy close by.
 
There were also brief wisps of a dream with his Grandmother and Cassidy.
 
He sighed as his anger drained away as quickly as it had come.
 
Fatigue sucked at him.
 
“I’m sorry.
 
It’s just a shock to wake up and see the ring on her finger.”
 
His heavy eyelids closed despite his efforts to keep them open.
 
“Find her for me, will you?”

Zach woke to sunlight streaming across his bed.
 
He moved his head gingerly and when only a small amount of pain sliced through him, he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
 
He winced against the pain in his side and propped pillows behind his back to lean on.

He glanced down toward his watch and tried to work out how long he’d been asleep, then cursed when he realized he wasn’t wearing it.
 
Anderson told him Cassidy had held onto him for a week to bring him back, and going by his gut, he’d probably slept another two days.

It seemed to have made a world of difference.
 
He reached out tentatively with his powers and relief flooded through him as he sensed several people close by.
 
The feeling of impotence from the night his powers were lost to him still burned through him, and he fought back a shudder.

The door opened, and he smiled as Cassidy peeked around the corner.

“Hi there, sleeping beauty.”
 
She crossed the room to stand in front of him.

Zach’s heart ached at the sight of her.
 
What would he have done if the Reaper had killed her?
 
Panic flooded him at the thought, and his heart constricted.
 
The same way he’d felt after Diane’s death.

Especially since Dix’s loss would leave a hole in his soul he didn’t think would ever fill.
 
He swallowed hard against the emotions threatening to overwhelm him.
 
“I guess I crashed on everyone.”