Resurrecting Charlie's Girl (13 page)

An
orderly pushed the gurney into a nearby room and a doctor who called himself Dr.
Gavon began examining Charlise. The orderly returned a few minutes later with a
clipboard. Tom waited quietly, his eyes never leaving Charlise's pale face. The
physician replaced the blood pressure cuff on its stand and turned to Tom.

"I'm
Dr. Gavon. I take it this woman's been in some trouble." He gazed down at
the blood speckled clothes.

"Emotionally
and physically." Tom explained. He kept his hand on her leg. "She's
been on the run from an abusive ex-husband."

That
only explained the tip of the iceberg. Tom's jaw clenched. He didn't want to
offer any more information without Charlise's permission.

Dr.
Gavon wrote on his clipboard and snapped it shut. He leveled his eyes on Tom.
"And you are?"

"I'm
the man who would do anything to keep her safe." Tom met the doctor's
stare and dared him to leave Charlise's side. "Tom Brannet with GPI
Investigations."

Charlise
moaned and tossed her head on the pillow. Dr. Gavon made another notation in
his clipboard. "I'll be back with something for her pain."

Tom
nodded. It seemed an eternity before the doctor returned with a syringe. Within
seconds, Charlise calmed and Tom took a deep breath.

"Let's
get the patient down to radiology and see what's going on with her arm."
Dr. Gavon directed his orderlies and placed his hand on Tom's shoulder.
"Have a seat in the waiting room. We'll call you as soon as she's back in
the room. We'll take good care of her, I promise."

After
leaving information with the receptionist, Tom took the elevator to Garrett's
room to check on his boss. After finding Charlise gone from the waiting room
earlier, he hadn't stayed for Garrett's surgery.

Tom
stepped out of the elevator, and the smell of bleach and lemons hit him in the
face. His gut tightened. God, he hated the smell of hospitals.

He
found Garrett's room and pushed through the door. Joe stood on the other side
of the bed. Tom sank into the bedside chair. His legs had gone weak with the
realization that the two most important people in his life could have died
today. He needed someone to tell him that they'd both be okay.

Garrett's
eyes remained closed, and his chest rose and fell rhythmically. His color did
appear more flush than earlier, and the monitor beside the bed beeped steadily.
Tom touched his friend's hand, looked across the bed at Joe, and lifted his
brow in question.

In
a quiet voice, Joe explained, "The nurse said he's going to be all right.
He'll have to take it easy for a while, but the bullet missed all the vital
organs despite blowing a bit of his stomach out." Joe rounded the bed and
laid his hand on Tom's shoulder. "Pete called and filled me in. How's
Charlise?"

Tom
dropped his head forward and used the heel of his hands to rub his eyes. His
lips fluttered with the breath he blew. "I don't know. She's in X-ray
now."

"She's
a tough gal."

Tom
rubbed the back of his neck. "She's been through so much."

He
didn't need to tell Joe his fears. All the men at G.P.I grew close working
cases together. His kind of work demanded it. The job required confidence in
your partner.

"She'll
be fine," Garrett whispered from the bed.

His
friend's eyes remained closed, but he raised his hand. Tom clasped it and
squeezed.

"Damn
good to see you, boss," Tom said his voice rough with affection for the
man who'd done so much for him. Garrett's hand slipped from his and Tom tucked
it under the blanket.

Joe
moved up beside Tom at the bed. "That was too damn close, boss."

"Nah,
he's too smart to get himself killed. Next week, he will tell us he did it on
purpose to show us what not to do." Tom rubbed his forearm across his
face.

He
left Garrett in Joe's care and walked back down to the emergency room. The
receptionist waved him through the double doors, and he hurried back to
Charlise's room. She lay peacefully on the hospital bed.

"She's
one lucky lady." Dr. Gavon reported from the foot of the bed. "We
were able to set her arm in a soft cast while she was sedated. The cast will
stay on until the swelling goes down. After that, we'll put a hard cast on, and
she should be healed in six to eight weeks."

The
extra weight of worry lifted off Tom's shoulders. He closed his eyes, and let
his chin fall to his chest.
Thank God.

"I
don't know what kind of trauma she's been through, but from the contusions and
scrapes covering her body, and the little information you've given us, I'd advise
her to seek counseling. Often those abused, especially for long periods of
time, suffer from PTSD."

Tom
nodded in understanding. He'd make sure Charlise received the help she needed.
He'd personally oversee her recovery and stand by her every step of the way as
she received the help she'd need.

Dr.
Gavon continued, "This isn't the first time her arm's been broken. We also
scanned her head to make sure she didn't have a concussion, which came back
negative but their's scar tissue…"

"Fuck,"
he muttered, squeezing his eyes closed before looking at the doctor again. He
held out his hand and shook Dr. Gavon's hand.

Tom's
mouth hardened with determination. "I'll make sure she gets the help she
needs."

The
physician tucked the file under his arm. "We'll be moving her to a room on
another floor for the night. She should be able to go home tomorrow." He
met Tom's gaze with a determined one of his own. "I hope you catch the
bastard who did this."

He
dipped his chin. "He won't be bothering her again. I made sure of
it."

***

Charlise's
head rolled on the pillow. Tom lowered the rail on the hospital bed and sat on
the edge. Whatever dream circled around in her head left a frown on her face.

"Hey,"
he whispered.

She
opened her eyes and blinked. "Hey, you."

"The
nurse said you get to go home tomorrow." He trailed his finger down the
side of her face. "That's good news."

She
twisted her head on the pillow. "I'll have to—"

He
laid his finger on her lips. "Shhh. You'll stay at my place. You need time
to heal. You'll have the place to yourself, since I work long hours."

A
tear trickled down her cheek, and she mouthed, "Thank you."

Tom
picked up her hand and brought her fingers up to his lips. "I know we have
this huge thing going on between us, and I don't want to rush you." He
inhaled and blew out his breath. "The hell with it…I've fallen in love
with you."

"You
have?" Charlise offered a tentative smile, smoothing her free hand down
the light cover over her legs.

"Yeah.
We'll take it slow, and you can lead the way. I want you to be sure you're okay
with everything," he said.

"Okay,"
she whispered.

He
smiled softly. "Okay."

 He
cleared his throat and lifted her hand to his lips again. "Right now, we
need to get you well."

Remembering
the bag of clothes he'd brought from the safe house—he'd managed to grab a few
minutes to go back and get Charlise other clothes while she slept—he pulled the
bag off the chair beside him. "I brought you some things. I wasn't sure
what you'd like, so I bought a couple of each." He pulled out some clothes
and laid two pair of sneakers on the pile in her lap.

She
wiped her eyes and sniffed. "You bought me more shoes?"

"You
don't have to run anymore, Charlie's girl."

Epilogue

"Charlise,"
Gavin yelled.

Charlise
rolled her eyes at the voice bellowing down the hall of Garrett Parker
Investigations and pushed away from her desk. She loved her job as G.P.I's
human services administrator.

When
Garrett offered her the opportunity to counsel the many abused women the firm
helped, she jumped at the chance to return to her previous career role before
meeting her ex-husband. The job became more therapeutic in overcoming her past
than any hour session with her doctor. Every woman she helped gave her
something in return and made her stronger.

Sally
walked over to Charlise's desk. "Amazing. Garrett's back in the office for
one week and already he's making everyone toe the line." She hitched a hip
onto the corner of the desk. "I can't believe we all pined away until the
day he returned."

"I'll
give him another week, and then he's going to learn how to say 'please and
thank you' the hard way." Charlise shook her fist in the air and laughed.

"You
go, girl." Sally stuck her hand in the air for a high five.

Grateful
for the other woman's support and friendship, Charlise headed toward Garrett's
office. Sally had fast become a friend, despite Charlise's nervousness about
meeting and working with the woman everyone sang praises about. Lucky for her,
she instantly liked Sally. The two women bonded over early morning coffee and a
shared love of the detectives.

Charlise
smiled as she stepped into Garrett's office. She'd tolerate Garrett's
cantankerous attitude for a little longer. He could've died the night Jared
shot him, but he'd rebounded faster than anyone expected.

She
walked into Garrett's office and waited for instructions. He sorted through one
of several mounds of papers on his desk and muttered under his breath. "What
can I do for you, boss?"

The
shuffling stopped and Garrett sat back in his chair. "Holy shit, Tom's
gonna have a heart attack."

Garrett
steepled his fingers in front of him, a look of wonder on his face. Charlise
pursed her lips as his gaze drifted to her hair

After
months of abuse, her natural hair color had been restored and styled by her
hair stylist the previous evening. She'd decided to surprise Tom when he
returned from an out of town case.

She
tugged at a lock of hair. "You don't think it's too drastic for him? What
if he doesn't like it?"

Garrett
threw back his head and laughed. "I think when he gets in this afternoon,
he'll think he's died and gone to heaven."

She
clasped her hands together. "This afternoon?"

"Yep,
they closed the case. Tom and Joe should be on a plane now." Garrett
grinned. "That's why I called you in here. I figured you'd want to
know."

"Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you." She hurried around the desk and kissed Garrett
on the cheek. "I'll tell Sally."

"Yes,
go tell Sally. Tell the world." He tossed his hands in the air. "I
swear with all the gabbing you two do, nothing gets done around here."

***

Running
on little sleep, Tom dragged his feet across the office floor. If it weren't
for wanting to reunite with Charlise, he'd have gone straight home and fallen
asleep for a couple days. Funny, how life changed when you had someone waiting
for you.

He
threw his bag into his office and headed down the hall to Charlise's office she
shared with Sally. He rubbed his hands together. He enjoyed the fact she worked
for the agency. He never tired of having her close enough to kiss or touch
throughout the day.

She
continued to astound him with her recovery and how she involved him in every
step of progress she made. He'd become a better person because of her love.

He
knocked along the outside wall on the way to her door. "I'm—"

Tom's
mouth fell open and he sucked in air. The room blurred and he concentrated on
the vision standing in front of him. She'd changed her hair back to its
original color. He stepped closer to the redheaded version of the woman who'd
stolen his heart.

"Well,
say something. Do you like?" Charlise closed the distance between them.
Her high heels raised her up to his chin.

"I-I…"
Tom's reached out with a shaky hand, and curled his finger around a strand of
hair at the front of her shoulder. "Damn, sweetheart," he mumbled.

Charlise
threw her head back with a soft, husky laugh. Her arms snaked around his neck,
and her lips found his ear. "How about we find somewhere else to go, and
you can show me how much you like my new look?"

Tom
wrapped his arms around her. He no longer required sleep. Charlie's girl woke
him up with the best present anyone ever gave him.

Wildly Preview

Available January 21, 2013

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWWONCC

Shauna Marino left Cottage Grove,
California an innocent teenager, gangly, wild and with no fashion sense, always
diving headfirst into whatever feelings ruled the moment. Now, she’s back to
fix her mistakes. She’s gained a respectable job, set a plan in motion to
benefit the town, and all that’s left is to prove to Grayson Schyler she’s
changed. Maybe this time, he won’t tell her no when she shows up naked and asks
him to make her a woman.