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Authors: Michelle Cary

Wrestling Desire (5 page)

BOOK: Wrestling Desire
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“I know,” Emma murmured wishing time was already up.  She fel
t
it deep in the pit of her stomach. Something bad was going to happen.  She didn’t know exactly what, but with the way they were pummeling each other there wasn’t any way this match
would
end well.  Holt clothes lined The Embalmer, knocking him backward over the top rope out of the ring.  He landed with a thud to the mat below. 

For several long seconds The Embalmer didn’t move, then the camera panned to Holt who
for a second time
climbed to the top of the turnbuckle.  He’d just set and
prepared
to leap when suddenly The Embalmer reared up and lunged at him.  With a hard shove he sent Holt sailing off the ropes backward into the announcers table.  The crowd went wild and Emma’s heart nearly stopped.  That wasn’t what they’d worked out in practice.  She sucked in a strangled breath as she waited for Holt to move. 

“William’s gone off script.”  She looked up at Garrett and saw the same concern in his eyes. There were times when wrestlers would go off script because it was necessary, even the right thing to do.  This wasn’t one of those times. 

The Embalmer pulled a barely conscious and now bleeding Holt from the mangled remains of the table and immediately shoved him into the ring’s steel post.  Only Holt’s hands weren’t up to block the hit like they should have been.  His head bounced off the ring post with a resounding thud and his knees immediately buckled. 

Horrified, Emma watched the monitor not quite believing her eyes.  The Embalmer not only
went
completely off script, but was in the process of purposely trying to seriously injure Holt.  Terror streaked through her system as she glanced up at Garrett a second time.  They both knew Mr. France
wanted
the best show for the fans, but at whose expense? 

The Embalmer practically threw Holt back into the ring.  Face completely bloody, he rolled to a stop on the mat and didn’t move. The Embalmer pinned him with an easy 1-2-3 count. With a sigh of relief that the match
ended
, Emma listened as the final directions were given and the television feed cut
off
, signaling the end of the show.  However the camera’s continued to roll to tape and The Embalmer continued his assault.  He hopped from the ring, pulled up the skirt and search
ed
underneath. Apparently not finding what he wanted he turned to the now abandoned announcers table and grabbed a metal chair.

Bile rose in her throat as she realized his intent.  This had to stop before Holt
ended up
seriously hurt, if he wasn’t hurt already.  Emma removed her headset and handed it to Jill.  “Signal the medics, find Dr. Andrews and get the ambulance ready.”

“Wait,” Jill called as Emma turned toward Garrett.  “Emma, where are you going?”

“To stop William from killing Holt,” Emma shouted as she motioned for Garrett to follow.   “I need wrestlers and refs to help now,” she yelled and ran toward the entryway.  Within seconds she could hear several pair of feet slapping the metal floor as they raced toward the ring. 

The crowd, who had yet to disband, went wild yet she barely noticed as Garrett moved ahead of her and slid into the ring followed by several other wrestlers who quickly disarmed The Embalmer and fought to get him under control.

Emma crawled into the ring and eased over to Holt.  “Holt, can you hear me?”

His head lulled to the side and a moan slid from his lips as he began to come to. 

“It’s okay, honey.  Help is coming.”  Emma placed a hand on his shoulder only to find herself immediately tumbling across the mat.  Stunned, she scrambled to her knees and backed into the corner as she watched Holt somehow manage to stagger to his feet.  Garrett reached for him only to receive a punch to the jaw as Holt
swung
out at anyone who attempted to get near him.  In fight or flight mode he wobbled in the ring, wildly thrashing out as she sat in the corner watching. 

Several of the wrestlers now had The Embalmer heading up the ramp, leaving only Garrett and three refs to deal with Holt.  None of them seemed to be making any progress with calming him down. This was a side of Holt she’d never seen before and it terrified her.  Even his best friend couldn’t seem to penetrate the wall of fear Holt appeared to be trapped behind. 

Determined to reach him Emma pushed to her feet.  “Holt.  Holt stop,” she yelled. 

Whether it was the sound of his name or the sound of her voice that caused him to pause, Emma didn’t know.  She only hope
d
to capitalize on the opportunity.  “E-Emma,” he murmured.

“That’s right,” she did her best to sooth as she inched closer.  Hopefully the wrongness of her being in the ring would confuse him enough to make him stop.  Hopefully he’d realize if she was there, then danger wasn’t.  “I’m here to help you.”

“Emma,” he repeated, this time with a bit more conviction as if by saying her name somehow seemed to be helping him to chase the fear away.

She placed a gentle hand on his arm.  “That’s right.  I’m here, Holt.  It’s over.  Let me help you.” 

He turned his bloody face toward her and appeared to be staring at her.  “You’re here?”

“I’m here,” she cooed as she slid beneath his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her.  She wasn’t sure how much support she could be to him
,
but
she was going to give him whatever assistance she could.  “I’m here.  Let me help you.  Let Garrett help you.”

“Garrett?” He questioned as his legs began to give way.  Before his weight caused them both to collapse Garrett was there, keeping Holt on his feet.  “Come on buddy.”

“Garr-” he murmured and his head nodded forward as he once again slipped into unconsciousness and went limp.

“Take him to the mat,” Garrett ordered.  “Easy, Em.”

With Garrett and the refs help they gently placed Holt on his back and waited as the medics moved in to tend to him.   “We’ll assess him in the ambulance,” Dr. Andrews ordered.  “Let’s get him on the gurney. They made quick work of strapping Holt to the backboard and sliding him out of the ring onto the gurney.  “Go,” Dr. Andrew’s ordered and the group raced toward the back and the waiting ambulance. 

I promise if you just shut off your brain and follow your heart it will all work out.
  Marissa’s words rattled around in Emma’s head as she walked beside the gurney toward the back.  She’d already followed her heart by coming out here and right now it was screaming for her to go with him and to stay until she was sure he was safe.  They’d no sooner emerged back stage when she heard Jill’s voice.  “Emma, catch.”

Emma turned in time to see Jill launching her purse into the air.  She caught it with one hand.  “Thanks.”  She loved that Jill could read her mind. It was part of what made them such a great team.

“What do I tell Mr. France?” Jill called after her. They both knew Emma’s responsibilities to the wrestlers ended the moment the ambulance doors closed.  They both also knew she was going with Holt.

“I don’t care what you tell him,” Emma watched as they loaded Holt into the ambulance.  “If he wants to fire me for breaking the rules, he’ll find me at the hospital.”  With that she followed the medic’s instructions, raced around to the front of the vehicle and hopped into the passenger seat. 

While Holt’s injuries were probably not serious, it didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t quite shake her fear.  He wasn’t in danger of losing his life, but losing his career to injury was always a possibility.  With siren’s wailing the ambulance pulled out of the underground garage and onto the packed street. 

Twenty minute later Emma followed Holt’s stretcher through the emergency doors and was immediately
accosted by
a nurse.  “I’m sorry Mrs. Hendricks but you can’t go with him.” 

Emma’s eyes widened at the title, but didn’t bother to correct the nurse.  If they thought she was Holt’s wife they’d share information she otherwise might not be told. 

“Trust me when I tell you he’s in good hands.” The nurse guided her toward a small sitting area.  “I know you’re probably a bit upset right now, but if you could fill out some paperwork on Mr. Hendricks it would help speed along the process.” 

Absently Emma gave a nod.  “I’ll do what I can.”

Forty five minutes later she looked up to see Garrett and Marissa standing in front of her.  “Have you heard anything?”

Emma shook her head.  “Nothing yet.  Um…do either of you happen to know if Holt is allergic to anything other than Penicillin?”

A confused look crossed Garrett’s face.  “Holt’s allergic to penicillin?”

“You didn’t know?”

He shook his head and sank into the chair next to her.  “How did you know?”

“He told me one time during one of our marathon conversations at thirty thousand feet.”

Garrett took the forms from Emma and scanned the papers.  “You filled all this out?”

Emma gave him a shrug.  “Guess I know more about Holt that I thought huh?”

Marissa grinned.  “What does that tell you?”

 

Chapter 5

 

“Mrs. Hendricks”  

Emma looked up to see the nurse standing in the doorway and could immediately feel the stares of Garrett and Marissa.  “How’s Holt?”

“Much better.”  The nurse smiled.  “However we have run into a small problem.”

“What would that be?”

“The doctor would like for him to stay the night for observation but he’s insisting on leaving.”

Naturally!
“Can we see him?” Emma motioned to Marissa and Garrett.

“Generally it’s against policy to let non-family members in
,
but let me check with the doctor.”  With that the nurse disappeared and Emma turned to face her friends. 

Marissa folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair.  “Mrs. Hendricks?”

Emma rolled her eyes skyward.  “Okay, before you go jumping to conclusions, the nurse assumed I was Holt’s wife and well, I didn’t do anything to make her think differently because I knew family members would be told more about his condition than friends.”

Garrett arched a brow.  “Actually, that’s pretty damn smart thinking.”

“Thank you.”

Before Marissa could reply the nurse re-appeared “Okay.  The doctor said you can all go back and see Mr.
Hendricks
.
Come with me.”

With Garrett and Marissa in tow Emma followed the nurse down the hall.  Within seconds she could hear why the doctor had probably agreed.

“I don’t give a damn what you think,” Holt bellowed.  “I want to get out of here.”

Emma walked through the door and paused as a rush of relief fell over her.  No longer bloody, Holt was sitting up in bed arguing with the doctor.  A big improvement from what she’d seen just a short time ago.   She rushed forward and stepped between Holt and the Doctor.  “Would you keep your voice down,” she scolded Holt.  “You’re disturbing the other patients.”

He looked from her to the doctor, then on to his friends and back.  “He wants me to stay the night and I want to leave.  Damn it, he can’t keep me if I don’t want to stay.  I know my rights.”

Emma quickly turned to the doctor.  “Is there a good reason why you want him to stay?”

“He has a slight concussion and some bruised ribs, but any time someone loses consciousness we like to take the precaution.  Considering his line of work and what he’s been though we’d just like to monitor him for any delayed complications.”

Emma nodded. “Can you give me a minute alone with him?”

The doctor glanced from her to Holt and back.  “Sure.” 

She waited for the doctor to leave before she turned back to Holt. 

“Don’t think you’re going to sweet talk me into staying,” he warned.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He stared blankly at her for a moment before a dawning awareness lit in his eyes.  “Wait, what are you doing here anyway?”

“I came in the ambulance with you.”

“But that’s against the rules.  You’re going to get in trouble.”

She’d already been thinking about that fact, but worrying wouldn’t do her any good.  Either Gene would understand or he wouldn’t.  Either way she didn’t regret her decision.  Not wanting him to worry either she gave his statement a shrug. 
“So, let Gene fire me. 
Making sure you were okay was more important than my job.”

“You came to the ring too?”  He said as if he wasn’t sure.

“I did.”  Tentatively, she reached forward and brushed lock of his hair out of his face revealing the bandage beneath. 

He caught her forearm in his hand. “Why?”

Electricity zinged up her arm and threatened to scramble her brain.  “B-because you were hurt and needed help.”

“Lots of wrestlers have been hurt and you never went to the ring. Now what’s the real reason, Em
?”

This wasn’t the time or place to be having such an intimate conversation.  Pretending to be indignant she yanked her arm out of his hand.  “That
is
the real reason.”

BOOK: Wrestling Desire
12.29Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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