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What the? Startled, she sat up and looked around, confused. Why the hell was she in the hospital?
Her head was spinning out of control, and with a lurch, she leaned over and vomited all over the floor next to the bed. The noise alerted whoever was outside, and the sound of footfalls moving rapidly toward her replaced the voices. She lay back and closed her eyes, hoping that stillness would ease the roiling in her gut.
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. We’ll get you cleaned up.” The voice was soft and kind and feminine. Lesley opened her eyes and saw the nurse, an older woman, with warm brown eyes smiling at her. “We didn’t want you to be alone when you woke,” she went on, “but sometimes these things happen.” She checked Lesley to make sure she didn’t have any of the mess on her, and once satisfied that she was okay, walked out of the door.
A face peered around the corner. Antony. He looked at her, then down at the floor, grimacing slightly. He walked in, but Lesley stopped him. “No. Let them clean up first. This is so gross.”
“I can handle it, darling,” he said. “I’ve seen far worse.”
“Still. Just—stop and give them a chance to clean up, would you? Oh...god...” She leaned over and vomited again.
Antony was by her side in a heartbeat, smoothing back her hair and keeping her steady. She was shaking like a leaf and her skin was cool and clammy. She’d broken out into a sweat with the effort of being sick.
When the nurse came back in with one of the sanitation people, Antony stepped back to let her in.
“Something’s not right,” he said.
“Mmmhmmm. I agree with you about that. This should have worked its way out by now. Let me get the doctor in here.” She handed Lesley a large bucket. “We don’t use those little plastic things here. They don’t catch anything. You hold on to this and we’ll get the doctor right away.” She patted her on the shoulder before turning to Antony. “Stay with her, would you?”
“Wouldn’t dream of leaving.” He kept his arms around her shoulders and tucked her hair behind her ears. She relaxed against him, softly hiccuping as she quieted down.
Not five minutes later, the doctor came in. In those five minutes, Lesley had dozed off. Antony stepped away from the bed to let the professionals do their job. He heard his name whispered and saw the First Sergeant and Oliver at the door.
“What’s going on?” Oliver asked. He looked at his sister, face etched with worry.
“Not sure. She’s thrown up a couple of times and passed back out. The doctor just got here,” Antony said.
Randall spoke, “The team’s found some stuff on the video and they’re running down a few leads for that. The Sergeant Major did a personnel recall this morning. Smith has vanished and is now AWOL.”
Antony shrugged. “Not surprised.”
“We’re about to head over and search his room.” Randall looked at the man. “I need you back, Ramos.”
Antony scowled and looked at Lesley. “I don’t want to leave her,” he said.
“And I don’t want to make you, but this has gotten a lot bigger, and I need your brain. Besides, the quicker we collect all the evidence, the safer everyone will be.” Randall clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll cut you loose as soon as I can, but I really need you to help me search Smith’s room.”
“I’ll be here for a couple hours,” said Oliver. “I’ll keep you in the loop on what’s going on and how she is.” Oliver handed him his keys. “Here, I almost forgot. Nice ride, man.”
“Thanks. Give me a second, okay? I need to tell her,” Antony said, walking away. He spoke quietly with the doctor, nodding his head a couple times, and leaned in toward Lesley, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I have to go help with the investigation, love. I don’t want to leave you, but we have to catch the bastards.”
Lesley nodded; her eyes were watery. “I know. It’s okay. I’ll be okay.”
He gathered her up for a quick hug, minding the tube fastened to her wrist, and let her go.
On his way out, he told the men, “Doc thinks she got a combination of drugs, given her symptoms. Tests will be ready today and they’ll see how much and what the assholes used.”
He spared one more glance toward Lesley, touching the area over his heart with his hand. She gave him a wan smile, and then he was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Lesley woke to the sound of fingers tapping lightly on a keyboard, punctuated by the sounds of a nib scratching over paper. She cracked open her eyes to find Oliver sitting in the chair next to her bed with a table set up in front of him.
“Where’s Antony?” she croaked.
Oliver looked up. “Hey, goober. He’ll be back as soon as he can.”
Lesley reached for the cup of water on the rolling tray and took a sip. With a clearer voice, she asked, “He’s been here, right?”
