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Leaving his side wouldn’t be permissible.
The ambulance arrived, its blaring siren disrupting the peaceful morning. EMTs sprung into action, transferring Dr. Merino to a stretcher with disconcerting efficiency. Kenna could hardly believe what was happening. And yet, a faint degree of logic persisted. She couldn’t let him wake up in the hospital alone, provided that he did wake up.
Approaching the rear of the ambulance with haste, her toes curled as she watched the techs lift her unconscious mentor inside the vehicle. One of the EMTs took note of her sudden appearance.
“Ma’am, are you family?”
“No. I’m his girlfriend.”
Kenna lied without effort but felt no guilt.
“Come on up,” the EMT motioned, helping her climb through the open doors. The tech gestured to a seat which had been folded down from the vehicle’s wall. “You can sit there, miss.”
A wave of dread threatened to drown her upon realizing that the EMTs would likely expect her to supply them with a ton of information. She found it funny that the basic facts of Dr. Merino’s existence evaded her, but she knew more intimate details of his life. Perhaps if the techs were privy to Charlee Pender’s tale, they’d feel less inclined to help the man strapped to their stretcher.
Kenna banished the thought.
The negative headspace achieved nothing. He had treated Charlee poorly but that didn’t mean he deserved to die.
She gripped Dr. Merino’s hand as the ambulance sped off toward the hospital. Their callousness came as a shock, palms boasting the dull roughness of weathered sandpaper.
Her thumb stroked the smooth topside of his hand. She’d probably look back on this instance and shudder once her panic sobered.
Relief flushed through Kenna when his fingers writhed beneath her grasp.
16
WARNING
Double doors shielded the relative calm of the waiting room from the raging maelstrom inside the emergency room. The people who occupied the lobby pretended to watch the news or scanned magazines, patiently standing by to be called back.
Kenna hadn’t an ounce of patience to spare.
She’d paced every inch of the floor and the soles of her feet bordered on raw. An earthy scent clung to her clothing and hair, made more noticeable with each stride. A hot shower and a glass of wine would’ve worked wonders for her stench and stress.
Three hours had passed since they’d taken Dr. Merino back for diagnostics and a slew of other tests.
For all she knew, he could be dead.
She didn’t have her phone, wallet, or a ride home, but none of that mattered. He was an ass most of the time, yet here she was in the E.R. anticipating an update. She couldn’t help but think God was punishing her for harboring such opinions.
Heaven shone its divine light in the depressing waiting room when the woman at the check-in desk spoke.
“Is anyone here with a Dayton Merino?”
Kenna’s feet were reluctant to propel her in the direction of the desk, her steps unsteady from the ceaseless pacing. Her stomach turned sensitive, either a result of not having eaten since dinner the previous night or her bewildering concern for Dr. Merino’s well-being.
In a low voice, she asked, “Is he okay?”
“He’s stable. They’re moving him to the C.C.U., third floor, Room 319,” the woman informed, attention glued to a computer monitor.
“Thank you so much.”
It required effort to make her break for the elevator seem not too desperate. As much as Kenna wanted to know what had happened to Dr. Merino on the trail, the knowledge of his stability was satisfactory—for the moment.
Metal doors guarded the wing labeled ‘Cardiac Care Unit.’ Coldness struck her core upon being faced with the bold black letters. Had it been a heart attack? If it had been a simple fainting spell, Kenna was certain his placement in this area of the hospital would be entirely unnecessary. She scoped out the location of Room 319. When she neared the command desk full of nurses, something piqued her interest.
“Merino’s cardiologist cancelled the rest of his appointments for the day. 30 minute ETA,” a nurse said while covering the landline’s receiver.
