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Frantic. I don’t know what to do.
Let me make a call. I’ll be right back to you.
Avery had no idea who she was calling, but Sam loved Shelby and would want to help. He sat next to the bed, still in the suit he’d worn to Cleveland.
That seemed like a decade ago rather than the day before. He hadn’t had so much as an update on the Bernadino case or anything else since arriving at the hospital. For all he cared, Nick’s mother had walked out of jail a free woman.
He held his wife’s hand in both of his and bent his head, wishing he had the words to bring her back to him.
His phone rang with a call from Sam. “Hey.”
“I talked to Dr. Trulo, our department psychiatrist, who’s also a friend of mine. He said he could come by to see Shelby, if that’s okay. He’s very good at what he does.”
“I’ll take whatever help I can get.”
“I’ll give Trulo the green light and come by myself later.”
“Thank you, Sam.”
“Anything for my Tinker Bell. And for you. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“We’ll be here.”
Though he didn’t want to leave Shelby for any reason, he needed coffee and something to eat. He bent over the bed and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back, love.”
She had no reaction to him leaving the room.
He moved quickly to use the restroom in the hallway, splashing water on his face and combing his hair with his fingers. Then he took the elevator to the basement, grabbed a coffee and premade egg sandwich and was back in her room ten minutes after he left.
She hadn’t moved.
Her unblinking gaze was still fixed on the wall.
This was all his fault. The assholes who’d taken her and Noah hostage were people he’d grappled with on the job. They’d come to his home seeking retribution and had terrorized his wife and son. Who else was out there with a beef against him that they might one day bring to his doorstep, threatening his loved ones?
More than he could count. He didn’t even remember most of them, but they remembered him. They would never forget him or the cases he’d built against them that’d put them away, for years in many cases. Going forward, he would need to be notified when each of them made parole. He would move his family to a more secure residence with gates, an impenetrable fortress.
Dr. Anthony Trulo arrived an hour later.
Avery stood to shake his hand. “Thank you for coming.”
“Any friends of Sam’s are friends of mine.”
“She told you what happened?”
“She did, and I’m sorry.” He glanced at Shelby and then gestured for Avery to come with him to the hallway. “Has she been like this since they brought her in?”
“I got here a couple of hours after, and the only reaction she’s had to anything was to our son. She held him and cried, but after he left with her sister, she’s barely blinked. She doesn’t respond to me when I speak to her. She’s not eating…”
“She’s traumatized. It’ll take some time for her to come down from the fight-or-flight mode her brain switched into during the incident. I’d like to get her on some meds right away to help alleviate the symptoms. As soon as she’s willing and able to talk, we can begin intensive therapy.”
“Whatever you think is best.”
“I’d like to talk to her medical doctor and take it from there.”
Relieved to have a plan, Avery gave him the name of the doctor who’d been caring for Shelby.
“I know this is very upsetting, but it’s a normal response to something too big for the brain to handle. Most of the time, it’s a temporary condition.
