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“How are you feeling, Dr. Gardner?” The nurse came around the bed with her stethoscope in hand.
“Please call me Samantha. I’m in a lot of pain. My left arm feels as if it has been run over by a Mack truck. My abdomen is more on the sore side, but my head feels as if it might explode.” If they dealt with the pain, she may be able to handle the memories and get them to explain the extent of her injuries. Dr. Gardner was taking over, letting Samantha take a back seat to her more dominant side until she and Derrick were all alone, and he could take care of her.
“So, if you had to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten, where would your pain be?” the nurse asked while messing with her IV pump.
“Are you an idiot? She just told you how much pain she was in. Sounds like a fucking ten to me, don’t you think?” Samantha had never heard Derrick be so short with someone before, especially a woman.
“Sir, I have to ask. It is part of my assessment.” The nurse turned her attention back to Samantha.
“The headache is a ten, abdomen a four, and left arm an eight. What was ordered for my pain management?” she asked as she brought her right arm up and grabbed her forehead, trying to ward off the waves of pain and the nausea accompanying them.
“Your doctor ordered you a morphine PCA. Do you need me to explain how it works?” She walked over to the sink to wash her hands.
“No, I can manage. I order them for my patients on a daily basis.” She couldn’t help being a little short with the nurse. Hell, it was clear she knew Samantha was a doctor. Why ask stupid questions? “What dose did they order, and can you please hand me the button for it. Can I please get some acetaminophen as well? Morphine isn’t the best thing for the headache, but if we stack them both, I might get some control.”
“Of course, I will get that for you. Dr. Spalding ordered your PCA set at two mg. per hour and one mg. every ten minutes as needed for pain.” She reached down and grabbed the cord coming from the IV pump. Here is your button. You have a ten-minute lock out under the settings, and it’s already been set up for you.” She brought the cord around the back of the bed so it came out on Samantha’s right side.
How thoughtful. She immediately pushed the button that would give her some measure of relief.
Once the nurse left the room, Samantha turned her attention to Derrick who had remained quiet until they were alone.
“Red, you have no idea how glad I am to see your beautiful eyes open and able to look at me.”
“Derrick, I need you to tell me what happened. What day is it? How did you find me? What were my injuries? I can take it, please.” She was rambling, but she needed to know what was happening to her.
“You need to stay calm, and you’re in no shape for me to assist you with that in the way I know you need. If I think for one second your emotions are out of control, I won’t hesitate to get Ian’s ass in here to drug you. You have to stay calm. Clear?” He squeezed her hand with enough pressure to show he was serious.
“I understand, Sir.” And she had no doubt that it was Sir she was dealing with at the moment. She took a deep breath to center herself and prepare for what she was going to hear.
“Today is Wednesday.” Okay, better than she originally thought. She was taken on Monday so only two days. Her torture hadn’t gone on as long as she’d thought. She nodded at him.
“From what we can piece together, you were taken from the hospital nine days ago. You got on the elevator on the tenth floor, and, from there, we can’t trace you anymore.” He took a deep breath before continuing.
“Wait. Did you say nine days? I was in that hellhole for nine days?” Panic welled up, stealing the breath from her chest.
Derrick tightened the grip he had maintained on her right hand, bringing her back to reality. She concentrated on her respiration, closing her eyes until each breath was as normal as the last.
Once she was ready, she opened her eyes and looked toward her Dom who was patiently waiting for her before proceeding.
“Do you remember what happened at the hospital the evening you were taken?” he asked.
“I was paged to ten-south. The thing is, I knew something wasn’t right about the situation. Ten-south has been closed for renovation, but I went anyway. This is my fault.” Tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked. She started to hit the button several times, hoping ten minutes had passed so she could get some pain relief. Maybe the meds would knock her out so she wouldn’t have to deal with everything.
“You need to stop that right this fucking minute. This was not your fault at all. The ones at fault are the fuckheads who thought they could hurt you. Now, tell me what happened when you reached the tenth floor.” He brought her back to the present.
“I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped from the elevator. John was there. He was working with Kyle, said they grew up together.” The memories of her captivity were slamming into her with the force of a wrecking ball.
“We’ve found out a lot about the men who took you. Kyle is in custody, and, this time, his father won’t be able to save his sorry ass. In fact, we’re going after dear old Dad as well.”
Maybe he was more comfortable thinking about going after the men than dealing with what was done to her. She understood, but she really needed to know the extent of her injuries.
“How long was I there?” she whispered, unsure if he even heard her.
“You were taken on Monday of last week. We found you on Saturday.” He looked away. He had to be uncomfortable talking about what happened to her, but he continued to be her rock.
“Oh my god. I was there for almost a week.” She must have blacked out for much of the time she was in that dungeon, likely a kindness.
“Do you remember what happened while you were there? If not, I don’t want you to stress yourself out trying to recall. In fact, we don’t have to talk about this right now, if you need to rest.” He squeezed her hand once again.
