Tess Gerritsen - Double Impact

Ami jerked awake. For a moment time and place escaped her. Her skin was hot and damp with sweat, her heart pounding in sync with her ragged breaths. The lavender sheets were tangled around and beneath her. Her feminine muscles throbbed with the receding waves of orgasm. She reached out to find the other side of the bed cold and empty. She turned her head and stared at the pillow next to hers, confirming the lack of a warm body beside her. Robert had left for the office without waking her. She frowned. That was odd, he always-

A cry pierced the morning silence.

Nicholas.

Ami sat straight up and peered at the digital clock on the bedside table-6:15 a.m. Damn. She was late. Nicholas cried out again.

She bounded out of bed and rushed down the hall to her baby’s room. He stood at the foot of his crib, his face flushed from crying, huge tears flowing down his cheeks. Ami lifted him into her arms. He was wet and hungry and she’d overslept. Damn.

“Oh, baby, Mommy’s sorry,” she cooed. “Let’s get this diaper changed and we’ll get you some breakfast. Okay?” She tapped his nose and a smile finally peeked past the tears. “That’s better,” she murmured, happiness blooming in her chest. Late or not, holding her son always put her in a good mood.

“Good morning!”

Ami’s good mood drooped like a summer flower after an early frost at the sound of Mrs. Perry’s greeting. She didn’t want the epitome of punctuality to know she’d overslept and would still be sleeping if Nicholas hadn’t cried out or the dream hadn’t been so…

She shook off the lingering sensations of the too vivid dream. She’d analyze that later. Right now she had to get her baby fed, both of them dressed, and herself off to work.

“Oh, my, you aren’t dressed.”

Ami looked up to find Mrs. Perry in the doorway. “I overslept,” she said lamely. God, why did she have to sound so guilty? It wasn’t her fault she’d dreamed of making love with some raven-haired stranger. Nicholas’s dark features nagged at her as if she should remember something. Was she dreaming of his father? Could the man be an actual memory slipping through the wall her mind had erected between her and her past? Or was it just that, a dream?

“Here, I’ll take him. You’d better get dressed.”

Before Ami could protest, Mrs. Perry had taken Nicholas and headed to the changing table. Ami started to snatch him back and to tell the woman that she was capable of caring for her own child, but common sense prevailed. She was late. She should get dressed and get going. Mrs. Perry had done the right thing. As always.

But Ami didn’t have to like it.

UNBELIEVABLY Ami arrived at work ten minutes before her scheduled shift began. She grabbed a cup of coffee from the nurse’s lounge and headed for the bank of elevators. According to Jane, Mr. Olment had been moved from ICU to a room on the fourth floor late last night since he was stable and they needed his bed. Apparently the full moon had caused two major pileups, both with serious injuries. Jane had ended up working the entire second shift last night. The dark smudges under her eyes this morning told the tale of how little sleep she’d gotten after going home. Pulling a double shift in the ER was just plain dumb, not to mention against hospital policy. But sometimes it just couldn’t be avoided. And the extra money would buy school clothes for Jane’s kids.

Ami stabbed the elevator call button. She knew it was foolish, but she had to know. She had to see if the man would react the same way now that his condition had stabilized.

Robert would tell her that she was feeding her own paranoia by going to the man’s room or even allowing herself to continue thinking about him. But she simply had to know. She would never stop playing that awful scene over and over in her head until she reconciled herself to the fact that it was, as Robert had said, trauma-induced hallucinations and nothing more.

On the fourth floor the three nurses at the station were busily preparing for their shift to end. Ami was relieved to see Kathi Stevens on duty. She knew Kathi from a CPR recertification course they’d taken together a few months ago. Kathi had a daughter about the same age as Nicholas.

“Good morning, ladies. Did you have a good shift last night?” Ami propped on the counter and sipped her coffee.

Kathi smiled and winked. “Oh, we had a glorious night. We always do when there’s a full moon.”

A heavyset lady Ami knew only as Ginny, glowered at Kathi and then at Ami. “It was the shift from hell.”

Ami took another sip of coffee to prevent a giggle. “That bad, huh?”

The youngest of the three, a new girl Ami had never met, piped up next. “The man in four-twelve ranted the entire first half of the shift.” She shook her head ruefully. “It must be really frightening to be in a foreign country and in the hospital.”

Mr. Olment, Ami presumed.

Kathi lifted a brow at the girl’s naiveté. “I would think the frightening part was when someone was shooting at him.”

The girl blushed. “Well, you know what I mean.”

“The Feds coming in and out didn’t help,” Ginny added irritably. “I don’t know what they expected the man to tell them. He was too out of it to know his own name, much less what happened.”

“Speaking of Mr. Olment…” Ami ventured. “How’s he doing this morning?”

“I was just about to go check his vitals,” Kathi told her, selecting his medical chart from the rack.

“I’m glad it’s you and not me,” the younger woman said, relieved. “Those guards give me the willies.”

“Would you like to join me?” Kathi asked Ami, ignoring her co-worker’s remark.

“Sure.” Ami tossed her empty foam cup into a trash bin and followed Kathi. She was older than Ami, thirty maybe. But her blond hair, perpetual tan and petite figure made her look far younger than her years.

“So Olment had a rough night?” Ami inquired nonchalantly.

Kathi nodded. “We had to up his meds for him to get any real rest at all. He kept mumbling in something besides English and every once in a while he’d try to climb out of his bed. We finally had to put him in restraints.”

“Did evening shift have the same trouble?”

Kathi paused, taking a moment to glance at his chart. “They’re the ones who got the order for a sedative to be added to his meds not long after he left ICU. The dosage was too low, though. It wore off in no time.”

Ami didn’t have to ask which room was Olment’s. The guards posted on either side of his door left no doubt. The two dark, grim-faced men gave Ami the willies, too. When the stiff-looking soldiers let them pass, Ami took a deep breath before going into the room. She had to do this for her own peace of mind. Her pulse skittered into overdrive and her palms began to sweat. This was the right thing to do. She needed to see if Olment would react to her presence this morning. She…had to know.

Once again luck was not going to be on her side. He was asleep. Disappointment flooded Ami. Dammit, why did he have to be asleep right now? Kathi moved to his bedside, leaving Ami at the foot, and began the routine of checking vitals, which was second nature to a nurse. Oh, well, it wasn’t as though Ami could kick his bed or anything and hope he’d wake up. She’d just have to come by again on her break. If her friend Miranda was on duty today, she wouldn’t mind Ami tagging after her to the man’s room.

“How is he this morning?”

The male voice that sounded from the doorway behind Ami was heavily accented, just like Mr. Olment’s. Kathi looked up at the same time Ami turned to face the man.

“Everything looks fine,” Kathi said as she removed the BP cuff from Mr. Olment’s arm.