Shane wasn’t surprised when Gabby curled into the corner between the seat and the door and closed her eyes, finally giving in to her exhaustion. He couldn’t imagine how she’d held herself together for these last few hours after finishing a grueling shift.
“Is she out?” Nate asked, catching Shane’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, wondering how in the world they’d find this guy, Creighton, before he found her. He didn’t buy her theory that she’d been grabbed by mistake. Although, with her eidetic memory, surely she’d remember an unusual name like Creighton.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that they were better off going straight to Trinity Medical. It could be that the hospital was the last place Creighton would look for her at least in the next day or so.
Gabby shifted in her seat, turning to burrow against him instead of the hard door. He put his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.
“Don’t get in over your head, Hawk,” Nate warned. “She might be a victim in all this, but we really don’t know for sure that she’s totally innocent. She might actually know Creighton.”
“No way,” Shane protested, every instinct in his body refusing to believe the worst. “I saw how frightened she was, Nate. She stabbed the gunman with her scalpel to get away. If she knew Creighton, she would have said something.”
“I get that’s what you want to believe,” Nate said bluntly. “But just remember to keep an open mind.”
Shane didn’t answer, distracted by the citrusy scent lingering in Gabby’s hair. He inhaled deeply, letting the fragrance fill his mind.
Yeah, he’d consider all possibilities, but at the same time, he knew he’d absolutely protect Gabby from harm.
Sacrificing his own life, if necessary.
* * *
From the dim recesses of her mind, Gabby could hear someone calling her name.
“Gabby? Come on, Gabby, you have to wake up, we’re here at the hospital.”
“Sleep,” she whispered, pressing her face into the warmth of her pillow.
“Gabby, please, I know how much you need to rest, but you need to show me where your call room is so I can take you there. Then you can sleep.”
She heard the words, but it took a few minutes for them to register through the fog in her brain. As much as she wanted to go home, she forced herself to open her eyes and lift her head.
At first she didn’t understand that she was still in the backseat of the car, but when she saw Shane so close, she was chagrined to realize his shoulder had been her pillow. “Sorry,” she muttered, rubbing her eyes against the burn of fatigue. “Okay, I’m up.”
“Good, now just show me where your call room is located, okay?”
Gabby focused on pulling herself together long enough to get out of the car. But the muscles in her body seemed to be moving in slow motion. She lifted the door handle and shoved, barely having the strength to open the door, but then Shane was there with a helping hand.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She stumbled out with a low groan.
And then suddenly, she was swept up off her feet and cradled against his chest.
She clung to Shane’s broad shoulders as he strode into the hospital through the ER doors. There were several nurses sitting at the triage desk and one of them jumped up when she saw him.
“Oh no, is that Dr. Gabby?” she asked, aghast. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened, she’s just tired,” Shane retorted. “I need you to show me where the call rooms are located.”
Gabby was half listening to the exchange, too tired to be mortified. Just the thought of walking under her own power was overwhelming.
All the adrenaline that had rushed through her bloodstream had drained away, leaving her limp and weak.
“Right this way,” the nurse replied. “Are you sure she’s not hurt?”
“I’m sure.” Shane’s tone was firm enough that the nurse didn’t argue.
Gabby must have dozed again, because the next thing she knew, she was being set carefully down in a bed.
“Rest now, Gabby,” Shane murmured, brushing her hair away from her face in a soothing gesture. “You’re safe here. I’ll be just outside the door if you need anything.”
She wanted to assure him that wasn’t necessary, but he flipped the light switch off and left her alone, closing the door behind him.
And this time, she didn’t bother to fight against the desperate need to sleep.
* * *
“So now what?” Nate asked as Shane closed the door of the call room behind him.
Good question. “I need a favor,” he said. “Will you stay here outside her room for a few minutes?”
“Why, where are you going?” Nate asked suspiciously.
Shane had a feeling his buddy wasn’t going to like his plan. “I want to head over to Gabby’s house,” he admitted. “Just to make sure everything is okay.”
“So what if it is?” Nate countered. “That doesn’t mean Creighton won’t show up hours from now, looking for her there.”
“I know, but my gut is telling me to check her place out now,” he repeated. “Thirty minutes. Give me thirty minutes.”
Nate let out a heavy sigh. “Fine, take your half hour. But how are you going to find her house?”
“I’m hoping one of the nurses knows her address,” he said. He decided against calling his sister, Leah, because it was the middle of the night and he didn’t want to risk waking her son, Ben, or her husband, Isaac, who also happened to be a member of their SWAT team. Since Isaac was off this weekend, Shane knew he wouldn’t appreciate being dragged into this mess.
Besides, Gabby’s safety was his responsibility.
Getting the location of Gabby’s home was way too easy. Stacy, the triage nurse who’d showed them to Gabby’s call room, had been able to give him everything but the actual house number.
“She lives in the third house from the corner, on the west side of Rivera Street,” Stacy said. “It’s a brown ranch-style house with tan shutters on the front window. I live in the four-family apartment that’s two blocks over and have seen her there several times.”
“Thanks,” Shane said. “Deputy Nathan Freemont will be waiting here until I return. If you can spare a chair for him, I’d appreciate it.”
“Oh, uh, sure, no problem.” Stacy frowned. “Is Dr. Gabby in trouble?”
Shane debated how much to tell her. “No, of course she’s not in trouble. We just want to be sure she’s safe, that’s all.”
Stacy looked as if she wanted to ask more questions, but he abruptly turned and strode toward the doors leading outside.
After sweeping his gaze around the area to make sure he didn’t see anything amiss, he jogged across the street to the surface parking lot where he’d left his sheriff’s deputy vehicle.
Following Stacy’s directions wasn’t difficult and he slowed his speed when he approached Gabby’s house. The windows were dark, although there was a small light on over the side-entrance doorway.
Instead of stopping, he drove past, circling the block to park on the next street. Shane silently got out of the car and then walked between the two houses into Gabby’s backyard.