In a Heartbeat (39 page)

“No.” Angie pulled back. “I’m not their daughter.”

“They know that. But you do have her heart.” Her mother smiled warmly. Angie glanced at the beeping heart monitor, then focused her gaze on Stephen.

“Did you know about this?”

He nodded. “I knew Mom had contacted the donors, but I didn’t know the girl’s name until now.”

Angie studied their faces, realizing anew that her transplant affected more than just her, and more than just her family.

“I’ll think about meeting them,” she promised. “But let me write to them first.”

Her mother’s smile spread across her face. Angie had to admit to a new lightness of spirit herself. Why had she avoided this subject for so long? Still, another concern nagged at her. “But what does Raymond have to do with Miranda?”

“Miranda was murdered,” her mother said. “She was stabbed and left for dead in a pile of snow by the edge of a road. A stranger found her, but it was too late. The cold had slowed her bodily functions enough to allow some of her organs to be harvested. Her killer was never found.”

Angie gasped; she could almost picture the scene in her mind.

“Raymond said she was pregnant.”

Her mother smiled thinly. “If she was, her parents never told me.”

“So Raymond was her killer.” Somehow, it was all making sense.

“The police are exploring that possibility right now,” Stephen said.

“They found a gun in Raymond’s apartment and they’re testing the 292

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In a Heartbeat

bullets against the one removed from Pete Burroughs. Meanwhile they’re holding Raymond for attempted murder, criminal trespassing, and assault.” Stephen shook his head. “You know the guy had the nerve to ask me to post bail.” He shook his head. “I hope they put him away for a long, long time.”

“What happened to Burroughs and Wilson?” Angie asked.

“Wilson is dead. Shot in the back at the warehouse.” Stephen stuck his hands in his pockets. “I was at the police station before I came here.

They’re thinking Raymond might be tied into that murder as well. They’re currently holding Burroughs for fraud and attempted murder.

Apparently, your audit threatened their cozy little scheme and you hadn’t heeded their warnings.”

“Warnings?”

“Burroughs ratted on Wilson big-time. They’re the ones that shot Oreo, only the bullet was meant to scare you. Hank said—”

The blood rushed from her head, making her feel faint. She went still, very still, while she focused her full attention on Stephen. “Hank? You saw Hank?”

“Yeah, he was at the police station this morning.” He smiled. “He asked about you.”

Angie bit her lip, hoping the action would mask her reaction. He was at the police station. He could talk to the police but not to her. A cold lump settled in her ribcage, while the tiny flame of hope that he still cared sputtered out.

Stephen frowned a little. “Actually, I’m surprised he hasn’t come by to see you, you being in his employ and everything. After all, if it hadn’t been for his company, you wouldn’t—”

“That’s enough, Stephen.” Her mother abruptly stood. “Your sister needs her rest. Why don’t you wait for me in the hallway?”

Her brother, properly chastised, leaned over and kissed her cheek,

“I’ll see you later, sis.”

“Raymond…a murderer?” Angie sniffed. “Who would have thought? I never felt comfortable around him, but I never suspected… He sure www.samhainpublishing.com 293

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fooled me.” Tears burned in her eyes. She’d been fooled by Hank as well.

It had been weeks since she heard from him, not a visit, not a phone call, not even a card.

“Raymond fooled a lot of people. He’s a master at deception,” Stephen said.

“Yeah, a master.” The doctor was wrong about not feeling pain around her heart. She could feel it breaking in two. Now that his problem at Hayden was solved, Hank didn’t need her. He had his famous model, after all. Why would he want an invalid?

“You rest now.” Her mother patted her hand. “I’ll be back later this afternoon. I want to go home and get your room ready.”

Angie looked up through blurred vision. Even her old room would be a welcome relief after this world of late night needles and overly familiar probes. Being surrounded by a family that cared was better than being abandoned by a man who didn’t.

“Don’t worry, dear. It’ll only be temporary,” her mother said. “Give yourself some time to recuperate before you take on the world.”

After placing a quick kiss on the cheek, she slipped out the doorway before Angie comprehended the significance of her mother’s words. For the first time, she wasn’t insisting that Angela stay at home.

Still, that realization held little comfort now that her world had fallen apart. She curled into a tight little ball, pulling the hospital sheets up high on her shoulders, and let the pillowcases soak up her tears.

Hank hesitated in the hospital corridor outside her room, considering his options behind an extravagant bouquet of dark red roses. He should have called first, inquired as to her recovery. The same thought had entered his mind, at least a thousand times a day since he had left. But each time he reached for the phone he’d stopped. He had too many words, too many emotions to express long-distance over cellular airwaves. Somehow time had gotten away from him. Some things needed be said face-to-face and now that he was about to say them… Maybe it would be best if he just turned tail and ran back the way he had come.

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“Nice flowers,” a pleasant-faced nurse sniffed at a barely open bud, smiling at the pleasure. “Go on in. after the time she had last night, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see some friendly faces.” The nurse quickly rapped on the doorjamb before continuing down the hallway.

Hank took a deep breath, stuffed a carefully folded newspaper under his arm and lifted the large bouquet high enough to cover his face. As much as he wanted to see Angie again, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see her face when she saw him. He should have called first.

“Max? What did you do, buy out the florist?”

“Max?” His heart plummeted, he lowered the bouquet. “You were expecting Max?”

The joy drained from her face. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Okay, he deserved that. Her anger knifed through his gut. Grasping for a chance to recover, he took his bouquet to place on the windowsill.

That done, he jammed his hands into his pockets, unsure what else to do with them. For someone comfortable with making quick decisions, he was…indecisive.

He turned back to face her, initially pleased to see healthy color rising in her face. The last time he saw her she was so ghastly pale, now she looked…infuriated.

“Where have you been?” she demanded, each word punctuated by the beep of the monitor. Should he be alarmed at the increasing tempo of the beep or be relieved at her obviously recovered strength? He glanced toward the door, half-expecting a nurse to investigate the monitor readings.

“Up until two weeks ago, I was here,” he said, his feet rooted to the spot. One look from her and he’d be at her side, if she’d have him. “I was here day and night, praying for your recovery.”

“Praying?” She snickered. “I thought you didn’t believe in praying.”

“Miracles happen to those who believe in them,” he said, the words tightened in his throat making speech difficult. “And I needed a miracle.”

“You?” Her lips slowly recovered from their pursed position. Her brows lifted in question like two angel wings. He longed to take her in his www.samhainpublishing.com 295

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arms and kiss her questions away, but he stayed put. He hadn’t earned the right.

“I needed you to recover. Dear Lord, I had just found you. I couldn’t lose you.” His voice trembled and he stepped forward, then checked himself and stepped back.

“I needed a miracle,” he rasped.

“Then why did you leave me?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I didn’t leave until I knew you’d recover,” he said. Now that she had provided an opening, he couldn’t stop babbling. “Once I knew you were going to be okay, I figured—”

“You knew I’d recover two weeks ago?” She snorted in disbelief. He smiled, how he’d missed that sound. “It would have been nice if you would have told me.”

“You told me,” he said, daring to take a step closer. “You told me that you wouldn’t leave me, that you’d be all right.” He managed another step.

“It was late at night, you were still in intensive care. You looked straight at me and told me. And I knew, right then and there, that you would recover. I wouldn’t have left otherwise”

“I must have been delirious,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Still,” she looked back at him, “I kind of remember…”

Hank took the last step and sat on the edge of the bed. He took her hands in his. “I needed to take care of a few things, clear the way for us.

Believe me,” he lifted her hand to his lips, “if I thought you were in any danger, I’d never have left your side.”

She started to say something, then stopped and shook her head.

“What do you mean, clear the way?”

Hank lifted one of the angel-fine strands of spun gold from her shoulder and soothed it back in place. “You know that my engagement to Elizabeth Everett was a sham?” Angie nodded. “I wanted to make sure once and for all that Elizabeth’s father understood that no engagement between his daughter and I was ever going to take place.”

“You did that?”

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Hank warmed at her slight smile. He kissed the inside of her wrist.

“Of course, he fired me on the spot.”

“Fired you?” She pushed on his shoulders to make him lift his head.

“Owens fired you?”

His smile broadened. That one-arm shove was hardly one of a weakling. There could be no doubt; she was well on her way to a full recovery.

“Oh, he hired me again. Especially after I explained how two of his trusted employees had milked the profits out of the company all these years. But he rehired me at a greatly reduced salary, and without all the perks of a future son-in-law.”

“I could live with that,” she said, nodding her head.

“I should hope so.” Hank saw confusion race across her eyes.

“What about Elizabeth?”

“Elizabeth has successfully completed her drug rehabilitation and is currently engaged to a photographer she dearly loves. I brought you this.” He handed her the newspaper, carefully folded to the society section. Elizabeth’s new engagement announcement nearly obscured the retraction notice of the earlier false announcement.

Angela smiled and Hank’s hopes soared. “Good for her,” she said.

“And your family?”

“Aaah, my family.” He dropped her hands and stood. “I can’t say as they were pleased to see that lucrative financial arrangement fall apart, but they’re relieved that I won’t be tied down by a loveless marriage. I’ve worked out a payment arrangement with their creditors that will eliminate their debt in a few years. Both my parents are going into counseling and I think, even with my reduced salary, I can manage to help them out on that score.” He walked over to the windowsill and glanced at the sun breaking through the overcast day. “The important thing is that they’ll be working their way out of their problems.” He turned back to her. “You taught me the importance of that.”

“I did?”

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“Yes, my independent angel, you showed me that depriving someone from making their own decisions is not love, it’s manipulation. The best gift I could give Elizabeth and my parents was the freedom to make their own mistakes, and grow from them.” Angie smiled and nodded at him.
So
far, so good.
He took a deep breath.
Now comes the hard part.

“And the best gift I can give you is the same freedom. I won’t pressure you, or compromise you, any longer.” He unsuccessfully tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He looked down at his shoes, so she couldn’t read the despair in his eyes. Letting her go was breaking him in two, but if that was what she wanted; she deserved no less.

“Are you saying you don’t want me anymore?” Her voice shook. It certainly didn’t have the satisfied ring that he expected. He glanced up to see a shimmering in her wide sad eyes.

Before he could voice his denials, a nurse bustled in with a cart of medications.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” She beamed a smile at the two of them. “It’s time for your afternoon meds, Angela. Can I see your hospital bracelet please?”

Hank waited patiently for the routine identification and pill administration. Angie kept her gaze from his, but seemed to retreat within herself with every tablet and accompanying swallow of water.

Finally the nurse left them alone once more.

“I understand.” Angie said quietly. She adjusted her bed jacket.

That she checked to ensure her scar was hidden hurt like a fist to the jaw. He remembered a night when she abandoned such precautions. His stomach roiled while his arms hung limp at his sides. He had his answer.

She effectively dismissed him.

“You want someone healthy, someone who can give you children,”

she said quietly.

“No.” He covered the few steps to her bed in seconds, desperate to make her understand. “I want you. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. But only if…” He sunk down to his knees beside her so they could be on the same level, face-to-face. “I love you, Angel.”

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He began to pull her into an embrace but she was already there, her arms around his shoulders. Her lips met his with an answering hunger, and he poured all the longing and despair he had felt with her absence in that kiss. Once started, he couldn’t stop. He kissed her lips, her neck, her cheek, her lips again. “Marry me, Angie.” He pulled back, surprised that the words had leapt on their own accord. Didn’t he just promise not to pressure her?

She laughed. “Yes, yes. I’d marry you in a heartbeat.”