She curled into herself with the pain. And screamed.
* * *
Nick breaded the chicken and placed it in the sizzling pan. He glanced at the clock. Noreen was late, but she probably got held up at the clinic. He put the glass pan in the oven then turned to get the broccoli out of the fridge.
Suddenly a chill went through him.
He grabbed for his phone. But it rang before he could punch in numbers. “Nick here.”
“Nick. I’m glad I got you.”
“Pax?”
“Yeah, listen something’s happened to Noreen. She’s at Memorial in the ER. She keeps asking for you.”
“Is she all right? Did she have an accident?”
“No, Nick. She’s not all right. She was attacked at the clinic.”
Fear shot through him but he remembered to turn off the stove burner then hurry to the closet by the garage door and get his coat. “I’ll be right there.”
He climbed into his car and took off. Syracuse was thirty minutes from the small hospital that serviced Westwood. He made it in twenty, leapt from the car and rushed into theEmergency Department. Pax stood by the reception desk. “Come on, I’ll show you where she is.”
After crossing the small waiting room, they walked through the door to the treatment area and entered cubicle 3. A nurse sat next to the cot on a chair, holding Noreen’s hand. “Ah, this must be your guy.” She stood. “Are you Nick?”
“I am.”
“She’s been asking for you.”
He rushed to her bedside and took the nurse’s place. Dear God in heaven, her whole face was bruised and swollen. One eye was black and blue and the other was shut. She lifted a hand but it fell to the bed. He covered it with his. “I’m so sorry, love.”
When she didn’t respond, he looked to Pax.
“The police called me. She was finishing up at the clinic and someone broke in.”
“Nick,” she whispered.
He bent over so she could speak in his ear. “The baby. She’s gone.”
Pax swallowed hard. “She told the doctor her attacker kicked her in the stomach.”
Nick felt sick inside. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. So sorry.”
“I…wanted to keep her.”
Tears coursed down his cheeks. “I did, too.”
Pax stepped back from the intimate moment. “I’m going to leave you two alone for a bit.”
Nick said as calmly as he could, “Don’t focus on that, now. First and foremost, you have to heal.”
“I must look awful.”
“You’ve been beaten up. But everything is temporary.”
She put her hand on her stomach and a tear escaped her good eye. It broke his heart. “Not this.”
A man in scrubs came into the cubicle. “Hello, Dr. Shannon.” He turned to Nick. “You must be Nick.”
