CHAPTER TWO
Tessa carefully turned on her little cot, trying to find a position comfortable enough for her to drift to sleep. Sleep eluded her when her body’s energy reserves were empty, and she had been running on fumes for a long time now. Way too long.
Twisting again, she wrapped herself in the blanket, and tried to empty her mind. The last emergency had been a car crash. The victims were a family of four. The father died on arrival, as well as one of the kids. Hope was fading for the mother and the little girl, and that broke her heart. Even with her many years of experience, even with the many people she hadn’t been able to save, it was never easy. It took an incredible toll, one she knew was the reason for her sleepless nights.
It was impossible to settle her mind, so instead she conjured up her mysterious patient’s face. Once she’d finally been able to return to him, the MRI results had come back clear, and as she thought he would, he had left.
How she wished she could have had the opportunity to see him again. In her mind, she pictured his face, intense gaze and ripped body, and warmth spread deep in her belly. Her mind pictured him standing up as she finished stitching him. He was tall, towering over her, and his powerful body was now within her reach. In her fantasy, she didn’t hesitate to grip the waistband of his jeans and pull him to her. This time, he didn’t twirl a finger around a rebellious lock of hair, but instead closed his fist in her mane, bringing her mouth to his smirking lips.
“Doctor Freeman?”
Biting back a curse, Tessa flung her blanket aside and started to put her shoes on, as the intruder turned the light on.
“What’s going on?”
Tessa recognized the nurse as Marian. Young and willing, but she tended to be a bit dramatic. For her, every case was an emergency.
“A girl was brought in with severe bruising, possible fractured ribs. She’s hysterical. We’re trying to calm her down, but she’s hurting herself.”
With a deep breath, Tessa nodded and followed Marian. They had installed the poor girl in a separate room, and even with the door closed, her screams came through.
Inside, three nurses were trying to contain the flailing arms and writhing body of a girl that was no more than sixteen.
Her dress was torn. Tessa did a double take when she noticed the few scraps of satin still hanging on her body and the heavy make-up on her tear-streaked face but recovered quickly. It wasn’t new, sadly.
When the girl saw her, she appeared to calm a bit. Acting on instinct, Tessa pushed the orderlies aside and signaled for them to leave the room. The effect was instantaneous, and the girl turned from hysterical banshee to a crumbling crying child. The sobs must have hurt her ribs, but Tessa sat by her side and gently touched her shoulder. It took several minutes, but it was worth the wait. The girl now lay on the bed, her attention on Tessa, but still clearly overwhelmed by fear, as her eyes darted to the door with each breath she took.
“I need to examine you. You’re in pain.”
The girl’s attention turned to her so fast, panic rising like a tidal wave. “They’re coming after me. I won’t get caught again. I’d rather die!”
Sensing her fear was getting out of hand, Tessa took the girl’s hand in hers and sat on the side of the bed. “Nobody’s going to get you. You’re safe here.”
But the girl shook her head, squeezing Tessa’s hand like a lifeline. “They will, they will find me, I need to go. Now.”
Tessa put a firm hand on her shoulder as she tried to wiggle out of bed.
“You’re in no condition to go anywhere. If you’re in immediate danger, we should call the police…”
Now, tears fell like rivers on her ravaged face. “No, you can’t … they have cops in their pockets, they all know each other…”
“Honey, breathe … we’ll find a solution. First, tell me your name.”
“Allison … my name is Allison.”
“Pleased to meet you, Allison. I’m Tessa. Now, tell me what happened to you.”
Through sobs and whispers, Allison started to tell her how she’d left home when she was sixteen and a rebellious teenager, hoping life would be better without her controlling parents. Little did she know the dangers lurking nearby. Pretty, she fell for a man who would later be her downfall. Thinking herself in love, she followed him until the stark awful truth hit her in the face. One night, he had sold her to a gang. That’s when her fairy-tale turned into a horror movie.
Tessa’s heart bled for the girl who had suffered so much over the course of a year. And she understood her fear and knew from experience that it would take time and people who could prove to her that she could trust again. And there was also the possibility that the threat was on its way to the hospital already. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t the first girl who’d landed in her emergency room in that state and options were scarce.
Allison appeared so tired, and Tessa knew she had to act. “Do you trust me, Allison? I may have a solution to get you out of here and into hiding until you can recover.”
A very faint sparkle of hope shone on her face. “Is that possible? They are so powerful, they know everybody and everything. It’s a miracle I got away.”
Tessa took out her cell phone and searched for the right number. One hand still linked with Allison, she waited for the call to connect.
“Hello?”
