Chapter 11
The overhead fluorescent lights blazed, illuminating every corner of the sterile room. Candace lay on a narrow hospital bed. Tubes snaked from hanging bags of clear fluid into her arm. A machine beside the bed beeped, recording the hills and valleys of her heartbeat and blood pressure.
Her face was unnaturally pale, her eyes closed, dark circles like bruises beneath her long dark lashes. A gauze bandage was wrapped around her head. More padded gauze dressing covered the cut on her neck, and another small patch showed where she’d been stuck with the needle.
His heart lodged in his throat as the burn of anger built like a bonfire, and he vowed to catch the bastard who’d done this. His hand shook when he touched her arm and trailed the pads of his fingers across her cool, smooth skin. He turned to the nurse hovering over the patient. “The doctor told me she’d regained consciousness. Why isn’t she awake?”
“The drug’s still in her system. She’ll come in and out of consciousness for a few more hours.” The woman adjusted a dial on the bedside monitor. “Most people injected with examine recover in thirty minutes to an hour. She’s been under almost two hours, so we know she got a pretty hefty dose.”
“How’s she doing?” He swallowed past the catch in his throat, unable to tear his gaze from the pale, unconscious woman on the bed.
The nurse stripped off her nitrile gloves and tossed them into a yellow plastic toxic-waste disposal bin. “Her blood pressure is still high, and her pulse is tachycardic, meaning it’s faster than normal.”
His gut twisted. He’d dealt with victims of examine before, and it was never a pretty sight.
The drug, originally designed for veterinary use to subdue large mammals, was sold illegally in clubs and often used as a date-rape drug. When injected into the bloodstream, the fast-acting anesthetic knocked a person out in as little as one minute. The drug induced vivid dreams and hallucinations. The disconcerting feelings of mind-body separation and numbness could last for hours and cause confusion and disorientation in the victim. They often didn’t remember the attack.
The nurse crossed the small room, switched off the bank of bright overhead lights, and closed the blinds. “When she wakes up, the light’s going to bother her, so let’s keep it dim in here.” She shot Aiden a look. “I’ll give you five minutes, but then you’re going to have to leave.” The stern-faced nurse left no room for disagreement. She strode to the door, flung it open, and swept into the busy corridor.
Aiden wiped the moisture off his upper lip and studied Candace’s pale face. Behind her closed eyelids, her eyes shifted from side to side, and the muscles in her body jerked and twitched as if she were still fighting her attacker.
What the hell happened? Who assaulted her? And why? The witnesses’ statements weren’t much help. All he could do was hope she remembered what happened and could describe her attacker. One thing was certain—when he tracked down this maniac—and he would—he’d slam the man’s sorry ass in jail.
His cell phone buzzed in his coat pocket. He tugged the small phone free and studied the caller ID, frowned, and punched the answer button. “Joe. What’s up?”
Joe’s gravelly voice roared in his ear. “Where the hell are you?”
“At the hospital. Why?”
“Typical. I’m out here in the pissing rain working my ass off, and you’re holding the Cooper woman’s hand.” Sarcasm dripped from each word.
Aiden bit back a stinging retort. Past experience had taught him his partner enjoyed goading him, and it was smarter to ignore his snide comments. “What've you got? Did the crime scene techs find anything?”
The loud crack and pop of bubblegum blasted over the line. “All three witnesses are at the station giving official statements, and I have uniforms checking with students in the dorms to see if they noticed anyone suspicious lurking around campus.”
Aiden waited, but Joe remained stubbornly silent. He heaved a breath and asked, “And?”
Another snap as Joe popped a gum bubble. “Nada. No one saw a damn thing. Turns out, it’s the end of term, and everyone was in their dorm room studying for finals.” Another crack of gum. “Everyone, except our witnesses. Those boys may flunk out of college, but they’re heroes. That’s for damn sure. If it weren’t for them confronting the assailant, Dr. Cooper could be raped or dead.”
The thought of what could have happened chilled Aiden to the bone. Candace had been lucky. Damn lucky.
Joe continued his report. “We bagged and tagged the syringe we found by her car. Looks like the perp dropped it after he injected her and didn’t have time to retrieve it when the frat boys showed up. Let’s hope he left his fingerprints or DNA behind.”
“We don’t have much to go on.” Aiden gripped the phone tighter. “The doctors here say her blood work indicates she was injected with ketamine. She’s still out of it.”
“How long you gonna babysit that woman?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Whatever, Loverboy.” Joe’s snarky words drilled deep. “It’s late, and I’m freezing my balls off. I’m booking out. See you in the morning.” The connection ended.
Aiden stuffed his phone in his pocket, Joe’s use of the derogatory label reverberating through his brain.
Loverboy.
The Seattle media ghouls had dubbed him Loverboy. The name left a foul taste in his mouth, and his hand shook as he grabbed a plastic water glass sitting on the bedside tray and drained the water.
He’d made one mistake, and that lack of judgment had ended a child’s life and almost destroyed his career. Briggston was his chance at a new start. He’d learned his lesson. He wouldn’t commit the same transgression again.
No damn way.
Candace called out, her cry laced with panic and fear. Her legs jerked, and her hands tightened into fists as if she were fighting for her life.
He laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, offering her unspoken comfort, hoping that in her drugged stupor she knew she was safe, sensed he was there.
Her body recoiled as if he’d struck her, and her mouth opened in a silent scream.
He snatched his hand back.
Her eyelids fluttered, opened. Her gaze was unfocused, her pupils dilated to the size of quarters. She moaned. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and dampened her tangled dark hair. After a heartbeat, she closed her eyes and her body stilled as she relaxed back into unconsciousness.