Breaking Shadows (Darkness Falls Book 2) Read online

  “Nah, I’m irresistible.”

  “Whatever you think, bro. Anyway, I think that I should go with Quinn in the ambulance and that leaves our car here. I know that you’re not leaving her side.”

  “We established that. What’s your point?”

  “After the medic checks her vitals, I think you should take her in the squad to the hospital.” Ethan saw Caleb’s hackles come up. “Hear me out. She can refuse an ambulance ride, and judging by the stubborn set of her chin, she’s about to do just that. She knows as a doctor what to worry about. The hospital is only a short distance away. Knowing Kara, she picked this restaurant because it’s close to the hospital. With lights and siren, you can get her there in less than a minute. Same as us. And she’ll think that you’re letting her win.”

  Caleb thought it over for a second while watching Kara get checked over and then nodded his head.

  “Fine. I know you’re right. I’m just—”

  “Terrified, I get it, I do. If anyone understands, it’s me. Granted, the whole baby thing is a new development. But I know how it is to be consumed by fear for someone you love.”

  “I know you do. All right. Thank you. I needed to hear it.”

  Ethan patted him on the shoulder, but before he turned to go back to Quinn, he looked at Caleb and smirked.

  “So, I’m going to be an uncle, huh?”

  “Yeah, man. How do you feel about that?”

  “It’s freaking crazy, wild and wonderful. You?”

  “Same.”

  “Kara?”

  “Complicated,” he said and walked away.

  Ethan didn’t know how to take that statement. He was going to get to the bottom of it, and soon, but not until he knew that Quinn was okay. Kara was in good, capable hands. Caleb would do anything for her. Quinn didn’t have anyone like that in her life. Not that he knew of, but he fully intended on being that man for her. He turned and looked at her slight figure on the stretcher. She was scowling at the medic while blinking away tears. Not from pain, but from feeling like she let her friend down. Ethan needed to get that thought out of her head. If anyone was forgiving about something like this, it was Kara. She knew that Quinn didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, Kara was also in on the rescue, so she may have been a target, as well.

  “I told you, I’m fine. I don’t need to be strapped to this blasted thing,” she said, sniffing.

  “Ma’am, there is no way that your arm is not broken in at least one spot, probably two. Your shoulder took a beating, too, it may be dislocated, I can’t be sure. As for the knee, that’s going to need to be cleaned up. Are you up to date on your tetanus?”

  Quinn stuck her tongue out at the medic’s head, which was down, busy applying a bandage to staunch the bleeding on his uncooperative patient’s knee. Ethan couldn’t help but smile at that display of sauciness. That was the Quinn he was used to. Assertive. Reliable. Confident. Strong. Not the tiny woman crying on the stretcher. As if she could hear his thoughts or sense him near, her head snapped toward him and her eyes locked with his.

  “Can you tell this blowhard that I’m fine and I can ride with you to the hospital?”

  “Absolutely not. Sorry—tough as you might be, you get the full ride to the hospital. Kara is going to ride with Caleb in the squad. Not enough room in the ambulance for all of us.”

  “All of us?”

  “Caleb isn’t going to let Kara out of his sight, and I’m not letting you out of mine. We compromised,” he said with a shrug.

  “Compromised? Did you think to ask the poor, weak little ladies their opinion?”

  “No need to.” The medic, he thought his name was Eric, smirked while tending to her. “You are getting a ride in the ambulance; I’m going with you and getting your statement. The patrol officers who responded are going to stay and secure the scene while another set of detectives and crime scene technicians come in to investigate.”

  “You mean you aren’t going to investigate?” she asked, shocked. He couldn’t help but feel good that she wanted him to do the investigation.

  “We can’t. We’re connected to you both. Captain wouldn’t allow it. Kara is going to ride with Caleb, as I just discussed with him. The squad has sirens. The medic is checking her out, assessing her, and monitoring her vitals. Once they’re done, she’ll get a chariot ride, too, but she doesn’t need her arm stabilized.”

  “She’s pregnant!”

  “True, and my niece or nephew will get a full checkup, as well. But she’s not the one who is wobbling on their feet and in need of the stretcher. Also, judging by the look she just sent your way, she would prefer that you not yell that across the city.” Quinn looked properly chastised and quickly looked over to see Kara glaring at her.

  “I guess she’d prefer to tell people they’re expecting versus my shouting it out, huh?”

  “Looks that way. So, are you going to be a good patient or the lousy one you’re being right now?”

  “Oh, stuff it. Fine.”

  “What was that?”

  “Fine, I will go in the ambulance.”

  “Good. We just about set here?”

  “Yes, sir. All set and it looks like your friend is on her way, as well.”

  They both looked up to see Kara shaking off Caleb’s helping hands as she climbed into the squad car. Ethan chuckled. Stubborn. Always and forever. Ever since she was a little girl, especially when she was a little girl, when she was trying to please their parents she was still stubborn, only they had almost beaten her down and beaten it out of her. They hadn’t won though, and that’s what saved her, because Kara was a survivor. The thought made Ethan sober, suddenly he suspected he knew why Kara’s feelings were complicated about the baby.

  9

  Once Quinn accepted the fact that she was going to be forced to go the hospital and was set on the stretcher, the pain and severity of what had happened hit her. Not only did she almost lose one of the only people she could honestly call a friend, but she was responsible. Whether Ethan wanted to believe it or not. The thought that this was all her fault was almost too much. Even though Quinn knew that she wasn’t the one driving the car, she still felt responsible, but she also knew she would help Becky again. Just like Kara would help her with Becky again. It was in their nature to help people, maybe because of what had happened to them or maybe because they were just built that way. Quinn thought it was a little of both.

  The worst part of the whole situation was letting Ethan, of all people, see her cry. Quinn knew she was a proud person, one who prided herself on being strong, never letting emotion get the better of her. But this had just been too much, and she’d crumbled. Not only that, but the pain had set in, and she knew that she needed medical attention, but that whole pride thing got in the way again.

  Should she be embarrassed that Ethan wanted to go with her or should she be furious? Right now, all she could drudge up was happiness that he was willing to ride with her. Not just happiness, but an all-encompassing feeling of finally belonging somewhere. That her friends cared enough to take care of her. Providing that was why Ethan had said he was riding with her, it could have been out of work duty. Then again, the way he looked at her like she was the only thing in his orbit made her think otherwise and it curled her toes and made butterflies flutter in her stomach.

  “All right, all set. It’ll probably hurt when we move the stretcher. The jostling will hurt all those parts you didn’t know were bruised from where the container flew into you,” the EMT told her.

  What container? Confused, she looked around and saw a garbage can laying on the ground. It had a dent in it and was laying by a small smear of blood, probably from her knee. That had hit her? No way. She’d have known that, right?

  “That didn’t hit me.”

  “Yes, it did.”

  Quinn turned her head and saw Samuel Cumbers still standing there, holding his hat and twisting it in both hands. For the first time, Quinn really focused on the frail elderly man whose face lo
oked so ashen. He had to have been terrified, and he had come to their aid. She had thanked him, right? Of course, she had, but it wasn’t enough. The man deserved better than what she had given him for a thank you.

  “You’re still here! I mean, I thought you left. I-I didn’t thank you enough for helping my friend and me.” His face blushed slightly, and he smiled shyly.

  “Young lady, there is no need to thank me. I’m just happy I could be of service to you and even happier to see you listen to that fine young man about going to the hospital.” Mr. Cumbers nodded toward Ethan who was talking to a patrol officer who had sectioned off the street, so they could investigate the accident. “You have yourself a fine one there.”

  “What?” she asked, confused, and then realized what he meant. Flushing, she quickly tried to set him straight. “Oh, he’s just a friend. The brother of the other girl who was hurt.”

  “If you say so, young lady, if you say so. Seems to me, though, that he has deeper feelings than friendship for you. You better get going to the hospital and get yourself properly looked at. No offense, sir.”

  “None taken,” the EMT said, smiling, and then he began to move her stretcher toward the ambulance.

  In the blink of an eye, Ethan was at her side. He climbed into the ambulance after the EMT situated her inside. Eric the EMT hadn’t lied—it hurt everywhere when the stretcher was jarred. Breathing deeply, she gritted her teeth through the pain. At least it was her left side that was the most damaged. It would be a real treat to take care of herself with a broken right hand. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew they were right. Her wrist was definitely broken. As if an ER doctor, detective, and EMT would be wrong on that account? A warm hand brushed her face, and she was startled to see Ethan leaning toward her looking worried.

  “You okay? You got really white there.”

  “Just trying to breathe through the pain. No more being a tough girl because, even if I jumped out of the way, it feels like that car hit me.”

  “Well, the garbage can did hit you. It hit you pretty hard judging by what the witness told us.”

  They rode the rest of the way to the hospital in silence, Ethan watching her intently the whole way. A couple times he reached for her hand and then pulled away when he noticed the brace on her arm. Once at the hospital, she was wheeled into a room and assumed he was going to check on Kara, but she was surprised once again when he followed her into the room she had been moved to.

  “You can go check on Kara.”

  “She has Caleb with her, and right now is a sensitive time while they check on the baby.”

  “Still, I don’t need a babysitter, and I’ll have to get an x-ray.”

  “Not going anywhere.” He sat in a chair in the room and placed his left ankle on his right knee. “There is nowhere I would rather be right now.”

  She blushed. What was wrong with her? Quinn Sanders did not blush, did not cry, did not show any emotion, and yet that’s all she’d been doing all day long. She jumped when a doctor—a very attractive doctor—entered the room with a couple of younger people following her. They must be the interns Kara had been talking about.

  “Hello, Ms. Sanders, I’m Dr. Aderhold. I have two interns with me today if that is all right with you?”

  “That’s fine.” She wondered what she would do if she said no. She almost laughed at the thought.

  “Wonderful. Now, you were nearly hit by a car?”

  “Correct. Well, I don’t know how close it was. I jumped out of the way and landed wrong on my left arm and knee.”

  “The EMT gave us the rundown. So, you know we’ll be sending you for x-rays on that arm. But I would also like to do a CAT scan to rule out any other injuries. It’s going to be a little bit if you need to be somewhere, Detective Vanderbilt.”

  “I’m good. I’ll wait here. I can catch up with some gossip while I wait,” he said, flashing a smile at her.

  “Suit yourself.” She shrugged and turned her attention to Quinn. “Let’s take a look at your knee. The EMT didn’t think you would need stitches.” She put on some gloves and gingerly took off the bandage. Gently, she examined the cut. “Doesn’t look too bad, a deep cleaning should be good enough. Not our number one concern, though. I want to make sure you didn’t suffer a head injury.”

  “I didn’t. I landed on my left side.”

  “All the same, I still want to rule it out. It would be negligent of me if I didn’t. They’ll be down shortly to take you up for the x-ray and scan. Make yourself comfortable, detective.”

  Dr. Aderhold wasn’t kidding when she said they were going to be there a while. It hadn’t taken long for Quinn to be wheeled back into the room, but they were still waiting for the results of the tests and, admittedly, Ethan was getting a little stir crazy. He didn’t mind sitting in the room and waiting. What he minded was not knowing if Quinn had any other injuries or how Kara was doing. A quiet knock sounded on the outside of the room, and as if conjured from his very mind, Kara walked in with Caleb following close behind her.

  “How’s the patient?” she asked quietly while glancing at Quinn.

  “Out. They gave her some pain medication in an IV to help with her pain level.”

  She had finally fallen asleep about fifteen minutes ago, and he had been quietly playing on his phone and silently cursing the doctor for not coming back to give him an update. It crushed him to see her in that hospital bed. She looked so tiny and fragile. Kara was a petite girl, but Quinn was smaller in stature by an inch. Yet both girls could kick butt and take names later. Which, if he was honest, was a huge turn on for him.

  “That’s good. They’re kind of slammed right now, and I’m sorry it’s taking so long, but another trauma patient just came in. It shouldn’t be much longer. I’ve been ordered to go home, so I can’t help right now,” she said, glaring at Caleb. It was clear to him who had ordered her to go home. Since she was the attending doctor in the ER, no one could really send her home, unless it came from above her.

  “How’s everything with you?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Good. We got to see the little one and hear the heartbeat. Everything is as it should be,” she said, smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Kara, I’m only going to tell you this once. So, I need you to listen very closely. Are you listening?” he asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Caleb grimace and lean his hip on the counter.

  “Save it, Ethan. I don’t want to hear a lecture.”

  “I’m not lecturing you. But I’m going to tell you something important. You and I are not our parents. We never have been, and we never will be. This baby is going to be beyond loved by you, Caleb, me, and everyone else. There is not a doubt in my mind that you will be a phenomenal mother and that someday I will be an awesome dad.” And darn it if his voice didn’t catch.

  “You don’t know that, Ethan,” Kara said, and damn it, she was blinking back tears. Caleb moved to go to her side, but Ethan lifted his hand to stop him.

  “I do know that.”

  “How can you?”

  “First, you have a mother you never knew—who loved you. We figured out she wanted you back, and that’s why Constance killed her. There was no reason to kill her because simply taking you from her was torturing her. We all know Constance was sadistic. But your mother deciding she wanted you back wasn’t acceptable. How would the Vanderbilts explain a child that wasn’t completely theirs? You came from a kind woman, not that monster. Second, I see you. I see you with the kids at the center, with the patients you help at the free clinic you established there. I see you with Ava, Alex, and Arabella. I see you. You aren’t fooling me or anyone else. You will be an amazing mother because you are an amazing aunt and person.”

  “I second that,” came a whispered reply from the hospital bed. Apparently, Quinn hadn’t been sleeping after all. “You’re a damn fool if you don’t already know that. Because of your parents, because of the way they were and what you fought to become, you wi
ll be the best mother out there. Now go home and get some rest, but can you first tell that doctor who looks like a model to cast my arm or whatever, so I can go home?” Kara giggled at the last comment and walked over to the bed, kissing Quinn on the forehead.

  “How are you feeling, tough one?”

  “Like I got hit by a car. Imagine if it hadn’t missed us.” The joke fell a bit flat, and the already sober room became even more so.

  “I can take a look at your chart quick.” When Caleb opened his mouth to protest, she waved him off. “I’ll look at her chart and see the results to help them out, then I will go home, and you can wait on me hand and foot if that’s what you so choose. Deal?”

  Everyone in the room knew that she wasn’t really giving him the option to say no. Like a good boy, Caleb nodded his head yes and leaned back on the counter to wait. Kara left and returned a few minutes later.

  “Sounds like the CAT scan came back good. You have a dislocated shoulder and what we call a Galeazzi fracture, which is a fracture of the radius accompanied by a dislocated radioulnar joint. Common with a fall. Unfortunately, it means you’ll need surgery. Depending on when they can get you in and how you do afterward, you may be able to go home without an overnight stay. But I’m not promising that.”

  “Any chance you can call in some favors and have me out sooner?” Quinn asked. Ethan could tell she was fighting sleep.

  “I’ll see what I can find out about available surgeons and how long an operating room will take. Like I said, they have their hands full down here. It might be a bit before they can get you in. I would just prepare yourself for an overnight visit.” Ethan could see panic fill Quinn’s drug hazed eyes, and the sleepy expression started to fade.

  “I can’t stay overnight.”

  “You can if you have to. I know better than anyone the feeling associated with staying in a hospital,” Kara said, her voice soothing.

  “And yet you became a doctor,” Quinn said, and as if that was enough, the panic seemed to subside a bit.