“Don't forget the thirty seconds you continued even after they pulled their pistols on you,” Brittany said.
I gaped at Dane for a moment, then shook my head. “That would be like you. No wonder the cops were pissed at you after I woke up.”
“So how is he?” Dane asked, “And Shawnie?”
“I don't know about the girl,” Brittany said, “but they took Patrick upstairs. The doctors looked . . . not too worried. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one, but I’m praying for the best.”
Just then, a doctor approached me, a professional smile on his face. “Miss Rawlings? I'm Doctor Jones. I just got done talking to the paramedics who brought you in, and I thought I should come over here and see how you're doing.”
“Can Brittany and Dane stay?” I asked, leaning back on the gurney. “And can I at least get up?”
Dr. Jones looked around, then nodded. “Just stay back, if you could. I don't think this should take too long.”
“Don't worry, I'll be right outside the curtain,” Brittany said. “I've seen the inside of those exam areas. They're tiny.”
Dr. Jones had a nurse wheel my gurney to an exam room, where the bed was at least reclined rather than flat. “Okay, just look into the light . . . pupils look good, pulse is good . . . any pain?”
“Some, but mostly in my jaw where he caught me,” I said. “I'm not going to be eating meat any time soon.”
Jones nodded and touched my jaw gently, humming when I winced. “You've got a pretty good bruise forming there. All right, as a precaution, I'm going to order an x-ray. Also, I'm going to admit you overnight, mainly to see if you've got any side effects of whatever it was that you drank that knocked you out.”
“Doc? What about Daddy?” I asked, worried.
“I'll go check. If you can talk, I doubt your jaw is broken, but your dentist would probably feel better if I did it anyway. The nurse should be by soon in order to get your information and take you up to get an X-ray.”
The doctor left, leaving me and Dane alone. I could hear Brittany shuffling back and forth outside the curtain, but I took the moment to enjoy it with Dane. “Thank you. I know I was only out a few minutes, but you saved my life.”
“You saved mine,” Dane said. “You renewed my purpose in life.”
We held hands for a few minutes, just looking at each other, and despite the background noise of an emergency room, I felt peace dropping over me, soothing the panic that was gnawing at my mind about Daddy and his health. I heard the curtain pull back, and I turned, hoping it was the doctor. Instead, it was Brittany, who was looking at me in a way she never had before. It was like she finally had recognized me for being an adult, and not just a child. “If you need anything, just let me know, and I’ll make it happen,” she said simply. “I'm sorry, Abby.”
“It's okay, Brittany. Let's wait for Dr. Jones and see what is going on with Daddy.”
“Actually, I do have a request,” Dane asked, a bit sheepish. “The cops took my wallet, and I'm kind of homeless right now. Can I borrow fifty bucks for the night?”
“Dane, you can stay at the house,” Brittany immediately said. “You saved my husband's life and Abby's life. I'm quite sure that deserves a decent bed and a hot meal once we get out of here.”
A man in a dark suit walked up, flashing a badge. “I'm sorry, Mrs. Rawlings. That might be a while. I'm Agent Morgan of the Atlanta FBI. I'd like to talk to your stepdaughter about her kidnapping.”
Doctor Jones came back, tapping his pen on a clipboard. “Not for at least twelve hours, Agent Morgan. Testing and observation. In the meantime, though, a bit of good news. Mr. Rawlings is going to be just fine. Mr. Bell's quick thinking turned what could have been a major, if not fatal, heart attack into a minor incident. He'll be here for a few days, but according to the guys I talked to in the cardiac unit, he should make a full recovery.”
I nodded, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. “Then let's get my X-rays done too. After that, regardless of what you say, Doc, I'll be happy to talk to the cops. That piece of shit needs to pay.”
* * *
The FBI agents who accompanied Agent Morgan the next morning were your pretty typical group. One of them, who introduced himself as Agent Jacobi, came straight from FBI central casting. White, nondescript, but with an intensity to his eyes that spoke of his dedication to his work. I saw a plain gold wedding band on his finger, but there was something about it that made me think it was mostly there for show. He was married to the Bureau, not to any other person.