Page 1 of The Desperate Warrior

Chapter 1

“Ouch!” Tears sprang to her eyes as Jules doubled over, wincing at the sharp pain that tore through her foot. It was official—time to rearrange the bedroom. This was the second time in a matter of four measly weeks that she’d stubbed her pinky toe on the same stupid chest. She’d been half asleep, wandering around in a daze. Well, not anymore. She was now fully awake. Gingerly, she rubbed her toe before attempting to wiggle it. Yikes! It hurt to move it. This one was a doozy. Boy, it hurt. Since this was her second time injuring herself in this same manner, she already knew what to expect—a slow and painful recovery, especially when walking long distances. How could something so minor hurt so badly?

Once the pain subsided, she straightened back up and hobbled into the bathroom to get ready for work.

She brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and put on her makeup, trying to ignore the persistent stabs of pain in her foot. Slipping a tennis shoe over her injured toe was agony, but she was required to wear closed-toed shoes in the OR. She took in a long breath and huffed it back out as she tied her shoe and then quickly put on the second one. Ignoring the ache, she scuttled as fast as she could to the kitchen, where she grabbed a containerof yogurt out of the fridge and wolfed down her vitamins with a glass of tap water from the sink.

A glance at the clock on the microwave let her know that if she didn’t leave this instant, she’d be late for the first surgery. And that wouldn’t sit well with LouAnna, the drill sergeant who doubled as the charge nurse. She ran the OR like a boot camp, and heaven help the cadet who dared step a millimeter outside of the hard, unyielding line that the militant, older woman drew.

Okay, Jules was being overly dramatic. LouAnna wasn’t that bad … most of the time. She’d just been hard to deal with lately because her brother passed away.

Ripping off the top of the yogurt, Jules grabbed a spoon and took a couple of large bites. Then she tossed the container into the garbage, wishing she had time to eat the rest. It was vanilla bean—her favorite. She reached for her purse and was about to dart out of the kitchen to go to the garage when the doorbell rang. She let out a groan. “Not now.” Who could be at her house at this time of the morning? It was five fifteen, for goodness’ sake.

The doorbell rang again. This time, more insistent.

Letting out a long sigh, she put down her purse and limped out of the kitchen, going to the front door. She turned on the porch light and looked through the peephole, surprised to see Alyssa Roberts, a fellow nurse at the Westridge Surgical Center where Jules worked.

She opened the door with a greeting, “Hey, what’re you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry to bother you at this time of the morning. I wanted to catch you before you left for work.”

Alyssa’s eyes and mouth were tight, and she was fidgeting with her hands. Jules looked past her, halfway expecting to see Alyssa’s abusive boyfriend lurking somewhere in the darkness. For the past several weeks, they’d been having lengthyconversations about Alyssa’s tumultuous relationship with a guy who was not only verbally abusive but had lost his temper and slapped her around a few times. Once, he’d hit her.

“Would you like to come in?”

“No, that’s okay. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

Good to know that Alyssa wasn’t planning to stay long. Jules really did need to get to work.

Alyssa twisted her hands. “I’m finally leaving him.”

Jules blinked, relief spritzing through her. “You are?” She couldn’t count the number of times she’d urged Alyssa to leave her boyfriend. Jules feared the advice had fallen on deaf ears. Alyssa kept insisting that she loved the guy so much that she didn’t have the strength to leave him. Jules was glad to know that something she’d said finally got through.

Jules first broached the topic when she noticed the bruises on Alyssa’s arm. At first, Alyssa claimed that she had a bad habit of bumping into furniture. However, Jules kept asking questions. Alyssa finally broke down and admitted what was happening. Jules urged Alyssa to press charges and get a restraining order against the guy, but Alyssa balked. Then she clammed up, refusing to divulge the man’s name. When Jules questioned if she knew the guy, Alyssa shook her headnoand then admitted that she’d met him on a dating app.

That was Alyssa’s first mistake. Call her old-fashioned, but as far as Jules was concerned, it was never wise to date someone you met on an app.

A sad smile overtook Alyssa’s lips. “I kept hoping that he would change …” Her voice dribbled off as she touched her stomach in a protective gesture. “I no longer have the luxury of waiting around for things to be different.”

Jules’s voice shot up an octave. “You’re pregnant?”

“I am.”

“That’s fantastic! Congratulations!” A new life was always something to be celebrated, even though Alyssa was in a precarious situation.

“It is,” Alyssa agreed, a quiet glow settling over her pretty features.

Jules reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You’ll be a great mom.” Maybe some good would come out of the sordid ordeal.

“Thank you.”

“So you’re leaving your boyfriend?” She wanted to hear Alyssa say it once more so she could be reassured that her friend would follow through with her words. Jules could only imagine how vulnerable Alyssa felt right now. The prospect of being a single mom had to be daunting. She didn’t want her friend to slip back into old habits and get back with her boyfriend in a weak moment. Clearly, the guy had some sort of twisted control over Alyssa.

The dull throb in her foot drew her attention. She was reminded that precious time was ticking away. She would certainly be late for work now. Oh, well. LouAnna would just have to get over it. Alyssa obviously needed her right now, or she wouldn’t have shown up at her doorstep at this hour of the morning.

“I am leaving him. In fact, I’m leaving Fort Worth … right now.”

Jules jerked. “You are?” This was a shock. Alyssa was a fixture at the surgical center. In fact, she was the one who trained Jules when she first started working there.

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