Page 66 of Home Team Advantage
“Welcome back, Anna,” the soothing voice said. A tall man with dark hair and bright blue eyes was looking right at her. “I’m Dr. Callaghan.”
She blinked at him. Callaghan, like Kieran and Faith. One of Kieran’s many brothers? The resemblance was certainly there.
“You’re in Pine Ridge Hospital,” he continued. “You’re bruised and banged up, but you’re going to be okay. Right now, you just need to rest and relax and leave the rest to us, okay?”
A dull ache radiated through her body, and her face felt like it was twice its normal size. She tried to lift her hand up that way, but it was difficult. The doctor put his hand on her forearm and coaxed it back down.
“We’ve immobilized your shoulder to reduce the swelling. We’ve also got an IV line keeping you hydrated and providing a little happy juice to keep you comfortable.”
That explained the muted pain and general fogginess.
“Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.
So many questions. Like, Where is Manny? and, When are they taking me back to jail? But she didn’t know how much he knew about the situation that had put her in there. She didn’t want to say or do anything that was going to end up with her getting cuffed to the bed.
She shook her head slowly.
His smile was kind. “Okay, Anna. I’ll be in to check on you later. Do you feel up to visitors?”
Her mind immediately went to Matt. He was the one to find her. He was the one to rescue her. Had she thanked him before she passed out?
But it wasn’t Matt who entered. It was his mother, and she was pushing Mrs. Campbell in a wheelchair.
“Oh, child,” Mrs. Campbell said, drawing closer to the bed. “What did that animal do to you?”
Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes. She was so happy to see the older woman alive and well. “You’re okay,” she whispered.
“Right as rain,” Elsa said.
“I’m so sorry.”
“None of that now,” Elsa scolded.
Anna hadn’t switched Elsa’s meds, but if she’d been paying closer attention, she might have noticed. That would weigh on her conscience forever. As Elsa’s caregiver, she had failed.
“Hi, Anna,” Faith said, her face a mask of concern. “How are you feeling?”
She was alive, in large part due to Faith’s son, who was, very noticeably, not there. “I’m okay.”
The look in both Elsa’s and Faith’s eyes told her they knew she was full of shit.
“Michael is setting me free today,” Elsa said. “He’s such a nice boy. So handsome, too, like the rest of them.”
“You’re going home?”
“Not exactly,” Elsa said. “Michael has arranged for me to go to a rehab facility for a week. He believes physical therapy can help me with my balance problems. After that, well, you’ll be back on your feet, and we can go home together.”
Anna blinked. Was Elsa confused? Did she not remember that Anna had been arrested and in the midst of being taken to the correctional facility when she was abducted?
A nurse came in to take Anna’s vitals, and Faith and Mrs. Campbell left. Anna spent the day dozing, trying to figure things out. She expected the police to show up at any minute, but they didn’t. In fact, besides medical staff, no one came to see her.
While disappointing, the lack of visitors wasn’t surprising. She didn’t know anyone besides Mrs. Campbell. Well, except for Matt, of course. She’d hoped he’d stop by, if for no other reason than to thank him, but that didn’t happen.
Anna had been alone for a long time, but this was the loneliest she’d ever felt. She supposed that was what happened when your job became more than a job and you began to care about the people you worked for on more than just a professional level. It sucked that her past had to resurface now, in this place, around these people, but life wasn’t always fair, was it?
Around dinnertime, she asked that her IVs be removed, reasoning that she’d been hydrating all day and her pain levels were such that they could be kept under control with tablets. She honestly didn’t expect the request to be granted, but within the hour, a nurse was disconnecting everything. She was even allowed to use the bathroom and get a seated shower with only minimal assistance.
Anna knew she had to get out. It was the only viable option. Get out, get far away, and start creating a new life.
