Chapter 15

Morgan hadn’t wanted to deal with Andrea’s mother, so she retreated. Today had been one long uphill battle, and she was tired. When was this all going to be over? Andrea’s mother was right, though. Morgan hadn’t done her job. She had underestimated the threat, and now Andrea was paying for it.

She sat at her desk lost in thought and misery and didn’t know Henry had shown up until he said, “Hey. Morelli’s wearing a tutu.”

“Huh?” Morgan snapped back to the present. “Where?”

“I knew that would grab your attention.”

“What time is it, smart-ass?”

“Just after two. Where were you?” He looked at her with concern.

“Right here.”

“No, your body was here, but your mind was somewhere else.”

“Nowhere. I was nowhere.” With those words, Morgan rested her head on her good arm.

“So, how did the meeting with the parents go?”

“Humph,” she mumbled into the desk, hoping the unintelligible answer would satisfy him.

“That good, huh? I gather you tucked tail and ran?”

She lifted her head and rubbed her hand over her face in frustration. “No, I really didn’t. I was just tired of all the fighting.”

“Uh-huh. Now that’s the Morgan O’Callaghan I know. You don’t scare that easily.”

She sighed. “I thought I gave a good account of myself, but still Andrea’s mother was pretty convincing. I tried, Henry, but do you know how hard it is to fight a mother? And especially one like that? She came out swinging, and all I could do was block. Andrea would never forgive me if I really fought back. Her mom plays dirty.”

“Like questioning your competency as a police officer? A typical cheap shot.”

“Hey, how did you know that?”

“Oh, come on. You take a lot of pride in being a good cop. And it shows. Wouldn’t have taken too much to see that, and I know that something like that would hurt.”

“No, her mother was right. I couldn’t even protect Andrea.”

Henry shook his head sadly. “Well, I don’t know. The way you’re acting right now, maybe she’s right.”

“Hey!”

“No, you run scared at the first sign of resistance. You must have known they would react like this, so what’s really scaring you?”

“Nothing,” she said in exasperation.

“Right, and you’re sitting here wallowing in self pity while her parents are making all sorts of plans to get her home.”

“Aw, hell. Do you have to tell me this? I feel bad enough as it is.”

“And so you should. I know you better than that, Red. You’re a fighter, so why aren’t you in there kicking butt?”

“Because that woman found every little crack in my defense. She questioned everything I had questioned myself about. How can I fight that?”

“Are you going to see Andy tonight?”

“No.” There was an air of finality in that one word.

“If that’s the way you feel, maybe you’d better admit defeat now. Heaven forbid you should be happy.”

Morgan glared at him, trying to intimidate him.

“That’s not going to work with me, Red.” He kept his voice low. “Now, if you’ve finished feeling sorry for yourself, let’s get back to work.”

They spent the afternoon poring over statements from neighbors, relatives, friends, and acquaintances of the Vaughan family. It painted a picture of an affluent family whose understated wealth was a notable feature of their public façade. Connie Vaughan was a typical token bride, spending much of her time shopping with her girlfriends. Morgan, however, did give her her due. When Arthur needed her attendance at an official function, she seemed to carry herself with dignity and aplomb. Despite what Morgan’s personal opinion was, it seemed Arthur had made a good match. Chelsea Vaughan, however, was proving more elusive. She lived in a surprisingly modest apartment, considering her station in life. To Morgan it was a matter of perception. Compared to what she herself lived in, Chelsea’s apartment was a palace. With her family’s wealth, however, Chelsea’s home was on the small side. Surely her father would have willingly given her whatever she wanted, so why was she trying to deny her wealth? Her alibi was another matter. It was shaky at best. While Chelsea claimed she was at a party then at home around the time in question, her friends couldn’t account for her whereabouts after two a.m. Had she gone home as she claimed, or was there something more to her story that Morgan still had to discover?

“Henry? I think Chelsea Vaughan needs a little more investigation.”

Despite her best intentions, Morgan found herself standing outside Andrea’s room, faltering at the last step when she heard voices coming from the other side of the door. She took refuge in the cafeteria until Andrea’s family had departed. A voice on the PA system announced the end of visiting hours, but she allowed a bit more time in case Andrea’s family took their time leaving. Twenty minutes later, Morgan paused outside Andrea’s doorway, taking a deep breath before pushing through the door to find Andrea sitting up in bed, a male nurse injecting something into her IV.

“What are you doing?” Morgan asked him. The nurse ignored her and continued to feed in the liquid from the syringe.

“It’s just something to help me sleep.”

Morgan looked the nurse up and down, taking in the calm demeanor, the crisp look of his scrubs, and the boots on his feet.

“Andrea, take out your IV. Now.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just do it.” Morgan reached for her weapon, but it caught in her jacket. Andrea made a move to pull the needle from her hand, and the nurse punched her in the temple. Reacting instantly, Morgan lowered her head and ran straight into the man, slamming him against the wall with her good shoulder as leverage. The vases rattled with the impact, and two of them fell and shattered on the floor. Morgan drove her knee into the man’s groin and sent him to his knees in agony. She moved to Andrea’s side, ripped out the IV, and hit the button for the nurse.

She tore the sling off her arm and prepared for another attack. The man tried to stand. One hand covered his groin, and he groaned as he straightened. He growled and charged at her. Wrapping his arms around her torso, he trapped her damaged wrist in between their two bodies. He squeezed hard and Morgan cried out in pain.

“Now we’re even,” he snarled. He shifted his grip to reach for her gun, but the holster was safely tucked underneath her jacket. Now he was in the same predicament as she was and unable to extract her weapon.

“No, we’re not,” Morgan said through clenched teeth.

“Nowhere near enough.” The bear hug gave her very little room to move. She dropped her good hand and grabbed his genitals, squeezing as if her life depended on it. He roared in pain, but she held on until he released her. She jumped back to give herself plenty of room and knocked him out with a roundhouse kick to his head. Morgan cursed at the handicap of a casted wrist but managed to flop him onto his face and put handcuffs on him. A nurse arrived in the doorway, looked in, and disappeared. Morgan perched herself on the end of Andrea’s bed and held her wrist as pain surged up through her arm. She checked Andrea, relieved to see her pulse still beating strongly in her neck. So close. Again. How many more times would Andrea have to look death in the face only to be snatched back at the last moment? Her odds of saving Andrea decreased with each incident. It was only a matter of time before she’d finally be too late.

Two police officers arrived and stood in the doorway watching them. Morgan was way past pissed. “Where the fuck were you?”

“On duty, Sergeant, like we were supposed to be.”

“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear the fight going on?”

“We didn’t hear anything,” the second officer said.

“The door was closed, Sergeant. It’s very hard to hear anything over the noise in the corridor.”

“You two listen to me. Anytime, and I mean anytime, someone comes into this room you will double-check their ID. You will make sure that one of you is in the room all the time that person is attending to the counselor. She’s not to be left alone with anyone in this room. Do I make myself clear?” Morgan’s voice got steadily louder as she made her point.

“Yes, Sergeant!” Both answered as one. “Sorry.”

“This is not over, you hear me?” Morgan was barely keeping her anger in check, her finger jabbing the air in front of their faces. The assailant had very nearly killed Andrea, and possibly herself as well.

Forcing herself to calm down, Morgan moved out of the way as a team of doctors and nurses arrived to examine Andrea. “Doctor, this man injected something into the patient’s IV.” Immediately, one team started working on Andrea while a second team dealt with the man on the floor.

Watching the medical team work over Andrea unnerved Morgan, so she moved out into the corridor. She reached for her cell phone and dialed a number that had been used way too often recently. “Henry, something’s happened at the hospital. How soon can you get here?”

Twenty minutes later, Henry arrived, a little disheveled. Morgan gave him a rundown of the attack on Andrea. “Is she okay?” he asked.

“I think so, thank God. She’ll have a headache from hell from where the guy slugged her. They’re still trying to find out what he put in her IV.”

“How did you know?”

“He was wearing boots. Why is it they never think about the feet?”

“Where is he?”

“He’s wrapped up ready for delivery. I enjoyed that bit,”

Morgan said with grim pleasure.

“And what about you? You look like shit.”

Morgan chuckled. If Henry said she looked like shit, she was in serious trouble. “Yeah, I guess I do. I’m not really ready for a fight yet.” She reached into her pocket and extracted a bottle of painkillers. She opened it, popped a pill into her mouth, and dry swallowed it. The pill eventually took effect, and the steady throbbing in her wrist slowly abated while they waited for the doctors to finish with Andrea. Markham arrived a short time later, a look of bulldog determination on his face. Congregating around the water cooler in the waiting room, three worried people held a meeting. “So, is this the end of it? They’ve got him in custody, right?” a concerned Captain Markham asked.

“Yeah, they do, but he’s not talking. Not even name, rank, and serial number.” What Morgan really wanted to do was find some nice quiet alley and beat the information out of him, especially after all the pain he had caused. It was moments like this that she wished she wasn’t so damned ethical. In a more sane state, she would have berated herself for even thinking such a thing, but right now, she only wanted him to suffer. “The end of it?” she said aloud. “God, I hope so. I really do.”

“Officer.” Andrea’s primary doctor appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, raising his voice to get Morgan’s attention. He strode across the few feet between them with authority, a young clinician who seemed full of his own importance.

“What did you find?” Morgan saw him stiffen, probably because she didn’t use his title.

“You were right to pull the IV. The intruder was injecting her with morphine. If the patient had gotten a big enough dose, she might not have survived.”

Oh, God. “Is she all right?”

“She’s fine.”

Morgan exhaled loudly in relief. Her mind played over the scene on the precinct stoop. Recalling the spreading red stain on Andrea’s blouse sent a shiver through her, reminding her how close she had come to losing her.

“Is she up for visitors?” Markham asked.

“Yes,” the doctor said, “but only for a few minutes. She really needs some rest.”

“Thanks.” Morgan was the first to move, nearly knocking over Henry and Markham in her need to check on Andrea. She stopped herself from running down the corridor to the room, but she knew she had left the two men behind in her haste. Morgan stared at Andrea from the doorway. She looked oddly dwarfed in the large bed. “Hey,” Morgan said, as Andrea sat up and smiled.

“Hey,” Andrea said back. “Looks like you saved me again.”

“Lucky I was in the neighborhood, I guess.”

“Definitely,” Henry said. “Though I thought you weren’t visiting her tonight.”

“So I changed my mind. So what?” She glared at Henry who grinned back at her.

Markham approached the bed. “Counselor, how are you doing?”

“I could be better. But considering what might have happened, I’m doing okay.”

“Good to hear. I guess you’re wishing now that you had stayed in Charleston, huh?”

“Oh, I don’t know. New York has its charm.” She glanced over at Morgan before focusing again on Markham. “What’s going on?”

“Morgan nailed him and we have him in custody. That should be the end of it,” Markham said, though Morgan thought he didn’t sound as sure as she would have liked.

“I’ll be glad to get back to work,” Andrea said before she smiled up at him.

“Take your time. I got hold of the district attorney. He’s been out of town, as I’m sure you know. It took a bit of fast-talking to keep him from running off to the airport in his jammies. I informed him we have the perpetrator in custody. He’ll be in to see you tomorrow. And don’t worry about work. It will still be there when you get back. Your recovery comes first.”

Morgan watched Markham, amazed. No one at the station house ever saw this side of him. They usually got the snarling, impatient career cop who wanted answers yesterday. Her respect for him jumped a couple notches as he patted Andrea’s hand.

“O’Callaghan, Chang, I’ll see you two in the morning. And don’t worry about escorting the suspect down to the station house. I want that pleasure myself to make sure he’s safely tucked in for the night. I’ll leave the two officers outside the door for the evening to finish their shift.”

“If you don’t need me, sir, I’ll stick around here for a little while,” Morgan said, somewhat tentatively.

“If you think you should.” Markham winked at her. “Just don’t be late for work.”

“I’m not staying all night, just a few minutes.”

Henry smirked and she glared at him again. She motioned him to leave and swore she heard a chuckle drifting down the corridor. She sat carefully on the edge of the bed, within Andrea’s reach.

“So,” Morgan said. This close, she suspected Andrea could read her like yesterday’s newspaper, seeing all her secrets and fears. Andrea touched her cheek.

“Why did you come back tonight?” Andrea asked quietly.

“I was just visiting you. What’s wrong with that?”

Andrea studied her, raising an eyebrow.

“What? You don’t believe me?”

Andrea waited, her expression not changing.

“Okay, okay. I couldn’t stay away from you. You want to make something of it?”

There was an almost imperceptible shake of Andrea’s head. Morgan nervously changed the subject. “How are you really feeling?”

“The doctor gave me a shot for the pain, so I’m not feeling much right now.”

“Wish he’d given me a shot,” Morgan muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing. You seem to be in better shape than I am at the moment.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Just got banged up a little. I’ll live.”

“Morgan! We need to have you looked at.”

“No. I’m fine. Seriously. He got the drop on me, that’s all.”

“That’s not like you.” Andrea frowned.

“Known me a few days, and you know that, huh?”

“I knew it from the moment I saw you.”

“He surprised me because I was thinking about something else.”

“What? Where was your mind?”

“With you.” Morgan took a deep breath. “I was with you.”

“Really?”

Morgan’s heart jumped in her chest as a shy smile crossed Andrea’s lips.

“Wow,” Andrea finally said.

“Wow? That’s it?”

“Yeah,” Andrea whispered. “Wow.”

“Wow,” Morgan repeated. “I guess that says it all.”

“Oh, yeah.”

They sat quietly for a moment. A line in the sand had just been removed by mutual consent. Andrea broke the silence. “So, what happens now?”

“I’ll have the pleasure of interrogating our little friend tomorrow—”

“Not about that.”

“Huh? Oh. Um, nothing’s going to happen. At least not until this case is over.”

“Why?”

“I don’t need the distraction right now.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Morgan knew she’d said the wrong thing.

“A distraction? I’m a distraction?”

“No—yes. God, woman. See what you do to me? I can’t think straight around you. Can’t we just wait until all this is over? Please?”

“What? You mean to tell me you finally say yes, and I’ve got to wait? My mother put you up to this, didn’t she?”

“Good God, Andrea.”

“No. This is so not fair, Morgan. You’re doing this to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”

“I most certainly am not.”

“Well, regardless, you’re succeeding.”

“Calm down.”

“Calm down? This is one of the most momentous days of my life, and you want me to calm down?”

What could she do? Andrea was at full steam, and Morgan couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “Andrea—”

“Yeah, I’m going to come unglued here. Is that what you want?” Andrea was talking as though Morgan wasn’t even in the room. “God. Why am I so tired?”

“Andy—”

“I’m stuck in this uncomfortable as all hell bed, and she finally — finally—tells me what I want to hear, and I can’t do a single solitary goddamn thing about it.” Andrea persistently worked herself into a bundle of nervous energy.

“Andy!”

“Huh? What?”

“Will you calm down? You’re going to blow a gasket. Then where will you be?”

“In a hospital, I guess. Just as well I’m here already, isn’t it?”

“Are you sure it’s over between you and Joel?” It was probably not the ideal time to bring up the question, but what she did next depended on an answer.

“Yes, but I thought you heard that.”

“I did. I just wanted to make sure,” Morgan said nervously.

“I’m sure it’s over, and Joel knows that. Is that good enough for you?”

“I suppose so.”

“Why did you want to know that?”

The words might have been innocent, but Andrea was closely watching her. They both knew what this meant, and Andrea didn’t seem horrified at the thought. In fact, if anything, she was encouraging her. Was Morgan up to this?

“I just wanted to make sure there was no fiancé hanging around in the background, that’s all.”

“Really? I would never—”

“And neither would I, that’s the point.” Why did they have to discuss this? Morgan was never any good with expressing her feelings.

“So, what does that mean? You won’t?”

“Not won’t, at least I don’t think so.”

“Make some sense, woman!”

“I wish I could. Oh, Lord, I wish I could. I want this to happen, I really do, but there are some things I have to sort out in my head before that. But I don’t know how. You make me feel things that I feel I shouldn’t feel, Andrea, and it’s confusing me to the point of insanity. So, if I’m not making much sense to you as far as my intentions go, it’s not you it’s me.”

“So, is that a no?”

Morgan sighed. “Look. I didn’t say no, did I?” She waited for confirmation from Andrea before she continued. “It’s a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if.’”

“I guess so.” Andrea’s lips turned down, presenting a very cute pout, and Morgan laughed.

“Are you laughing at me?”

Morgan knew this was one argument she wasn’t going to win.

“Yeah, but only because you look so adorable when you pout.”

“Pout? I do not pout.”

“If I seem a little skittish at times I’m just asking you to be patient with me, okay?”

“Okay.” But there was disappointment in Andrea’s voice.

“Uh-huh.” She finally got to use the phrase that had haunted her the last few days. “Now, if you don’t behave yourself, I might be forced to do something drastic.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I was going to kiss you good night...”

“Really? An honest-to-goodness kiss with no strings attached?”

“Will you stop all this ranting and raving?”

“Okay. But be gentle, okay? This is my first real kiss from you. I’m used to stubble.”

“Do you want me to go home and grow a beard?”

“Hmm.” Andrea’s expression was thoughtful, as if she were seriously considering the idea.

“I might be able to do many things, Counselor, but growing a beard isn’t one of them.” Adrenaline zipped through Morgan’s veins at Andrea’s response. It was turning out even better than she had ever imagined. It looked like her solitary life was coming to a close, and despite her misgivings, she wanted it so badly she could nearly taste it. Morgan was simply content for the moment to ride the wave of excitement at the prospect of a relationship with Andrea. She dismissed all the problems that would arise for both of them, not only with regard to work but also in their personal lives. As for her past, she was going to work damned hard on getting around that, too.

Morgan didn’t let her thoughts show, though she was feeling a lot of things at that moment. Apprehension, nausea, excitement, and sensual heat. “All right, then.” She leaned toward Andrea, barely brushing her lips with her own.

“That’s it?”

Morgan smiled indulgently, but she wasn’t prepared for Andrea’s hand to grip the back of her neck and draw her into another kiss. Neither wild nor frantic, this kiss was an expression of commitment to the journey the two of them were about to embark on. Gentle, slow, thorough, and loving.

Morgan withdrew, her eyes still dreamily closed. Finally she opened them to see Andrea’s reaction. “So?”

“So? You want a critique or something?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Morgan said jokingly. But she was deadly serious. What if Andrea didn’t like it?

“Ah, I see. You’re waiting for me to run screaming to the hills, aren’t you?”

“No. Well, maybe a bit.”

“I’m still here.”

“Yes, you are.” Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. Did she dare hope she could finally be free from memories of that night all those years ago? Could Andrea banish the demons to the darkness, where they would remain as fading phantoms afraid to come out into the light?

“So, Darth Vader, are you going to bring me over to the Dark Side?”

“Luke,” Morgan shot back, “you will feel the power of the Force.”

Andrea chuckled. “If that was anything to go by, I’ll gladly follow you anywhere, my Lord.”

Morgan glanced at her watch and saw how late it was. “I guess I’d better go and let you get some rest.”

“I suppose so. When will I see you again?”

“I’ll probably be busy tomorrow with our little perpetrator.”

Morgan hadn’t wanted to broach the subject of Andrea’s family, but she did want Andrea to know why she wouldn’t see her too often in the hospital. “Besides, your family will be here to keep you company.” She fidgeted with the blanket on Andrea’s bed.

“My family? You’re not scared of them, are you?”

Morgan couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Just ignore my mother, okay? She still thinks she has a right to make my decisions for me. As far as I’m concerned, she can go to hell. It’s my decision, and I’ve made it. Okay?”

“Okay.” But Morgan was still uncertain.

Andrea squeezed her hand. “You did absolutely nothing wrong. My mother just knows how to read people and how to exploit the hell out of it, too.”

“But she was right.”

“No, she wasn’t. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because I got a warning call the day after the hit-and-run, and the caller said he was using you to get to me. It’s about the Vaughan case, Andrea. He’s hurting you to make me drop the case or mess it up. Who the hell knows?”

“Really? Somebody called you with that?”

“Yeah,” Morgan said dully, “so I’m at fault here and I can’t protect you.”

“But don’t you see? You caught him. He can’t hurt me anymore.”

“But look what he’s done to you already.”

“Please. A little scratch here, a little hole there. But what he has given me is far, far more than I could have ever imagined.”

“What?”

“He gave me you,” Andrea said with mock exasperation. “It was worth it, if it made you realize what we could have. Don’t you see that?”

“I would rather have kept you in one piece,” Morgan said.

“And miss out on all the pampering you’re going to bestow on me? Not likely.”

Morgan smiled. “I’ve got to go.”

“Can you visit tomorrow night?”

“I have a ton of stuff to do. Maybe.”

“I’ll get my parents out of here quick, okay?”

Morgan half laughed. Andrea could read her pretty well.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”