She broke off, looked back down at Trueheart’s young, pale face. “Jesus, Feeney. He’s just a kid.”
*** CHAPTER SEVENTEEN ***
Eve burst through the emergency room doors in the wake of the gurney and fast-talking MTs. The words were like slaps, hard and ringing. Under the barrage of them she heard something about spinal injuries, internal bleeding.
When they hit the doors of an examining room, an enormous nurse, her skin a gleaming ebony against the pale blue of her tunic, blocked Eve’s path.
“Step aside, sister. That’s my man down in there.”
“No, you step aside, sister.” The nurse laid a boulder-sized hand on Eve’s shoulder. “Medical personnel only beyond this point. You’ve got some pretty good facial lacerations there. Take Exam Four. Someone will be along to clean you up.”
“I can clean myself up. That boy in there belongs to me. I’m his lieutenant.”
“Well, Lieutenant, you’re just going to have to let the doctors do what they do.” She pulled out a memo board. “You want to help, give me his personal data.”
Eve elbowed the nurse aside, moved to the observation glass, but didn’t attempt to push through again. God, she hated hospitals. Hated them. All she could see was a flurry of movement, green scrubs for the doctors, blue for the nursing staff.
And Trueheart unconscious on the table under harsh lights while they worked on him.
“Lieutenant.” The nurse’s voice softened. “Let’s help each other out here. We both want the same thing. Give me what you can on the patient.”
“Trueheart. Christ, what’s his first name. Peabody?”
“Troy,” Peabody said from behind her. “It’s Troy. He’s twenty-two.”
Eve simply laid her brow against the glass, shut her eyes and relayed the cause of injuries.
“We’ll take care of him,” the nurse told her. “Now get yourself into Four.” She swung through the doors, became part of the blue and green wall.
“Peabody, find his family. Have a couple of counselors contact them.”
“Yes, sir. Feeney and McNab are monitoring Stiles. He’s in the next room.”
More gurneys were streaming in. The injured at Grand Central were going to keep the ER busy for the rest of the night with cuts, bruises, and broken bones. “I’ll inform the commander of the current status.” She stepped back from the glass so that she could give her report without wavering.
When she was done, she took her position by the doors and called home.
“Roarke.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“I—I’m at the hospital.”
“Where? Which one?”
“Roosevelt. Listen—”
“I’m on my way.”
“No, wait. I’m okay. I’ve got a man down. A boy,” she said and nearly broke. “He’s a goddamn boy. They’re working on him. I need to stay until…I need to stay.”
“I’m on my way,” he said again.
She started to protest, then simply nodded. “Yeah. Thanks
.”
The nurse pushed back through the doors, sent Eve one smoking look. “Why aren’t you in Room Four?”