Mountain Ambush Read online

  Apologize for his rude behavior.

  “She’s a weird duck,” Oscar said.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Bossy one minute, friendly the next.”

  Which actually sounded like Spence tonight thanks to the head injury.

  “You ready for your MRI?” Oscar said.

  “Yes.” Spence got out of bed and shifted his feet onto the floor. When Oscar reached out for the assist, Spence motioned him off. “I’m fine.”

  Maddie was right. He kept repeating the words, but even Spence knew it wasn’t true. He sat in the wheelchair and Oscar adjusted the footrests.

  The MRI was one more thing to check off the list. The radiologist wouldn’t see anything alarming and Spence would be released in the morning.

  As Oscar wheeled him to the elevator, Spence closed his eyes, giving hospital staff the message that he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Unfortunately, Oscar couldn’t see Spence’s face.

  “That was some fight you got into on the trail, huh?” Oscar said.

  “It was.”

  “Good thing you shot at the guy and scared him off.”

  Spence was about to correct him, to say that Maddie had fired the weapon, but didn’t want to encourage further conversation. They successfully avoided hospital staff as Oscar wheeled him into the elevator.

  Spence sighed with relief. Relief? He was usually outgoing, not the type of person to avoid social interaction.

  The elevator doors closed. “Head hurts, huh?” Oscar asked.

  “Yes.” Spence nodded and rubbed his temples.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Why? It’s not your fault,” Spence snapped. “Sorry.”

  Again, that was not like him. He chalked it up to the hammering in his skull that wouldn’t quit. It would make anyone cranky. Perhaps he should ask for a pain reliever to help him sleep tonight.

  Then again, sleep would only bring more nightmares, and besides, they were careful not to overmedicate patients suffering from head trauma.

  Spence focused on relaxing for the MRI. Being in that enclosed space wasn’t the most pleasant experience with the banging, knocking and buzzing sounds filling the tube.

  When they got to imaging, Oscar handed Spence off to an MRI tech named Kurt. As Kurt helped him onto the table, Spence could tell the medication was taking effect. He felt relaxed, and even a little light-headed.

  “Music choice?” Kurt asked, handing Spence headphones.

  Spence stretched out on the table. “Classical.”

  “Okay. I can hear you so if you have any concerns while the procedure—”

  “I won’t,” Spence said. He wanted this done, over. He wanted to go home to his remote cabin.

  As Spence lay still, arms by his sides, the tech slid the table into the tube. A moment later, classical music drifted through the headphones. He’d try to find a peaceful place in his mind, a calm place. He’d always found peace in Echo Mountain National Park surrounded by majestic evergreens, pine and cedar trees—a blanket of green spanning the mountain range.

  Green like Maddie’s eyes.

  That’s why she’d been able to calm him down, because her eyes reminded him of the one place he could find comfort.

  The hammering sounds of the MRI scan started to interfere with the calming effect of the music. His thoughts drifted to this afternoon’s rescue, finding Gwen and the brutal attack. Should he have performed the complicated procedure on her considering his brain trauma? Of course. Gwen was okay now, breathing on her own, Maddie said as much.

  Maddie, his defender. She’d saved his life.

  The medication caused him to drift deeper...deeper.

  He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when silence filled the tube. Were they done? Had Spence slept through the forty-five minute procedure?

  Heavy metal music blasted through the headphones, sparking a migraine that clawed its way through his skull.

  “Ah!” He ripped off the headphones and fought the nausea rolling through his stomach.

  The table slid out of the tube.

  He was surrounded by darkness.

  “Kurt?” he said, his voice weak.

  Spence rolled off the table and stumbled across the room. The door, he needed to find the door.

  “Kurt!”

  “He can’t help you,” a voice whispered.

  Spence whipped around. “Who’s there?”

  “It’s time to pay for your sins.”

  THREE

  Maddie motored down the hall, checking email on her phone. She didn’t want to be cornered by female staff members for an update on Dr. Perfect Spencer, nor did she want to perpetuate the story that he’d fired off the warning shot to save Maddie. That bit of untruth had been spreading like the flu ever since they’d arrived at the hospital, but Chief Walsh asked Maddie not to discuss details of the case. So rather than correct the chatterboxes and tell them she had saved Dr. Dreamboat, Maddie had to play the helpless waif.

  Anyone who knew Maddie knew she was a determined woman who did not need protecting. But it was too easy for people to assume Dr. Spencer had been the protector since he was the confident and commanding type.

  He didn’t seem very commanding just now. Fear dulled his normally bright blue eyes. His lost expression, combined with his messed-up hair and bruise on the side of his forehead, made him seem almost...fragile.

  Kind of like Maddie after she’d been abandoned. Again.

  She shook off the thought. Even a capable man like Dr. Spencer would be rattled after being assaulted by a lunatic in the mountains. Yet Dr. Spencer had been so worried about Gwen that he had managed to ignore his head injury long enough to successfully intubate her.

  “Amazing,” she whispered to herself. Even if she didn’t particularly care for the doc’s overconfidence and bravado, she could definitely appreciate his skills. She hoped those skills wouldn’t be affected by his head injury.

  She stepped outside into the misty rain and paced the hospital’s front walkway. Pulling her rain jacket closed in front, she struggled to forget the image of the doctor’s expression as he’d gripped her hand resting on his shoulder. As a paramedic, she recognized the expression—fear mixed with vulnerability—because she’d seen it on her patients’ faces.

  Yet this was different. It was vulnerability, sure, but an edge of confusion dulled his eyes. She’d seen that look on Aunt Margaret’s face when Uncle Jack had suddenly died of a heart attack years ago. The same look had pinched Dr. Spencer’s forehead when he’d awakened from his nightmare calling out a name: Bobby. Maddie suspected Dr. Spencer had lost someone close to him and that emotional wound had yet to heal.

  Aunt Margaret said the only thing that kept her going after her husband’s death was the support and love of family. Maddie glanced back at the hospital. Dr. Spencer had no family, at least none in Echo Mountain. Instead, he was surrounded by a hospital full of admirers, people who propped him up on a pedestal and adored him. They completely bought into the Dr. Charming act he performed every time he showed up for work.

  Would they be able to see past their admiration and realize how scared he was? Would he let them see past his normally affable demeanor into the devastation brewing beneath the surface? Probably not, but Maddie had already been there, heard his cry for Bobby and saw the terrified look in his eyes.

  She imagined that was how she looked when Dad had left, then Mom, and then Waylan.

  Her cousin Bree pulled up in her SUV. Perfect timing. Maddie needed to snap out of her pensive mood.

  Maddie started to reach for the SUV door, then let her hand drop to her side.

  Bree rolled down the passenger side window. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Are you get
ting in?”

  Something told her to go back inside and check on the doctor, even if he was snappy and asked her to leave again. Being there could help him feel safe, and she owed him that for what he did for Cassie. That’s all, there was nothing more to it.

  “I’m sorry, but I think I’d better stay,” Maddie said.

  “Are you sure? I mean, you’re here so much as it is,” Bree said.

  “Yeah, I need to check on somebody.”

  “You’ve really got to stop getting emotionally connected to your patients, sweetie. Boundaries, remember?”

  “You’re right, but this one...” Maddie sighed. “It’s Dr. Spencer. I won’t be able to sleep unless I know he’s okay.”

  “I heard some guy attacked him. But wait, you don’t even like Spence.”

  “I know, but he helped Nate save Cassie last year and, well, he seems kind of broken.”

  “Maddie,” her cousin said.

  “What?”

  “When are you gonna stop trying to fix people?”

  “It’s my job, remember?” Maddie teased.

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  “This is different.”

  “He’s got an entire hospital of people to take care of him.”

  “They don’t know what’s really going on. Please don’t be upset with me. I’ll catch a ride with Rocky when he gets off his extra shift. I just—” She glanced at the hospital, and then back at her cousin. “You always say to follow your instincts.”

  “It’s true.”

  “Sorry I dragged you out here.”

  “No need to apologize. Had to pick up something for Mom anyway.”

  “Give her my love.”

  “Will do.” Bree winked and pulled away.

  Maddie felt a smile curl the corner of her lips. She had the best family in the world, even if her parents weren’t included on that list.

  Maddie reentered the hospital and headed for imaging where they’d taken Dr. Spencer. For some reason she wanted to be there when he finished.

  As she stepped into the elevator her phone vibrated and she glanced at a text from Rocky, fellow paramedic and rumored love interest. She was still a bit stunned about that assumption.

  You okay? Heard rumors, Rocky wrote.

  A-OK. No worries, she responded.

  Heard the doc shot some guy.

  “Really?” she muttered. Oh, how she wanted to share the truth with her friend, but she would not ignore a direct order from Chief Walsh. He must have his reasons for asking her to remain mute on the subject.

  Grapevine’s been busy, she responded.

  The elevator doors opened to the lower level and she glanced up.

  Into a pitch-black hallway.

  No lights, no emergency lights, nothing. Yet no alarms had gone off and everything was business as usual upstairs.

  She stepped out of the elevator.

  A crash echoed down the hall from the imaging room.

  Maddie texted Rocky that there was trouble and to send security ASAP. Maybe she was overreacting—she hoped she was overreacting.

  “Get away from me!” Dr. Spencer shouted.

  Maddie snapped her penlight off her keychain and made her way down the hall. Maybe not such a good idea. She should wait for help to arrive. Surely it wouldn’t take security more than a few minutes to—

  Another crash, then “Stop!”

  She dropped to her knees and crawled toward the imaging area. The desperate tone of the doc’s voice drove her forward. As she edged closer, she took slow breaths to calm her racing pulse.

  She turned the corner and aimed her penlight into the office.

  The technician, Kurt, lay motionless on the floor. She scrambled to his side and felt for a pulse. Strong and steady. He was alive, but completely out. She pried open his eyes. Pupils were dilated. Had he been drugged?

  “What do you want?” Dr. Spencer shouted.

  A low mumble responded to the question. She glanced at the tech, then at the window into the MRI area. If the attacker was bold enough to drug Kurt, he might do much worse to Dr. Spencer.

  She scanned the office for something to use as a weapon. Unfortunately hospitals were not rife with defensive tools. Fine, she’d rely on her self-defense training.

  “Let go of me!” Another crash was followed by a slam against the window.

  Adrenaline shot through Maddie’s body. She shouldered the door open and realized that by doing so, she’d made herself as vulnerable as the doc. She arced the beam of her flashlight across the room.

  Suddenly someone shoved her face-first against the wall. She kicked the top of his foot, hard. He released her and took off down the hall, the squeak of his shoes echoing as he ran.

  “Yeah, run, you jerk!” The outburst escaped her lips.

  “Hey, you! Stop!” a voice called outside from the office.

  Security must have arrived. Good, she could focus on the doctor. She took a few deep breaths and turned.

  “Dr. Spencer?” she said.

  No response.

  She aimed her flashlight and spotted him on the floor in the corner.

  “No, no, no,” she muttered, rushing across the room to him.

  When she touched his shoulder, he jerked away as if he’d been stung. “I said don’t touch me!”

  A shudder ran down her spine. This kind of raw fear looked all wrong on the doc.

  “Dr. Spencer, it’s me. It’s Maddie.” She aimed the flashlight at her own face and offered a bright smile. Then she redirected the beam at the doctor. He was curled up, looking away from her.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re okay now.”

  She reached out again and tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder. “Remember me? Maddie McBride?”

  The emergency lights clicked on, bathing them in a soft glow.

  “Doc?” she prompted.

  He slowly turned to look at her. “Maddie? Of course I remember you. How could I ever forget you?”

  Whoa, not exactly the response she expected. His eyes looked glassy, and not totally focused.

  “Did that man hurt you?” she said.

  His eyes widened with fear.

  “Don’t worry, he’s gone.” She smiled. “Are you hurt?”

  He shook his head that he wasn’t, looking at her like he adored her. This wasn’t right. The amount of medication he’d been given for the MRI shouldn’t have made him this loopy.

  “What did he say to you?” she asked.

  “Maddie!” a male voice called.

  “In here!” She glanced over her shoulder.

  Security guard Ted Graves stepped into the room. “Is he okay?”

  “Seems to be. Someone needs to examine Kurt. I think he’s been drugged.”

  Ted called it into his radio.

  Dr. Spencer squeezed Maddie’s hand, still resting on his shoulder. She looked at him.

  “You saved me...again,” he said. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

  Oh yeah, he’d been overmedicated all right. Which meant someone breached the hospital’s drug protocol and gave him a higher dose than intended so that he couldn’t defend himself.

  A man cleared his throat in the doorway. She glanced up at Chief Nate Walsh.

  “Everything okay?” he said.

  “He doesn’t seem to be physically hurt, but I suspect Dr. Spencer was given higher dose of the sedative than was ordered for the MRI. Did you catch the attacker?”

  “No, he escaped,” Chief Walsh said. “Did you get a good look at him?”

  “Lights didn’t come on until after he’d left,” Maddie said. “We need to get Dr. Spencer back to his room.”

 
“No.” Dr. Spencer squeezed Maddie’s hand. “I can’t stay here. He’ll find me.”

  Maddie glanced at Nate. “What should we do?”

  “I’ll assign an officer to him 24/7.”

  Maddie looked at the doctor. “Does that work?”

  He nodded, but didn’t look so sure.

  “If you want, I can stay, too, okay?” she said.

  With a sigh, he nodded and closed his eyes.

  * * *

  To say Spence was disappointed when he awoke the next morning just as Maddie was leaving his room was an understatement. He reminded himself that he shouldn’t depend on her so much, especially to feel safe. The brain trauma must be causing anxiety, that’s all. It’s not like he specifically needed Maddie’s caring nature to feel grounded. It could be anyone kind enough to offer comforting words.

  If that was true, why hadn’t he felt grounded when Nurse Bethany came to check on him, or Nurse Tanya?

  He felt smothered by the staff and utterly frustrated on so many levels. Dr. Danner seemed to enjoy holding Spence hostage, yet every minute spent at the hospital as a patient made him feel more broken, and more anxious because someone got to him here last night.

  He appreciated both Maddie’s presence, and the police protection. Without them he wouldn’t have slept at all.

  Ruth gave him the good news that the intruder hadn’t interrupted the MRI, and his scan indicated a mild concussion.

  The discharge couldn’t come fast enough. Whatever trouble he’d stumbled into out in the mountains seemed to have followed him back to town. What else could explain the attack in the MRI department last night? He didn’t want to put staff members in danger by staying in the hospital another minute longer than necessary.

  Chief Nate Walsh offered to give Spence a ride. Nate was a good friend and Spence didn’t feel he had to watch his words around him, or keep up the charming pretense.

  “We’re doing everything we can to find the guy,” Nate said eyeing Spence in the rearview mirror of his cruiser. “You don’t remember anything he said, do you?”

  “Not really, no.”

  Spence racked his brain trying to remember something from the encounter last night. Between the head injury and the overmedication, it was all still foggy.