As he spoke, Lucy realized that Ashley was watching them, her face slack but a look of desperation and longing in her eyes. She stroked her arm against the sheets, her left wrist, the wrist with the parallel scars. Her movements were jerky, as if she couldn't stop herself. Lucy reached her hand out and clasped Ashley's. Ashley went still once more, but this time her unblinking stare was on Lucy.
"My mother's dead." Ashley's voice startled her, somehow she seemed to speak without moving her lips.
The words hung between them. Lucy felt her gut clench. She had no idea if she should confirm or deny Melissa's death. She'd always given Megan the truth, even when it hurt, so she decided to do the same with Ashley. "Yes, she is. I'm sorry."
Ashley showed no signs of tears at Melissa's passing. "She said I was dead too." Ashley's fingers clawed at Lucy's, gripping her tight. "Please, I don't want to be dead. Not anymore. Don't let me be dead."
A choked sob broke loose from Bobby. "You're not. Ashley, you are the most beautiful, courageous person I've ever known. Please don't talk like that. You're not dead."
For the first time Ashley's gaze focused on Bobby. She blinked, blinked again, her features crashing in on themselves as tears rolled down her face. Sobs wracked her body, not the wild-eyed feral hysteria that Lucy had seen last night, but real, honest to goodness grief.
Lucy undid the Velcro restraint and laced Ashley's hand around Bobby's. Both teens were now openly weeping, sharing their sorrow and pain.
Lucy backed away, out of the room, handing the sketches to the doctor. "I don't think she'll be needing these anymore."
He nodded. "Nice job."
"Wasn't me." She turned to Taylor and Walden. "Everything okay back at the office?" Since somehow John Greally had saved her job for her, she thought she should ask.
"We got a lead on a kiddie porn ring based in Erie," Taylor gushed.
Walden clamped his hand on the younger agent's shoulder. "Nothing we can't handle. You get back to your family."
"Thanks. I think I will. Might even call off sick tomorrow, bake some brownies for my daughter's soccer team, plant some mums, and, God help me, go shopping for a puppy."
She opened the door to Megan's room, stood watching for one brief, bliss-filled moment. Nick and Megan huddled together on the bed, talking earnestly about something. Sunlight streamed in through the window, highlighting the red tints in Nick's hair and Megan's freckles.
Suddenly she understood what Nick had been trying to tell her, that by trying to save the world, she'd been trying to save what was in this room waiting for her. It seemed so careless now, wasting a single second away from her family.
"No worries, boss," Walden said, holding the door open for her. "The pervs and creeps will still be there when you get back."
"I know." She stepped through the doorway. "They can wait. Family first."
About CJ:
As a pediatric ER doctor, CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels. She has assisted police and prosecutors with cases involving child abuse, rape, homicide and Munchausen by Proxy and has worked in numerous trauma centers, as a crisis counselor, victim advocate, as well as a flight physician for Life Flight. CJ credits her patients and their families for teaching her the art of medicine and giving her the courage to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist.
Her first novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), received praise as a "breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" from Publishers Weekly, was reviewed favorably by the Baltimore Sun and Newsday, named a Top Pick by Romantic Times Book Review Magazine, and became a National Bestseller. LIFELINES also won a Readers' Choice Award for Best First Novel.
Her award-winning, critically acclaimed Angels of Mercy series (LIFELINES, WARNING SIGNS, URGENT CARE, and CRITICAL CONDITION) is available in stores now. Her newest project is as co-author of a new suspense series with Erin Brockovich, their first book, ROCK BOTTOM, due out March 1, 2011. To learn more about CJ and her work, go to www.cjlyons.net.
Angels of Mercy Series:
LIFELINES
WARNING SIGNS
URGENT CARE
CRITICAL CONDITION
BORROWED TIME
NERVES OF STEEL
BLIND FAITH
LUCIDITY
Shadow Ops Series:
CHASING SHADOWS
LOST IN SHADOWS
EDGE OF SHADOWS, coming soon!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42