Page 24 of Booked for Theft

“Sure.” While I waited, I texted Bradley with a warning I would be coming downstairs with some company. As it had been a long day, I opted against informing him who kept me company. He would find out soon enough.

Maybe getting sideswiped by the figurehead of the government we fought to change would help give him some perspective.

President Castillo went to a small group of people, who I assumed were members of his family, and spent a few minutes talking with them. Once done, we headed to the elevators with a pair of his Secret Service agents accompanying us. He waited until we were inside and headed for the lobby to say, “Thank you, Janette. I don’t know if he’d still be alive right now without your help.”

As I agreed with him, and after having spent several hours fighting for the young man’s life during a touchy operation and coping with oxygen-starved organs, I wasn’t going to downplay how close of a call it had been. “You’re welcome. And yes, I’m glad I came, because his blood oxygen levels were bordering on no longer compatible with life. I was able to get his blood oxygen levels up before they started the transplant, which really helped. Even better, the hospital’s sole exsanguinator was able to come in and learn the trick of it. She has just a high enough aptitude to realistically be capable of it, although she has to work a lot harder to make it happen. But one day, with some practice, she’ll be the difference between life and death.”

“How many patients did you help treat today?”

I frowned, struggling to remember precisely how many different operating rooms I had flitted through. “You know, I can’t really remember. After the first three transplants, it became a bit of a blur.” I winced at the memory of the car crash victim. “The one was unpleasant, but I was able to help her—and my accident and recovery provides a lot of good knowledge for her medical team to use. Her injuries are a lot like mine. Unlike me, she won’t have to worry about if they’ll do amputations. They have a much better idea of how to piece her back together again.”

Even better, she wouldn’t struggle for years fighting a battle she had no hope of winning alone.

The surgeons at the hospital had already done the touchy, painful part of the procedures while she’d been in a comatose state.

She would walk again, and she would start her rehab journey in a wheelchair, the same way I had done. Her adopted spleen would also receive better care and monitoring than mine.

Things had changed, and for her, it had been for the better.

“That must have been difficult for you.”

“For the first few minutes, it was,” I confessed. “But she needed me to make sure she had a better chance of recovery, so I did what was needed. I’m sure I’ll be talking with a therapist about it, though. But I didn’t have any panic attacks, and that’s the best I could hope for at this stage. It was a concern—and we’d discussed the possibility before going into the operation room.”

The elevator opened to the lobby, and I spotted Bradley waiting nearby. I waved at him, forced myself to grin, and said, “Bradley, this is President Castillo. Mr. President, this is my fiancé, Bradley Hampton.”

The two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. I admired Bradley’s ability to appear as though nothing was wrong in his world. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President.”

“You are a very lucky man, Mr. Hampton. May I call you Bradley?”

“Please do. I am. Thank you for providing a helicopter to get her here. I’m certain she would have taken my car from the garage and broken land speed records to get here otherwise.”

The President of the United States grinned at Bradley’s quip. “I could see her doing just that. Have you gotten a hotel yet for the night?”

“Not yet. I wasn’t sure when Janette would be finished her work.”

“Please, come with me to the White House and stay there. You’ve certainly earned a rest. Do you have any particular requests for dinner?”

“That’s really kind of you, Mr. President, thank you. I’ll eat anything, and you’ll make Janette’s day if you can find something spicy enough to make her cry. It’s a challenge. I’ve been trying ever since I brought her home from California, and I only succeeded once.”

President Castillo laughed. “I heard rumor you like spicy food, Janette. I hope the chef can reduce you to gasping and tears.”

“That would be amazing,” I replied, and I managed a smile despite wanting to cry for numerous reasons. “Thank you.”

The President of the United States turned to his agents and said, “Bring one of the SUVs around. There’s no point in blocking the hospital entrances with a limousine when an SUV will do. If Janette wanted to do something to me, she would have by now.”

The agent acknowledged him, stepped aside, and went to work.

President Castillo gestured towards the hospital’s entrance. “Let’s get some fresh air. It’s not my first stint in the waiting room waiting for news, but it’s the first time I’m getting to leave with truly good news.”

That I could believe. “I’ve only met Senator Thaddens once, but I think he’d be thrilled knowing his death gave numerous people a chance for a better and longer life.”

“He would. Organ donation and transplants has been one of his charitable causes for many a year, and he’s paid the flight and transplant fees for numerous patients. He’s been pushing for better general care for everyone, and I think I will be working to promote some of his causes moving forward. It’s not much, but I can thank him and his wife that way.”

If I hadn’t been aware of the government’s duplicity, I might have fallen for the man’s pretty words. However, as I would do my best to live up to Senator Thaddens’s hopes and expectations, I smiled and did my best to pretend I believed every sweet word. “That’s wonderful of you, Mr. President. I’ll admit, I’m shocked. Just yesterday, he seemed all right. But his condition isn’t something I could have detected with my magic even if I had actively scanned him, which I hadn’t. I only scan people with their consent, of course.”

“Of course. That’s a comfort to know, however. There truly wasn’t anything anyone could do?”

I nodded. “There was truly nothing anyone could have done without a heart transplant. The tumors were manifesting much like scars, constricting his heart from the outside and impeding blood flow from the inside. It’s not much, but I’ll be able to sleep tonight knowing it wasn’t my fault. Even if he’d had the heart attack right next to me, I wouldn’t have been able to save him.” The reality eased the sting of failure a little. “At most, I would have been able to better preserve his brain and prevent some of the damage he endured, but the CPR kept his other organs oxygenated sufficiently for transplant. I could have done a better job, and I would have been able to tell the surgeons what was around his heart, but it wouldn’t have changed anything in the grand scheme. He still would have died, and his organs would have been in comparable condition.”