AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My stomach hurts,” Eden said from the sofa, her pained groans tearing at his heart. She tried to stand up, but stumbled, managing to stay upright only by leaning heavily on the sofa. Her coordination seemed to be going downhill rapidly. He ran into the living room and wrapped an arm around Eden’s waist to support her as he headed down the hall toward the bathroom, dialing 911 on his phone with his other hand. The dispatcher came on and told Chandler to stay on the line. Help was on the way. They also got poison control on the line who said to make Eden throw up, if possible.
Not exactly how he’d planned to spend his night, but if it saved Eden, he was all in for it. Chandler knelt with Eden in front of the toilet and pushed her hair back from her face. He noticed she had a tattoo on the back of her neck. A compass. Normally her hair hid it. Random things like that always stuck in his brain during high-stress situations. He filed the info away to ask her about later. Because there would be a later. He refused to consider any other option. “Listen to me, honey. Whatever’s in your stomach, we need to get it out of your system now. Can you make yourself throw up for me?”
While she did, he stayed by her side, listening for the sirens. His mind raced and his pulse thudded loud in his ears. Someone had been in her house, had tampered with her coffee. Had they tampered with anything else? Was it not safe for her to be in the house at all? Maybe they should get out of here, wait for the ambulance on the front lawn. Or was the idea to force her out of the house—where the poisoner might be waiting to attack? He didn’t have enough data to go on, didn’t know what he could do to keep her safe. Other than hope like hell the ambulance got there fast.
Chandler was still running through all of this in his head when the EMS finally arrived. He left Eden briefly to let them in, heart in his throat as they worked on her and loaded her onto a gurney.
One of the paramedics asked if he wanted to ride in the ambulance with her, but he declined, saying he’d follow right behind in his truck, so they’d have a vehicle at the hospital when Eden was ready to leave. Being a SEAL had taught him to stay cool in a crisis, to plan ahead and be prepared for the next ten steps of what needed to be done. But it was different when it was someone you knew, someone you cared for…
It took every ounce of discipline he had to hold himself together as he followed the flashing red and blue lights of the ambulance, going through the stop lights because there was no way in hell he was letting Eden out of this sight again.
Shit. He’d only been working on her case a day and already he’d fucked up. And sure, there was no way he could’ve known there’d be something in her coffee, but dammit, she was under his protection. He should’ve thought of all contingencies.
One thing was certain, though. From this point forward, Chandler vowed not to let anything slip past him again where Eden was concerned. No matter what he had to do, he’d keep an eye on her at all times until this whole nightmare was over.
