Betrayal

Betrayal Part TWO

The driver was a stocky, middle-aged man with thinning hair who asked Luke, "You her husband?"

"No. She fell into my arms. I was complemented until I realized she was unconscious."

The man nodded. "Sounds like my experience with women."

Luke's curiosity about what was in the case burned as they drove to the hospital. When they arrived, he waited for the paramedics to lift the woman from the ambulance and wheel her into the emergency room.

"How's she doing?" Luke asked the small blond attendant who was pushing the cart,"

"She's stable."

Once inside, he was asked her name. "I don't know. We just met. You'll have to get identification from her purse. Please let me know when she's able to have a visitor."

The rigid, vinyl chair in the waiting area poked against his shoulder blades. He resigned himself to the discomfort and the television comedy that spewed raucous laughter. His thoughts were on the woman who'd passed out in his arms.

He turned the briefcase over in his lap. If she protected something illegal, he refused to be any part of it. He studied the lock, and knew it would be no problem. He fished in his pocket and withdrew the knife set he'd carried all through his stint in the military. With a few quick twists, he had it open. He peered inside the bag to see two bloody gloves staring back. If she didn't have a good explanation, he was going straight to the police.

Bethany awoke in a narrow bed. She squinted at the bright ceiling light, and struggled to remember why she was hooked to an IV. What had happened? She moved to sit up and her head throbbed. Then, it all came back. He had wanted the gloves. Had he gotten them?

She fumbled for the buzzer as a nurse entered the room. "I had an attaché case. Where is it?"

The young woman knitted her brow. "Don't be upset. Your things are bagged beside your bed."

"I need to see them."

The nurse moved swiftly to her side. "Don't try and get up. I'll hand it to you."

Bethany knew from the weight of the bag it didn't contain the attaché case. She fought rising panic. "My briefcase is missing. Where is it?"

"I don't know. There's a gentleman in the waiting room who wants to see you. Perhaps he has it."

The woman's calm manner as she adjusted the fluid bottle agitated Bethany. "What happened to me?"

"You were injected with a powerful sedative. Do you know how?"

Bethany shook her head as she tried to remember. "I felt a jab in my side. Then, I got dizzy. I assume I passed out."

"How awful. People do dreadful things to each other these days. "

"I'd like to see the man in the waiting room. Since I don't know him, could you stay in the room?"

"Sure, as long as it doesn't take too long. I have a busy shift."

A few moments later, she opened the door and admitted a tall, dark-haired man. The cotton T-shirt stretched over his shoulders didn't hide his powerful build. He nodded to Bethany, and then scanned his surroundings before moving closer to the bed. "I'm Luke Parker. I caught you when you fell. You asked me to hold on to this"

He held up the attaché case.

She breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't the man who'd whispered in her ear. "Thanks so much. It has important papers and I didn't want to lose it."