“Thanks. I’ll have to take your statement later, okay?”
“I’ll hang around after my shift is over,” she promised.
“Tell the doc I’ll need to talk to him, too.”
She nodded to indicate she’d pass the message. “Take care.” She turned and made her way back to the ER. She felt bad that Julie and Debra had been covering her patients all this time. But when she glanced up at the clock, she stared for a moment, unable to believe that only an hour had passed since Kurt had trapped her in the trauma bay.
The rest of her shift passed by in a blur. After she gave report to the oncoming nurse, she headed outside, surprised to see the bright sun. The rain from the night before had passed, giving way to a new day.
As much as she wanted to go home, she knew the police still wanted to talk to her and to Gabe.
Just then, Gabe joined her outside. Wordlessly, he crossed over and pulled her into his embrace. She leaned against him, relieved and glad to be alive.
“I’ve never been so afraid in my whole life,” he murmured in her ear. “I’m thankful you weren’t hurt.”
“Me, too,” she said, her voice muffled by his shirt. “I mean, I was terrified he was going to shoot you.”
“Deputy Thomas saved the day.”
She couldn’t argue that one.
The parking lot began filling with cars, members of the hospital leadership team and the public relations department arriving to take charge of the situation. As they streamed past, she felt distinctly self-conscious and tried to pull away, knowing Gabe wouldn’t want to be seen hugging her like this in public.
But he refused to let her go. His arms tightened around her, and when she glanced up at him questioningly, he simply smiled, lowered his head, and kissed her in full view of anyone who cared to watch.
And she reveled in the sweetness of his kiss.
Chapter Seven
Gabe barely noticed the various pairs of eyes boring into him as he kissed Larissa. Only when he needed to breathe did he break away and lower his forehead to rest on hers. His pulse thundered in his ear, and he realized he didn’t want to let her go.
“I prayed for your safety,” he confessed in a low voice. “And God answered my prayers.”
“Me, too,” she admitted. “I prayed for us and for Annie.”
“At least Annie is safe from Kurt now,” he said. “Kurt will be stuck behind bars for a long time.”
“I know.” Larissa ducked her head and leaned back as if trying to put more distance between them. “Gabe, we’re attracting too much attention.”
“I don’t care.” And he was surprised to realize he truly didn’t care. Larissa wasn’t Rebecca, and no matter what happened, he knew Larissa would never spread lies about him. It was ridiculous it took him this long to realize that. Or maybe he was just hiding behind the idea because it was a good excuse. “I care about you, and I don’t mind if the whole world knows it.”
Her green eyes widened in surprise. “But Gabe, you never date any of the ER nurses. Ever.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Until you.”
She looked flabbergasted by his response, but Deputy Thomas interrupted them. “Dr. Allen? Larissa? Do you have time to give your statements?”
“Of course,” Larissa said.
He didn’t want to let her go but had to be content with holding her hand. “Could we sit down somewhere? It was a long night, and I’m sure Larissa is exhausted.”
“No problem. Let’s head over to the patio outside the dining room.”
Once they were seated at the picnic table, Deputy Thomas took out his notebook and pen. “Larissa, why don’t you start at the beginning?”
“After we transferred Annie to Madison, I needed a moment alone, so I went outside and stood beneath the overhang just outside the ambulance doors. I guess I must have been out there longer than I thought, because when I came back in, the trauma bay was already clean, and everyone was gone. I was about to head back to my team of patients when Kurt came in.”
“Did you see him outside?” Deputy Thomas asked.
“No, but I probably wasn’t paying attention. I will admit I thought he was the one who drove into his wife, but I never expected that he’d come looking for me armed with a gun.”
Gabe couldn’t bear the fear underlying her tone, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Then what happened?”
“I tried to talk him into putting the gun down, but he just kept coming closer and closer. I didn’t have a way to call for help, but then the door leading from the arena opened, and I saw Gabe standing there.”
“And you went inside?” Deputy Thomas asked, a deep frown furrowing his brow. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”
“I couldn’t just stand there while he took a shot at her,” Gabe said. “Besides, I figured I could get him to talk. I needed to try and stall long enough for you and your guys to get there.”
Deputy Thomas didn’t look happy, but he spared Gabe a lecture, asking a few more questions before he closed his notebook. “I appreciate your time. Thanks.”
“That’s all you need?” Larissa brightened. “We can go home?”
“Yes, you’re free to go home.”
Deputy Thomas walked away, and Gabe glanced at Larissa. “How about I drive you home?” he suggested. “We’ll pick up your car later.”
