Mine at Last Read Online Free PDF Page A

them while staying close to the situation.
    “Eyes and mouth are swollen, breathing’s shallow and labored, heart palpitations, pulse erratic,” the doctor said on a rush, “onset severe anaphylactic shock.”
    “Sir, what happened?” Dominik asked the man who seemed to now be in shock, too. He just stared at his wife, motionless. “Sir, we need your help here. What happened to her?” he repeated.
    “I don’t know. I don’t know, we were eating dinner and she just started scratching her face and wheezing. Then she said she couldn’t breathe and was grabbing at her throat and gasping for air, but she’s not asthmatic. She stood up and then fell into my arms. I grabbed her and drove here as fast as I could.”
    “What’s her name?” Dominik asked.
    “Um, um, Anna. Anna Gomez. No, it’s Anna Carpenter. We just got married. We’re on our honeymoon. Please, help her.”
    “Anna. Anna, can you hear me?” the other doctor asked. The woman moaned and rolled her head erratically.
    “She’s nonresponsive,” Dominik said. “Let’s get her to the back.”
    “Anna, hold on. We’re gonna get you better. Sir, what medications is she taking?” the doctor asked the man.
    “I don’t know. I can’t remember. I...”
    “Where’s that gurney?” Dominik yelled over his shoulder. Just then, a hospital gurney burst through the doors followed by another nurse. Dominik and the doctor picked up the woman and placed her on the narrow bed. “Come on, let’s go,” he ordered as the nurses began pushing the gurney back through the doors. The other doctor ran alongside. Dominik stayed.
    While everyone else watched the gurney pass through the back doors, Shauna watched Dominik as he guided the anxious husband to the side. They spoke quietly for a few minutes, then Dominik nodded and asked a nurse to escort him to the inside waiting area. When the tense situation passed, he looked around at all the concerned faces. He spoke to security, then turned to go to the back.
    That was when he spotted Shauna. He paused a brief instant and stared at her. They connected and there was the barest hint of recognition, but the glimmer vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. She opened her mouth to speak, but then his cell beeped. He grabbed it off his belt, slid his key card and quickly disappeared through the back doors. Just that fast, he was gone.
    Shauna looked around. Although there was a definite buzz centered on what had just happened, it was also evident that everything was back to as it was. A nurse stepped out and called out two names, and instantly, the tenseness of the past five minutes was gone and everyone went back to waiting for medical attention.
    Shauna left the E.R. and headed out to the main hospital lobby. She took the elevator to the administrative offices. She pulled out her Cura Medical Group lanyard and placed it around her neck. Shauna took a deep breath and stilled her nerves.
    She wasn’t sure it was a good idea to come here. Perhaps she should have passed on this assignment and let someone else take it. But she didn’t. She was a professional and it was too late now. Cura was already several months into the process. She couldn’t back out now without questions being asked and damaging her reputation in the process. No, she had to see this through. And more important, it was time to put all this behind her.
    The rest of the hospital’s operations and assessments had been completed and this was the last thing that had to be done—the overall performance and the E.R. evaluation. If she filed a bad report, the Cura Medical Group would pass on the deal.
    The elevator doors opened and she walked down the narrow corridor with the high-polished floors. The walls were lined with poster-size pictures of children in medical outfits helping other children. At the end of the hall was a glass door. She pushed through and came to an open area with a woman sitting at a reception desk.
    She looked up and half smiled.