Page 93 of Hunting Justice

Jonah shook his head. The chances of Noelle making it to the hospital were slim.

TWENTY

THURSDAY, 5:00 P.M.

The clunk of the vending machine near the hospital waiting room grated on Jonah’s nerves. He paced along the wall of windows on the far side of the room. Three hours. Jonah smacked the glass with an open hand. They’d taken Noelle into surgery three hours ago and still no word. It had been touch and go in the ambulance, but the paramedic had worked with him to keep her alive.

“Easy, Doc.” Decia rested her hand on his shoulder.

“What if…” He couldn’t say it.

“Don’t go there. You did everything you could, and now, we pray. That’s all we can do.”

He placed both palms on the glass and lowered his head. God… His mind spun in so many different directions his thoughts refused to gel. Wasn’t there a verse that talked about the Holy Spirit stepping in during times of weakness? And Jonah had weakness in spades.

“Dr. Harris?”

He lifted his head. A nurse in scrubs with an untied mask hanging from her neck stood at the entrance of the waiting room. “Yes.”

“Dr. Kincaid asked me to update you.”

Jonah strode across the room. Decia, Matt, Alana, Juliette, and Raven joined him. “And?”

The woman smiled. “Ms. Burton made it through surgery. She’s in the recovery room as we speak. Knowing that she’s special to you, Dr. Kincaid is staying by her side to monitor her for the next hour.”

Jonah’s knees buckled.

Matt’s hand shot out and gripped his elbow, steadying him before he face-planted on the floor.

He blinked away the black dots that danced on the edge of his vision and took three deep breaths. “Please tell Dr. Kincaid thank you.”

“I will.” The nurse turned to leave but stopped. “And Dr. Harris, from what I witnessed in the OR, you saved that woman’s life. If you hadn’t acted when you found her and helped the paramedic during transport, we’d be having a very different conversation right now.”

“I did my best.” And he had, just like with Cara. That’s all anyone could do. He saw that now. “I’d like to see her as soon as possible.”

The woman nodded. “I’ll let the nurses know to come get you when they transfer her to ICU.”

“Thank you.” He knew the drill. Had lived it for many years. But that didn’t remove his impatience to see Noelle for himself.

Once the surgical nurse had left, he and the others took a collective breath. Noelle had survived. He knew she had a few more hurdles to clear before she was out of danger, but so far, so good.

“Now that we know she’s okay, I’ll go get food from the cafeteria. We need to eat, or none of us will be fit to care for her.” Alana grabbed Juliette’s arm. “Come on. I need an extra pair of hands.”

Without argument, Juliette joined Alana and disappeared down the hall.

Jonah dropped onto a waiting room chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his face in his hands.

“You okay, Doc?” Decia rubbed circles on his back.

“Things could still go wrong.”

“I know. But don’t borrow trouble. She’s alive. We can work with that.” Her hand had stilled, but the warmth of her touch soothed his battered nerves.

“Why do I feel like one of your boys?”

Decia laughed. “Caring. That’s what moms—and friends?—do.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”