Deadly Obsession Read Free

Brooklyn to show up, wait to see if she’d live long enough to erase him from her life.
    “Excuse me? Are you related to the woman they brought in earlier?” The doctor looked down at the report fastened on his clipboard. “A Ms. Brooklyn Matthews?”
    Gage stood up, nearly knocking the man’s chest. “How is she?”
    “And you are?” he asked, raising his eyebrow in challenge.
    “This is Special Agent Gage Matthews,” said Emma, standing up beside Gage. “And I’m Emma Tate. I’m Brooklyn’s agent.”
    “Special Agent,” repeated the doctor. “I didn’t realise this was a federal investigation.”
    “It’s not.” Gage paused, and glanced down at his left hand, wishing he hadn’t taken his damn ring off. “I’m Brooklyn’s…husband.”
    The doctor nodded, shifting a glance at Gage’s left hand. “Sorry. I didn’t make the connection with the last name.” He sighed. “You’ll have to excuse me, it’s been a long day.” He motioned for them both to sit, sinking down on the small coffee table in front of them. “I’m Dr. Nick O’Brian. I operated on your wife.”
    “And?” asked Gage.
    “She’s alive. I’m not really sure how, but she seems to be holding her own. We’ve taken her to the I.C.U. department until she’s stable enough to be moved into a private room.”
    Gage let out the breath he’d been holding and Emma sobbed into a Kleenex. “Thank God,” he mumbled.
    “There’re a few things I’d like to discuss with you—Gage, was it?” asked Nick.
    Gage nodded, not sure he liked the concerned look in the doctor’s eyes. “Is something wrong?”
    “Not wrong, just not completely right yet. I just want you to fully understand your wife’s condition. Like I said, the fact she made it through surgery is encouraging, but she’s not out of the woods yet. We’re having trouble stabilising her blood pressure, and her cell count is way below normal. There’s still a chance we could lose her, though she seems to be quite a fighter.” Nick stood up. “The next twenty-four hours are critical. As long as we can keep her from going into cardiac arrest, she should pull through.”
    “When can I see her?” asked Gage.
    “I’ll take you now, if you’d like. She’s still unconscious, and I doubt she’ll wake up before tomorrow.” He smiled at Gage. “She was very lucky.”
    “Sorry,” said Gage, crossing his arms in front of him. “But I’m not seeing the luck side of this.”
    “As far as knife wounds go, hers did very little damage, especially considering the width and depth of the laceration. Do you know what the weapon was?”
    “I haven’t been to the scene yet, so I don’t know if they recovered anything. I assumed it was just a regular knife.”
    “There was nothing regular about what cut your wife. I’ve never seen a wound that large before. Looked like she’d be run through with a sword.” Nick shook his head. “That’s why I said she was lucky. As bad as it was, it managed to miss all the major organs.” He scratched his chin, his eyes distant. “It’s almost as if her assailant knew exactly where to stab her to do the least amount of damage. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the guy wanted her to live.” He glanced back at Gage, motioning him forward with a flick of his wrist. “If you’d kindly follow me.”
    Gage looked over at Emma, but she waved him off.
    “I’ll drop by tomorrow. You need some time alone with her.”
    “Thanks,” he said, following the doctor down the brightly lit hallway. He didn’t like the gnawing sensation the doctor’s words had formed in his stomach. It usually meant things weren’t what they seemed.
    That usually meant trouble.
    “My brother’s a Federal Agent,” said Nick, leading Gage through a maze of hallways and doors. “He works out of the office in Reno. He’s been there nearly twenty years.” He looked back at Gage over his shoulder. “How long have you been with the