Mateo strode down the halls of the hospital in a terrible mood. He was late, but not even Nick’s fury could beat back the flames of uneasiness nipping at his spine. Abigail’s goodbye a few minutes ago had felt more like a farewell than a ‘see you again’. It drove Mateo absolutely crazy.
“Whoa, what’s up with you?” Shanya wheeled her chair over to his as Mateo flagged his coat off and plopped into his seat.
“Nothing.”
“Right,” she said and pulled a file from beneath the scattered mess of papers on his desk. He accepted it from her without a word and skimmed through the notes, straining to turn the switch from his personal life to his professional one.
Shanya, unfortunately, would allow no such thing. “Let me guess,” she mused, “you hated the girl they brought this time as well?” “What?” Mateo glanced up.
“The girl you said your mom and Mrs. Lee would try to set you up with yesterday. Was she that bad?”
“She was fine.”
“Really? How fine?”
“Like beautiful, nice and sweet.”
“Are you going to give her a chance this time?”
“Nope.”
“And you’re certain that’s not what has you in a funk today?”
“What makes you think I’m in a funk?” Mateo glared at her. “I’m not in a funk. I’m trying to do my job.”
“Is that why you’re reading the files upside down?” Shanya arched an eyebrow and Mateo awkwardly righted the pages. He’d been had and it was his own fault. Trying to pretend that Abigail hadn’t gotten into his head would be denying the obvious. “It’s not that.”
“What is it then?”
He shook his head. “It’s not important. What we should be focusing on is researching Joe Barnes’s case so that the attending physician doesn’t come breathing down our necks.”
“You mean like this?” A voice said.
Shanya squealed, nearly hopping out of her chair. “Doctor Lee!”
“Why do I hear more chatter than research in here? Should I have assigned this case to another team…?” “No, sir,” Mateo said. “We’ve got this.”
“I hope so,” Nick rounded the table and strode for the door, “or I’m putting it down in your record.” “Yes, sir!” Shanya saluted. Nick sent her a bemused stare before disappearing out the door.
“Told you,” Mateo murmured.
Shanya let out a breath and rolled her chair right back to Mateo’s side. “Doctor Lee scares the crap out of me. He can creep up on you like a ninja and when he’s mad, his eyes get all small and intense—”she shivered. “How are you related to that guy? He must be so scary to talk to around the dinner table.”
“Hm,” Mateo said, paging through the file in his hand.
“Mateo?”
“Hm?”
“Fine, I can take a hint. I’ll leave you alone.”
“At last…”
Shanya plopped him on the head with a file and kicked her leg to propel her chair across the room. Mateo sighed and ducked into his seat, hiding his face behind the manila folder. In his mind, he pictured the moment Abigail received that phone call.
Her face had changed completely and she’d refused to meet his eyes. Her reaction, coupled with the almost tearful goodbye, had Mateo stumped. Was the caller on the line her fiancé? He thought back to Abby’s comment about knowing what to do when someone assaulted her. The expression she’d worn that morning matched the look in her eyes when she’d said it last night.
Mateo knew he shouldn’t run away with his suppositions. His feelings for Abby could be thwarting the truth and feeding him a narrative that would allow him to separate her from her fiancé.
He could be wrong.
He could also be right.
Even though his interest in Abigail made him biased towards the former, he dearly hoped that he was wrong. The thought of her being abused by anyone curdled his blood and tied his stomach into knots.
What kind of man would fail to recognize the precious soul that was Abigail Palacio? What kind of man would mistake her beautiful body for a punching bag? No, he had to be wrong.
“Dude, you’re bouncing your knee again,” Shanya declared.
“I am?” Mateo looked down and realized that his leg was flying up and down without his consent. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Shanya said. “Just quit it. I can’t concentrate.”
Mateo tried to follow her instructions, but the same restlessness he’d battled the night before returned in full. After five minutes of staring at the case history and understanding nothing, he abandoned the file.
“What’s up?” Shanya asked, her eyes glued to the computer screen in front of her.
“I’m going to get some coffee. You want anything?”
“No, I’m good. I’m trying to stay off the caffeine.”
“Alright.”
Mateo strode down the hallway, greeting the nurses that paraded past in their white uniforms. Several of the younger attendees sent him bright smiles and stopped to engage him in conversation.
Mateo had heard through the grapevine that he had been voted the ward’s ‘hottest’ bachelor. Not that he cared. The woman who had hit on Parker and kidnapped Santi several years ago had been a nurse.
The woman who had been gunning for Nick when he’d been pursuing Melissa was a nurse too. Until the hospital found some way to weed out the crazies, Mateo would be staying away from the nurses at the Medical Center.
He managed to avoid getting locked up in any meaningful conversations on his way to the cafeteria. Mateo was sure some of the nurses were offended by his habit of cutting their chatter short, but thus far, he’d successfully kept all interested parties at bay.
“Hi, Gladys,” Mateo said, putting his elbow on the high counter bearing napkins and plastic utensils. “How’s my favorite coffee lady?”
Gladys, a thick Hispanic woman with thin, black hair and a gold-plated smile, waved her hand and grinned. “You and your sweet lyrics. I’m on to you. You only butter me up when you want something.”
“A man can’t just hang around with a beautiful lady without hearing these baseless accusations?”
Gladys chuckled. “I’m guessing you really need my coffee today.”
“You wound me.”
“And you have your own coffee maker in the lounge.”
“Yes, but no one makes it like you, Gladys. Are you going to leave me suffering long?”
She shook her head. “Give me five minutes.”
Mateo turned around and leaned against the counter as he waited for her. Sunshine streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and bounced against the sparkling tiled floors. Large benches were spaced out in the wide room and a few family members occupied the seats.
The cafeteria was one of Mateo’s favorite places to come when he needed to get away from a puzzling case. It was brighter than any other section of the hospital. The people that walked through its doors were searching for nourishment and strength, creating an air of possibilities and hope.
More than the waiting rooms—often drab reminders of loss and helplessness, the cafeteria welcomed conversation, drew the doctors and the families of patients alike, and fed the hearts and souls of those with enough strength to move comfortably.
The cafeteria was also where his favorite coffee maker worked, which was also a plus in his book.
“Here you go,” Gladys said, handing him a cup.
“You put in the love?” he asked, fishing in his pockets for some change.
“Extra shots of cream and so much sugar it should be illegal,” she replied. “I’ll tell your mother, Mateo Hernandez.” “Let’s tell her together. Right after we elope.”
Gladys laughed and waved him away. “Go on. I have other things to attend to.”
Mateo nodded and then headed for the front doors. The air conditioning in the hospital was nice, but every once in a while, a man wanted to feel the Caribbean breeze on his face and lift his eyes to the sun.
He made sure his phone was secure before inhaling the coffee that Gladys had made. If she were only a few years younger… Mateo chuckled and enjoyed the drink. He was half-way through when he heard the wailing of sirens in the distance.
A herd of doctors and nurses rushed past him, heading for the ramp next to the stairs. Mateo hopped to his feet, feeling the usual rush of adrenaline kick in his system though this patient wasn’t his.
He spotted Parker, the doctor on call, racing to meet the ambulance pulling up to the curb. Mateo chucked the coffee into the garbage and drew closer, being careful to keep out of the way.
He watched in awe as Parker expertly handed off with the paramedics and led the charge to the emergency unit. The patient was suffering from cardiac arrest. Parker conducted CPR as they pushed the gurney.
Late fifties. Shallow Breathing. Trembling fingers on the left side…
His observations stopped abruptly when the stretcher passed right before his eyes. Wait, he knew that man. The team disappeared behind the emergency unit doors, but Mateo was certain. The patient was Abigail Palacio’s father.