“Then kiss me,” he demanded grumpily.
Sarah glanced at the EMT and the woman smiled. “I’d kiss him,” she informed Sarah with a wink and a shrug.
Leaning over, making certain she didn’t touch anything except his lips, Sarah fitted her mouth to his in a gentle embrace. Her heart squeezed inside her chest as he kissed her back like she was the most coveted woman on earth.
Pulling back, Sarah watched Dante as he closed his eyes and fell asleep with a satisfied smirk still on his face.
“We’re here,” the EMT told Sarah as the ambulance came to a stop. The woman jumped out at the emergency entrance, the driver joining her so they could pull Dante from the vehicle.
Sarah followed Dante without a thought, never leaving his side as they wheeled him into a room in the emergency department.
CHAPTER 17
“Dante’s tests all came back negative, but he’s going to have to stay for a day or two for observation,” Sarah announced to a waiting room that had pretty much been taken over by the Sinclairs and friends. “He lost consciousness and they need to watch him for complications of the concussion.”
“How is he? Is he talking?” Grady asked anxiously.
Sarah smiled. “He’s talking a little too much, and I think the ER staff would like to gag him. He’s . . . um . . . not too happy about his hospital stay, and he’s let everyone from Dr. Samuels to his transporter know all about it with some very colorful language.”
“Then he’s back to his usual ornery self?” Jared questioned, sounding more relieved than cynical.
“He’ll be okay,” she reassured the people in the waiting room. “Staying is a precaution. A smart precaution.” No amount of curse words would get Dante out of the hospital until they made sure he wasn’t going to have any adverse effects from the concussion.
Sarah looked around the room. Grady was holding Emily in his lap, looking like he was afraid to ever let her go. Jared, Randi, Elsie, Beatrice, and Joe Landon were all occupying some of the other available seats. Even her medical assistant, Kristin, was here, a worried look on her face.
“If he has the energy to bitch, he must be doing okay,” Grady said hesitantly. “I’ll stay with him tonight. He’s likely to get up and leave.”
Sarah held up her hand. “I’ll stay until he’s discharged. I’ll just need some clean clothes tomorrow, if you wouldn’t mind.” She gave Emily a pleading look. Sarah had already showered and quickly thrown on a pair of light blue scrubs, but she wanted some clean clothing.
“Of course I’ll bring them,” Emily agreed readily. “I’ll even pick you up a latte at Brew Magic.”
“We’ll bring food,” Beatrice said firmly. “I had to stay in a hospital once, and all I wanted was some decent food to eat while I was there. I had to get my nephew to bring me something edible.”
Elsie nodded in agreement.
“Are you sure you can handle him?” Jared said doubtfully.
Sarah smiled at Jared. “He’s staying, even if I have to wrestle with him to keep him down in bed. He’ll sleep tonight. He’s fighting it now, but he won’t be able to keep it up forever.”
Emily wriggled out of her husband’s lap and threw herself at Sarah, Randi right behind her. Emily started to sob as she clung to Sarah, who savored her friend’s loving embrace by wrapping her arms around Emily and hugging her close, bringing Randi into their circle for a group hug. She was so relieved that they were both safe.
“I was so afraid, Sarah,” Emily sobbed.
Randi nodded her head. “I was, too. I don’t know how you managed to not show your fear when you were basically sacrificing your own life for ours.”
The three women hugged each other for several minutes, then Sarah finally stepped back to say, “I brought you both into that situation, and I’m sorrier than I can ever say. Neither of you deserved to be there, to have to experience that. I brought a serial killer to Amesport.” Sarah’s gut still rolled at the thought.
“You haven’t deserved any of this, Sarah. Everything that’s happened right from the beginning,” Emily said fiercely as she went to take the seat next to Grady, but he pulled her right back into his lap. Randi found her own seat again next to Beatrice, and the elderly woman reached out and took Randi’s hand comfortingly.
“Are you ready to talk about it, Sarah?” Chief Landon asked gravely.
Sarah nodded. “I know you want to talk to Dante, too, and we can meet you up in his room if you can wait for them to settle him into his bed.”
“No problem,” Joe agreed readily. “But we do have an issue.” He released a long, frustrated sigh as he added, “We have a real media circus outside already. The Windy City Carver has been a big mystery case for a long time. This is a huge national story. Obviously we aren’t going to let them enter the hospital or private property, but they’ll be pestering every one of you wherever they can.” He looked around at every person in the room in warning.
Sarah looked at Joe, and then turned her gaze to Elsie. “I think that Elsie should break the story. After all, she was there, and she helped get the police there quickly.” She knew the elderly woman would be thrilled, and both Elsie and Beatrice looked traumatized. It might help to get their minds on something else.
“I’d get the scoop?” Elsie’s face perked up.
Sarah shrugged. “I think it’s only fair that Amesport is the first to report it. And you were an eyewitness. Who would do a better job of reporting it?” Besides, if Elsie scooped the story, maybe the media would slowly fade away, using that information to write their own stories when nobody wanted to talk.