Surrender 01 - Surrender

we have him. Mr. Palazzo, you can stop. Stop now or you’ll kill him!”
    “I intend to,” Rafe shouted as his fist flew downward again.
    Suddenly, a couple of men grabbed him and hauled him backward. He turned, ready to fight off the men who had the gall to interfere, but then he felt a pinch in his arm and everything became fuzzy.
    “No…” he called out before he faded.

    When Rafe came to, it took a moment for him to remember what had happened. He heard monitors start sounding off as his heart picked up speed.
    “Ari,” he called.
    “Mr. Palazzo, I’m Dr. Bruce. Everything is going to be all right. You were shot in your left shoulder, but we successfully removed the bullet and you’ll recover quickly.”
    “I don’t give a damn who you are. Where’s Ari?”
    “Ari?”
    “Yes, the woman I was with, who was shot in the cafeteria!”
    “Are you related to her, Mr. Palazzo?” Rafe was the one asking questions, and his fear and temper escalated as the doctor said nothing more.
    “We both know I’m not married, and you know who my siblings are, so it’s pretty obvious I’m not related to her. You will tell me how she’s doing, though, right now!”
    “Mr. Palazzo, under the HIPAA regulations, I can’t —”
    “Don’t make me remind you how much money I give this hospital! I want information now. If you can’t give it to me, then I guess I’ll have to donate somewhere else.”
    Rafe wasn’t in the mood to play around with hospital rules. He wanted to see Ari, and he needed to assure himself she was OK. The last thing he could remember was her bleeding in his arms. He glared at the doctor, as he watched the man struggle to decide what he was going to say.
    “Ari was shot in the chest. It was dangerously close to her heart, and surgery was touch and go for a while, but she made it through. The next forty-eight hours are critical. She has a fifty percent chance of survival at this point.”
    Rafe sat up in the bed and started ripping out the lines attached to his arm. There was no way in hell he was lying in this cold hospital bed while Ari was somewhere else fighting for her life.
    “Mr. Palazzo, I highly recommend you stop now. There’s still a chance of infection setting in if you don’t stay here to be monitored.”
    “I don’t give a damn about infection. Take me to Arianna Harlow this instant or I’ll make sure you never work another day as a doctor in this town or anywhere else,” Rafe shouted.
    The doctor looked at him for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders as if to say it’s your funeral, buddy . “Fine. Follow me.”
    Rafe rose from the bed and had to pause for a moment as the room started spinning. The doctor didn’t dare advise him on his weak condition, but just stood in the doorway waiting for Rafe to orient himself.
    When his world stood still again, Rafe took one slow step in front of the other. He wasn’t happy at all with the hospital gown they’d placed him in — he was a man who valued his dignity, and the loose tie at the back made dignity impossible.
    “Once you get me to her, have a nurse fetch my clothes,” he commanded. The doctor simply nodded.
    They walked down the hallway and reached the elevators. Once inside, the doctor pushed the button for the fifth floor, and the rising car made Rafe nauseated. He fought it down, but only felt relief when the car stopped moving and he was able to step out on an unmoving floor again.
    He followed the doctor through double doors and around a corner, then felt his heart nearly stop when he saw Ari lying helplessly in a small bed with all kinds of wires sticking from her pale skin.
    “She’s stable for the moment,” the doctor said as he looked at her charts. “I’ll have your clothing sent up right away.”
    Rafe didn’t acknowledge the doctor as he collapsed in a chair and gripped Ari’s warm hand. He tried telling himself he was only concerned because he was the one who’d led her to the cafeteria in the first place, but he knew it was a lie.
    Somewhere along the line he’d developed feelings for this woman. Once the emergency was over, he would push those feelings far away and lock them up. He had no room for emotions in his life. This was about control. He needed to own her so he could gain control back in his life. That was all it was. Nothing more.
    He leaned his head on her bed and fell asleep while still clasping her hand. Without the stream of painkillers entering his IV, his arm was throbbing