Maddy's Floor (20 page)

Her cheeks burned. "Sorry. It's always a concern, being tall myself. So much of the world appears a little fragile from up here."

"You wear your height well."

The heat on her cheeks deepened. "Thanks," she muttered, unsure what to say next. "So, why did you follow me in?"

Drew grimaced. "I wanted to double check on my uncle's condition after the transfer, I know it really isn't fair to ask, as you're off duty." His coffee arrived. He thanked the waitress. Maddy watched his interactions. Friendly, but not flirty. Nice. From the wattage on the waitress's face, she obviously thought so, too.

When he faced her, curiosity lit up his features. "What's that smile for?"

"I was thinking the waitress likes you."

"Who?" He turned around to see who she was talking about, then shrugged. "Really? I didn't notice."

"I know, that's why the smile. It's kind of nice."

His gaze narrowed and he took another hot sip of the brew. "Nice? Oh." He gulped, shrugging uncomfortably. "Uhm. So, is Uncle John settling in?"

"Yes, he is." Maddy studied the wrought iron table before looking straight into his eyes. "You know he's seriously ill."

Drew leaned forward. "Yes. He won't talk about it."

"No, he wouldn't. I have to admit, I'm troubled by his transfer." At Drew's frown, she explained, "His application shouldn't have been approved. He doesn't fit the strict protocols for the project."

"I wondered about that earlier when you explained the rules for your floor." Drew frowned. "I spoke to Gerard about it. He brushed me off with something like not everyone has to follow the same rules."

She didn't want to hear that. Stirrings of frustrated anger whipped through her. The viability of her research and the well-being of patients on her floor depended on everyone following the same strict entrance requirements. Damn Gerard. Everyone
had
to follow the same rules, or the medical community would dismiss the project. She eyed him curiously. "Do you know anything about how Gerard and John know each other?"

"Only that they've been acquainted for years."

"Well, I'm going to have a talk with Gerard in the morning. As for your uncle, his prognosis isn't good. You'll have to speak with his physician for the details."

"I have. Not that it's done much good. No one seems to be able to pinpoint the root of the problem."

"There's not always an answer or a single cause. Several of your uncle's systems are crashing. Talk to Dr. Cunningham about him if you're concerned about his treatment."

Drew frowned. "I will. Did we put him at risk, moving him at this stage?" He paused and reconsidered. "I guess moving him couldn't do much more damage. He was adamant about getting onto your floor."

This time it was Maddy who winced. "That's because he seems to think I can work miracles. He wants me to heal him or seriously slow down the progression of his condition."

Drew blew out his breath and sat back to study her. "That doesn't sound like him. He's usually pretty grounded."

Maddy studied the caring in his face. That was kind of nice, too.

"We often find that people will grasp at any solution when facing imminent death." Hiding behind her own mug, Maddy studied him. His high cheekbones and squared off chin gave him a Nordic appearance. The dark hair with the slight curl to it added a youthfulness he probably wouldn't appreciate. There was dark stubble on his chin, an indication the detective had a long, hard day.

But then so had she.

They both had difficult jobs where they were in service to others. Another thing she liked about him.

He stretched out his legs, his shoulders relaxing. "You know, I have to say you're easy to be around."

Surprised, she answered lightly, "So are you."

Sipping her latte, she watched the surprised gleam in his eyes and chuckled. "I gather most people don't feel that way, do they?"

He shook his head and grinned. "The exact opposite, actually. Most women say I don't talk enough and that I'm too devoted to my job."

"Now, I've heard that one a time or two." Her candid answer drew a startled laugh from him, bringing out an endearing dimple in his cheek.

He leaned forward to study her face closer. "Do you think two workaholics might find time to go out for dinner together?"

"We do have to eat sometime." She pushed her coffee cup ahead of her on the table. "And if it means eating Chinese, absolutely, although I might consider something else as well. I've got an awful hankering for Almond Gai Ding."

"Tomorrow night? Would that work for you?"

Maddy grinned. "Tomorrow sounds great.

WEDNESDAY

A
deep sense of unease woke Stefan from his restless sleep.
Now what?
He groaned and rolled over. What a horrible night. He hadn't slept more than a couple hours.

Lying flat on his back, he stared up at the ceiling, wondering about the dread pulsating through his veins. Something was stirring in the world. Something at The Haven. Again, he recognized it as something
evil
. He hated that term.

So many people gave it a religious connotation. He didn't. He defined the term as those who had no remorse, no conscious, no caring for the numerous people they hurt, tortured and killed. Evil wasn't a force from some horrible underworld. It was the force inside people that allowed them to act in horrible ways. He turned to his latest painting hanging on the wall opposite and talked to it.

"The Haven is the center of it all – why?" The painting and the empty room offered no answer, but it didn't stop him from thinking out loud.

"How can such negativity exist in such a warm, positive environment? The answer: It can't. Maddy's Floor should be a deterrent for this type of energy." Sitting, he pursed his lips. This energy can't exist inside the healing space. It isn't possible. By the very laws of nature, that negativity would have to change and become more positive. Therefore, the negative energy isn't in the bubble – yet – but it's attracted to it, like a moth to a flame. The lovely healing energy Maddy is working hard to maintain for her patients is also a lure for this other energy.

Only how would anyone know unless they practiced energy work? Then they'd know, as the very energy would call to them. However, The Haven had stringent admission requirements for Maddy's floor. It had to. Anything less would destroy the delicate balance.

Then again, he surmised this energy wasn't on the floor itself – or at least not inside the bubble.

He froze. The colors in the painting shifted ever so slightly.

Something here held a glimmer of truth. What if someone made it onto Maddy's floor, someone who shouldn't have? What difference would that make? Would it shift the delicate balance between health and disease? Good and bad? Would it be enough to open a tear in the energy field? Or would it widen the rent that already existed?

He needed to talk to Maddy.

Throwing back the blankets, he swung his legs over the side and sat up.

And froze.

A vision snaked through his mind. Black curtains dropped before his eyes, taking him out of his reality into the world in-between. Then the curtain ripped back, showing him his new surroundings.

He blinked several times at the cheerfully bright, yet soothing walls staring back at him. The Haven. Blinking again, he found himself on Maddy's floor. The vision showed him nothing unusual. Here, the energy had lightness, and a warmth he recognized as Maddy's signature.

He circled the floor, wondering what the vision was attempting to show him. The new wing sat outside the main bubble. There the energy was slightly less warm, less healing and definitely less energized. He frowned. There were several beds out there, only the people in them weren't included in the same healing bubble as the rest of the floor. The bubble wall between the two areas held strong and pulsated with a joyous blue radiance.

One bed touched the inside of the healing bubble. That would need to be fixed. It was a child. Stefan went there first. Maddy's heart would break if she weren't able to help the little one. The child's meridian pathways throbbed with power, and although thinner than he'd like to see, there was a determination that reassured him. She might be one of the lucky ones – brought to Maddy just in time.

Studying the energy layers, Stefan found two black spots sitting low on the first chakra. Both blended in together, easy to miss and big enough to cause problems. Maddy needed to start working on them right away.

He turned his attention to the two males in the new wing. Distracted by a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small black thread under one of the beds. The strand, so black, so shiny, so full of life, its very presence throbbed.
What the hell?

Stefan tried to move closer and couldn't. The vision froze him in place. The thread snaked out from under the bed, sliding maybe six inches before retreating until it completely disappeared. Stefan knew it sat underneath, waiting.

This is why he had been drawn here.

Just like his paintings, the black wispiness hid under the bed.

The thread slipped out again to wind around the metal leg of the bed.

It stopped. Then in a snake-like motion, it raised its head and appeared to stare in his direction.

Stefan shook his head. No. Not possible. No way could it see him. There's no way anyone had the strength, the skill to actually do that. God, he hoped not.

The snake's head never wavered.

Then it lunged.

Shocked, Stefan reared back and snapped through multiple dimensions, before finally slamming back into his body and his bedroom. The world wavered, distorted, and then finally sucked back into place with a loud pop. The last image he'd seen was the black snake-like thing heading toward the child's bed.

Stunned, Stefan barely moved. He focused on trying to catch a breath. His chest was so constricted he could barely gulp air. Everything in his room appeared the same, except for the goose bumps taking over his skin, and the chills racing down his spine.

Shaking, he reached for his cell phone.

***

Maddy's panicked arrival at The Haven was less than stellar. Still shaken from the convoluted information Stefan had delivered over the phone – way too early for her brain to grasp – she took the elevator to the top floor. The place was deserted. It wasn't even six in the morning. Stefan had woken her from a deep sleep with his confusing message, sending her racing back to work.

Something about a black thread that had been as aware of Stefan's out of body journey as Stefan had been aware of it. Somehow, it connected to one of the two new arrivals in the renovated space. She hadn't had a chance to rebuild the energy on the floor to the levels that existed before Jansen's death. Felicia's arrival would have aggravated the balance as well. Extending the bubble to the new area wasn't something she'd complete overnight. At least not alone.

Maybe Stefan would help her widen the boundaries of the protected space, or create a secondary space. She didn't know the right way to move forward. The current one had taken months to establish. The new area needed to vibrate at the same frequency as the older area before joining both into one all-encompassing system. The process needed either more energy workers or more time.

Better yet, both.

The elevator crawled to a stop. She stepped onto her floor and stopped, assessing the energetic atmosphere and balance of the floor. Jansen's death had caused a ripple effect, though most others wouldn't recognize it. And it was to be expected. It wasn't like this was their first death on the floor.

Yet underneath all this energy, was a faint suggestion of something else. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Something was wrong. How else could she describe the odd sensation? Stefan would help her, but only if he knew what they were dealing with. He'd told her to find out as much as possible this morning.

He'd ordered her to move Felicia's bed further into the protected area, and away from the bubble edge, no matter what.

"Dr. Maddy, are you all right?"

She opened her eyes. "I guess. At least I hope so." Walking toward the nurses' station, she delivered a reassuring smile to the two women watching her.

Gerona walked closer. "Bad night?"

Maddy shrugged off her jacket, hooking it over her shoulder. "Bad morning, actually."

"Well, for once, we had a good night. All the patients appear to have recovered their equilibrium and most everyone slept well."

Unlocking her office door, Maddy threw her a big cheery smile. "Now that's a better start to my day. No bad turns in the night? No calls for medics, nothing?

"Nope. Calm and clear."

"Great." Maddy strode over to the blinds, moved them aside and opened the windows, letting the fresh air filter through the small room. Then she made a quick dash to Felicia's room. Stopping at the entranceway, she saw Felicia, sound asleep on her left. Maddy shifted her vision. Carefully, going from side to side, she searched for any anomaly in the area.