Battlefield of the Heart (18 page)

Lacey wrapped Cindy in a hug and spoke in a whisper. “I'm so sorry. It probably doesn't help much, but he honestly thought you were in danger. He was trying to save your life, not hurt you.”

“I know,” Cindy said, her tears falling unchecked. “I just want him to be okay.”

Josh put his hand on her back as a pair of police cars pulled up. “We'll make sure he gets the help he needs.”

She let Josh and Lacey explain the situation to the police and only answered questions when necessary. Her heart broke as she watched the officers exchange suspicious glances. Couldn't they understand that Danny honestly believed he'd saved her life? Or at least pretend to be sympathetic to her concern for her boyfriend and the fact that he'd likely be depressed when he came back to the present and realized what he'd done. She'd just turned down the offer of an ambulance when Alex returned.

“Where is he?” Josh asked.

“I lost him in a residential area a few blocks from here.” Alex sighed, his eyebrows drawn together in worry. “He's still out of it.”

The officers stood a little straighter, and one made a note as the other spoke. “Is he dangerous?”

“I don't know,” Alex said. “I don't think so, but he's never broken with reality this long in the time I've known him.”

“He's not dangerous when he's not having a flashback,” Josh said. “As soon as he comes out of it, he'll be fine.”

The officers exchanged another glance. “What is he likely to do until then?”

“It's hard to say.” Josh sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

The police tried again to get Cindy to press charges against Danny, but she refused. He needed psychiatric help, not jail time.

After the officers took Alex's statement, they promised to keep an eye out for Danny. They also assured Cindy they'd see he got the help he needed if they found him. She had her doubts about how well they'd carry out that promise. They seemed too eager to write him off as just another abusive boyfriend.

Once they left, Alex went to return the putters and balls. Josh ran out to his car and returned with an olive green satchel slung over his shoulder.

“Sit down and I'll splint your wrist.”

He helped her sit on a curb and knelt beside her, opening the bag. He withdrew a plastic and Velcro splint, which he strapped to her arm, immobilizing her wrist. Then he dug out a chemical ice pack and positioned it on her wrist. After he helped her stand, he lifted her arm so it was braced diagonally across her chest. “Hold the ice pack in place and don't try to move your wrist.”

Cindy nodded and cradled her arm as he instructed.

Lacey put an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want Alex or Josh to drive you to the emergency room? I'd take you, but I can't drive. Doctor's orders.”

“I don't know.” Tears filled Cindy's eyes. “What I really want is to find Danny and make sure he's okay. Knowing he's out there fighting enemies that aren't real scares me.”

Lacey gave her a hug. “It scares all of us, but you have to take care of yourself so you can help him when he shows up.”

“Okay,” Josh said as Alex rejoined them, “here's what we'll do. Cindy, I'll take you to the emergency room. Lacey, you and Alex can go look for Danny.”

“That makes the most sense. I'm the last one to see him.” Alex put a hand on Cindy's shoulder, his serious gaze tinged with sympathy. “We'll do our best to find him, but you have to remember that experience taught him to avoid capture. That means we probably won't see him unless he wants to be found.”

She nodded, emotion choking off her voice. Danny had told her enough for her to realize he'd had some pretty harrowing experiences and close calls. As a result, he'd worked to develop the ability to disappear in an urban setting, which had kept him alive in Afghanistan and Iraq but would make him nearly impossible to find now.

Alex and Lacey headed for his car, and Josh guided Cindy to his. Once they were on the road, Josh glanced at her. “Do you want to call your parents and have them meet you at the hospital?”

Cindy briefly considered the idea then shook her head. “Not really. I don't want to deal with whatever kind of reaction they'll have to my wrist getting broken because of Danny. They're paranoid enough already.”

“Okay. Do you know Alan's number? Since Danny's likely to get picked up by the police, it might be a good idea to let him know what's going on.”

“I don't remember it, but it's written down in my room.” Why hadn't she gone ahead and put it into her cell phone? Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. “What am I going to tell Danny's parents? They need to know, but I don't know if I can explain it to them.”

Josh reached over and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Don't worry about it. I'll call them once I get you checked in at the ER.”

“Thanks.”

She stared out the window, hoping to see Danny and knowing she wouldn't. He'd run in the opposite direction from where they were heading. She prayed he'd come out of his flashback soon and go back to campus. If he had his cell phone on him, she'd give him a call to see if that would bring him back to reality, but he'd forgotten to charge it, so he had left it in his room when they left campus.

As soon as Cindy was settled in a hard plastic chair in the busy waiting room of the emergency department, Josh went to call Danny's parents. Every time the glass doors swooshed open, she kept hoping to see Danny, but it was always a stranger. Her concern for him grew stronger with every passing moment, and her need for her mother to assure her everything would be okay overrode her fear of her parents' reaction.

She took her cell phone to the entrance to find a better signal and dialed her home number. As soon as her father heard where she was, he promised to get her mother and be right there. Cindy had just returned her phone to her pocket when Josh joined her.

“You okay?” he asked gently.

She shrugged, determined not to cry again. “I'm not sure it's possible to be okay right now. I called my parents. They're going to meet me here.”

“Do you want me to stay here with you until they arrive?”

“Please. I may need your help to keep them from trying to convince me to press charges against Danny.” Just the thought of explaining how she got injured brought fresh tears as she met Josh's gaze. “They've been so afraid he'd hurt me, because I had an abusive boyfriend when I was younger. I don't know how I can convince them what happened today was an accident.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her to the chairs. “I'll help you talk to them. Danny's parents are going to get hold of his caseworker and explain the situation. That's one less thing you have to worry about.”

“Okay.” She adjusted her ice pack and wished the nurse would call her name. She wanted to get out of here and go back to her dorm in case Danny showed up.

“I called Corbin and told him what's going on. He and Monique will make sure the rest of the veterans' group knows to keep an eye out for Danny.” Josh sighed and combed his fingers through his hair. “Cindy, I hate to say it, but if you're going to stay with Danny, this is something you'll probably always have to deal with. He might not always get this bad, but he's got a lot of problems.”

She drew in a shaky breath. “He's been talking to me about some of the stuff he went through. I totally understand why he's having problems now. I'm sure it won't be easy to deal with or to know how to help him, but I care about him. A lot.”

Josh's smile didn't cover the concern in his gaze. “He's lucky to have you. A lot of guys don't have such an understanding girlfriend.”

She might be an understanding girlfriend, but she was worried about Danny. The pain in her wrist didn't help. Just thinking about what Danny might do without even realizing it was terrifying. Not many people would be willing to let him go without filing charges against him, and she knew jail would do more harm to him than had already been done. The only thing he needed right now was psychiatric treatment and the support of his friends and family.

The urge to pray filled her, and she bowed her head, allowing her fears and worry to flow from her heart. God would listen, and He knew where Danny was right now. Until Danny showed up, God was the only one who could help him.

Corbin and Monique arrived and greeted Cindy with hugs. Josh and Corbin walked a few feet away to talk, but Monique took the chair beside Cindy. “How are you holding up?”

“The best I can under the circumstances.” She took the ice pack off her numb wrist, revealing more of the splint, and her eyes flooded at the evidence this nightmare was real. “I am so scared for Danny.”

Monique wrapped her in a hug. “Oh, honey, he'll turn up eventually, and when he does, we can all make sure he gets the help he needs. For now, you worry about taking care of yourself so you can be there for him.”

Cindy nodded and dried her eyes as Monique sat back. “Did you ever go through anything like this with Corbin?”

“Not exactly.” She glanced toward her husband. “He didn't suffer from flashbacks, but he was depressed for a while right after he came home from the hospital. He also had some pretty severe mood swings. The nightmares were the worst, though. He'd wake up terrified in the middle of the night, and there was nothing I could do except hold him and assure him everything was okay. Some nights, he couldn't sleep at all because the memories weighed too heavily on him.” She turned back to Cindy, her eyes filled to the brim. “It's not always an easy thing to love a man who's been to war. And you and I have the misfortune of loving men who have been through some terrible things that will haunt them forever.”

Cindy nodded, her attention on the entrance. Her parents stepped through the glass doors, their expressions worried as they scanned the room.

“My parents are here.” She rose from her chair, and Monique stood with her as Ellen and Peter hurried over.

Ellen took one look at the splint on Cindy's wrist and paled. “What happened?”

“There was a bit of an accident…” She glanced at Josh and Corbin as they rejoined the group. Oh, how she wished she could let them explain it. But her parents needed to hear it from her, regardless of how much she dreaded telling them. “Um, Danny thought there was a sniper and shoved me down to save me. My wrist hit a metal barrier around the miniature golf course.”

Peter's features darkened. “Your boyfriend did this to you?”

“Dad, it's not like that.” Cindy fought back another round of tears. “It was an accident.”

“Cindy, when the man you're dating hurts you, especially badly enough that you need medical attention, it's not an accident.”

Josh moved to her side. “Mr. Waymire, Danny didn't mean to hurt her. He thought he was protecting her.”

Peter looked far from thrilled as he sized him up. “And you are?”

“Josh Teague, president of the Whitcomb University student veterans' group and a good friend of both Cindy and Danny. I was there when Danny's flashback started. He honestly believed your daughter's life was in danger. He shoved her down to protect her. He shoved me down, too. I just happened to be farther away from the barriers than Cindy.”

Peter opened his mouth, but a nurse's voice interrupted. “Cindy Waymire?”

She glanced at the nurse then returned her gaze to her father. “Dad, talk to Josh about your concerns. He can probably do a better job of helping you understand what happened than I can.”

Peter looked reluctant, but he agreed. Cindy asked Monique to tag along as she went back with her mother. She needed all the moral support she could get, and she figured Monique might be able to help her mom see that Danny hadn't intentionally hurt her.

After the nurse left the cubicle, Cindy turned her attention to her mother, praying for the words she needed. “Mom, you've met Danny. You know he would never hurt me on purpose.”

Ellen sighed. “I'd like to believe that, honey, but look at your wrist. I can't ignore that.”

“I'm not asking you to!” Cindy blew out an exasperated breath. Taking her frustration out on her mother would only make things worse, so she fought to keep her voice calm as she continued. “All I want you to do is try to understand what happened. Danny had a flashback and thought he was saving me from getting shot. He tried to save my life. My getting hurt was a total accident.”

“Cindy, if this is the result of dating him, regardless of whether it was accidental, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to keep seeing him.” Ellen wrapped her in a hug. “I know you care about him, but I'm afraid continuing your relationship with him is dangerous.”

Cindy pulled away. Talking to her mother right now was about as productive as beating her head on a brick wall. “Mom, you're not even trying to understand.”

Monique spoke up from her place in the corner. “Mrs. Waymire, Danny cares about Cindy a great deal and wants to protect her. When he finds out she got hurt, he's going to feel terrible.”

Suspicion clouded Ellen's eyes. “What do you mean ‘when he finds out'? He's responsible for my daughter needing x-rays.”

“When Danny has flashbacks, he doesn't have any connection with reality. What he sees is something that happened while he was deployed. Right now, he has no idea that he had anything to do with Cindy getting hurt. He may not even realize she was the one he shoved down to protect from sniper fire.”