Falling Deep Into You (The Falling Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Falling Deep Into You

  The Falling Trilogy Book One

  T.M. Kelly

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  A note from the author

  Join T.M.’s Newsletter!

  About T.M. Kelly

  Also by T.M. Kelly

  Books by Terra Kelly

  Acknowledgement

  Synopsis

  Preslie Summers defines beauty and kindness. But her dark past haunts her, and now she is being hunted.

  She takes refuge with Miles, the cop who was assigned to protect her. He is everything she needs, everything she wants, and most importantly he is lethal.

  Her attacker lurks in the shadows, ready to pounce but as Miles begins to fall for Preslie, he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

  Violence and passion abound as Preslie struggles in a fight for her life.

  Dedication

  Thank you, Ed, for your inspiration!

  One

  “Shots fired, officers down, I repeat officers down!” Sergeant Finley ran over and crouched down. “Miles, can you hear me? Miles?” He placed two fingers on the jugular of his partner’s neck and yelled, “He has a pulse but it’s low." Placing a hand on Miles' shoulder. “Hang on, the ambulance is on the way.”

  Miles was falling in and out of consciousness. He could hear Finley talking but he could not respond. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what happened. Why he was in pain and unable to move? Then everything went silent.

  The ambulance pulled up, Karen was the first to approach the victim. The two other E.M.T.’s were pulling out the stretcher, grabbing the defibrillator and a duffel bag. Karen wrapped the cuff around Miles' arm. “His blood pressure is 88/57. Let’s get an I.V. started stat.” She cut off his shirt. “There’s a gunshot wound on the left side of his abdomen and one that looks like it grazed his right temple.” Karen glanced at Finley. “Does he have any other gunshot wounds besides the two visible injuries you know of?”

  “There were several shots fired in his direction, maybe five. He complained of severe leg pain.”

  Karen lifted Miles' legs. She noticed a puncture wound on the back of his left leg just above his knee. “It looks like a bullet is lodged because I don't see an exit wound.” There was a pool of blood around Miles from the gunshot wound in the abdomen. It was almost too difficult to see if there were any other gunshot wounds. He was still unconscious but with some medication in the I.V. drip his blood pressure was improving. “Shut off the defib, he's coming around. Let’s get him on the gurney, he needs medical attention stat.”

  The moment the two E.M.T.’s stabilized him for the move, Miles came around. He tried to look over but his neck was in a brace to keep him immobilized. Somehow, he found his voice and yelled, “Fin.” He coughed. “Fin.”

  Finley was talking to Erickson when he heard Miles call for him. “Hey man, you’re back. Glad you could join us.” He placed his hand on his shoulder. “They're taking you to the hospital, looks like today was your lucky day. You decided three gunshot wounds were your magic number.”

  “Where’s Eddy?” Miles said and coughed again.

  Finely went still, he had to wait to say anything. “They’re checking him out now.” He glanced over just as Eddy was being placed in a body bag. Sergeant Ed Simmons was shot twice, the fateful shot went straight through his skull. He had no chance to feel pain, he went down instantly. All Fin could think about was Eddy’s family, he had two young girls at home and a beautiful wife who was expecting their third child. “You hang tight, okay? They’ll get you all patched up.”

  “Fin, don’t lie, man.” He tried to move around to find his partner. “Let me see him, I need to see him.” Then as loud as his voice would allow, he yelled, “Eddy? Where are you, Eddy?” A single tear fell down his cheek. “Eddy? Come on man, where are you?”

  Karen the E.M.T. touched his shoulder. “I need you to calm down. If you continue to get upset, you’ll experience more blood loss and you’ve lost too much already. We'll let you see Eddy soon but for now I need you to stay still.”

  Miles looked at the woman. “You're taking care of him?" he asked. "He’s okay?”

  “We’re working on him, but you both received serious wounds. The next twenty-four hours will be touch-and-go.” They positioned the duffel bag between his legs and placed the I.V. drip above his body. Then they loaded him into the ambulance. Karen walked over to Finley. “Not sure when you plan on telling him the truth, hope it’s soon.”

  Finley shook his head. “We’ll tell him. Let’s get him stabilized first.” Then he turned to walk away from the truck. Under his breath he muttered, “Fuck.” He headed over to his partners. “What the hell happened? I thought there were only four suspects on the premises. There were double that and our guys were just ambushed. Somebody fucked up.”

  Sanders, Campbell, and Cooper were motionless. Then Sanders grabbed his gun to head back to the squad’s SUV and said, “Somebody needs to let Angie know what happened to Miles?” He turned to Cooper. “Boss, has anyone notified Miles’ wife yet?”

  The door to the hospital room 325 creaked open and a slender figure emerged. Angie was average height and very thin. She had long brunette hair with several areas graying around her face. The one definitive feature were the dark circles under both eye. She married Miles ten years ago and every year since that day was like one ongoing nightmare. She feared for his life every time he walked out the door. If there was any mention of some police shooting or accident, her insides would twist and turn.

  When Sergeant Cooper called to let her know Miles was shot, she reached her breaking point. For several months now she thought about leaving him; she wanted to take the kids and settle somewhere far away. She knew it was her nerves talking, instead she had to do the right thing which meant helping him during his recovery. Then, maybe when he was stable enough she could ask for a divorce. Something had to change and soon.

  She glanced over at the still figure resting on the hospital bed. Miles was hooked up to a heart monitor and an I.V. drip. He seemed so peaceful lying there beneath the blankets. Cooper had told her on the phone that Miles had sustained three gunshot wounds. It was the one in the abdomen that was the major concern right now. The bullet had made two holes in his small intestines, grazed his kidney, and hit a few major blood vessels. There was internal bleeding, but during the surgery the doctors were able to find the artery and close it off. The next twenty-four hours would be the most critical time because he could still have internal bleeding.

  Angie pulled a chair over and sat down beside the bed. “Oh Miles, what are we doing? The kids are scared. I’m scared. Please, you have to come around, you have to get better.” She reached for his hand and held it between her own. “Miles, if you can hear me, please wake up.” She tightened her hold and brought his hand to her lips for a tender kiss and started to cry. She was crying for him, his job, the kids. One thing was for sure, he was an amazing man. He loved, cared, and provided for his family. She thought she could handle the cop life, but she was wrong.

  A light knock on the door brought her back to the present. A young nurse in maybe her thirties peeked around the door. “Is it okay to come in for a moment?” She was tall, maybe five feet eleven inches. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she had very little make up on. What caught Angie’s attention was her smile. The woman was stunning.

  Angie stood. “Please, come in.”

  The nurse walked to the dry erase board hanging on the wall and wrote her name in all caps. “I’ll be his nurse for this shift, my name is Preslie. If there is anything you need, please just push the call button.” She walked over and stood on the other side of Miles. “Has he stirred yet?”

  Angie shook her head. “He’s been asleep the whole time I’ve been here. Do you think he’ll wake up soon?” She felt her insides twist and turn yet again. It was that feeling she couldn’t deal with anymore.

  Preslie was looking over his chart, then checked and recorded his vitals. “From the notes in his chart, he has been asleep for over five hours. He should come around soon.” She placed his file back on the wall. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “That would be wonderful. Could I have some water?” The nurse was gorgeous. Why did Angie feel a pang of jealousy? She shook her head and smiled to herself as the nurse was heading toward the door.

  Preslie turned and flashed those pearly whites again. “I’ll grab it for you now.”

  Angie nodded her head and then settled back into the chair beside the bed. She knew the next few days would be long and exhausting.

  Preslie walked out to the hallway and looked back at the little sign that read room 325. Vikki did it yet again. She made her way toward the nurses’ station, pointing her finger at her best friend. “Are you serious? What the hell, Vikki?”

  Vikki giggled. “What?” she said trying to feign innocence. “Whatever are you talking about, darling?”

  Preslie grabbed a bottled water out of the patient cooler. “Don’t play innocent with me
, girlie. You know what.” Then she ignored Vikki’s protests and headed back to Miles Callahan’s room. She knocked and left the water on the tray beside the bed. She glanced over at the man on the bed, he was handsome as hell with a shaved head, long oval face, and a five o’clock shadow. She could tell he was older, maybe in his forties, and better yet, he was a cop.

  She met her best friend, Vikki in college about fifteen years ago, they were roommates. From the moment they met, they were inseparable. When she found out Vikki was in the nursing program, their friendship blossomed even more. Just like any college freshman you had to have a wild side. They attended some serious parties and held each other’s hair after one too many drinks. Secrets were shared, many secrets. There were things about Preslie that only Vikki knew. One of her deepest and darkest secret, her love for cops. Not the “I will marry one someday” love either. No, the sexy, mysterious, dangerous side. It was a long-standing joke between them and one that would never get old. So, the moment Miles was put in room 325, Vikki had her hands in the pot to assign him to Preslie.

  As Preslie made her way back to the nurses' station, Vikki glanced up from her computer with a devious smile plastered on her face. Preslie stepped around the counter and settled in the rolling chair next to her friend. “He was brought in last night, right?” She made a few turns in her chair as she thought about the sexy cop only a few doors down. “He is still sound asleep. I would’ve thought he would be awake by now?”

  “He arrived up here about midnight. His surgery I guess went well, but he had a lot of internal bleeding. They wanted to keep him sedated.” She turned in her chair and grabbed Preslie’s knees. “So, hot, right?”

  Slapping Vikki’s hand away. “Stop!” She stood and noticed a uniformed man heading their way. “Hi. Can I help you?”

  Finley loved the looks women would pass his way. If he had on jeans and a tee...nothing. Put a uniform on and women clung to him like a magnet. He placed his hands on the counter. "My buddy, Miles Callahan is here. Is it possible to see him? He was brought in late last night.”

  “He’s in room 325," Preslie said and pointed toward his room. "There’s someone in there with him right now though. Do you want me to go let her know you’re here?”

  “Is she a thin woman with beautiful brunette hair?”

  “Yes, she arrived about an hour ago.”

  “Perfect, it’s his wife. I won’t be in there long. My team wanted to make sure he was doing okay.” He tapped his hand on the counter twice and nodded his head as a thank you. Then he turned and headed toward Miles’ room.

  He noticed Angie sitting in a chair with her head bent and her hands clasped around one of Miles’ hands. When she lifted her head, there were dark circles under her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks, and her hair looked unruly. “Fin.” Then she went into his out stretched arms. “He hasn’t moved yet. I’m so scared.”

  He was rubbing her back to try to sooth her. “It's okay you know he’s a fighter.” He looked over at Miles. “Did they say how the surgery went?”

  Angie stepped back and wiped away her tears. “I know. It’s just hard to see him like this, it scares me so much.” She walked over and sat back down. “I guess it went well. The next twenty-four hours are critical though. They have to monitor him to ensure all the internal bleeding was contained.”

  It was hard seeing his teammate like this and harder knowing one of their own died in the line of duty. When he let Eddy’s family know, it was horrible. His wife beat on Finley's chest and screamed every curse words in the English dictionary. He knew she had every right to be angry. Hell, the whole team was, too. The ambush should never have happened. No one knew why the information was wrong regarding the four suspects in the building. Finley kept running the raid over in his mind. Maybe if he would have been outside he could have protected Eddy or even Miles. He was making himself sick with the what if’s, and the why’s of the whole thing.

  “Have you slept at all?” he asked Angie. She always seemed so tired and fragile. Miles had shared with Finley just the other day he was worried about his wife. He said, she was very distant and closed off lately. A few weeks ago they celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary. Except, they didn’t celebrate, they were home relaxing with the kids. Angie didn’t feel like going out and so Miles the good man he was, stayed home. Finley never said anything to Miles, but he felt Angie was struggling with being the wife of a cop.

  “Sleep, what is that?” She shrugged her shoulders. “I've been wide awake since I received the call.” She went to say something, then stopped. Then out of the blue. “Fin, will this ever get easier?”

  Finley leaned against the window sill. “Easy? Probably not. But is anything ever easy?”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Hey, I need to get home and check on Gracie and Jack.” She stood and headed toward the door taking one last look at Miles before leaving the room.

  Finley didn't know how to take that question. He sat down next to his partner. “Hey man, you need to wake up. I’m worried about, Angie.”

  On Preslie’s last round before her shift ended she checked on Miles. The moment she peeked around the curtain, he gave a slight grin. “Well good afternoon, Mr. Callahan.” She stepped up beside him and checked all the machines and made sure his vitals were at the proper levels. “Would you like water or maybe some crackers?

  He attempted to speak but paused and took in a deep breath. “Miles.”

  She nodded. “Okay, Miles. What will it be, water and crackers?”

  “Yes, that would be great. What time is it?”

  Preslie paused for a moment. She had a tough time thinking with those bright blue eyes staring up at her. “Um…it…it’s 6:30 p.m. Are you feeling okay? Any abdominal pain?” Shit, those eyes would make thinking straight very difficult. “The doctor is on his way.”

  He turned his head to read the dry erase board, “Preslie, right?” He sighed. “Everything hurts. Is there more morphine on the way?”

  She touched his shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll let the nurse coming on know you need more morphine.” She finished writing in his chart and headed out. As she reached the nurses’ station, another uniformed officer approached her.

  Sergeant Cooper had finished his briefing and wanted to check on Callahan. “Excuse me. Which room is Miles Callahan in?”

  She pointed toward room 325. “Right there sir and he just woke up.” Preslie was ready to put her feet up and enjoy a glass of wine. She grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone to check for any messages. The moment she saw the message, she knew her night had just gone south. As she headed to the parking garage, she called Vikki. “Um, you busy?”

  Vikki was at home already relaxing, she sat up in her chair. “What’s wrong? You okay?” Preslie never sounded nervous, unless it dealt with her ex. “Sweetie, talk to me?”

  “I think so. Well, I have no fucking clue. I received a text message from David." He was her ex and they had broke up about six months ago. He had this crazy notion they would get married and have the white picket fence together. Where that idea back-fired was when he decided it was okay to control her every move. She stopped it before it got too insane. Thankfully he never hit her but he came close once. “Can I stay with you tonight?"

  “Get your ass over here.” Vikki hated David the moment Preslie started dating him. She could tell there was something off about him, but she couldn't tell her best friend how to live her life. They both lived close to the hospital but in opposite directions. If David was at her place, Preslie could avoid him. If David was at the hospital already...her insides twisted. “Are you walking out with anyone right now?”