Read Resuscitation for Free Online Page A

body and I have to interview them. Not looking forward to it.” Al checked his cell phone. “If you hear anything—and I mean anything—call me.”
     
     
    Sami craved a cup of coffee, even the rotgut they served at the hospital cafeteria. But she didn’t dare leave the waiting room for fear she’d miss the doctor. She tried to concentrate on a two-month-old article about Paris Hilton in People magazine, but the words did not register in her brain.
    She looked around the room, at the dilapidated cloth chairs, the worn carpeting, the crooked picture of a surfer riding a huge wave, the coffee table littered with outdated magazines. She caught a whiff of the antiseptic smell so prevalent in all hospitals. Alone with her thoughts, she remembered the last time she sat in this same waiting room while her father lay in intensive care fighting for his life. Somewhere in this hospital, her mother might be doing the same thing. At this very moment, her mother could be lying in a bed with tubes up her nose, IVs in her arms, and a breathing tube down her throat. She’d been waiting for more than two hours and not one person had even popped their head in the room to offer an update. To sit alone in this smelly room seemed like cruel and inhumane treatment.
    Sami’s daughter, Angelina, had already lost her father, and the only family left was Grandma Rizzo and Cousin Emily. Once Sami’s biggest critic, Josephine had become her strongest supporter after her daughter’s brush with death at the hands of Simon. For so many years, Josephine had made Sami’s life a living hell with her meddlesome, manipulating ways. But somehow, the old crotchety woman had been reborn. This was not to say that Josephine didn’t often take a cheap shot at her daughter. But the frequency and intensity had diminished considerably, leading Sami to believe that even senility had its benefits.
    Sami didn’t pray very often. But at this particular moment, she found herself pleading with God to save her mother.
    She lifted her head and noticed a young doctor standing in the doorway, wearing the customary white lab coat and stethoscope draped around his neck. He smiled warmly and approached Sami.
    “Ms. Rizzo?” He extended his right arm and firmly grasped her hand.
    She stood and the doctor affectionately sandwiched her hand between his.
    Odd, Sami thought, that he would be so cordial. Most of the doctors she’d met over the years had been like icebergs. She was certain they had never met, yet he seemed vaguely familiar.
    “I’m Doctor Templeton, chief of cardiothoracic surgery.”
    Templeton ? Was this the Templeton, the Chamber of Commerce Man-of-the-Year Templeton she’d read about only a few days ago? The chairman of a committee that advised the president himself on matters of health? He seemed much too young for such a prestigious title. She tried to read his eyes but they offered no clues for her to foresee what he was about to tell her.
    “Why don’t you have a seat, Ms. Rizzo.”
     
     
    Al arrived at the precinct and parked his car in the underground garage. Guilt-ridden that he’d left Sami alone at the hospital, he felt as though he had betrayed her. She’d been fragile since her near-death experience, but he felt sure she’d bounce back. Except for her father’s passing, there had never been a time when she needed his support so desperately. He saw the neediness in her eyes when he’d left her. Al tried to negotiate a delicate balance between his personal life and his career. But police work demanded his undivided attention. And once in a while, he had to choose between Sami’s well-being and his duties as a homicide detective. Frankly, he wasn’t completely certain he wanted the responsibility that went along with a committed relationship.
    Al wrestled with his feelings for Sami constantly. When they were together, he felt completely content and certain this was where he should be. But when they were apart, he savored every