by Sue MacKay
Of course it was not okay. It was a minefield.
Cody was still there. Thank goodness. His presence and calm manner gave her strength. Catching her eye, he nodded once, tightly. Had he heard what their patient had said? Whatever message he was trying to send her, she wasn’t understanding, and they were wasting time if Mick stood any chance at all of surviving the poison streaming through his body.
With a shaky breath she turned to the man causing her problems. ‘This is an emergency department. Anything you want to ask my patient will have to wait until we’ve treated him.’ If he survives. ‘So please head out to the waiting area. Now.’
‘Or what?’ A rapid movement and a gun appeared between them.
‘What are you doing?’ she gasped as that trickle of apprehension became a torrent of fear. She was unable to stop staring at the weapon pointed directly at her chest, where her heart was beating the weirdest, sickest rhythm against her ribs. Definitely not a detective, then. Glancing out of the wide opening of Resus One, she could see only one person at the desk, and he was rapidly removing himself from sight. ‘Call the police,’ Harper begged silently.
‘Hey, what do you think you’re doing?’ Cody moved around the bed fast, stepped up close to her so his arm touched hers and eyeballed her aggressor, anger darkening his face. ‘Put that away.’
‘You want to argue?’ The man smirked as he waved the gun at Cody, taunting him to take a crack at him. ‘I’m here to collect what’s mine.’
That gun mesmerised Harper as it was moved between her and Cody in a very deliberate, menacing way. One little squeeze and someone could die. Just as simple, and horrific, as that.
She had to do something. Drawing what she hoped was a calming breath, but felt like an asthma attack, she said in a voice that didn’t sound like hers, ‘Stop this. Now. Our first priority’s to save Mick’s life. So get out of the way while we do all we can.’ She glanced sideways to her patient. Damn. ‘Cody, oxygen. Now. Jess, bring the fan closer. We need to get his temperature down fast.’
The girl was paralysed with fear. ‘Sorry, yes, Harper.’
With Mick fighting him all the way, Cody struggled getting the mask on.
‘Matilda, the water.’ No reply. ‘Matilda?’ Harper glanced around but there was no sign of the junior nurse. When had she snuck away? Now they were down to three. Not enough to help their patient, but fewer to be confronted with that gun. Hopefully it also meant they could expect help in the form of security or, better yet, armed police, shortly. Then what would Detective Strong do? Her skin lifted in goose bumps as she struggled to tamp down the fear threatening to rage through her and flatten her thought processes. Would they find themselves in the middle of a shooting match? She had a patient to care for; other staff to try and keep safe.
‘The oxygen’s flowing.’ Cody’s calm voice cut through her panic.
Her eyes met his and the fear backed off a few notches. Darn, but he was good. Cool as. She straightened her shoulders and dipped her chin to acknowledge she was on her game, however shakily.
Cody nodded back. ‘I’ll get the water.’ He caught Mick’s flying arm and tucked it down against the young man’s body. ‘Steady, mate. Think we’ll strap you down for a bit, okay? Can’t have you knocking out your doctor, can we? Jess, maybe you should get the water.’
Harper took the end of a strap he handed her. He had it all together—seemed completely unfazed about their unwanted spectator. She drew more strength from him. ‘You and Jess do this while I go get some drugs.’ She turned to come face-to-face with their interloper, and felt the cold, hard reality of a gun barrel poked into her stomach.
‘I don’t think so.’ Those chilly eyes fixed on her. ‘No one’s going anywhere.’
‘I am trying to save this man’s life—a life that you mightn’t care about—’ she stabbed his chest without thinking ‘—but I do. We do. So get out of my way.’
‘The only thing I care about are those packs in his gut. They belong to me.’ Cold steel jabbed deep into her stomach. ‘Nothing, no one else, matters. Get it?’
She nodded. ‘Sure. But I am going to do my absolute best to save Mick’s life, whatever you think, so move out of my way.’ She locked eyes with the man, fighting down the returning panic weaving through her tense muscles.
He waved the gun in her face, so close she tipped her head back. ‘What are you going to do about it, doc? Eh? Wait until idiot here dies? Because he’s going to. One way or the other. They all do.’
The firearm was menacing but even more so were the eyes locked on her as he continued. ‘Save us all the trouble and cut him open so I get what I came for. Then I’ll get out of your hair.’ If he’d shouted or snarled, she’d have handled his statement better, but he’d spoken softly, clearly, and set her quivering with dread.
There was no getting rid of the man, nor was he going to let her get the midazolam Mick desperately needed. She wanted to call out for someone else to bring the drug but that meant putting another person in jeopardy.
‘I’ll go,’ Cody intervened. He flicked her a quick look that seemed to say, Hang in there, I’m on to this, but she could be far off the mark. It had been a very fast glance.
The gunman snarled, ‘No you don’t.’
Cody shrugged exaggeratedly. ‘We need more water and drugs and, if you think I’d do a bunk and leave Dr White alone with you, think again. The drugs cupboard is just on the other side of the doorway.’
Phew. Relief warmed Harper. As much as she’d like the nurse out of here and safe, she didn’t want to be left without him watching her back as much as it was possible.
Her relief lasted nanoseconds. An arm slung around her throat, cutting off anything she could’ve said to back up Cody. Her assailant hauled her backwards, hard up against his torso.
‘Let her go.’ Cody stood right in front of them, his hands loose at his sides, those impressive feet spread wide, looking for all the world like he regularly dealt with this sort of situation, this type of villain.
‘Want to try and make me?’ the man snarled, then tightened his hold around Harper’s neck. Was he getting upset that things weren’t quite going his way?
They weren’t going her way either, but she could try to regain some control over the situation. Struggling to straighten up, she got hauled further off-balance for her efforts.
The grip tightened on Harper’s throat, making her eyes water and feel as though they could pop out of their sockets any moment. Her windpipe hurt. But it was the latest wave of fear rolling up from her stomach that really threw her off-centre. She didn’t have a chance of getting away from this man, or of saving Mick.
Mick. ‘Let me go,’ she tried to say, but nothing got past that arm pushing on her throat. Her fingers clawed at it, trying to loosen the throttling sensation. She couldn’t swallow and breathing was a strain.
Her eyes fixed on Cody’s. She hoped he couldn’t see her fear. Looking deep into his steady gaze, she tried to draw strength from him, to calm down. She couldn’t afford to let the assailant beat her. Count to ten, think what to do.
How in Hades did she count when even getting enough oxygen into her lungs was a mission?
*
Cody gulped. Strong was hurting Harper. But she was good. She might be terrified—he definitely was—but she wasn’t taking any crap from the lowlife. Go, girl. No. Be careful, stay safe. Lowlife had the advantage and not once had he looked as though he’d be afraid to pull that trigger.
He guessed the guy had nothing to lose. No one would stop him walking out of here while he held that gun. Hopefully the armed-defenders unit would arrive soon and be able to work out a solution without anyone getting injured or worse. If someone in the department had dialled 111. If Matilda had stopped to tell anyone on her mad dash to freedom. He was afraid to look out into the department in case he alerted Lowlife to other staff or anyone that might be working towards taking him down.
In the meantime the three of them still stuck in he
re had to deal with the situation and keep out of harm’s way. They weren’t going to get the drug that might calm Mick down a little. The odds were stacking up against him as time ran out fast. And, while Cody abhorred drugs and the people who made a living out of them, this young man was paying a huge price, way too huge. He wouldn’t be making the big bucks that people like Lowlife here would be. ‘I’ll run towels under the cold tap,’ he told Harper. ‘Then you outline what we do next.’ He was trying to warn her to stay put, that they’d get this sorted.
But either she was playing dumb or was just being plain brave because she shook her head, and managed to speak, which indicated that the arm had loosened on her throat. ‘We need icy-cold water, not tap water.’
Lowlife tightened his grip around Harper’s neck again and heavily tapped the gun barrel against her skull. ‘No one goes anywhere or the doc gets it.’
Harper’s eyes widened and all the colour drained from her cheeks. Her front teeth dug deep into her bottom lip.
‘Let her go,’ Cody growled. Fury was building inside him. ‘Incapacitating her isn’t going to change a thing.’ It was obviously a painful hold. Her throat was going to hurt for days. He gritted his teeth. It was crazy to think anyone would have to deal with an assailant in a place where people came to get fixed up, but it happened.
Another man threatening a woman on his watch, though? No, it wasn’t happening again.
‘You think I won’t use this? Huh? Want to see what happens when a bullet goes through brain matter?’ Lowlife laughed, a hideous sound that must’ve been heard throughout the department and made Cody’s skin crawl.
But it was the shock in Harper’s eyes that really got to him. She probably hadn’t encountered anything quite like this before, while he had. He had held his wife in his arms while she’d died of a knife wound to her heart. He’d been unable to halt the life draining out of her that day—had felt so useless, so helpless. Which was why the quiet evil about this man tightened his gut and had him fearing for Harper. That fear vied with anger. Nothing he said or did helped Harper while she was trying to help her patient. She did not deserve to be held to ransom. Or worse. Evil had no boundaries.
All the things he hated about bullies and nasty SOBs burst through him, and it took every ounce of self-control not to leap on the guy and take him down. That would really help the situation. Not. He’d probably get Harper killed in the process. He would not face that again. Once in a lifetime was once too often. He had to be careful; acting impulsively only led to disaster. ‘Let’s be sensible here. Dr White cannot save Mick’s life while you’re holding her.’ Damn, but he hated grovelling.
‘Who says we need to save the useless piece of garbage? I only want my drugs out.’
Jeez. Cody rammed his fingers through his hair. This guy didn’t deserve to be breathing. ‘Still need the doctor for that.’ Though Lowlife probably had his own knife strapped somewhere on his body; Cody had no illusions about the man getting his merchandise back himself. Which only underlined the dire situation they were all in.
Harper blinked at him. Mouthed something he couldn’t read. Her eyes tracked sideways towards the head of the bed.
The monitor? Reluctant to take his eyes off Lowlife while he held that gun to Harper, Cody quickly glanced sideways and saw the flat line on the screen. Mick Frew had gone into cardiac arrest. He hadn’t even heard the changed electronic sound; he’d been so focused on the doctor and her captor.
Cody needed to act quickly before anyone else rushed in to help and found themselves in this dangerous situation. He immediately hit in the centre of Mick’s sternum with his clenched hand, watching the screen intently. The flat line continued. Another thump and he said as calmly as possible, ‘Paddles, Jess.’ It wasn’t Mick’s condition churning his gut, but Harper’s. Dealing with this cardiac arrest wasn’t going to quieten Lowlife any, but no way could he ignore their patient either.
Thankfully Jess already had the paddles in her hands, even if she was staring at Harper.
As he shoved the paddles firmly onto Mick’s exposed chest, he couldn’t stop thinking about the doctor behind him. She was amazing, more concerned about their patient than her own life. She’d read the monitor, or heard it go into that monotone that went with lack of heartbeats, and had tried to let him know even when her windpipe was being squashed. She was some lady. Careful, pal. Don’t get too impressed. You’d hate to follow that up with something more caring.
He held the paddles in place and said urgently, forcefully, ‘Stand back.’
‘Want to get closer, doc?’ Lowlife chuckled.
Cody froze. Never before had he heard such an evil chuckle. It was a match for that hideous laugh. He tried for reasoned and calm. Tried very hard. Snarled, ‘Stand back. If the doctor gets zapped, so will you.’ Dumb idiot. Hadn’t thought of that, had he?
Behind him Harper was hauled back so fast she lost her balance and fell into the man behind her, who also lost his balance.
The hand holding the gun wavered, the fingers tightening as Lowlife struggled to remain upright.
The air stuck in Cody’s chest as he waited for the explosion as the trigger was inadvertently pulled. It didn’t happen.
Instead, Harper dropped lower, fell to the floor. Deliberately? Lowlife no longer had her by the throat, or the gun at her head. Cody sprang forward, his shoulder aimed directly for the assailant’s chest. They went down together, sprawling across the floor while the gun spun out of reach.
Harper crawled after the weapon as Cody worked at subduing Strong by flipping him on to his stomach and planting a knee in the small of his back. ‘Don’t even bother trying to get away.’ Sometimes it was a bonus being a big man, Cody admitted as he looked around for Harper.
She was standing now, holding the gun as though it was about to go off and shoot her. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were wide with shock.
Cody’s heart squeezed for her.
Jess called from the bed in a terrified voice, ‘Still no sign of cardiac function.’
Harper blinked, shook her head abruptly and shoved the gun into the waistband of her scrubs. Rushing across to pick up the paddles from where Cody had dropped them moments ago, she instructed, ‘Stand back,’ and delivered a jolt of electricity. And another, and another.
‘Jess,’ Cody called as the man under his knee squirmed and started swearing loudly. ‘Go get help. Let everyone know we’ve got Strong under control, but as soon as the police arrive I’m more than happy to hand him over.’
Harper was zapping Mick like her life depended on it. ‘Come on. Don’t leave us now.’ Tears ran down her cheeks and her bottom lip trembled.
‘Harper. Stop.’ Cody desperately wanted to go and wrap his arms around her, take away some of the shock presumably making her react like that. As if he’d get away with doing that. Even in the circumstances he knew Dr Harper White would not thank him for showing her concern—especially in front of the staff. Her reputation for being strong, solid and independent went before her, and in the week he’d been working here he hadn’t seen anything to negate it.
Suddenly the room was full of gun-toting men dressed in the dark-blue overalls of the armed defenders squad and Cody relaxed for the first time in what seemed like hours but according to the wall clock was little more than ten minutes.
He couldn’t help himself prodding the man beneath him as he stood up. ‘You’re history.’ What he really wanted to do to the guy wasn’t going to happen even though the creep deserved every moment of pain for what he’d done to Harper White. The fear in her eyes would stay with him for a long time. And then the anger. She was something else; she really was.
As cops grabbed their man, Cody crossed to Harper. ‘It’s over, doctor.’
Her hands were shaking as he took the paddles from her. ‘Mick—he didn’t stand a chance.’
As her fingers oh-so-gently closed Mick’s eyes she said quietly, ‘I’m sorry, Mick Frew. I am so sorry.’ Then she slashed her sleev
e across her face. ‘Damn.’
Cody muttered around the road block in his throat, ‘We weren’t exactly given much of a chance.’
Watery eyes met his as her fingers went to her temples, rubbed hard. ‘Unfortunately you’re right.’ Then she straightened up to her full height, bringing her head to somewhere about his shoulder.
A few unruly curls had escaped the wide band meant to keep them in place and were now stuck to her moist cheeks. Cody’s fingers itched to be able to lift them away and tuck them behind her ears. But he didn’t dare. He already loved this job, and wasn’t going to spoil anything by getting offside with this particular doctor.
So why was he wrapping his arms around her and hauling her shaking body close to his? Because he needed to hold her against him. However briefly, whatever the outcome, he just did. Tucking her head against his chest, he dropped his chin on the top of her thick, soft hair and held her. Breathed in her scent of citrus and residual fear. Her being in his arms gave him strength, helped him settle his jittery muscles. He hoped he was giving the same back.
She’s a perfect fit for my body. The realisation banged through him, made him tense.
Made Harper lift her head and look at him with puzzlement beaming out at him from watery eyes. She sniffed once and plastered a tight smile on her mouth. ‘Let’s go face the second round. There’ll be questions from all directions.’
Slowly Cody unwound his arms from that warm body he shouldn’t be noticing in any way. From somewhere deep he found a smile that was entirely for her. ‘You did good, doctor. Really good.’
CHAPTER TWO
REALLY? I DID a good job? Of what? Harper asked herself as she stepped out of Resus One. Their patient was dead, the assailant had been taken down by Cody and she felt like a toddler who’d just had a huge sugar fix. The shaking had started in earnest now that she had nothing to focus on. That impending migraine had also become reality.
