The Forever Assignment

by Jennifer Taylor

  He glanced towards the head of the operating table, where Kasey was seated beside the old-fashioned machinery. ‘How’s she doing?’

  ‘BP stable, heart rate and breathing both steady,’ she replied politely.

  ‘Excellent!’ he replied heartily. ‘You’ve done a really great job maintaining her.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  He sighed when he heard the cool note in her voice. It sounded as though his compliment had been too little, too late. He couldn’t blame her if she was annoyed with him for putting doubts in people’s minds—it would have irked him, too, if the situation had been reversed. He realised that he had to do something to address the problem and decided to have a word with everyone over dinner that night. A slice of humble pie should round off the meal!

  He carried on with what he was doing, removing sections of bone from the lower part of Amelia’s right leg but leaving enough skin and muscle to provide a pad to cover the stump. Blood vessels had to be tied off and nerves severed well above the site of the amputation to reduce pressure pain in the future. Mercifully, Amelia’s left foot hadn’t been as badly damaged as he’d feared: although she’d lost three of her toes, she should be able to walk on it eventually. All in all, the child had been extremely lucky—at least she hadn’t been killed by the explosion and she should still be able to get around—so he felt far more upbeat after he’d put the final suture in place.

  ‘That’s it, then. With a bit of luck, she’ll be up and about in a few weeks time.’ He smiled around the table. ‘A first-rate job performed under very trying circumstances. Thank you, everyone.’

  ‘Our pleasure,’ June replied cheerfully, busily checking off the instruments they’d used. She handed the last few items to Lorraine then helped her push the rickety old trolley out of Theatre. Fortunately, the hospital’s autoclave was still functioning so they’d been able to use it to sterilise their instruments.

  Adam stretched his aching back as he stepped away from the table. Kasey was reversing the anaesthetic now and he glanced at her. ‘If everything’s all right here, I’ll go and take a shower. Mary promised to get a bed ready in that side room off the main ward so I’ll ask her to come and fetch Amelia.’

  ‘There’s no need. I want to be sure that she’s come round fully from the anaesthetic before I hand her over so I’ll take her through myself when she’s ready.’

  ‘You need a break, Kasey. Mary is perfectly capable of keeping an eye on her from now on.’

  ‘I’m sure she is. However, Amelia is my patient and I have no intention of handing over responsibility for her until I’m sure she’s recovered sufficiently.’

  She stared back at him, her beautiful face betraying so little emotion that for some reason Adam felt his own emotions bubbling up to the surface. It took every scrap of willpower he possessed not to let them spill over.

  ‘If that’s your decision, who am I to disagree?’ he said in a voice that sounded far harsher than he’d intended it to.

  He left Theatre and headed for the showers, stripping off his sweat-soaked scrub suit and unceremoniously stuffing it into the dirty linen hamper. Grabbing a towel off the shelf, he stepped into a cubicle, cursing roundly when he turned on the taps and a dribble of cold water leaked from the shower head. He twisted the dial this way and that but he still couldn’t persuade the shower to work any better.

  Leaving the first cubicle, he tried the next one and achieved the same result: a couple of drops of cold water and that was all. It looked as though something had gone wrong with their water supply and it was the final straw on top of everything else that had happened that day. Why in the name of all that was holy had he ever agreed to run this mission in the first place?

  Dragging on his clothes, he left the changing room. Tony Bridges, their physician, was coming along the corridor and said something to him in passing but Adam didn’t pause. He strode out of the main doors and climbed into the Jeep, gunning the engine and sending a flock of birds scattering from the nearby trees. It was a ten minute drive from the hospital to the hostel and he did it in six, drawing up outside with a squeal of tyres. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so angry and frustrated before…apart from that night when Kasey had told him the truth, of course.

  His mouth compressed as he entered the building. Every single thing that happened lately seemed to revolve around Kasey. He’d thought he’d got over her, honestly believed that he’d put it all behind him, but he’d been wrong. The memory had been festering inside him all these years, and the thought of what could happen if it erupted scared him rigid. There was no way that he was going to put himself through that kind of torment again!

  He took the stairs two at a time and flung open his bedroom door. He needed to think about what had gone on five years ago because that had been his biggest mistake, of course: he’d tried to block out the pain by burying himself in work instead of dealing with it. But if he was to survive, he had to start right back at the beginning, exorcise those ghosts from the past so he could start living again in the present.

  Lying down on the bed, he closed his eyes and opened his mind, unsurprised when Kasey immediately flowed in…

  ‘Hi! I’m Kasey Harris, your new anaesthetist.’

  Adam swung round when he heard a lilting voice behind him. He’d just left Theatre after a particularly gruelling session and the last thing he felt like doing was making conversation with the newcomer. The cool dismissal was already forming on his lips when his eyes alighted on the woman standing in front of him and he froze.

  Silky black curls swirled around a delicate oval face; deep blue eyes gleamed with warmth and another emotion too subtle to put a name to but one which made his senses respond on some subliminal level. When she held out a slender hand, he found himself reaching for it like a drowning man.

  ‘And you must be Adam Chandler, of course!’

  Her hand gripped his, her soft palm pressed to his hard one, the pads of her fingers exerting the most delicate pressure on the back of his hand, and he almost groaned out loud in ecstasy. It was just a handshake, yet it felt as though every nerve in his body was suddenly transfixed with pleasure. It was only when he saw the faintly quizzical lift of her brows that he realised he should really let her go.

  ‘Sorry. I’m a bit spaced out at the moment, I’m afraid.’ His hand fell to his side and he felt the loss of contact like a physical ache in his gut. It shocked him so much that he rushed on. ‘Twelve hours in Theatre tends to do that to you.’

  ‘I know. I’ve had some spaced out moments of my own,’ she replied sympathetically. ‘Although the rush you get afterwards from a job well done makes up for it, doesn’t it?’

  ‘It certainly does.’

  It was so exactly how he’d always felt that he had to stop himself grinning inanely at her. He glanced at his watch, feigning an impatience to be off because the alternative—standing there for the rest of his days while he savoured her beauty—simply wasn’t possible.

  ‘I can see that you’re busy so I won’t detain you,’ she said lightly, taking the hint. ‘Far be it from me to get between a surgeon and his scalpel!’

  Adam summoned a smile when he heard the teasing note in her voice, although he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had spoken to him that way, and certainly not a member of staff. They were far too in awe of him to behave so familiarly but Kasey Harris obviously didn’t view him in the same light as everyone else.

  How exactly did she see him? he wondered curiously, then hastily stifled the thought. He really didn’t want to go down that road.

  ‘Anyway, I just thought I’d introduce myself. I’m not actually due to start work until tomorrow so I expect I’ll see you then…’ She left the sentence open and he immediately jumped into the gap.

  ‘I’m not rostered tomorrow, I’m afraid. I have a few days’ leave owing to me so I’ll be off for the rest of the week, in fact.’

  ‘Oh, I see. What a shame.’ She sounded as though she genuinely regret
ted his absence and he couldn’t deny that it was a wonderful boost to his ego.

  ‘It is.’ He smiled even more warmly at her this time. ‘Maybe we could make up for it by going out for dinner one night while I’m off?’

  ‘Why, I’d love to! I’ve only just moved to London so I’m at a bit of a loose end with having to leave all my friends behind in Dublin.’

  ‘Oh, so you’re Irish? I thought I detected a certain lilt in your voice.’

  ‘I was born in Ireland, although I moved to England many years ago after my mother re-married so that’s probably how I lost most of my accent. I went back there to study, though, and ended up staying on after I qualified.’ She grimaced. ‘I really mustn’t keep you here chatting. You must have loads of things to do. When would you like us to meet for that dinner?’

  ‘Would tomorrow night be OK for you?’

  He named a restaurant and they fixed a time before she hurried away. Adam sighed as he watched her walking along the corridor. Now that the initial feeling of euphoria was starting to fade, he couldn’t help wondering if he’d been mad to ask her out like that. He’d made it a strict rule never to get involved with the people he worked with. It had meant that his social life had been a bit restricted because he spent more time at work than anywhere else, but at least he’d avoided any unpleasantness when a relationship had broken up. Yet within two minutes of meeting Kasey Harris he’d invited her out to dinner and he wasn’t sure if it had been the most sensible thing to do.

  He took a half-step to go after her when she suddenly turned, and even from that distance he could see the smile in her eyes. When she raised her hand and waved to him, he waved back. Adam took a deep breath as she disappeared from sight but his heart was racing and other parts of his anatomy were performing manoeuvres normally confined to the privacy of his bedroom! He knew then that there wasn’t a chance of him cancelling their date. He was going to meet Kasey Harris the following night and simply see what happened…

  ‘Adam! Adam, wake up!’

  His eyelids flickered open when he heard Kasey calling his name. The dream had been so vivid that he wasn’t the least surprised when he found her bending over him. Catching hold of her hand, he pulled her down towards him.

  ‘Good morning,’ he murmured as his lips found hers. He kissed her slowly, lingeringly, while his free hand moved to her breast, sighing with pleasure when her nipple immediately peaked…

  ‘For heaven’s sake, stop that!’

  She pushed him away and Adam’s eyes opened properly this time, opened and absorbed what he was actually seeing, which was Kasey glaring at him, her face flushed, her beautiful mouth quivering not with passion, as he’d expected but with what looked very much like anger to him. Pushing himself upright on the bed, he did a quick reality check and only just managed not to groan out loud when he realised what he’d done. He’d allowed that dream to spill over into waking time and it was galling to imagine what Kasey must be thinking.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said brusquely, standing up. ‘I thought you were someone else.’

  ‘Obviously!’ she snapped, but he saw the flicker of pain that crossed her face before she turned away.

  Adam was sorely tempted to ask her what was wrong, but he knew he couldn’t afford to ask a question like that in case she reciprocated. The thought of having to come up with an identity for the mystery woman he’d claimed to have been dreaming about was more than he could cope with.

  ‘So what’s all the panic about?’ he demanded instead, hating the fact that he’d felt it necessary to lie. There was no woman in his life and hadn’t been for a very long time now. It was ages since he’d been out on a date never mind anything else and the thought did little to soothe him.

  What would Kasey think if she found out that he hadn’t slept with another woman since they’d split up? he wondered bitterly. Would she be amused at the thought of his continued celibacy or merely pity him for not getting over what had happened? Neither option was one that he particularly relished, and he glared at her.

  ‘Well? Spit it out. I assume you have a good reason for barging into my room.’

  ‘Matthias has been shot.’ She took a gulping breath and he could tell that she was struggling to regain her composure. ‘Apparently, he decided to go to the airfield to help the driver load our equipment onto the truck and they were ambushed on their way back. The driver managed to get away and brought him straight to the hospital so that’s why I came to fetch you.’

  ‘Hell!’ Adam was out of the door in a trice, his booted feet thundering on the floorboards as he raced along the landing. ‘How badly hurt is he?’ he demanded over his shoulder.

  ‘It’s a gut wound,’ she told him flatly, and he winced. ‘David was still trying to stabilise him when I left. He’ll take him straight to Theatre once that’s done, but it didn’t look too good from what I saw.’

  ‘Gunshot wounds to the gut are the worst of all,’ he said grimly, racing down the stairs. ‘There’s so much scope for soft tissue damage that they’re always the hardest to deal with.’

  He stopped when they reached the hall, seeing the shock that was etched on her face and hating the fact that he was powerless to do anything about it. He made himself focus on practicalities instead, because if he didn’t then he was afraid that he would do something really stupid, like taking her in his arms.

  ‘We need to find Sarah and tell her what’s happened.’

  ‘Sarah?’

  ‘Matthias’s wife. They live on the other side of town but I’m not sure exactly where because I’ve not been to their house yet. Damn and blast!’ he exclaimed as his frustration spilled over. ‘Why didn’t I ask Matthias for directions?’

  ‘You weren’t to know this would happen. This whole area is supposed to be fairly safe now that the fighting has stopped.’

  ‘So safe that someone got shot the first night we arrived,’ he pointed out sharply because he didn’t want Kasey helping him out when he couldn’t return the favour.

  He led the way outside and climbed into the Jeep, glancing round when she jumped in beside him. ‘There’s no need for you to go back to the hospital. Your shift must be over by now so you may as well stay here.’

  ‘I want to go back. Even if there isn’t much I can do for Matthias, at least I can try and find out where he lives. Maybe one of the patients knows or the truck driver. He was still there when I left and he might have waited so I’ll ask him.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ he conceded grudgingly, letting in the clutch. ‘I know that Matthias has been treating people from his own home during the fighting so someone must know where he lives.’

  ‘Exactly. And once I find out, I can go and fetch Sarah—’

  ‘No. I absolutely forbid it, Kasey. It’s far too dangerous for you to drive around the town on your own.’

  ‘I’m going whether you agree or not.’ She half turned in the seat so she could look at him, putting up her hand to hold back her hair as the wind whipped it across her face.

  ‘Then you can pack your bags as soon as you get back.’

  He gripped the steering-wheel with both hands, aware that he was handling the situation badly. Normally, he wouldn’t have dreamt of taking such a stance but would have dealt with the issue calmly and with reason, pointing out why it was such a bad idea. However, calm and reason were two commodities in short supply when it came to dealing with Kasey.

  ‘I am in charge of this team and my word is law. If you expressly flout my orders then I shall have no choice but to send you back to England.’

  ‘And that would solve your problem perfectly, wouldn’t it?’ She plucked a strand of hair out of her mouth and laughed. ‘Nobody could blame you for sending me back under those circumstances, could they, Adam? I’d be classified as a loose cannon, a liability, and the agency would remove me from their files and that would be it. All nice and tidy, just how you like it.’

  ‘Yes! You’re right. It would give me the greatest satisfaction to send you h
ome because you’ve done nothing but cause me problems ever since you joined this team.’ He drew up in front of the hospital and set the handbrake before he turned to her.

  ‘I never wanted you to come in the first place and you know why, too. The only thing I don’t understand is why you decided to come along when you found out I was leading this team. Did it give you a perverse kind of pleasure to disrupt my life again? Or were you still trying to pay me back for what I supposedly did to your brother? Come on, Kasey, don’t hold back. You certainly weren’t shy about telling me the truth five years ago.’

  ‘I thought it would help.’

  ‘Help?’ He laughed harshly. ‘Help who? Please, don’t tell me you were doing this for me.’

  ‘I thought it would help me get over what happened!’

  The wind whipped her hair out of her hand so that he couldn’t see her face. He had to rely on what he was hearing and the pain in her voice lanced straight through his heart.

  ‘You weren’t the only one who got hurt, Adam. It was just as bad for me as it was for you.’

  ‘Just as bad for you…What the hell do you mean by that?’

  He could barely speak for the knot in his throat so that his voice sounded like steel drums being bounced over rocks. He saw her bite her lip as she flicked back her hair and had to clench his hands to stop himself touching her. He mustn’t do that and certainly mustn’t make the mistake of feeling sorry for her. He had to remember how she’d tricked him once before, yet it was hard to hold onto that thought when he saw how devastated she looked.

  ‘Telling you the truth that night was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and not a day has passed since then when I’ve not thought about it. I know I hurt you, Adam, and I know that in the beginning it was what I wanted to do, but I never realised that it would be so painful for me, too.’