Lovers Unmasked: The Complete Series

by Nicole Flockton

  “Well, I’ve only managed to see to this man, there’s another injured person by the sink.”

  “Okay, I’ll go see to him.”

  “No,” she cried out and laid her hand on his arm. Even in an emergency situation, one touch was all it took for heat to suffuse its way through her body. “I need you here. He appears to be suffering third-degree burns from boiling oil. He might also have a head trauma from the fall. His pulse is thready and weak. He needs to be covered before his body starts to lose more heat and he goes into shock.”

  She stood and lost her footing on the residual oil. Alex grabbed her by the waist. “Steady, I don’t need you injuring yourself as well.”

  She shook herself free, not wanting Alex to know how much his touch affected her.

  “I’m fine, but thanks. I’ll go see to the other victim and establish the extent of his injury.” She glanced over to the pale face of the other chef. It wasn’t burn marks that stained his uniform but blood and lots of it. She looked around the room and asked. “Is there a first aid kit here?”

  “We’ve got this one,” another staff member replied, holding a very basic kit for her to see.

  Sophie realized that kit wasn’t going to have the necessary pressure packs to stop the bleeding. “Looks like we’re going to need my kit, too,” she muttered to herself.

  “I can arrange for someone to get it for you.”

  Sophie turned and looked over her left shoulder where the owner of the voice stood. It seemed the maître d had realized it wasn’t a slight accident.

  “Thanks, Simon. They can go next door and see Cliff the doorman. Tell him that Sophie Franklyn from apartment six-twelve B needs her first aid kit. He’ll know where it is.”

  She trusted Simon to follow her instructions. She had briefed Cliff on the location of her kit just in case something like this in the building ever occurred.

  With careful steps, she made her way to the sink and her other patient. She squatted down and saw fear in the man’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Sophie and I’m a nurse. What’s your name and can you tell me what happened?”

  Compassion filled her as she watched him struggle to try to form the words. She touched his shoulders. “It’s okay, take your time.”

  “Josh. It’s all a blur. I cut my arm. Then I heard a whoosh sound. Next I knew, Tim started to scream and fall to the floor with the pot following him down.” He looked up at with a blank stare — shock was setting in, too. “We were joking around and then … I don’t know what happened.”

  “Josh, shh, it’s going to be okay. Let’s take a look at that cut, shall we?” She gently reached out and took hold of his injured arm. Sophie bit her lip as she lifted the cloth he’d placed over the gash.

  The wound was deep, she could see clear through to the bone. Fortunately, he hadn’t cut a major artery. Still, his blood loss would be significant if other help didn’t arrive soon.

  “Has someone called an ambulance yet?” she asked, looking around at the rest of the kitchen staff.

  “Yes, I did.” Simon had arrived back with her bag. She smiled gratefully at him.

  “Thanks. Did the operator say how long the ambulance would be?”

  Sophie had to stand quickly and take the bag off him as he swayed at the sight of the blood seeping from Josh’s arm.

  She gave him a shake and he looked up with dazed eyes. “Simon,” she said, her voice soft and soothing. “You’ve been a big help, now can you wait out front for the ambulance?”

  He nodded and she let him go. She knelt back down, opened her bag, and took out a pressure bandage. She quickly wrapped it around Josh’s arm. She could hear Alex talking to his patient, his tone getting louder and louder and louder. He needed her help.

  “That should stem the flow of blood until the paramedics arrive and can deal with you. Now I need to go help Alex with Tim. Will you be okay?”

  She waited for a few seconds before Josh nodded his head. “Yeah, thanks, Sophie. Help Tim please, he’s a good … friend.”

  Sophie realized then there was more between the two than just a work relationship.

  “Sophie, I need you now.” Alex’s voice thundered over to her. She gave Josh a quick smile, collected her bag, and rushed over to Alex’s side.

  Sophie assessed the situation and knew exactly what needed to be done. She quickly pulled out a pack of saline to set up a drip. Fortunately, his left arm was uninjured and she was able to establish a vein to administer the IV.

  “I’m in. How’s his hand looking?”

  When silence greeted her, she looked up. Her heart plummeted at what she saw in Alex’s eyes. The prognosis didn’t look good.

  She thought about the look of pain in Josh’s eyes — not from his injury but from concern for Tim.

  “We have to do all we can to save that hand,” she whispered. By the way Alex nodded his head, it was clear he’d heard the determination in her voice.

  Tim moaned and he started to thrash his head from side to side. Sophie quickly grabbed the neck collar from her bag to stabilize his head. She still didn’t know what injury he had suffered to his head from the fall.

  His moans were getting louder as the pain from his burns became stronger.

  “Tim. Tim, can you hear me?” Sophie spoke firmly and loudly. His eyes flicked open, then fluttered shut with a grimace. “Tim, I’m Sophie and I’m a nurse. You’ve had an accident, but Dr. Scavoni and I are doing everything we can to help you. We need you to stay still. Can you do that for me, Tim?”

  “Yes.” The word came out on a long, guttural cry.

  “Good, Tim, that’s great.” Sophie flicked her gaze up to Alex, about to ask if she should administer some pain relief when Alex spoke.

  “Sophie, until we know the extent of his head injury, give him five milligrams of morphine, please.”

  “Did you hear that, Tim? I’m going to give you something for the pain. You’ve burned your hand and hit your head.” She quickly measured out the dose and showed it to Alex. On his nod, she inserted it into the IV she’d established earlier.

  The wail of the siren was a welcome sound. Within moments, two teams of paramedics came rushing in.

  Sophie stood up. “Hi guys, we’ve got one male with a deep laceration to the left arm. Second male has severe burns to right hand, fingers, and forearm. Possible head trauma as well. He’ll be stable enough to transport to hospital in a few minutes.”

  The paramedics set up backboards to enable the transfer of each patient to a gurney for conveying to hospital.

  She knew Alex would want her to travel with him in the ambulance taking Tim. The paramedics knew better than to question Alex. He was the head of the emergency department they would be transporting the patients to. At least the paramedics knew they wouldn’t get turned away.

  Within minutes, they were boarding the ambulance and heading to the hospital. Sophie checked Tim’s pressure, pleased to see it was stable and his pulse had settled down. She could hear Alex on the phone to the director of the burns unit. The sooner they got Tim into specialist care, the better their chances of saving the hand and keeping most of the movement.

  She withstood the good-natured joking from the staff when she and Alex turned up at the hospital, passing off the reason they were together as a coincidence. Neither wanted their staff to know they’d been about to embark on a dinner date. Fortunately, another emergency came in and all thoughts of the director of emergency and NUM turning up in an ambulance together were quickly forgotten.

  After Tim and Josh were handed over to the staff on duty, Sophie headed for the sanctuary of her office. She sank down in her chair, closed her eyes, and leaned back, letting the quiet of the room wash over her.

  What a night.

  Opening her eyes, she glanced at her watch — it was just after ten P.M. Time to g
o home. She reached for the phone and started to ring for a cab when Alex strode into the office. He looked deliciously rumpled and she wanted to enfold him in her arms.

  “Hey, how’s Tim doing?”

  Alex wiped a hand tiredly over his eyes and again Sophie fought against the urge to comfort him.

  “He’s settled into the burns unit. The extent of the injury will be known once the swelling has settled down. But it’s going to be a long road to recovery for him. Fortunately, he only suffered a slight concussion from his knock to the head.” He stopped next to her and leaned his hip against her desk. “What about his mate, how’s his arm?”

  “Josh? He’s doing okay, he was lucky. The knife sliced through muscle. Although it was deep, it didn’t hit any major blood vessels.” She hung up the phone she hadn’t dialed. “It seems he cut his arm and Tim heard his cry of pain. When Tim turned, he somehow knocked the pot full of oil and it caught alight. In his attempt to douse the flames, he got burned and tipped the oil over his hand. It was one of those freaky accidents.”

  “It was lucky we were there then.”

  “Yep, it was. Although having said that, the restaurant and Cliff, the doorman, all have my details in case of an emergency.”

  “So you would’ve been called anyway?” asked Alex.

  “Maybe, maybe not. The maître dꞌ initially insisted it was a ‘slight accident.’ He may not have contacted me, or if he did it may’ve been quite a while after the event.”

  “Does it happen often?” Alex questioned.

  “Does what happen often?”

  “Being called to help when there’s been an accident.” Alex lowered himself onto the corner of her desk.

  “Nope, never happened before, but I was glad we were in the restaurant. It could’ve been much worse if we hadn’t been close by.”

  Sophie stifled a yawn. The stresses of the day and evening were taking their toll and her morning shift would come around too soon.

  “Do you want to share a cab?” Alex’s words were softly spoken.

  “Isn’t it out of your way?”

  Her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat as Alex reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He let his fingers rest gently on her cheek.

  “My car’s at your building.”

  Embarrassment flooded her and she shifted back slightly, breaking the contact.

  “Of course, I’d forgotten all about how you got to my place. I’ll call.”

  Humor laced his voice as he spoke. “I don’t think we need to call. I’m sure one is bound to be pulling up shortly with someone who’s injured themselves at a bar or sports club.”

  She laughed. His words were true. Some days there seemed to be an endless parade of cabs. More than you would see at an airport.

  She stood and stretched. When she straightened, time stopped as she became aware of Alex’s look. Desire burned in the dark depths of his eyes and she was transported back to their one night. The hairs on her arm stood to attention. She wanted to walk into his arms, have their strength surround and comfort and soothe her.

  Someone had to break the spell but she didn’t know whether she had the power to do it. She took a deep breath and turned toward the door.

  “Umm it’s getting late, we should, ahh, get going.”

  • • •

  Words deserted Alex right at that moment. What he wanted to do was trap her against the office door and ravish her.

  Once again, Sophie had surprised him with her excellent skills and unflappable demeanor. She’d handled the maître dꞌ as well as calmed Josh and Tim. She was a first-class nurse. Part of him wanted to get to know more about her on a personal and professional level.

  He escorted her through the amazingly quiet emergency department; maybe a cab wouldn’t be so easy to get after all.

  “It’s so quiet,” he murmured.

  Sophie laughed and the sound was melodic like a spoon hitting the finest of crystal glasses.

  “Don’t be fooled, generally it’s the calm before the storm. You think you’re going to have an easy night, then bam, five casualties come crashing through the doors.”

  They walked through the doors she’d just mentioned and heard the distant wail of a siren.

  He had to laugh at her I-told-you-so expression. He put a hand up in surrender. “I will never doubt your word again.”

  Luck was on their side when a cab pulled up, depositing a man holding a blood stained towel to his nose.

  Bar fight, Alex surmised. He caught the whiff of stale alcohol as the man walked past and into the ED. He turned to see Sophie turn up her nose in distaste.

  “Do you want to go in this cab?” he asked.

  She nodded her head tiredly. “I’m so beat. I’ll just wind down the window.” She then glanced down at her dress and saw the blood smeared down the front. “It’s not like I can really talk, either.”

  Alex looked at his clothes and saw his were in a similar condition. With a wry grin, he held the door open for her. He gave the cab driver the address for Sophie’s building and sank back into the seat. Exhaustion fed his muscles and he could see fatigue had claimed Sophie. He slid over until he sat in the center seat. He slung his arm around her shoulders and gave a gentle push so she fell against his shoulder.

  He closed his eyes and savored the moment. He never thought he would be able to hold Sophie in his arms again. After their night together, he’d consigned the yearnings of trying to find her to the depths of his soul.

  He had to remember the vow he’d made to himself after his marriage collapsed. A relationship would never work with the hours he committed to his job.

  But Sophie is a nurse. She’d understand.

  He tried to ignore the little voice, but the words were true. If anyone could understand the hours of a doctor, it was a nurse. Eventually, though, she’d probably get tired of him being called out at all hours. What if something happened to Sophie and he wasn’t there? It had happened once before, it could happen again.

  The cab stopping roused him from his thoughts. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, being careful not to disturb Sophie. But it was clear her years as a nurse made her a light sleeper — his slight movement had her scrambling to sit up straight and reaching for the door handle.

  “Oh, Alex, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep and lie all over you.”

  He followed her out and shut the door. “It’s fine. You looked uncomfortable so I tried to make it a little better for you. Believe me when I say it was no hardship.”

  Color flooded her cheeks and he had to stop himself from chuckling softly. He found her blushes extremely attractive.

  They stood for countless seconds just looking at each other. Thoughts flitted across her mind and he wondered what she was thinking so seriously about. He saw the moment she made her decision.

  “Do you want to come up for a coffee?”

  Chapter 5

  For a brief second, Sophie wanted to snatch the words back, but she then realized she did want Alex to come up to her apartment. Although it was late and she had an early start, deep down she wanted the night to continue.

  “Sounds like the perfect way to end the evening.”

  Happiness warred with apprehension as she made her way to the complex door. She was glad Alex had accepted her invitation, but would he expect more than just coffee? Especially after their last encounter?

  She keyed in the afterhours password. The foyer lights were muted and Cliff’s desk was unattended.

  “Security is really tight in this building,” commented Alex, as they waited for the elevator.

  “Yes, it’s one of the reasons I chose to live here. Another one was the close proximity to the city and the hospital.”

  “You mean you didn’t
choose it for the view?” His words were teasing and she appreciated his humor.

  “Well,” she laughed and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, “I can’t lie — the view was a factor, too.”

  The elevator arrived and she stepped in and pressed the button for her floor. She was conscious of the close confines of the small area. The last time she had traveled in an elevator with Alex had been the night they’d met. The tension surrounding them that night was completely different to the one surrounding them now.

  “I’ve no expectations tonight, Sophie.”

  Sophie was saved from having to make a reply as the doors opened on her floor. She quickly stepped out and made her way to her apartment. He was always so in tune with what she was thinking. Were her feelings written all over her face? Or had their night together created a connection between them that couldn’t be broken? But if that were true, why couldn’t she feel or see what Alex was thinking? Perhaps it was better that she didn’t. She had to try to sever their connection, otherwise working with him would be even harder than she thought it would be.

  She held the door open for him and he indicated for her to precede him into the room. She turned the lights on, but dimmed them so they created a soft glow. The full moon created a ghostly pattern on the river and was shining in through her window.

  “How would you like your coffee?” she asked as she made her way into the kitchen to turn her automatic coffee machine on. “I can give you an espresso, cappuccino, latte, or flat white.”

  She tried to control the shivers coursing through her as he came up to stand behind her. Even after all they’d been through that evening, his aftershave wafted over her.

  He whistled softly. “That’s an impressive machine. You must like your coffee.”

  Sophie placed a glass underneath the nozzle as the self-clean process started. “A housewarming gift from my father. He’s the coffee aficionado and expects everyone to have his tastes.”

  The machine finished its self-clean and she reached up to the cupboard above and pulled down two mugs. “Although I will admit I do enjoy the perks of the machine. It does make a mean latte.”