Lightning Strikes

by Mary Lynn Baxter

  Noah half grinned. “I could use a few beers myself. Damn, is this shift ever going to end?”

  “Man, listen to us,” Doris said. “We sound like a broken record.”

  “I feel like one, too,” Bethany said in a grumpy tone.

  “Is this weather ever going to let up?” Liz asked. “That’s what I want to know.”

  “Same here,” Doris retorted, “especially since I’m giving this place my time for free, gratis. But it still looks as dark as midnight out there.”

  Amanda’s eyes remained on Doris so as not to look at Noah, who was so close he was almost within touching distance. Yet she didn’t have to look at him to be aware of him. Every nerve in her body was attuned to his presence and the fact that he was as worn-out as the rest of them.

  What provoked her was that his body appeared to have suffered no outward ill effects from the wear and tear. He had the makings of a heavy beard that highlighted his jawline, and his hair hadn’t seen a comb in a while. But those flaws didn’t detract one iota from his clean good looks. Amanda bit softly on her mouth.

  “What brings you back down here, Noah?” Doris asked.

  He shrugged, then said in a noncommittal tone, “It’s pretty quiet up in OR. Anyhow, Malcom’s there.”

  “Then you should go home,” Liz said.

  “Can’t, not when I’m officially on call. Anyway, home would be the last place I’d go. I need to look for my sister.”

  “No word, yet, huh?” Amanda asked, feeling as if she had to say something instead of standing mute like a tongue-tied ninny. However, she managed to skirt around Noah’s direct gaze.

  “Actually, my sister Randi called, but the damn line was so bad, I couldn’t hear her, then it went dead.”

  “Well, at least you know she’s all right.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. She sounded frantic.”

  They were looking at him with sympathetic eyes when Jerry, the aide at the desk, stuck his head around the corner. “Line one for you, Dr. Sloane.”

  “At least we know the phones are working again,” Noah said.

  The room fell silent as Karen reached for the receiver. Seconds later, all eyes turned to the intern as she cried, “Oh, my God, no!”

  “Karen, what on earth?” Amanda crossed to her side and removed Karen’s fingers from the superhuman lock she had on the phone.

  The resident’s face was the color of chalk, and her lips were blue and trembling. “It’s…Victoria…she’s gone.”

  Amanda blinked. “Gone?”

  “Yes, gone! That…was Cassidy—”

  “Go on,” Noah encouraged, walking to Karen’s side and taking charge. He led her to the nearest chair.

  “She was out watching the storm with Wanda June and she slid into a cave. It wasn’t there before…the rain must have uncovered it.”

  “Jeez Louise,” Doris said, rolling her eyes. “This storm is more dangerous than anyone suspected. But I’m sure the rescue crews will be able to get to Vicki.”

  “I have to go home,” Karen said in a dazed tone.

  Noah turned and faced Jerry, who lingered in the doorway. “Get Anderson—he has a four-wheel drive—to take Dr. Sloane home.”

  “Will do,” the attendant said.

  “I’ll get Cassidy to come get me,” Karen said.

  “No, you won’t,” Noah countered. “You’ll lose too much time that way.”

  Karen didn’t argue.

  “Are you going to be all right?” Amanda asked, her features pinched with concern.

  Karen’s chin wobbled. “Right now, I’m not sure about anything. But Cassidy will know what to do.”

  Amanda wished she could be that sure. Cassidy was Karen’s husband, who would probably blame his wife for the mishap, especially if something happened to the child. He was against Karen working, thought she should be a full-time mom.

  “Let us know,” Amanda said, giving her a quick hug.

  After Karen had left, the room fell into a depressed silence.

  Then Bethany headed for the door, where she paused with a shiver. “The thought of that precious child out in this mess—”

  “I know.” Amanda’s voice was tight.

  Doris tugged at the neck of her wrinkled uniform. “This storm’s fast turning into a chamber of horrors.”

  Amanda curbed her mounting frustration. “Let’s just hope nothing else terrible happens.”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Doris chimed in.

  “Well, I’ve got to get back to the preemie,” Beth said. “At least he’s hanging on.”

  For some reason she couldn’t identify, Amanda chose that moment to steal a glance at Noah. While he remained rather stoic, she saw the fleeting pain that leapt into his eyes, then disappeared. What was there about that baby that continued to affect him?

  She wished she didn’t give a damn, but she did. Pride. That was the demon working inside her, a demon she couldn’t seem to let go of.

  The sudden sound of an ambulance wailing in the distance brought an outward sigh from Liz. “Uh-oh, we’d best get prepared. The siege is about to start all over again.”

  “Why don’t people stay home in bed?” Amanda muttered, her tone filled with impatience.

  “Hey, honey,” Doris said, “you oughta know by now that’s when the ‘crazies’ come out of hiding.”

  “She’s right, you know,” Noah added. “I—”

  He got no further.

  Jerry’s shrieking voice rocked the room. “Hey, wait a minute!”

  “What the hell’s going on now?” Without waiting for anyone to answer, Noah charged out of the room.

  Amanda eyes darted to the other women, who looked as stunned as she was.

  “Reckon what that’s all about?” Doris asked.

  “I’d best find out,” Amanda said, moving to the door.

  Doris joined her. “Not by yourself. I’m coming, too.”

  “Come on, then.”

  It was in that exact moment that the sound of shattering glass brought Amanda up short, a shiver going through her. For a split second, she didn’t move.

  Only after Doris nudged her forward, did she say, “Sounds like someone’s out to destroy trauma three.”

  “And we’d best find out who,” Liz said.

  Amanda charged out the door and down the hall. She didn’t slow her pace until she reached the room.

  “Amanda, stay out!”

  Noah’s harsh warning was too late. She crossed the threshold and stared into the deranged eyes of a man whose chest was saturated with blood.

  “What’s going on here?” she asked, her peripheral vision picking up Noah’s tense, strained expression.

  “Drugs!” the wounded man bellowed. “Gimme some drugs now!”

  “What you need is help,” Amanda said in a calm tone, though her heart was pounding like a jackhammer.

  Noah moved out of the shadows. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him, only he won’t listen.”

  “Don’t you come any closer!” The man took a hand off the wound, then grimaced.

  Not only had the vagrant been knifed, Amanda noted, but he was higher than a kite on the Fourth of July, which made him more lethal than ever. With that thought in mind, she assessed the situation.

  Thank heavens there was plenty of help on hand, including another male, though Amanda wasn’t sure how much they could count on Jerry. His face had no color, and he looked scared out of his wits. Hopefully, though, he’d alerted security.

  Amanda knew his fear had merit. While situations like this weren’t uncommon, they weren’t a part of the ER’s regular day, either. One wrong move could set this idiot off like a grenade.

  “All we want is to help you,” Noah said in his calmest voice.

  Amanda sensed that he was anything but calm. His gut must be churning just like hers, but no one would ever know that, least of all the wounded man.

  “Stay away from me!” he bellowed again. “Giv
e me what I want and I’m outta here.”

  “We can’t do that,” Noah said.

  “The hell you can’t!”

  That was when it happened. Without warning, he moved quicker than the lightning outside and grabbed Amanda from behind, jerking her hard against his bloody chest.

  Noah bulldozed toward the two of them.

  “Stop or I’ll break her neck!”

  Noah stopped cold. Then, when he spoke, his voice was steady but hard as concrete. “Let her go.”

  Although Amanda tried to prevent her teeth from digging into her lower lip, she couldn’t. The salty taste of her blood almost gagged her. She couldn’t utter a word, even if the wild man hadn’t had the choke-hold on her throat. The stench coming from the man’s bloody, dirty body robbed her of both words and breath.

  Noah inched forward while motioning behind him for the others to keep their distance. “Come on, man, let us help you.”

  “The only way you can help me is to get them drugs outta that cabinet.”

  “Let her go, and we’ll talk about that.”

  The man gave his head a violent shake. When he did, his long, wet hair struck Amanda on the cheek. Sour juices rose up the back of her throat. Please, God, she prayed, don’t let her lose control.

  Noah’s eyes were filled with black rage. Yet he kept his cool. Amanda could almost see his mind at work. She had no doubt Noah would get her out of this mess, though it was apparently going to take some fancy talk and footwork on his part.

  “The drugs! Now! Or I swear, I’ll pop her neck like a rotten twig.”

  All eyes in the room were riveted on Amanda. However, hers were on Noah, who was smiling at her, a confident smile at that. He was up to something, but what? She had to trust him, and again, she did. Still, her spine and legs were like jelly.

  “Okay, you win,” Noah said, and walked to the cabinet, which placed him within arm’s length of her and the man.

  Amanda watched as Noah turned the key in the cabinet, but felt the man shudder, sensing that he was in severe pain. Suddenly, she slouched against him, pretending to faint.

  Even though she didn’t weigh much, the fact that she’d unexpectedly turned into deadweight caught him off guard. Noah lunged, latched on to the man’s shoulder and shoved him back against the wall.

  “Ah, man!” the druggie cried, thrashing in pain.

  “Shut up!” Noah thundered, his eyes swinging to Amanda. “You okay?”

  She licked her parched lips. “I’m…fine.”

  Noah turned his attention back to the man, his face grim. “Consider this your lucky day, fellow.”

  “Let’s get him on the stretcher,” Amanda ordered, only the remnants of a tremor remaining in her voice, “and up to OR.”

  *

  Amanda heard the tap on the door but chose to ignore it.

  Seconds later she still didn’t turn around, even though she heard it open and knew who was behind her. She hugged herself for protection.

  “He’s going to make it,” Noah said in a hoarse but reassuring tone.

  While she should have been concerned about the patient, she wasn’t. She was concerned, however, about being alone with Noah. She wished he hadn’t come. She had taken off her soiled coat, which somehow left her feeling naked and vulnerable. That was absurd, of course, as she was fully dressed, except for a bra.

  “I’m…glad,” she said in a small voice, her back still to him. She was standing by the window, the flashing lightning providing a glow in the room that otherwise would’ve been completely dark.

  Noah made a sound like he was clearing his throat. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She refused to turn around for fear he’d see the tears on her face. Instead, she nodded.

  For a moment, all was quiet. Too quiet. Had he left?

  His warm breath suddenly caressed her ear. “If you’re all right, then why are you crying?”

  Her voice caught while a chill feathered her spine. “I’m…not.”

  “Oh, yes, you are,” he whispered. “But that’s okay, after what you’ve been through.”

  “Please, Noah, go away.”

  “I’d rather hold you.”

  Her breath caught again, especially when he slowly turned her around, then closed his arms around her, drawing her against his solid chest. “Noah, don’t—”

  “Shh. You talk too much. Besides, it’s okay.”

  No, it’s not okay! Yet she didn’t move. She made the mistake of looking up at him with parted lips.

  “God, I want you,” he muttered huskily.

  “Noah—”

  He touched one side of her tearstained cheek just as another streak of lightning brightened the room, followed by a boom of thunder. She cried out, and his hot, moist mouth claimed hers.

  She was lost, swept up in a tide of raw desire that she had no wish to control.

  “My Amanda,” Noah whispered, his lips sinking deeper into hers while his hands moved up and down her back.

  His smart phone buzzed. As he grabbed it Amanda could see the incoming text. He was needed in ER.

  The moment of insanity was instantly shattered. Amanda wrenched herself out of his arms.

  “Amanda—”

  She held up her hands, her eyes huge in her pale face. “Please, don’t say a word.”

  His mouth tightened. “You—”

  “Shut up!”

  She turned and fled the room, his colorful expletives following her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “If anyone else comes in here throwing up, I’m—”

  Liz Roberts quirked an eyebrow, stopping Amanda’s tirade. “I know. You’re going to go on strike.”

  Amanda smiled a limp smile. “Yeah, right.”

  “Maybe in another lifetime, huh?” Liz replied.

  Amanda sighed. “If I’m lucky.”

  She and Liz had just finished administering to a young woman who had been rushed in by her parents. The woman had been about as sick to her stomach as anyone Amanda had ever seen. Food poisoning. Spoiled potato salad had been the final diagnosis. Although she’d admitted the patient for further observation, Amanda felt she would be all right.

  She wished she could say the same for herself. She shuddered as she and Liz plopped their tired bodies on the couch in the lounge.

  “Would you like a Coke?” Liz asked, the spark no longer visible in her green eyes. They were dull with fatigue, which Amanda didn’t often see. In spite of Liz’s age—of course, fifty-five wasn’t old—her energy level never seemed to wane. This siege of accidents had changed that. ER had become a war zone, and after almost eighteen hours, Liz was feeling the strain along with everyone else.

  “Maybe I will indulge myself and have that Coke,” Amanda finally said. “Hopefully it’ll give me what I need to survive.”

  Liz’s features turned as grave as her eyes. “What you need is sleep.”

  “You’re right,” Amanda said, rolling her head around, hoping to work out some of the kinks. “But that’s not going to happen, and we both know it.”

  “I’m surprised you’re able to keep body and soul together after what happened in that room.” This time Liz shuddered.

  “All in a day’s work.”

  Liz made a strangled sound. “Not in my day’s work, it isn’t. Granted, there’s been some kooks come through that door, but that guy took the cake.”

  “I won’t argue that he was a sicko.”

  “Weren’t you scared?”

  “Yes and no.”

  Liz nodded. “That makes perfect sense.”

  Amanda smiled another lame smile. “Actually, it does, because I knew that Noah—”

  “Would handle things,” Liz interrupted, finishing the sentence for her.

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  “Well, you were right, though what you did took guts. If you hadn’t pretended to faint, Noah might not have been able to take the guy down.”

  “Yes, he would. You don’t
know Noah. Once he makes up his mind, he’ll—” Again Amanda broke off.

  “He’ll battle the devil before he gives in.” Liz cocked her head to one side, her eyes having come back to life. “It surprised me when you two broke up. In fact, the way he was looking at you during that brouhaha made me think—”

  “Forget that,” Amanda said with more force than she intended, then tempered her next words so as not to hurt Liz’s feelings. “Noah and I are past history.”

  “I certainly wouldn’t want to see him hurt you again.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  There was a short silence, then Liz changed the subject back to the weather. “If this rain doesn’t let up, Grand Springs will qualify for federal relief.”

  Before Amanda could reply, Liz got up and walked to the machine.

  “I don’t doubt that.” Amanda frowned. “I keep thinking it’ll stop.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Amanda nodded her thanks for the drink and was quiet while Liz sat back down, crossing one knee over the other. Amanda envied that move, certain her muscles were no longer that flexible. Besides sleep, she needed to run about three miles. That would do her more good than anything. She couldn’t count the mornings she and Noah had met in the park and jogged.

  Noah.

  Oh, dear Lord, that kiss…

  “What’s wrong?”

  Amanda met Liz’s concerned eyes. “Er…nothing. Why?”

  “For a second there, I thought you might be getting sick. You turned white, then green. Of course, food poisoning’s not contagious—” Liz’s voice played out on a questionable note.

  “Maybe it’s a delayed reaction to that wacko,” Amanda lied.

  “It’s that, along with this godawful storm. You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t take its toll. If you don’t rest for a while, you’re going to crash and burn.”

  “Let’s hope not, since I’m the chief cook and bottle washer in ER.”

  Liz took several long pulls on her Coke, stood, then tossed her can in the trash. “Speaking of ER, I better head back that way.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “Oh, no you don’t. I’m ordering you to stay right where you are.”

  “And do what?”

  “Rest. Put that blond head of yours back on that cushion and drift off to another planet. Or whatever. Believe me, if you’re needed, you’ll be the second to know.”