Читать книгу: «Dr White's Baby Wish»

CHAPTER ONE

‘RESUSCITATED CARDIAC ARREST coming in from Courtney Place,’ the newest nurse in Wellington Central Hospital’s emergency department called as he banged the wall phone back on its hook. ‘Male, fifty-two, revived by bystander using CPR. ETA less than five minutes.’

‘Thanks, Cody,’ Dr Harper White replied. ‘Resus Two when he gets here.’

Cody Brand added quietly so that only she heard, ‘Apparently intoxicated as well.’ The man was shaking his head. ‘Seems a bit early in the day.’

Harper’s gaze flicked to the wall clock. Eleven forty-five. Early? Hardly. Not in the world of accidents and incidents. ‘Hopefully now a very subdued man.’

‘You think he’s thanking his lucky stars and swearing off the booze for good?’ Cody grinned. ‘Good luck with that.’

That grin could get the man anything—though not from her. But she’d have to concentrate on not giving in to the zingy feeling skimming her skin. ‘I guess it is wishful thinking.’ Harper watched as Cody strode into Resus Two and began checking equipment, despite it having been restocked and double-checked less than an hour ago after a middle-aged patient had been treated for a major allergic reaction to something she’d eaten for breakfast.

The new nurse left nothing to chance—something Harper appreciated but which also annoyed her at times. Other staff in the department did their jobs just as well. She gave a mental shrug. Maybe Nurse Brand was still settling in and she should leave him to it. No one else had complained, and it was far better than him being slack.

Turning away, she rubbed her temples with her fingertips, trying to relieve the tension building behind her eyes. She did not need a migraine. She had a fun weekend to look forward to, with a birthday party not to be missed. Reaching for the next patient file on the stack, she determined not to let a migraine or the nurse’s well-muscled thighs and wide shoulders that blue scrubs did little to hide distract her.

‘Why pick up a file when any moment now the ambulance’s due to deliver? It’s not like you’ve got time to treat someone else.’ Karin, a registrar, grinned. ‘Hottie’s got to you, hasn’t he?’

‘I don’t think so.’ She hurriedly dropped the file back in place.

‘You’re made of stone?’

Harper tried not to smile but it was impossible not to. ‘The man’s built, no doubt about it.’

‘I’d be worried if you hadn’t noticed.’ Karin picked up the file Harper had discarded.

‘Like I’m looking for another man.’ Harper glanced at her sidekick, who was also staring after Cody.

‘Maybe not looking for, but you were definitely looking at.’

Yeah, she had been. ‘You’re single, so what’s holding you back?’ Harper retorted.

‘Not my type. But you, on the other hand, need to get back in the saddle and—’

‘Don’t go there,’ Harper interrupted, grateful for the shrill ring of the emergency phone yet again. For once the busy morning made her happy, if only because it would shut Karin up. No doubt only briefly, as the woman was known to talk far too much about things she should keep her mouth closed on.

Nurse Brand had picked up the phone instantly, and Harper couldn’t help but take another appreciative glance. He’d been here five days and labelled ‘Hottie’ by the female staff within hours of starting. She couldn’t argue with the name. No one could. He was made to be looked at—drooled over, even—but that was where it stopped as far as she was concerned.

For one, she worked with him, and this was her dream job, working with a dedicated group of highly skilled people all focused on helping their patients coping with difficult and often tragic situations. So far, what she’d seen of the latest nurse to join them had impressed her. He fitted right in. He might be easy going with those he worked with, but the moment someone suffering in any way at all came near him they had his undivided attention as he took care of them.

And, if she needed another reason to not be interested in him, it was that she’d had all the disappointment from men she ever needed. The ink was barely dry on the divorce papers from her last blunder.

Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? The guy treats you the same as every other person in the department with his charming disposition, his easy smile and relaxed wit. Why would you be special?

The phone was slammed back into its cradle. ‘Suspected body packer coming in from the international airport,’ Cody informed her. That deep, husky voice that reminded her of things she had no right to be thinking of sounded calm and focused on work, putting her in her place without even trying. ‘Twenty-three-year-old male collapsed during an interview with Customs officers after nervous behaviour when a sniffer dog indicated on him.’

Harper groaned inwardly. She hated these cases. If the guy was carrying internally and had collapsed it suggested a balloon containing heroin or cocaine had burst. She’d lost a young female mule last year, and had seen another die years back when she’d been specialising in Auckland. It was a fast but very painful way to die. But she was getting ahead of herself. It was only supposition that the man was a mule, that a package had burst and that he’d die as a result. ‘ETA?’

‘Ten. Resus One?’ Cody asked.

‘Yes. I want you with me on this. Karin, you take the cardiac victim.’

‘No problem,’ Karin answered with a chuckle.

Harper scowled. She had not demanded Cody work with her because of his sex appeal. ‘I need someone strong nearby in case the patient tries to fight us as we work on him. If he’s absorbing cocaine or heroin he’ll become aggressive as the pain gets worse.’ No one else in the department came as big and, she presumed, as strong as Nurse Brand. ‘I’m hoping the guy’s suffering from dehydration after a long flight, or even the flu, but until I know for certain we have to be prepared for anything.’

Karin leaned close and said, so only Harper could hear, ‘Hottie would make nice babies.’

‘Shut it,’ she hissed, now getting more than mildly annoyed. She couldn’t have babies with any man no matter how hot he might be. It just wasn’t possible when she didn’t have a womb.

The bell rang, indicating a patient had arrived by ambulance. Unfortunately too soon to be hers, Harper thought. She needed a diversion about now. Karin didn’t know how her comment hurt. It wasn’t something she talked about, even when it should be old hat. Especially after what had happened with Darren. Suck it up, she growled at herself and followed Cody into Resus One.

Cody was already getting a fan out of the cupboard.

‘You’ve dealt with a case like this before?’ she asked him.

He shook his head. ‘No, but I’ve read up on it. Soaring temps which have to be brought down fast if we want to save him, right?’

‘Yes. Apart from that and the agitation, he’ll also have high BP and could be fitting. If he’s carrying and has absorbed a drug, which we don’t know for sure yet,’ she repeated aloud. Crossing her fingers wasn’t very medical, but sometimes anything and everything helped.

‘Do we soak him in cold water if he has a temperature?’

She nodded. ‘Grab some bottles from the staff fridge.’ While Cody did that she went to check the drug cabinet for something to help calm the patient and slow any seizures he might have. If... This was still all about if the guy had swallowed packages of drugs in the first place. Why anyone would do that was beyond her. In her book no amount of money was worth risking her life for.

Minutes later the shrill ring of the bell from the ambulance bay sliced through Harper’s thoughts and had her moving fast. There’d be no time to waste if this was the worst-case scenario. No surprise that as she raced towards the bay she found Cody striding right alongside her. He never missed a cue. She called over her shoulder to the nurses waiting at the desk, ‘Matilda, Jess—Resus One, now.’

A paramedic joined them as his off-sider began rolling the stretcher into the department. ‘Mick Frew. Very agitated, making it difficult to get any obs.’

‘What readings have you got?’ Cody asked even before Harper had opened her mouth.

‘BP one-seventy over eighty-nine and rising. He’s been fitting for the last five minutes. It’s been tricky enough to keep the face mask on him, let alone do much else for him. I couldn’t take his temp but by the feel of him he’s burning up.’

Harper studied their patient as they rushed him through to Resus One where the other nurses waited, ready to take obs and put an oxygen mask on. This was sounding and looking more like a package had burst internally. Definitely more than a dose of flu or dehydration, but she had to be one-hundred percent sure before she committed to treating him. Something else could be causing these symptoms. ‘How certain were the Customs officers that he’d taken drugs? Do you know?’ she asked the paramedic.

‘Of course he has’ was the cutting retort from behind her.

Harper spun around and came face-to-face with a dapper man who had the coldest eyes she’d encountered in a long time. ‘Who are you?’ Ambulance crews wore uniforms, not expensive, perfectly pressed suits worn by the man stepping towards her from the direction of the ambulance bay.

He shrugged. ‘He’s carrying. Cocaine. In balloons.’

Just one of those bursting would mean trouble, serious trouble, for Mick Frew. What if more than one had come apart? ‘You seem very sure. I repeat, who are you?’

His eyes were glacial. ‘Detective Strong to you.’ He walked beside the stretcher, his eyes flicking between the young man and her.

He wasn’t acting like any detective she’d dealt with. Not even the one she’d been married to. ‘Well, Detective, I need to know how sure you are.’

‘He’s packing.’

‘Right.’ She’d still check Frew thoroughly but it was looking more and more likely that he had ingested drugs. ‘Thank you for your help. Now, you’ll have to leave. You know the rules. Only hospital staff and patients are allowed into Resus.’

The detective grunted, and she thought he said, ‘We’ll see about that,’ but right then her patient began kicking and waving his arms in the air, the pain obviously becoming unbearable.

Cody caught an arm inches from slamming into Harper’s stomach. ‘Easy, Mick. We’re all here to help you. We need to get you onto the bed, okay?’

She nodded thanks at Cody. That fist would’ve hurt if it’d reached her.

The transfer was fast and awkward as everyone tried to hold those flailing limbs without dropping their patient. The paramedic handed over the Patient Report Form and was gone with his stretcher, no doubt glad to have got shot of his aggressive pick-up.

‘Check for a medic-alert disc on his arm,’ Harper instructed Cody. She was running out of other options but could not afford to overlook anything, including an existing medical condition. Truth? She didn’t want this young guy dealing with what was becoming apparent to all of them.

‘Nothing,’ Cody noted as he took a hit on his upper arm. ‘Mick, steady, man. You’re in hospital. We’re the good guys.’

Harper leaned as close as she dared, one eye on those flailing arms. ‘Mick, I’m Harper, a doctor, and I want to help you, but I need to know if you’ve swallowed any drugs.’

The young guy groaned, opening and closing his eyes rapidly.

‘Yes or no?’ she persisted.

A brief nod was his only reply.

‘Balloons or capsules?’

Mick twisted his head to the side and stared briefly beyond her, fear and hatred blinking out of his stricken eyes. ‘Balloons,’ he croaked.

So the detective was right. The detective. She looked up, right into Cody’s eyes, and saw her own uncertainty there which gave her the determination to get rid of the stranger. Turning around, she growled, ‘I asked you to leave, Detective Strong.’

‘So you did.’ He sounded so smug a trickle of apprehension ran down her spine.

Cody said in a ‘don’t fool with me’ tone, ‘You will do as Dr White says.’

Nice as it was to have the nurse backing her, Harper had a definite feeling their visitor wasn’t going to take any more notice of Cody than he had her. She glanced at Cody and nodded thanks again, appreciative of his attempt to help her with this horrid man. She didn’t know why she thought him horrid, but she did. Probably something to do with those arctic-blue eyes that bored into her relentlessly. The complete opposite to the warmth she found in Cody’s brief green gaze on the rare occasion he looked at her for an answer to some question. Shivering, she glanced at the nurse now, not wanting to focus on that other man. But she still had to get rid of him. He was a hazard in the emergency room.

‘Call security,’ she mouthed at Cody.

Mick wheezed out some words.

‘What did you say?’ Leaning down to hear him better, Harper felt the heat radiating off his body. ‘Jess, get the fan going as fast as possible.’

‘Not cop. Supplier.’

‘Mick? Really?’

He nodded. At least, that was what she thought his erratic head movement was.

Harper hoped against hope the man behind her hadn’t heard or seen any of that. He wouldn’t be pleased that she now knew for sure he wasn’t a detective but a criminal. She thought fast. What to do? They had to work on saving Mick’s life, get the so-called detective out of here and call in the real police, all at the same time. And she’d sent Cody out of the room. Squeezing the young man’s hand, she whispered, ‘Okay,’ before straightening up.

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 here 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.