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He turned a corner, heading toward her hotel. This was it. It was probably the last time he’d ever see her, if he was smart. He’d done what Nick had asked, there was no reason to prolong the inevitable. He glanced over at her and frowned. Her head was against the headrest, eyes closed.
Was she sleeping? He looked at the road, and then back at her. Her throat worked a couple times.
No, she wasn’t asleep.
Oh, hell. Surely she wasn’t fighting back tears. The sooner he got her back to...
A car from one of the lanes of oncoming traffic suddenly shifted for no apparent reason, its trajectory forming a weird serpentine shape as it drifted farther into their lane. It was coming right toward them!
“Hold on.” Luke jerked the steering wheel hard to the left to avoid hitting it head on, the tires of his little car striking the curb hard and bumping up onto it. He braked, glancing into the rearview mirror just as the other vehicle passed them, creeping into the wrong lane yet again. If the idiot didn’t gain control, he was going to...
The squeal of tires and the awful crunching sound that followed said the worst had indeed happened.
Luke swore and pushed a button to turn on his hazard lights. “Are you okay?”
“Fine, but... Oh, no!” Kate’s eyes were now wide open, her head craning to look behind them.
Grabbing his cell phone from the clip on his belt, he dropped it in her lap. “Dial 999. Tell them we need an ambulance and that there’s a doctor at the scene.”
Not waiting for her reply, he leaped from the car and half skipped, half sprinted toward the accident scene, trying to override his pain threshold with gritted teeth. Damn it!
He tried to mentally separate the rubberneckers from those involved in the crash. Hell. Not good.
Three cars. No, four.
And there was smoke pouring from one of the vehicles, preventing him from getting a good look at its occupants. He headed toward that one first, seeing someone stagger from the driver’s side and collapse onto the road a few feet away. If the smoke was obstructing the view of cars still coming toward them, the already bad accident could turn catastrophic.
He yelled to one of the bystanders, “Can you try signaling a warning to cars that are headed this way?”
He reached the victim who’d fallen, a young male, and crouched down, his leg screaming as the muscles contracted too quickly. He ignored the pain, noting the trickle of blood from the man’s mouth was due to a busted lip and not from internal injuries.
Sour fumes hit his nostrils, drifting up his sinus passages.
Alcohol. Shit! This was the idiot who’d swerved into their lane. He wasn’t hurt, just drunk.
“How can I help?” A man’s voice came from over his shoulder. He glanced back beyond the man who had spoken and saw Kate running toward him, as well. He motioned her back, not needing a million bodies wandering around on a smoky roadway.
“Think you can drag him to the curb, in case his car goes up?” He hated that he had to ask for help, that he couldn’t do it himself, but there were people in other cars who might be worse off.
But the man got beneath the drunk’s arms and dutifully hauled him away from the smoking vehicle. Luke called out, “Don’t let him go anywhere. The police will want to have a word or two with him.”
Kate got to him just as he reached the second car. “I called it in. Help is on the way.”
He glanced at her, before taking in the occupants of the next car, whose small red hood was now a crumpled mess. “I thought I told you to stay back.”
“I know, but I’m strong. I can help.”
The inference was plain. She’d seen him hobble down the road. Seen him pass off the first victim to someone else. No time to worry about that now.
He nodded at the backseat of the vehicle, the sudden sound of sirens bearing down on them a welcome relief.
“There’s a car seat. Check it for me, will you? But if there’s a child, don’t move it.”
Not waiting for an answer, he went around the front and yanked the driver’s-side door open. The unconscious woman inside gasped, her mouth wide open as she sucked down air, the harsh unevenness of the sound sending an ominous chill through him. The edge of the steering wheel—despite the presence of an airbag—pressed against the right side of the woman’s chest, which meant the force generated by the impact had traveled through the steering column and into her body.
He gulped, his heart rate spiking off the charts when he noted that with each inspiration the left side of the patient’s chest rose in a normal fashion, but a significant portion of her right side collapsed inward instead of expanding—a clear sign that multiple ribs had broken free, preventing her diaphragm from doing its job.
Flail chest. Game-changer.
He needed to get her out of that car. Now.
A uniform appeared at his right, the man ducking his head to take a look. “You the doctor?”
“Yes. I have a critical patient here. Do we have an ETA on the ambulance?”
“One’s about a minute out, another’s on the way.”
“She’s first.” He nodded at his patient, two fingers automatically going to her carotid artery to take her pulse, his gaze straying to the hand of his watch as he calculated the beats per minute.
“I’ll see what I can do.” The cop moved away.
“Tell them I need a backboard,” he yelled after he’d gotten the count.
Rapid and thready, as he’d expected.
“Kate?” he called, remembering he’d asked her to check out the car seat. “What have you got back there? Anything?”
“Yes, there’s a baby. I—I don’t know how old she is. She’s wrapped in a blanket, and she’s breathing. I can’t see blood anywhere, but she’s unconscious.”
“Okay, just stay with her for a few minutes and tell me if there are any changes.”
He heard the telltale slam of a truck door nearby. Thank God. His mind followed the sound indicators.
Swish. Click. Wheels of a gurney being lowered and snapped into place.
Rattle, rattle, rattle. The stretcher being wheeled across the roadway toward him.
Another head appeared. “What have you got?”
“Probable rib fractures resulting in a flail chest. Pulse one-twenty and thready.” He paused for a second before forcing the words out. “I’ll need some help getting her out of here, though.”
The paramedic blinked, his glance skipping over Luke’s face for a second before nodding. “Right.”
Luke limped back a pace or two to let the EMTs by, his hand going to his thigh and digging his fingers into the flesh to take his mind off the growing pain. It was nothing in comparison to the life-and-death battle going on inside that car. And she had a child. “There’s a baby in the back,” he said to the paramedics.
“My partner just had a look. Her vitals are strong. We’ll tend to the baby next and bring her with us in the ambulance. Injuries in the other cars appear to be minimal.”
“Good.” At least he’d made the right call in staying with this particular patient. “Careful with her back and with the ribs on her right side. The steering wheel is still making contact there.”
As soon as they’d secured the patient, he turned to Kate. “Do you have your international driver’s permit?”
“Yes, why?”
“I need to ride with her in the ambulance, if possible. We’re about a block away from the hotel. Just turn right at the next corner. And for heaven’s sake, keep to the left. Think you can get there without killing yourself or anyone else?”
“Yes, but what about your car?”
“I’ll pick it up later. I don’t want to leave it here, and I need to go. Now.”
Her glance went to his leg, where his fingers were still working to relieve the cramping. “Are you going to be all right?”
So she had noticed. Perfect.
He made his hand go slack, digging into his pocket for his car keys, instead. “I’ll be fine.”
One of the EMTs called over, “Ready to transport.”
Kate reached over and plucked the keys from him. “Go. I’ll take care of your car. Call me when you’re done, okay?”
CHAPTER FIVE
WHAT WAS WRONG with Luke’s leg?
She’d been shocked by the way he’d hurried over to the scene of the accident. He’d had a kind of uneven, hobbling run that had done the job but certainly hadn’t looked very comfortable. She’d never noticed him limp before. Had he twisted his ankle in his hurry to get over there?
Hmm...no, his hand had massaged his upper thigh, like he’d been working out a kink. A cramp? Maybe.
But the way he’d lowered his arm the second he’d seen her looking at it didn’t fit that scenario, either. Kate put the keys to his car on the table in her hotel room and paced, the thick beige carpet beneath her feet deadening the sound. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was just after eight. Already dark outside. Who knew how long he’d be at the hospital? He’d seemed to indicate he’d call, although he hadn’t actually said the words.
Well, she did have his car. So he’d have to get in touch with her eventually.
Even as she thought it, the phone rang. Wow, that was fast.
She picked up the receiver. “I was wondering how long you’d be.”
“Sorry?” The soft, clipped tones bore no resemblance to the low, intense murmur that had sent shivers over her in the supply closet. “Is this Kate, then?”
“Um...yes.”
There was a pause. “You sound like her, you know.”
Kate realized in a flash who it was and sat on the edge of the bed. “Nick?”
There was another pause, longer this time. “Yes.”
She thought there might be a slight edge of hurt to his tone, but surely he didn’t expect her to call him Dad. Only one man had earned that right. But the fact that Nick thought she sounded like her mother made a fresh wave of grief wash over her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize your voice.”
“That’s to be expected, I suppose.” He cleared his throat. “I’m actually calling on my wife’s behalf. She wondered if you might like to have dinner at our house some time next week. I realize we haven’t had much time together, and...well, she thought it was the right thing to do.”
Surprise washed over her. “That’s very kind. I’m sure none of this has been easy on her. Maybe it would have been better if I hadn’t come to London.”
“No. Absolutely not. I’m glad you did. I just wish I’d known that...well, that’s neither here nor there. Could you come, do you think?”
“If she’s sure.”
“She is. She’s had a rough go of it recently, but she’d like to get to know you. As would I.” Another voice sounded in the background, and Nick answered before coming back on the line. “I’d invite Luke as well, of course.”
Of course. She almost smiled. Maybe he and Tiggy thought they’d need Luke’s help sorting out her Southern accent. Funny how she never thought of herself as having one. But then again, no one ever thought they did. “Will you be well enough to have company? I mean, with your surgery.”
“I’m a bit sore still, but, well...I don’t know how long you’ll be here or when you’ll be back.”
Kate didn’t know if she’d ever be back. It all depended on how everything went. And she had told Luke she wanted to get to know Nick better, and possibly help with his therapy in some way. “If you’re sure.”
“We are.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the emphasis he’d place on the word we. He sounded...happy.
* * *
He didn’t want to pick up his car.
Oh, some perverse part of him did, but the realist in him wanted to just call her up and say, “Keep it.” His flail chest patient, despite everyone’s best efforts, hadn’t made it. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d evidently been a single mom, and no one knew who the baby’s father was.
So the child—a little girl—was now at the mercy of the system. At least until they could find someone to give them some answers about her relatives. A social worker had already come to the hospital and carried the baby away, saying she’d get her into foster care.
And his leg hurt like the devil. The stress of running—something he normally avoided—had done a number on it. And standing for another three hours as they’d feverishly fought to stabilize the patient hadn’t helped, although he’d barely noticed the throbbing pain while they’d been in the thick of battle.
The thick of battle.
There’s a term he hadn’t used in a while. But it was true. Emergency medicine never knew what it might face on any given day. Some days were good. And some days were horrific. Like the day he’d taken Kate by storm after losing another patient.
A day very much like today. He leaned against the hallway wall just outside the break room to take the weight off his leg.
Only he couldn’t afford to let his guard down like that again. There was that little promise he’d made to Nick to consider, but it was also ridiculous to think Kate would simply fall into bed with him whenever he lost a patient—for as long as she was here, anyway.
Not only that, but he had a feeling that she was going to ask questions as soon as he saw her. She’d already looked at him oddly at the accident site, and it was doubtful he’d be able to hide the limp that went along with overdoing it. The last thing he wanted to do was trudge through old, familiar territory.
Okay, so he could take a cab over to the hotel, meet her beside his car, jump in and take off. She’d be none the wiser, right?
Unless she asked him to come up.
He didn’t see that happening.
But just in case... He straightened, exhaustion taking hold as he made his way to the nurses’ station. Luckily, there was a familiar face behind the desk, her dyed hair just a shade shy of blue beneath the cool light of the tube fluorescents. Mimi Copeland. His favorite nurse.
He rested a hand on the desk and waited for her to glance up at him. When she did, she gave him a compassionate smile, deep wrinkles in her cheeks coming to life. “Well, hello, Dr. Blackman. Heard you had quite a night.”
“You could say that. I have to pick my car up from a visiting...friend. Could you do me a favor and call and let her know I’m on my way?”
“You mean could I ring her?”
He chuckled at her good-natured ribbing, trying to ignore the speculative gleam in her eyes. Great. He turned a pad of paper toward himself and scribbled down the number of the hotel. “If you could ask the front desk to give Kate Bradley a message, saying I’m on my way over and could she please meet me downstairs.” There. He’d emphasized the word. Maybe that would keep the gossip to a minimum. He doubted it, but it was the best he could do on short notice.
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