The Forever Assignment

‘No?’ She laughed scornfully. ‘Come on, Adam, at least have the guts to tell me the truth. We both know that you didn’t want me along on this trip and we both know why, too.’

‘And that has nothing to do with my decision. I’m in charge of this team and it’s up to me what happens.’

‘Then why won’t you leave me in charge of this patient?’

‘Because it’s too dangerous, that’s why!’

He swung round and she took a step back when she saw the anger in his eyes.

Yet she knew on some inner level that it wasn’t directed at her but at himself.

‘I am simply not prepared to put your life at risk, Kasey. And if you don’t like it then there isn’t much I can do, because nothing you say or do will make me change my mind.’

‘I didn’t realise…’

It seemed too incredible to believe after what had gone on between them, yet there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he was telling her the truth.

Dear Reader

I have always been fascinated by the work that is carried out by overseas aid agencies, and really admire the courage and dedication of the brave doctors and nurses who volunteer to help other people under the most arduous conditions. Setting up my own fictional medical aid agency is my tribute to them.

The people who work for Worlds Together do so for many different reasons, but mainly because they want to help save lives. In this book surgeon Adam Chandler intends to do all he can to help the people of Mwuranda. He has hand-picked his team of volunteers and is confident that everyone going on this mission is the cream of the crop. It comes as a shock when one of his anaesthetists drops out and he is forced to accept the services of Kasey Harris.

Kasey isn’t sure why she volunteered to go to Mwuranda. She knows that Adam will give her a rough ride after she broke off their relationship, but she feels it’s time that they let bygones be bygones. However, it soon becomes apparent that she will have her work cut out if she wants to end the hostilities between them. What she has never anticipated is that working with Adam will arouse feelings which she’s tried to keep buried…

I really enjoyed helping Kasey and Adam work through their problems. However, no matter how difficult and dangerous their job is, it’s nothing compared to finally facing their true feelings for one another.

Watch out for more books in my Worlds Together series in the coming months.

Best wishes

JENNIFER TAYLOR

The Forever Assignment

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

Cover

Dear Reader

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Copyright

‘NO!’

Adam Chandler slammed his hand down on the desk. It was rare that he ever lost his temper and he could see the surprise on people’s faces as they turned to see what was happening.

The office was packed that day with members of his team and every single one of them had been hand-picked by him for their skills. Joan Simpson, for instance, was one of the world’s leading authorities on dengue fever—a virulent tropical disease—while Gordon Thompson knew more about typhus than any person alive.

Adam’s own speciality was reconstructive surgery and he knew without a shred of vanity that there were few people who could match him. This team was the cream of the crop and it had taken him months to put it together so it had been a huge blow when one of their anaesthetists had gone down with appendicitis the previous day. They were due to fly out to Mwuranda the following night and finding a replacement at such short notice had not been an easy task, so he’d been delighted when Shiloh Smith, the head of Worlds Together—the aid agency which was funding the trip—had phoned to tell him that he’d found the ideal candidate to go with them.

Adam had been on his way to Theatre at the time so he’d asked Shiloh to call at his office that afternoon and let him have the details then. There would be a lot of paperwork that would need to be completed before the newcomer could travel with them but he’d been confident he could get it done in time. Everything had been working out perfectly, in fact, until Shiloh had arrived and dropped his bombshell.

‘There is no way that I’m taking Kasey Harris along on this trip.’

‘That’s what she said you’d say.’ Shiloh laughed. ‘OK, so what’s the story? Do I take it that you two have a history?’

‘Ask Kasey,’ Adam replied shortly, standing up. He poured himself a cup of coffee, hoping Shiloh couldn’t tell how rattled he was. He and Kasey most definitely had a history although it wasn’t something he was prepared to discuss even with his oldest friend.

‘I already did and she gave me the same answer as you just did.’ Shiloh grinned. ‘I’m starting to build up a picture here. Do I take it that you and the lovely Dr Harris were rather more than colleagues at one point?’

‘You can take it any damn way you like,’ Adam retorted, refusing to be drawn into talking about that episode in his life.

He picked up the cup and carried it back to his desk, thinking about what had happened five years ago. He had fallen head over heels in love with Kasey Harris, had honestly believed that she had been in love with him, too, but he’d been wrong. She had simply used his feelings as a way to pay him back for what she’d believed he’d done to her brother and it was hard to accept that he’d been so gullible. He’d never been someone who allowed his emotions to run away with him but, as he had discovered to his cost, love made fools of even the sanest people. The thought did little to soothe him and he glowered at the other man.

‘My relationship with Kasey Harris isn’t open for discussion. Understand?’

‘OK. I get the message but it looks like we have a major problem on our hands, then.’

Shiloh sighed as he placed a sheet of paper on the desk. Adam tried not to look at it because he didn’t want to see the photograph that was stapled to the top left-hand corner.

His eyes slid sideways before he could stop them and heat roared along his veins when he saw Kasey’s face smiling up at him—that porcelain-fine skin, those deep blue eyes, that luscious mouth…

He dragged his gaze away and took a slug of coffee, relishing the way it scalded his tongue because it was easier to deal with physical pain than this mental torture. Shiloh was speaking again and he forced himself to concentrate on the most important issue which was finding another anaesthetist.

‘So we’re really stretched,’ Shiloh concluded. ‘As you know, we don’t usually run two missions together but we had no choice in this instance. We’d just received permission for you to take your team into Mwuranda when there was all that flooding in Guatemala. Once the Guatemalan government declared it a national disaster, we immediately sent out a team.’

‘I understand how difficult it is,’ Adam assured him. ‘But there must be someone else on your books.’

‘I wish there was but we’ve lost several key people recently for one reason or another so we’re having to recruit some new volunteers. Kasey’s application only came in last month and I have to admit that I was impressed when I interviewed her. She’s bright, personable and she knows her job, too. She’s just the sort of person we need, in fact.’

‘I’m not doubting her professional capabilities,’ he ground out. ‘I just don’t want to have to work with her.’

‘Then, as I said, we have a major problem. You need another anaesthetist to make this trip viable and there isn’t anyone else available. It’s your choice, Adam, but either you take her with you or you call off the trip.’

‘Some choice,’ Adam snorted because if he didn’t take the team to Mwuranda tomorrow as planned, there might not be another opportunity. There’d been civil unrest within the country for the past two years and there was no way of knowing how long the current ceasefire would last. He knew what a dire state the country was in because he’d witnessed it at first hand. The people there were desperately in need of medical aid—was he really prepared to stand aside and watch them suffer because he couldn’t deal with what had happened in the past?

‘It appears I don’t have much option,’ he said bitterly, glaring at the photograph. ‘If it’s a question of taking Kasey Harris along or not going, I’ll just have to grin and bear it, won’t I? But I want it put on record that I’m not happy about having her on my team.’

‘My, my, but your enthusiasm is overwhelming, Adam. You could sweep a girl right off her feet with that attitude.’

His head reared up when he recognised the gently lilting voice. Just for a moment it felt as though the whole room was spinning out of focus before his eyes settled on the woman standing in front of his desk. She looked exactly like her photograph, he thought sickly—slim, elegant, her lustrous black hair curling around her face, her blue eyes gleaming with laughter. Or was it tears that made them shimmer that way?

Adam rose unsteadily to his feet, almost as shocked by that idea as he was to see her. Kasey had never cried. Not once. Not even when he’d told her what he’d thought of her. He hadn’t held back, either, the words ripping out of him and into her, driven by pain and humiliation and sheer mind-numbing anguish. She had just stood there as the words rained down on her and smiled, and that had been his abiding memory all these years, the one that had caused him all those nightmares. Kasey Harris had smiled while she’d broken his heart.

Kasey held her smile but she knew how much it cost her even if Adam didn’t. It had been a shock when Shiloh had told her who was leading this mission, so much so that she’d almost backed out. But then it had struck her that if she refused to go, Adam would have won.

She’d made enough changes to her life in the past five years because of him and it was time to stop. She had to draw a line under what had happened even if she still hadn’t forgiven him for what he’d done to her brother. She doubted if Adam had forgiven her for what she’d done to him either, but that hadn’t been the issue until she’d walked into his office and heard what he’d said. Maybe it was silly to have let the harsh words upset her, but they had.

‘Come, come, Adam. It’s not like you to be lost for words,’ she taunted because she hated to admit that she was vulnerable in any way. She might regret why she’d had to do what she had but she didn’t regret the outcome. Adam had deserved everything he’d got after the appalling way he’d treated Keiran!

‘It isn’t. Obviously, you’ve scored one up on me, Kasey. Satisfied?’

His sardonic tone mocked her and she felt the angry colour run up her cheeks. It took every scrap of control she possessed not to tell him to go to hell and march straight out of the room only she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he’d scared her off.

‘It will do for a start,’ she said sweetly. ‘But I’ve never been one for resting on my laurels, as you know.’

His face darkened, the strong bones settling into such grim lines that a tremor ran through her. Adam had always been a force to be reckoned with and time had merely intensified that air of authority he possessed. He looked big and tough as he stood there glaring at her, his dark hair brushed smoothly back from his forehead, his green eyes piercing right to her very soul. He’d always been a handsome man and he still was, but there was no softness about him, no give, either in appearance or manner. He never compromised, never backed down, never showed any sign of weakness…apart from that night when she’d told him who she was.

The memory still had the power to disturb her so Kasey pushed it to the back of her mind as she turned to Shiloh. ‘I thought it would save time if I brought my documents over here. Everything is sorted out now—visa, official notification from the Foreign Office to say that I’m a member of the Worlds Together team, vaccination certificates, etcetera.’

‘Excellent!’

Shiloh smiled warmly at her, his welcoming attitude such a contrast to Adam’s that she couldn’t suppress the twinge of regret that speared through a corner of her heart. In other circumstances, she knew that she and Adam could have been friends but what had happened had ruled out that possibility. Just for a moment she found herself wondering if she had been mad to agree to spend the next month working with him. He would give her a rough ride, she wasn’t in any doubt of that. So was it worth putting herself under that kind of pressure to prove a point? She opened her mouth to explain that she’d changed her mind only Adam chose that very moment to speak.

‘I’m surprised you decided to join the agency. It doesn’t strike me as your sort of thing at all, Kasey.’

‘No?’ Her delicate brows arched as she turned to him. ‘Why not?’

‘From what I remember, you always enjoyed the good things in life—dining out, exotic holidays, beautiful clothes.’ His eyes skimmed over her, taking stock of the expensive black trouser suit she was wearing that day, and he laughed. ‘I do hope you know what you’re letting yourself in for.’

‘You mean I won’t be able to wear my Gucci loafers and Chanel suits while we’re in Mwuranda?’ She gasped in feigned horror. ‘Heavens above! How will I cope?’

‘Not very well with that attitude.’ His smile disappeared in a trice. ‘This isn’t a game. There’s been civil war in the country for the past two years and conditions there are about as bad as they can get. The people we will be treating have nothing left apart from their dignity and they certainly don’t need you making jokes at their expense.’

‘And you really think I need you to tell me that?’ She took a step towards him, incensed by his patronising manner. ‘I’m fully aware how bad the conditions are going to be, Adam. I’ve read the reports and I know what we’ll be dealing with.’

‘Do you really?’ He laughed softly, scorn lacing his deep voice so that she winced inwardly. ‘You may think you know what it’s like to work in a country where the whole infrastructure has broken down but until you experience the reality for yourself, you can’t possibly understand. It’s going to be tough—really tough—and I’m not sure you’re up to it.’

‘Then we shall just have to wait and see who’s right, won’t we?’ she said lightly. Maybe she didn’t have any experience of working under such extreme conditions but she’d cope. She had to because the alternative to letting him think she was beaten wasn’t an option. No matter how bad it was, she was going to complete this mission and show Adam bloody Chandler that he was wrong about her!

‘I’m sure Kasey understands it won’t be a picnic,’ Shiloh said soothingly. ‘Although, you’re quite right to worry, Adam, because it’s your job to ensure the safety and welfare of your team. However, let’s not get sidetracked at the moment. I’m afraid we have another problem to sort out. Your flights are all arranged but there’s been a bit of a hitch with the cargo.’

Kasey excused herself as the two men started to confer. She glanced around the room, wondering if she should introduce herself to the other members of the team. Shiloh had explained that they’d decided to hold a last-minute meeting to discuss any concerns the group might have and it might be an idea to let them know who she was. She made her way over to the corner where a group of women was standing and smiled at them.

‘Hi! I’m Kasey Harris. I’m stepping in as a last-minute replacement for one of your anaesthetists.’

‘Welcome aboard, Kasey.’ One of the women immediately drew her into the group. ‘I’m June Morris, one of the nurses. I keep saying I’m never going on another of these little jaunts but here I am again!’

Kasey laughed. ‘You must enjoy it.’

‘Enjoy being bitten by mozzies and sucked dry by leeches?’ June rolled her eyes. ‘Only a masochist would enjoy what we do, eh, girls?’

The other women laughed as Kasey grinned at them. ‘OK, so why do you do it? Is it the excitement of working in a new place, or the buzz of being able to make a difference to people’s lives?’

‘Probably a mixture of both,’ one of the women replied. She held out her hand. ‘I’m Katie Dexter, by the way, another of June’s little flock.’

‘Nice to meet you.’ Kasey shook hands. ‘So that’s two nurses so far. How many more of you are there?’

‘Just Lorraine and Mary.’ June explained, introducing the other two women. ‘We could have done with a couple more, to be honest, but Adam has been very choosy. He only wanted people with experience of working in the field along on this trip.’

Kasey grimaced. ‘Mmm, so I gathered.’

‘He didn’t seem too happy about you coming along,’ Katie put in hesitantly, and June laughed.

‘That’s an understatement if ever I heard one! I never thought I’d see the day when Adam Chandler lost his cool. He’s the proverbial ice-man but he hit the roof when Shiloh told him you were going to be on the team. Do I sense a juicy story?’

‘Not really.’ Kasey shrugged, trying to make light of what had gone on because she’d never told anyone what had happened between her and Adam. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of what she’d done but she wasn’t exactly proud of it either.

She sighed because it had all seemed so simple in the beginning, too. Her sole aim had been to show Adam that he couldn’t go around playing god with people’s lives the way he’d done with her brother. She’d decided to teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget. She’d known about Adam’s reputation for being aloof, of course. Several of her friends had worked with him and they’d told her that he never mixed socially with his staff, but she hadn’t let that deter her. Someone had needed to show him how it felt to have your whole life torn apart. So she’d got herself a job at the hospital where he’d worked with the express intention of trying to foster a relationship between them and, in the event, it had been surprisingly easy to do.

Kasey shivered. Even now she could recall the shock of their first meeting, still remember the way her skin had tingled when he’d shaken her hand and how her body had responded to the gravelly sound of his voice. That Adam had been equally affected hadn’t been in any doubt, and it had scared her because it had been the last thing she’d expected, yet there had been no way that she could have backed out at that point. So she’d gone ahead with her plan—accepted his invitation to dinner the following night—even though she’d had qualms about what she’d been doing.

She’d been right to have doubts, too, she thought wryly, because it had soon become apparent that the situation was getting out of hand. Within the space of a few weeks, she realised that their feelings for one another were far deeper than she’d expected them to be and decided to call a halt. After all, she’d achieved her objective, so there was no reason to carry on, yet telling Adam the truth that night had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.

His reaction had been everything she had expected yet it had hurt far more than she’d imagined it would to hear him call her a ‘devious little liar’ and a ‘cold-hearted bitch’, and know that she’d deserved it. She had set out to deceive him. She had deliberately led him on, although, in her own defence, she’d simply wanted to teach him a lesson, not break his heart, and the thought was so painful all of a sudden that she rushed on.

‘We just had a difference of opinion once upon a time and he hasn’t forgiven me for it.’

‘Funny. It’s not like him to bear a grudge.’ June frowned as she glanced over to where Adam was standing. ‘Oh, he’s a real tartar when it comes to work and won’t accept anything less than a hundred and ten percent effort from his staff, but I’ve always found him very fair, I have to say.’

Kasey didn’t say anything. There was no point trying to correct June when it would only lead to more questions. However, Adam certainly hadn’t behaved fairly towards her brother. He’d made Keiran’s life hell with his constant criticisms when her brother had worked for him. It had been so bad, in fact, that Keiran had given up medicine in the end and it had been the start of a downward spiral from which he was only now recovering.

‘Kasey’s an unusual name. How do you spell it? With a K or a C?’

Kasey was relieved to turn her thoughts to less stressful topics when Lorraine spoke to her. ‘With a K. My name is actually Kathleen Christine but it caused no end of confusion when I was a child. My gran was called Kathleen, you see, and each of her sons wanted to name their first daughter after her.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘It wouldn’t have been a problem if all four of them hadn’t had a girl. At family get-togethers Gran used to shout ‘Kathleen’ and we’d all come running. In the end she decided it was easier to call us by the initial letters of our names so I ended up as Kasey and it just sort of stuck.’

June laughed. ‘You should fit right in, then. We’re really big on nicknames. You’ll find a lot of the folk who work for Worlds Together have them.’

‘Really? So what’s Adam’s nickname?’ she asked, grinning.

‘I don’t have one.’

She spun round when she recognised the gravelly voice and felt her pulse leap when she found Adam standing behind her. It was an effort to respond with an outward show of calm when her heart was hammering but there was no way that she was letting him have the upper hand. ‘Why not? Surely it’s not beneath your dignity to have a nickname, Adam?’

‘Not at all. I’ve no idea why I haven’t been given one. Maybe you could suggest something?’

He had batted the ball right back into her side of the court and Kasey drummed up a laugh. ‘Oh, I can think of a few which would suit you but it might be wiser to keep them to myself in the interests of team harmony.’

‘How very diplomatic of you, Kasey. You’re obviously on your best behaviour today because it’s not like you to hold back. I got the distinct impression the last time we met that you rather enjoy causing a stir.’

‘Did you? I really can’t remember what happened, I’m afraid. Would you care to remind me?’ she challenged. If he thought he was going to make her back down by bringing up the past, he was in for a shock.

‘Oh, I don’t think it would be appropriate to tell everyone, do you?’ His voice dropped, the gravelly tones taking on a velvet smoothness that made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck spring to attention. ‘Some things are best remembered in private, Kasey. And that is definitely one of them.’

He gave her a slow smile then walked away. There was a moment’s stunned silence after he’d left before June let out a small gasp.

‘Phew! I don’t know about the rest of you but I can definitely feel a hot flush coming on!’

Everyone laughed as June fanned herself with her hand. Kasey shot her a grateful look, glad the nurse had helped to dispel the tension, but she couldn’t deny that she was shaken by what had happened. She’d known that Adam wouldn’t welcome her with open arms and had been prepared for his wrath, but it hadn’t been anger that she’d seen in his eyes just now, had it?

A shudder ran through her as she quickly excused herself, hearing the chatter that broke out as soon as she moved away from the group. The other women had seen it too so there was no point trying to tell herself that she’d been mistaken. Adam hadn’t threatened her—he hadn’t needed to because he’d used a far more effective method of evening the score, one that would cause maximum damage. He’d taken the attraction they’d felt for one another five years ago and used it against her. Now all she could do was wait and see what happened. But it wasn’t going to be easy, was it?