looks as though Ross isn’t taking it too well,’ he murmured.
‘No, he isn’t. He feels responsible.’ She glanced at him. He looked concerned as he watched his brother brace himself and walk towards a uniformed officer. ‘Do you want to stay with him while he talks to the police and so on?’
He shook his head. ‘No, I think I can probably be of more use at the hospital. I’m sure Ross will cope once he’s over the initial shock.’
‘Maybe. Let’s hope so.’ She frowned, rubbing absently at her temple, where a pulse had begun to throb.
He studied her, his grey eyes narrowing. ‘Are you all right? You’ve gone very pale all of a sudden.’
‘I’ll be fine. It’s just a bit of a headache starting.’ She had to admit to herself, though, that now her role as an immediate response medic was complete, she wasn’t feeling good at all. She’d taken this job feeling pretty certain that nothing like this would ever happen. When it had, despite all the odds, she’d found herself acting purely on instinct, following the basic tenets of medical care in the way that she’d been taught, in a way that had become second nature to her.
Now, to her dismay, the adrenaline that had kept her going through those initial moments was draining away and in the aftermath she was shaking inside. She was experiencing those same feelings of dread, of exhaustion and nervous tension that had started to overwhelm her when she had been working in emergency back home. A feeling of nausea washed over her.
She climbed into the ambulance and seated herself beside Alex, closing her eyes for a brief moment as though that would shut out the memories. He reminded her so much of that patient she’d treated back in the UK. They were about the same age, the same build, with dark hair and pain-filled eyes that haunted her, and both had fallen …
The paramedic closed the doors, bringing her back to the present with a jolt, and within a few seconds they were on their way, siren blaring, to the hospital.
Connor met them at the ambulance bay. ‘Welcome to Coral Cay Hospital,’ he murmured, reaching out to help Alyssa step down from the vehicle. His grip was firm and the hand at her elbow was reassuringly supportive. ‘Our trauma team is all ready and waiting for the patient. They’ll take good care of him, you’ll see.’
Oddly, she was glad he had decided to come here with her. ‘Yes, I’m sure they will.’ By all accounts, the hospital had a good reputation and Alex would be in safe hands.
The registrar was already walking by the side of the trolley as the paramedics wheeled Alex into the emergency unit, and Alyssa went with them, ready to talk to the doctor about his condition.
‘We’ll do a thorough neurological examination,’ the registrar told her. ‘And then we’ll get a CT scan done so that we can find out exactly what’s going on.’ He glanced at Connor. ‘Do you know how we can get in touch with any of his relatives?’
Connor nodded. ‘You don’t need to worry about that, Jack. My brother’s already spoken to Alex’s wife. He rang to tell me on the car phone when I was on my way over here. She’s going to make arrangements for someone to look after the children while she comes to be with him.’
‘That’s good.’ They’d reached the trauma bay by now, and Jack started on his examination of the patient. Alyssa and Connor took turns to tell him what had happened and describe the treatment they had given Alex.
‘You did everything you could,’ the registrar said, ‘but there’s nothing more you can do here. Why don’t you two go and get a cup of coffee, and I’ll let you know as soon as the scans are finished? I know how concerned you must be, but I promise I’ll keep you in the loop.’
‘Okay. Thanks. We’ll get out of your way.’ Alyssa glanced at Alex, who was connected to monitors that bleeped and flashed and underlined the fact that he was in a distressing condition.
‘I can hardly believe this is happening,’ she said under her breath as she walked away with Connor.
He nodded. ‘It’s hard to take in.’ He sent her an oblique glance. ‘Are you okay? You don’t look quite right.’
‘I’m fine,’ she lied.
‘Hmm. I suppose all this must come as a shock when you imagined the job would involve nothing more than having to deal with a few minor ailments or lacerations.’ He led the way along the corridor and showed her to his office, pushing open the door and ushering her inside, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back. It was strangely comforting, that warmth of human contact.
‘Please … take a seat.’ He waved her to a chair by the desk, and then flicked a switch on the coffee machine that stood on a table in a corner of the room.
She looked around. The office had been furnished with infinite care, from the seagrass-coloured carpet that added a quiet dignity over all, to the elegantly upholstered leather armchairs that would provide comfort and ease to anxious relatives, keen to know the details of any treatment their loved ones would need. There was a leather couch, too, set against one wall, adding a feeling of opulence to the whole.
To one side of the room there was a mahogany bookcase, filled with leather bound medical books, and in front of the large window was a highly polished desk made of the same rich, dark mahogany. This was topped with a burgundy leather desk mat and beautiful accessories, which included a brass pen-holder and an intricately designed brass paperweight.
‘You’re still look very white-faced,’ he remarked as he set out two cups and saucers and began to pour coffee. ‘It’s not just that you’re worried about Alex, is it? I can’t help thinking there’s something more.’ He hesitated for a moment. ‘Shall I get you some painkillers for the headache?’
She shook her head. ‘Like I said, I’ll be fine.’
He slid a cup towards her. ‘Would you like cream and sugar with that?’
‘Please.’ She nodded, and he slid a tray containing a cream jug and sugar bowl onto the desk beside her. The bowl was filled with amber-coloured chips of rock sugar that gleamed softly in the sunlight and gave off a pleasing aroma of dark molasses.
Connor sat down, leaning back in his black leather chair, eyeing her over the rim of his cup. ‘Something’s definitely not right,’ he said. ‘What is it? You did all you possibly could for Alex, so it can’t be that. Does it have something to do with the reason you’re not working back in the UK?’
Her eyes widened and her heart missed a beat. ‘Why would you think that?’
He shrugged. ‘A few stray connections linking up in my mind. It’s odd that you would leave the place where you did your training and where you worked for several years and give it all up to come halfway across the world. I can’t help thinking something must have gone wrong. It’s not as though you could afford to travel the world and simply take time out.’
She raised a brow. ‘How do you know all that? Have you been talking to Ross?’
He smiled. ‘Of course. He talks about you every opportunity he gets.’
‘Oh, dear.’ She brooded on that for a moment or two. She’d never given Ross the slightest encouragement to think of her as anything more than a friend, but somewhere along the way he must have started pinning his hopes on something more developing between them. Judging by what Connor was saying, she would have to put a stop to it, and sooner rather than later.
He was watching her as she thought things through. ‘He thinks the world of you and would do anything for you, but we both know that you don’t really feel the same way about him, don’t we?’
She stiffened. ‘I like Ross. I think he’s a wonderful person.’ She didn’t appreciate the faintly challenging note in Connor’s tone. It annoyed her that he should imply she had come here with an ulterior motive.
‘Yes, he is …’ Connor agreed, ‘but that still doesn’t explain why you abandoned everything