NYC Angels: An Explosive Reunion. Alison Roberts

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      When he looked at Layla, she knew he was barely aware of her.

      ‘Tell her that my only concern is treating her son.’

      Alex left the impression of power in his wake and it stayed with Layla long after leaving Ramona with one of the nurses. She was left with a whole kaleidoscope of impressions whirling around her head, in fact.

      The tension in Alex’s face. The image of his hand on Ramona’s shoulder. The way those dark, dark eyes had seemed to look right through her.

      Memories … That first time they’d made love in the wake of her being so wound up after a blazing row with Luke. The urgency and the mind-blowing heat of that encounter. The unbelievable bliss in which it had culminated …

      The feel of his lips against hers, which she’d experienced again not very long ago. The sheer wanting that it could conjure up every single time …

      Oh, yes. It was just as well Alex was nowhere near where he might be able to see what was whizzing through her head because any control Layla felt she’d had in following this fool plan of hers had just gone out the window.

      Concentrating on what she had to do for the rest of her day was quite a tall order. Layla was still feeling out of kilter by the time she got to the end of her list, long after most staff members had finished their days and gone home for dinner. She always liked to pop into all the intensive care units before she went home, to make sure she was in touch with how all Angel’s most seriously unwell children were doing.

      Her little ‘blue’ baby was in the cardiac unit, having had surgery to correct the abnormality she had been born with. All was well in NICU, the neonatal intensive care unit. PICU was her last stop. Maybe because she was a little nervous at crossing paths again with Alex today?

      A little nervous? Judging by the way she actually jumped when she heard the sound of his voice even before she saw him, she was as jumpy as spit on a hot skillet.

      ‘For God’s sake … a skull fracture with acute subdural and epidural bleeding. You can’t tell me a two-year-old kid can throw a wooden brick hard enough to cause that kind of an injury.’

      ‘Are there any other potential signs of abuse?’

      Another male voice. And they were both talking quietly, probably confident that their intense conversation was private. Had they left the unit for precisely that reason?

      Layla stopped in her tracks, unsure of whether to round the corner where she’d have to walk past them to get to the locked door of the intensive care unit. The indecisiveness was an alien sensation and she didn’t like it at all. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, fingering her security badge, which would allow her access through that locked door.

      ‘I don’t know.’ Alex’s voice was a growl. ‘I haven’t had a chance to check him over properly yet. I’ve been too busy trying to save the poor little tyke’s life. My suspicions are more than enough to base a report on and it needs to be filed within thirty-six hours of admission.’

      ‘You need to be careful. Do you remember the first time I went to the monthly report meeting? Who was that kid you presented the case on? The one who’s been on chemo for months and you’re going to think about operating on soon?’

      ‘Tommy Jenner.’ Alex sounded impatient now. He didn’t want to change the subject.

      ‘You presented that case as a warning, didn’t you? Not to make assumptions that just might be wrong. The last thing you need is another malpractice suit on your hands.’

      ‘Are you telling me to stand back and say nothing? You, of all people, should know better than that, Cade. We both know the kind of damage that can do, don’t we?’

      ‘Yeah, yeah … point taken. But that’s exactly why you need to tread carefully, man. You’re too wired to see the worst-case scenario. You know too much.’

      Layla was standing very still now, her eyes wide. What on earth was all that supposed to mean?

      ‘You’re following protocol,’ Cade continued. ‘Treating the child is number one. You can order a child-abuse screen and do the other tests you need, like X-rays to look for old fractures. The kid’s safe and you’ve got some time up your sleeve. You need to cool down.’

      Having Layla appear around the corner probably wouldn’t help Alex to cool down. She found herself backing away. Turning, ready to leave, only to find herself face to face with a man who had a small boy with him. The child was about two or three years old and he was a reluctant companion. The man had a grip above the boy’s elbow and was half pulling, half shoving him along. With long, greasy-looking hair and the skin of his arms beneath his T-shirt barely visible between tattoos, the man looked distinctly menacing.

      ‘Get a move on,’ he snarled down at the child, ignoring Layla. ‘We’re going to find your mother and then I’m outta here. I’m done with babysitting someone else’s snivelling brat.’

      He swept past Layla and around the corner. He practically banged into Alex and Cade.

      Layla was hot on the man’s heels. She didn’t need the strong whiff of alcohol that reached her nostrils to know that a very volatile situation was forming.

      ‘Whoa …’ It was Cade who held up a hand to ward off a collision. ‘Take it easy.’

      ‘I’m in a hurry,’ the man responded. He ignored Alex and walked past Cade. ‘What … is that door locked? What kind of a joint is this? I thought it was a hospital, not a bloody prison.’

      Layla was watching Alex. She could see he had assessed what was going on with the speed and intelligence she had learned to expect from him long ago. He was also putting two and two together as fast as she had. A young man arriving at the intensive care unit with a small boy. His patient’s mother was inside the unit with her son. The baby had an older brother who had, supposedly, caused his severe head injury.

      Alex caught her gaze and she felt that tingle of connection. Of knowing they were on exactly the same wavelength.

      But there was more to this than a surgeon worried about his patient or a doctor who found treating a case of child abuse appalling. The shadows she could see in Alex’s gaze created a flood of questions. She’d always been aware of that dark side to him, hadn’t she? She’d never had the chance to find out how it had got there. She’d been happy to just let it add to the frisson of danger that had gone with getting close to this man. The excitement of the illicit affair.

      And, right now, it was more than just wanting answers to those questions … she wanted to defuse this situation. Or was it more than that even? That squeezing sensation in her chest suggested that she wanted to … make it better somehow. For Alex.

      As if he read something of that in her face, his gaze jerked away from her to the stranger.

      ‘You’re Ramona’s boyfriend, aren’t you?’ Alex sounded calm. Dangerously so.

      ‘Who wants to know?’

      ‘I’m Alex Rodriguez. Felix’s neurosurgeon. I’m the person who’s been operating on Felix this afternoon. Getting some of the blood out of his skull before it did too much damage СКАЧАТЬ