Jean's eyes darted to me. "What's going on, Dr. Jones?"
"There are armed men in the lobby. Officer Wu wants us evacuated for our own safety. Now, come on, help me get these patients ready to go upstairs."
While Skip and the other medical personnel moved off to deal with the patients, I walked over to the double doors leading to the reception area. The doors were solid, so I couldn't see anything, but I could hear the muffled voices of the men yelling.
The situation was escalating quickly.
Chapter Two
Skip
I'd seen a lot of hostile situations before—most of them on TV—but I don't ever remember having to evacuate my emergency room because of armed men. This was a new one for me, and I freely admit I was a tad bit freaked out.
After Jean wheeled the last patient onto the elevator, I made a quick pass through the emergency department, checking every exam room to make sure no one had been left behind. This was my department until six o'clock in the morning, and I was responsible for everything that happened in it. I wasn't about to leave a patient or one of my staff here to get hurt.
I could still hear yelling from the waiting area and feared for the rest of the staff. I knew there wasn't much I could do for them. I was a doctor, not a SWAT member. I was just glad David had been here when this all started. I shuddered to think what would have happened if he wasn't.
Whoever was out there was probably after drugs, although holding up an emergency room was a pretty ballsy thing to do. They were most likely hopped up on drugs as well as hunting for them. They had no hope of escape. I just doubted they knew that.
I checked the last cubicle and then headed back toward the nursing station. I wanted to check on David before I headed for the elevators. I knew his job was often dangerous. His injury tonight proved that. I just hated to think of him getting hurt.
I'll be the first admit I had a soft spot for the handsome SWAT officer. He came in from time to time due to injuries sustained on the job but mostly when something had happened to Lany. He was always friendly and had an easy, open smile.
He wasn't hard on the eyes either.
He wasn't as tall as the others on his team, but his physique was just as muscular. His close-cropped dark hair was cut short on the sides and a little taller on top. For someone who worked a job like his, it was probably a good choice.
It was the man's brown eyes that truly held me spellbound every time I looked into them. They were dark like a cocoa bean. There were times when I thought I could see a world of emotion in them and other times when they looked as hard as steel.
I'd seen David in action. He was fast on his feet. He could be casually standing there one moment and moving into action in the next. It was awe inspiring to watch him, and I really liked watching him. I shouldn't. He was either a patient or the bodyguard for a patient.
He wasn't a love interest.
He was ten years my junior, and that was a huge obstacle, but the bigger one was that I didn't think he was interested in men. The last I'd heard, he was getting over a bad breakup with a woman. That put him decidedly out of my league. I didn't date straight men.
Hell, I barely dated gay men. My dating life was sorely lacking.
Almost non-existent.
I needed to seriously think about changing that. I might joke a lot with Sal about getting a yacht, but I had no interest in actually owning one. I still needed to do something to get a life. I'd been living for my work for so long I think I’d forgotten what it was like to have one.
When I reached the nursing station, I glanced around, hoping to see David somewhere. Not only couldn't I see him but I couldn't hear anything either. The entire place had gone stone silent. There wasn't even any yelling coming from the waiting room.
That unnerved me more than anything.
Getting out of there was probably the best—and smartest—thing I could possibly do at the moment. I started for the elevators, but the sound of yelling started up again, and it was getting closer. I wasn't going to make it to the elevators, not even if I ran.
I quickly glanced around trying to spot someplace to hide. There weren't a lot of options. I ran behind the nurses' station desk. I climbed under it and then grabbed one of the chairs there and pulled it over in front of me. It wasn't much of a hiding spot, but it was all that I had at the moment.
If I was right, and these were a couple of idiots looking for drugs, hiding in the back would not be a good idea. That was where we kept all the medication. If the guys with the guns went in there, I might have a chance of slipping out of here when they weren't looking.
It was a hope at least, and the only one I had.
When the doors to the waiting room crashed open, I had no trouble figuring out that was what they were without even looking. I'd heard them slam open enough times when patients were being rushed in to recognize the distinctive sound. Only, this time, it wasn't a patient being rushed in. It was the sound of rushing feet and more yelling.
"Where is it?" someone shouted. "I know it's here."
Yep, they were looking for drugs.
