“Who said I was human?” They’d get through it, Ethan thought. They’d find a way through this bad day the way they’d found their way through all the others.
The department was swarming with cops looking for answers.
Ethan wasn’t sure they’d find any other than the obvious.
The driver had a blood alcohol so far over the legal limit it was a wonder he’d focused enough to pick up his car keys and drive. But he had, and that answered the question of what they were all doing here. Why he’d thought consuming that level of alcohol was a good idea was a question that was beyond Ethan’s understanding.
He was about to suggest to Susan that they grab a quick coffee, when a man appeared in the doorway.
Ethan recognized him as the passenger of the car, and it seemed he was as drunk as his friend had been. It showed in his eyes. In the way he walked. There was a scrape on his cheek and his left hand was bandaged.
“Who’s in charge?” He slurred his words. “Are you the doctor?”
Ethan knew trouble when he saw it and he was looking at it now.
“I’m Doctor Black. Let me take you somewhere more private where we can talk.”
The man lifted his finger and pointed to Ethan, stabbing the air. “You killed Nick. You fucking killed my brother.”
“You’re upset. I understand that. We did everything that could humanly be done. Unfortunately Nick’s injuries were serious and life-threatening.” Ethan spoke calmly, trying to diffuse the situation, but reasoning and logic weren’t much use when a man had that much alcohol in his system.
The man’s gaze transferred to Susan and the anger in his face turned into something uglier.
“You’re the bitch who had her hands on him when he was brought in. I saw you.”
Susan opened her mouth to reply, but never got a chance.
It happened so quickly that afterward it was hard to recall the exact sequence of events. One minute they were talking and the next minute Ethan saw the quick flash of a blade as the guy pulled a knife. He moved fast, but so did Ethan. Without thinking he put himself in front of Susan and felt a flash of white heat and agony as the blade connected with his arm. With a neat move he hooked his leg behind the other man and dropped him to the ground. He went down hard, arms and legs flailing. The noise must have alerted security because moments later the room was crawling with cops and hospital security.
“Get a medical team in here,” one of the cops called and Ethan shook his head.
“It’s all right.” His voice sounded gruff. “It’s just a superficial wound.” And then he realized they weren’t looking at him, they were looking at Susan.
She’d collapsed to the ground and Ethan saw a red stain darkening and spreading across her scrubs.
“Jesus, no. Susan.” He was by her side in an instant, dimly aware that one of the nurses was tying something around his arm to stop the bleeding.
Susan’s eyes flickered open. “Trying to be a hero again. You’re bleeding.”
Nowhere near as much as she was.
He couldn’t work it out. Couldn’t work out how she was the one lying on the floor bleeding out. And then he realized the man must have somehow managed to get one last stab in before Ethan had floored him.
“The things you do to get attention.” His voice shook as he lifted her scrubs and saw the knife wound and the steady pump of blood. Mentally running through all the vital organs the man might have hit on his quest to take revenge for his brother’s death, Ethan barked out orders.
Get a line in. Let’s do an abdominal ultrasound. Call the surgeons.
It was automatic, another case—except that this wasn’t another case. This was Susan. Susan, who worked by his side every day. Who he trusted with his life. Who had trusted him with hers. It tore at his gut and his heart.
The team swarmed round Susan and the next few minutes passed in a blur of action.
Liver? Spleen? Ethan examined her, scanned her abdomen, watched her blood pressure dip and her pulse accelerate.
He didn’t like the way she looked. Her skin was waxy pale and her pulse thready. “How soon until we can get her into the OR?”
“Couple of minutes.”
It was the longest couple of minutes of his life. His hands were covered in her blood.