Joanna Neil - Emergency at the Royal

Drew put his arm around her shoulders. ‘It’s a bad time for you. If there is anything I can do to help, you only have to ask.’

She looked up at him, warmed by his touch, tempted by his nearness. But in that moment she saw that her brother had come through the swing doors and was walking towards her. She was alarmed in case he had witnessed their brief embrace. She couldn't help herself. Her instant reaction was to stiffen and draw back from Drew.

It was hard working with Drew, getting to know him all over again and feeling the tug of her emotions pull her in all directions. How could she allow herself to lean on him and accept his support when her family was so antagonistic towards him…?

When Joanna Neildiscovered Mills & Boon ®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical Romance ™. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Recent titles by the same author:

THE CONSULTANT’S SECRET SON

HER CONSULTANT KNIGHT

CHALLENGING DR CARLISLE

THE DOCTOR’S FAMILY SECRET

A CONSULTANT’S SPECIAL CARE

Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER ONE

‘SOMETHING must be really wrong. Do you see that van driver? What’s he doing?’

Oblivious to everything around her, Katie had been sipping her coffee in a peaceful corner of the café, but now, hearing a quiet buzz of conversation, she looked up and glanced around. Who had said that? She couldn’t be sure, but she was conscious of a slight disturbance starting up around her, of a faint hum of distracted chatter passing through the room.

Her mind had been somewhere else—sitting here was the perfect chance to enjoy a few moments of relaxation after her afternoon shopping trip. Would Reece like the wooden train set she had bought for him? Thinking about her brother’s little boy, she smiled. He would be four years old next week, and he loved to play with anything that had wheels, so with luck he would appreciate her birthday gift.

‘Oh, no. Look at him—he’s all over the place.’

Katie was startled into attentiveness once more. Lost in her own thoughts, she had missed what was going on. Now, though, she realised that people were getting up from their tables and going over to the window.

‘What’s he doing? He’s lost control—oh, those poor people.’

Katie put her cup down on its saucer and turned towards the window to see what everyone was looking at, and a nightmare image met her eyes. Across the street, a van was mounting the pavement, and people who had been in its path were scattering in sheer panic. Then the vehicle smashed into a wall and came to an abrupt halt.

Katie didn’t stop to think any longer. She was on her feet in an instant and running out of the café towards the wreck of the van and the devastation of shattered brickwork and damaged people who simply hadn’t managed to escape in time.

Assessing the full horror of what had happened, she pulled in a deep breath and her mind flipped smoothly into professional mode. Her phone was in her handbag, and she reached for it now and called for an ambulance.

As she spoke, her gaze flicked along the street and she saw that a passing car was slowing down. She guessed that the driver was about to pull in at the side of the road. Other drivers seemed to be following suit, and a small crowd was beginning to gather.

As far as Katie could see, there were four casualties—the van driver, who was slumped across his steering-wheel, a man who was sitting crumpled on the pavement and next to him a woman who was crying out in shock and despair. Finally, there was a small child who was lying on the ground to one side of the front of the van.

‘Help us, please,’ the woman said, tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘My little boy—he’s not moving. I don’t know what to do.’ Her voice cracked. ‘How could this be happening to us?’ Her blonde hair was damp and streaked with blood, and she was shaking, her face white with anguish.

‘I’m a doctor,’ Katie said, gently. ‘I’ll do what I can. Try to stay calm while I check everyone out.’

She could see that the woman was bleeding from a head wound and that her arm was grazed, but at least she was breathing and talking, and Katie wasn’t worried about her for the moment. The man was nursing his abdomen, but he, too, was conscious, and Katie turned her attention to the child.

He was about six years old, and he was lying very still, but his eyes were open, and she said softly, ‘Hello. I’m Katie. Can you tell me your name?’

‘Matthew.’ He forced the word out between his lips.

‘Can you tell me where it hurts, Matthew?’

‘It’s my leg.’ His eyes blazed in sudden warning. ‘Don’t you touch it.’

‘All right, Matthew. I’ll be very careful, I promise.’ She examined him briefly, and then said, ‘I’m going to leave you for a moment while I go and take a look at the other people who are hurt. I’ll be back very soon. Your mum will sit with you, and you’re going to be all right, so don’t worry.’

She glanced up at his mother, who was by his side, and the woman reached for his hand and clasped it to her chest. ‘My husband,’ she said in a thready voice. ‘He’s in terrible pain.’

‘I know. I’ll go and look at him now.’

She discovered that the woman’s husband had some broken ribs and an abdominal injury. ‘I’ll come back to you in just a moment,’ she told him. ‘I have to go and see who else is injured.’ Her priority was to treat the person with the most serious injuries first, and she hoped he understood that. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

‘Take care of my little boy. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.’

‘I will. I’ll see to him as soon as possible.’

She climbed up into the cab of the van, accessing it from the side that was still intact. The driver made a mumbled, incoherent response when Katie spoke to him, and when she checked him over she discovered that his reflexes were poor and that his limbs were weak on one side. He was in a very bad way and she was concerned about his condition, but she was worried about the others, too. All of these people needed help urgently, but she was only one person, and she had to deal with the most seriously injured first.

As she twisted around in the cab of the van, she saw that a man was approaching. Was he going to be able to help her? From her position, peering downwards, all she could see was a pair of long legs encased in crisp chinos. His stride was brisk and pur poseful, and as she glanced up she saw that he was wearing a dark blue shirt made of good-quality linen.