The Mammoth Book of ER Romance by Trisha Telep

Author:Trisha Telep
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780330426
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Chapter Four

Quinn felt the blood drain from her face and acid rise in her gut.

“No, I just talked to him!” The familiar feeling of overwhelming terror squeezed the breath out of her.

Jesse took her arm and gripped it hard to ensure she got her attention.

“Quinn, we only have minutes. Right now, you’re in charge of his case. You have to decide right now if you’re capable of taking care of him. If not, I need to find another surgeon.”

The doctor swallowed hard and reeled herself in. “I owe him my life, Jesse. Of course I’ll take care of him.”

The nurse’s eyes burned into hers. “Not good enough. Can you divorce your emotional attachment to him and give him everything he needs?”

She felt nauseous, but from somewhere deep within, she summoned the strength.

I couldn’t help Mike, but I’m sure as hell not going to lose AJ!

“Yes!” she said adamantly. Give me a patient report.”

Jesse exhaled a breath and nodded. “They were rescuing some boys from an abandoned warehouse. The building started to disintegrate and AJ fell through the second-story floor. Quinn, AJ has an active belly bleed and they’re having a hard time holding his blood pressure.”

Quinn took a minute to absorb the information. “We know his blood type. Order six units and have more on standby. Make sure the team has the surgery suite ready. We’re going to push him through the ER as fast as we can.”

AJ was conscious even though he had been chemically paralysed. It was frightening not being able to move or breathe, even for a few minutes. Giovanni deftly inserted the endotracheal tube into his airway. The tube felt suffocating even though its purpose was to ensure oxygenation to his brain and vital organs. He also knew it was there in case he quit breathing. It reminded him just how critical his situation was. A moment of raw terror seized him. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, trying to keep up with the loss of fluid from his damaged organs.

I don’t want to die! Especially now . . .

He thought of the conversation he’d had only hours ago.

I’m sorry, Quinn.

The stretcher bumped as he was loaded into the helicopter. As the air ambulance took off, he stubbornly held on to consciousness, but was too weak to respond with more than a plaintive look at Giovanni. A wave of pain engulfed him. He would have cried out, but the tube prevented it.

“Okay, AJ, we’re going to take a fast ride and we’ll have you at the trauma center in short order,” the nurse said. “Right now, I’m going to give you something for your pain.”

In a few minutes the medication started to calm him and relieve the worst of his pain.

He was sedated enough to fall into a light sleep during the flight, lulled by the whish of rotor blades. It was the jolt of the skids hitting the helipad on the roof of the hospital that woke him. His body felt heavy, like he was still paralysed.

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