“Smart woman. You’re right that I’d damned well get tough with you if I had to.”
“Just remember I can get tough too. If I have to.”
“Somehow, I don’t doubt that for a second.”
They stood there looking at one another, small smiles on their faces, before Andros realized he was just holding her hand in his, now, fingers entwined. He managed to refocus his attention on the job at hand instead of her captivating face and eyes, and very kissable lips.
Dried off and newly bandaged, Laurel paused as she was about to head out of the clinic door. “I’m worried, Andros.”
He realized he liked the sound of his name on her tongue a lot better than the formal Dr. Drakoulias. When she looked up at him, her face filled with concern, he wished he could tell her she didn’t need to be. But he was worried as well. “I know. I’m doing everything I can and will let you know how they are tomorrow. I’m planning to spend the night here to keep an eye on them. You have a cell-phone number I can call?”
“Reception is sketchy at the dig, but if you leave a message, I’ll be able to get it when I’m back at the hotel.” She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and pressed it into his palm, lingering there. “Promise to call me?”
“I promise.” He folded his fingers over hers, squeezing gently to reassure her. It took effort to release her soft hand, to let her go. He stood there, motionless, to watch her walk to her car. Watch the gentle sway of her hips, the way her dress swung sensuously with each step of her drop-dead gorgeous legs. Watch the way her long silky ponytail caressed her back, until she’d gotten in her car and driven away.
He tucked the paper into his pocket and had a feeling he’d be tempted to call just to talk to her more about the dig. Just to hear her voice.
Which was foolish. The Wagners had told him the dig would be permanently over in just a few weeks and they’d be gone. She’d be gone.
Why did it have to be Laurel who was the first woman he’d felt this kind of interest in since he’d come home? The kind of interest that had his mind and body all stirred up. The kind of interest that made him want to take her to dinner, to wrap his arms around her, to touch her and kiss her and see where it led.
He squeezed the back of his suddenly tight neck and sighed. He had every intention of living the life of a model citizen—and a good father—putting behind him the wild reputation of his youth. Last thing he needed was attraction to a woman who would be leaving soon, tempting him to enjoy a quickie affair that would grease the town gossip machine all over again. Gossip he didn’t want his daughter to have to hear about her dad.
He’d keep his distance. But he couldn’t deny that the thought of spending even a short time with interesting and beautiful Laurel Evans sounded pretty irresistible.
“I know it’s early, Dimitri.” Andros paced up and down the hall of the clinic as he spoke to the infection specialist, barely noticing the dawn that rose over the mountain, filling the sky with pink and gold. “I wish I’d sent them last night. I wanted to give them time to possibly stabilize, but their respiratory rate’s gone to thirty and forty breaths per minute. New chest films show dramatic worsening to progressive multilobar pneumonia.”
“What’s their oxygen saturation?” Dimitri asked.
“Both were hypoxic when they arrived. Now pulse ox says their sats have gone from ninety to eighty, even after giving them four liters of oxygen. This is acute respiratory failure, Di, and they may need intubation.”
“Nikolaos will be here in an hour, and I’ll send him right out.”
Andros nearly slammed his hand to the wall. “We can’t wait until the hospital’s driver feels like rolling out of bed. Get him out here with portable oxygen now, or I’ll bring them there. If they code on me, it’ll be on your shoulders, since I don’t have damned IV hookups in my car.”
“All right, all right. He’ll gripe like hell, but I’ll have him there in an hour and fifteen.”
“Good.” He stopped his pacing to stare out of the window. “Get a blood test for fungal infection when they get there. I’m going to talk to the hotel management, and the archaeological crew they’ve worked with. See if I can figure out if there’s some environmental cause.”
“You think there might be?”
“Maybe. It’s strange that they both fell ill days apart with the same symptoms. So make sure Nikolaos and the EMTs use infection control precautions, just in case.”
“Will do. Talk to you after they get here.”
Andros shoved his phone into his pocket, called Christina to come in early and keep a close eye on the Wagners, then caught up on paperwork in his office. He tried not to constantly check his watch. After forty-five minutes that felt like hours, he decided to make sure the Wagners were ready to go the second Nikolaos got there. He took a quick right out of his office, practically knocking down Laurel Evans, who was standing just outside his door. How had he missed her presence, when he’d been so acutely aware of it yesterday?
“Whoa, sorry!” he said, grabbing her arms to steady her. “Didn’t see you there. Hope I didn’t bruise you.”
“No bruises. Though I did wonder for a second if I was on a football field instead of in a medical clinic.” Her hands rested on his biceps as though they belonged there, and he had to stop himself from tugging her closer. “Now I see your real MO. Forget chasing ambulances. You injure people, fix them up, then bill them.”
He smiled. “Not my MO. But I did play football in college in the US. Glad to know I still have the moves.” Though knocking her down wasn’t the move he’d like to make on her. “What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t sleep. So I came to see how they’re doing.”
The pale smudges beneath her eyes didn’t detract one bit from her pretty face, and he again nearly pulled her against him instead of letting her go. To comfort and reassure her, of course.
“Not good.” He gave her arms a gentle, bolstering squeeze before dropping his hands. “I’ve called the Elias Sophia hospital, which is about an hour away. The ambulance is coming to get them now.”
“Oh, no!” Her hands flew to cover her heart. “They’re worse?”
“I’m afraid so.” He didn’t feel it was necessary to tell her exactly how much worse they were. With any luck, they’d soon be fine and she’d never have to know the seriousness of the situation. “Sometime today, I’d like to talk to some of your people who’ve worked in the caves.”
“To see if there’s something there that made them sick.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be heading up when I leave here. The crew should be there soon, and I need to talk to them anyway. If you have time, you can come with me.”
“Once the Wagners leave for the hospital, I can go. Even though Melanie hasn’t been up there recently, it’s worth asking a few questions.”
“If it’s contagious, just being in the same hotel room might have exposed her to it, right?”
“Right.” He’d considered the same thing. The woman was smart, no doubt about that. “I’m also going to check with the hotel management, see if any tourists were ill, or if any staff that live elsewhere have been out sick.”
“Can I see Mel and Tom now?”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” Andros managed to temper the vehement hell, no he’d nearly responded with. But her being exposed to them again wouldn’t accomplish anything. “Talking is difficult for them right now. After they’re settled in at the hospital, we can