“All right. But—”
“Dr. Drakoulias!” Christina came hurrying out of the doors of the hospital wing. “The hospital transport is here.”
“Finally.” He turned to Laurel. “Stay here. I’ll be back shortly.”
With Christina’s help, he, the EMT and Nikolaos got both patients loaded in a matter of minutes. About to shut the ambulance doors, the scent of sweet citrus reached his nose. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Laurel standing right behind him, waving to the Wagners as they lay inside on their gurneys.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” she said, the smile on her face obviously strained. “I’ll come see you with updates.”
He shut the ambulance doors, yanked down his mask, and barely stopped himself from raising his voice at the woman next to him. “What part of ‘stay here’ and ‘possibly contagious’ are you not understanding?”
“I was a good six feet from them. It seems to me you’re overreacting a little, since you don’t know if they’re contagious or not.”
“There’s a difference between overreaction and caution.”
“Maybe that’s just something you tell yourself.” She folded her arms and stared him down. “Are you going to be bossy like this when we go up to the caves?”
“I’m only bossy when I have good reason to be.” In spite of his frustration with her, he nearly smiled at the mulish expression on her face. She was toughness all wrapped up in softness. “So the answer is yes. I’m staying outside the caves and you are too.”
“I’m an archaeologist, Dr. Drakoulias. Detective work is part of what we do. The Wagners are my bosses and my friends, and I’m going to do whatever I can to help. The caves are part of the excavation I’m doing my dissertation on, and, with Mel and Tom sick, I’m in charge now. I have to learn exactly what they’re doing there and maybe in the process spot something that could have made them ill. Since I’m pretty sure you don’t own Mount Parnassus, I’m going into the caves.”
“You say I’m bossy? How about I say you’re stubborn?” He let out an exasperated breath. “If there’s a fungal contagion, possibly connected to the caves, no one should go in who hasn’t been there already. Hell, no one should go in there, period, until we have some answers. But if they have to, they need to wear masks. Which I’ll provide. You, though, have to stay out for now.”
“Are you afraid Apollo’s python may be lurking in there too, ready to strangle me?” Her voice was silky sweet, at odds with the sparking blue flash in her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring my bow and arrows just in case.”
Clearly, the woman had serious issues with being told what to do. “Listen, Laurel, you—”
“Daddy!”
He swung around in horror when he heard his daughter’s little voice, and the sight of her standing just inside the door of the hospital wing with his sister and nephew, smiling her big bright smile, sent his heart pounding and adrenaline surging. His baby could not be in there when God knew what contagion might be in the very air. “Cassie. You can’t be here right now.”
“Why, Daddy?” Her eyes shone with excitement. “Is there really a python? I want to see!”
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