The Fling That Changed Everything. Alison Roberts

from the corner of his eye as he transferred some blood to the tiny, specialised tube that would slot into the sophisticated device he was now holding in his hand showed Sam that Lia was busy texting again. Maybe she already knew that they could measure things like troponin and creatinine kinase and myoglobin, which were all markers of whether someone was having a heart attack and how large it was, but surely she should be interested to know that she would have one of these units available in the helicopter she was about to start working in?

      They hadn’t been cheap but, like a fair few other items here, they were important enough for Sam to have quietly provided them from his personal funds.

      Not something he would want Lia—or others, for that matter—to know. Maybe it was better that she wasn’t showing any interest or asking awkward questions.

      And at least she put her damned phone away when Jack’s pager sounded an alert.

      ‘Looks like we’ve got a call. Come on, Lia. I’ll show you how the radio system works.’

      ‘Holy heck...’ The straps of her harness tightened to hold Lia in the front seat of the helicopter as it fought the wind. ‘How far have we got to go?’

      ‘Only another five minutes.’ Jack’s voice was reassuringly calm inside her helmet but the sidelong glance he gave her was more concerned. ‘These are pretty marginal flying conditions. You okay?’

      ‘Are you kidding?’ Lia laughed aloud as they slewed sideways and rocked again. ‘I love it.’

      The look she got now was impressed. ‘I’ve had a few guys in that seat who’d have white knuckles by now.’

      ‘How will we get to patients if it gets any worse than this? Do you think the cyclone’s going to be a direct hit?’

      ‘It’s looking more likely. We might well have a day or two when we can’t get airborne. If that’s the case, we use boats for the closer islands. How do you go in rough seas?’

      Lia grinned. ‘I quite like them, too.’

      Jack shook his head, silent for a moment as he focused on controlling his helicopter. The main island of Atangi was within sight now and Lia could see that it was far more populated than Wildfire. Somewhere in that cluster of buildings was the medical centre they were heading for after getting a call from the nurse who was working there.

      ‘I used to ride horses way back,’ Lia said. ‘What I loved most was a good cross-country course. Boats and aircraft in a bit of rough stuff is like competing in cross-country when you never know where the next jump is or how big it’s going to be.’

      ‘You still ride?’

      ‘No. It’s not exactly an affordable hobby. Besides...’ Lia let out a whoop as they were buffeted by some particularly big turbulence. ‘I get all the excitement I need these days from my job.’

      ‘Yeah...’ Jack was clearly in complete agreement. ‘Let’s get this baby on the ground and hope that our patient doesn’t get airsick on the way back. If she does, it’s your job to clean up.’

      ‘Don’t think so, mate.’ Lia was still grinning. ‘It’s your helicopter.’