He waved the gun in her face, so close she tipped her head back. ‘What are you going to do about it, doc? Eh? Wait until idiot here dies? Because he’s going to. One way or the other. They all do.’
The firearm was menacing but even more so were the eyes locked on her as he continued. ‘Save us all the trouble and cut him open so I get what I came for. Then I’ll get out of your hair.’ If he’d shouted or snarled, she’d have handled his statement better, but he’d spoken softly, clearly, and set her quivering with dread.
There was no getting rid of the man, nor was he going to let her get the midazolam Mick desperately needed. She wanted to call out for someone else to bring the drug but that meant putting another person in jeopardy.
‘I’ll go,’ Cody intervened. He flicked her a quick look that seemed to say, Hang in there, I’m on to this, but she could be far off the mark. It had been a very fast glance.
The gunman snarled, ‘No you don’t.’
Cody shrugged exaggeratedly. ‘We need more water and drugs and, if you think I’d do a bunk and leave Dr White alone with you, think again. The drugs cupboard is just on the other side of the doorway.’
Phew. Relief warmed Harper. As much as she’d like the nurse out of here and safe, she didn’t want to be left without him watching her back as much as it was possible.
Her relief lasted nanoseconds. An arm slung around her throat, cutting off anything she could’ve said to back up Cody. Her assailant hauled her backwards, hard up against his torso.
‘Let her go.’ Cody stood right in front of them, his hands loose at his sides, those impressive feet spread wide, looking for all the world like he regularly dealt with this sort of situation, this type of villain.
‘Want to try and make me?’ the man snarled, then tightened his hold around Harper’s neck. Was he getting upset that things weren’t quite going his way?
They weren’t going her way either, but she could try to regain some control over the situation. Struggling to straighten up, she got hauled further off-balance for her efforts.
The grip tightened on Harper’s throat, making her eyes water and feel as though they could pop out of their sockets any moment. Her windpipe hurt. But it was the latest wave of fear rolling up from her stomach that really threw her off-centre. She didn’t have a chance of getting away from this man, or of saving Mick.
Mick. ‘Let me go,’ she tried to say, but nothing got past that arm pushing on her throat. Her fingers clawed at it, trying to loosen the throttling sensation. She couldn’t swallow and breathing was a strain.
Her eyes fixed on Cody’s. She hoped he couldn’t see her fear. Looking deep into his steady gaze, she tried to draw strength from him, to calm down. She couldn’t afford to let the assailant beat her. Count to ten, think what to do.
How in Hades did she count when even getting enough oxygen into her lungs was a mission?
Cody gulped. Strong was hurting Harper. But she was good. She might be terrified—he definitely was—but she wasn’t taking any crap from the lowlife. Go, girl. No. Be careful, stay safe. Lowlife had the advantage and not once had he looked as though he’d be afraid to pull that trigger.
He guessed the guy had nothing to lose. No one would stop him walking out of here while he held that gun. Hopefully the armed-defenders unit would arrive soon and be able to work out a solution without anyone getting injured or worse. If someone in the department had dialled 111. If Matilda had stopped to tell anyone on her mad dash to freedom. He was afraid to look out into the department in case he alerted Lowlife to other staff or anyone that might be working towards taking him down.
In the meantime the three of them still stuck in here had to deal with the situation and keep out of harm’s way. They weren’t going to get the drug that might calm Mick down a little. The odds were stacking up against him as time ran out fast. And, while Cody abhorred drugs and the people who made a living out of them, this young man was paying a huge price, way too huge. He wouldn’t be making the big bucks that people like Lowlife here would be. ‘I’ll run towels under the cold tap,’ he told Harper. ‘Then you outline what we do next.’ He was trying to warn her to stay put, that they’d get this sorted.
But either she was playing dumb or was just being plain brave because she shook her head, and managed to speak, which indicated that the arm had loosened on her throat. ‘We need icy-cold water, not tap water.’
Lowlife tightened his grip around Harper’s neck again and heavily tapped the gun barrel against her skull. ‘No one goes anywhere or the doc gets it.’
Harper’s eyes widened and all the colour drained from her cheeks. Her front teeth dug deep into her bottom lip.
‘Let her go,’ Cody growled. Fury was building inside him. ‘Incapacitating her isn’t going to change a thing.’ It was obviously a painful hold. Her throat was going to hurt for days. He gritted his teeth. It was crazy to think anyone would have to deal with an assailant in a place where people came to get fixed up, but it happened.
Another man threatening a woman on his watch, though? No, it wasn’t happening again.
‘You think I won’t use this? Huh? Want to see what happens when a bullet goes through brain matter?’ Lowlife laughed, a hideous sound that must’ve been heard throughout the department and made Cody’s skin crawl.
But it was the shock in Harper’s eyes that really got to him. She probably hadn’t encountered anything quite like this before, while he had. He had held his wife in his arms while she’d died of a knife wound to her heart. He’d been unable to halt the life draining out of her that day—had felt so useless, so helpless. Which was why the quiet evil about this man tightened his gut and had him fearing for Harper. That fear vied with anger. Nothing he said or did helped Harper while she was trying to help her patient. She did not deserve to be held to ransom. Or worse. Evil had no boundaries.
All the things he hated about bullies and nasty SOBs burst through him, and it took every ounce of self-control not to leap on the guy and take him down. That would really help the situation. Not. He’d probably get Harper killed in the process. He would not face that again. Once in a lifetime was once too often. He had to be careful; acting impulsively only led to disaster. ‘Let’s be sensible here. Dr White cannot save Mick’s life while you’re holding her.’ Damn, but he hated grovelling.
‘Who says we need to save the useless piece of garbage? I only want my drugs out.’
Jeez. Cody rammed his fingers through his hair. This guy didn’t deserve to be breathing. ‘Still need the doctor for that.’ Though Lowlife probably had his own knife strapped somewhere on his body; Cody had no illusions about the man getting his merchandise back himself. Which only underlined the dire situation they were all in.
Harper blinked at him. Mouthed something he couldn’t read. Her eyes tracked sideways towards the head of the bed.
The monitor? Reluctant to take his eyes off Lowlife while he held that gun to Harper, Cody quickly glanced sideways and saw the flat line on the screen. Mick Frew had gone into cardiac arrest. He hadn’t even heard the changed electronic sound; he’d been so focused on the doctor and her captor.
Cody needed to act quickly before anyone else rushed in to help and found themselves in this dangerous situation. He immediately hit in the centre of Mick’s sternum with his clenched hand, watching the screen intently. The flat line continued. Another thump and he said as calmly as possible, ‘Paddles, Jess.’ It wasn’t Mick’s condition churning his gut, but Harper’s. Dealing with this cardiac arrest wasn’t going to quieten Lowlife any, but no way could he ignore their patient either.