Reawakened by the Surgeon's Touch Read Free Page B

in such desperate need of another surgeon at the hospital then she would have left him here and to hell with the consequences. So far as she was concerned, the rebel fighters were welcome to him!
    They reached the outer rim of the trees and stopped. Jude cocked his head to the side, obviously listening for any sound of movement. Claire held her breath because even though the rebels might be welcome to him in theory, she didn’t really want him to come to any harm. He glanced at her and there was no trace of laughter on his face this time. He seemed completely focused on the possible dangers and for some reason, she felt almost ridiculously pleased that he was taking her concerns seriously.
    â€˜I’m going to skirt round towards the truck through those trees,’ he explained in a whisper, pointing out the route he planned to take. ‘I want to see if the driver’s still in the cab.’
    â€˜I’ll keep you covered,’ she replied equally quietly, quelling a shiver as she looked around. The thought that someone could be hiding in the scrub, watching them, wasn’t a pleasant one.
    â€˜You do that.’ He gave her a quick grin. ‘But if you do see anything untoward then make sure it isn’t me in your sights, will you? I don’t fancy taking a bullet home as a souvenir.’
    â€˜I’ll do my very best to miss you,’ she agreed sweetly, and he laughed.
    â€˜Promises, promises—sounds like the story of my life!’
    He slipped away before she could say anything, not that she could have come up with anything apposite. Claire sighed because it was the story of her life that she could never come up with a witty response when she needed it. She waited in silence, wondering how she would know when he had reached the truck. He was hardly going to holler, Yoo-hoo, I’m here , was he?
    Was he?
    Her heart sank at the thought that he might not be taking this as seriously as she had thought. After all, Dr Slater knew nothing about the dangers of working in this country. Although the majority of the Mwurandans were kindly, God-fearing people, the rebel fighters stopped at nothing to achieve their aims. In the past two months they had stepped up their campaign of terror and everyone working in the country had been warned to be on their guard.
    Claire knew that the Worlds Together team would be pulled out if the situation worsened and that she would have to leave with them if that happened. Although she wasn’t officially part of their team, she worked alongside them and there would be no excuse for her to stay if they left. Although her visa expired shortly, she wanted to remain here for as long as possible. The thought of going back to England didn’t appeal, so she tried not to think about it.
    There was still no sign of Jude and she could feel her anxiety rising. Where on earth was he?
    All of a sudden she spotted a movement near the rear of the truck and her breath hissed out in relief when she realised it was him. He was crouched down beside the back axle and, as she watched, he began to creep forward, using the truck as a shield as he made his way to the cab. He disappeared from view and she held her breath, praying that nothing had happened to him. If it was a trap, she had let him walk right into it...
    He suddenly reappeared and she saw him lift up his hand and beckon to her. He pointed towards the trees, obviously indicating that she should follow the route he had taken. Claire gripped the pistol more firmly as she began to make her way through the undergrowth but her palm was slippery with sweat. Twigs snapped and grasses rustled and her heart pounded harder than ever. She was making so much noise that it would have been far simpler and a whole lot quicker just to run across the clearing. Anyone watching was bound to have heard her!
    She reached the truck at last and gasped when she saw that Jude had found Ezra, the driver. He was lying on the ground beside