THE MAVERICK DOCTOR AND MISS PRIM/ABOUT THAT NIGHT... Read Free Page B

Matt Sawyer. Only a few whispers and hurried conversations here and there.
    This was her first real mission. She’d been out as a danger detective before—when she’d been completing her specialist residency training. But this was her first real chance to prove herself. To prove that she was a worthy member of the team. To prove to them—and herself—that she deserved to be there.
    It didn’t sound promising if the doctor who’d made the initial call was unstable.
    She looked at the pile of papers on Callum’s lap. The outbreak plans, the containment plans, the paperwork to use for contact tracing, the algorithms. A plan for everything. A piece of paper for every eventuality. Just the way she liked it. Just the way she’d learned to function best.
    Rules and regulations were her backbone. The thing that kept her focused. The thing that kept everyone safe.
    Callum followed her gaze. “This could get messy.”
    “What do you mean? With the disease? The casualties?” She hadn’t even stopped to think about that yet. She still had her public health head on, the one that looked at the big picture. She hadn’t even started to consider the individuals.
    Callum looked kind of sad. “No.” He gave a little grimace again. “With Sawyer.”
    “Sawyer? Aren’t you happy to see him again?” She was confused. Hadn’t they been friends?
    “Under any other set of circumstances I would be. But not here. Not like this. This will be his worst nightmare. Sawyer walked away from all this. The last thing he wants to do is be involved in another outbreak. I can’t imagine how he’s feeling.”
    “He’s a doctor. He has responsibilities. He has a job to do.” She made it all sound so straightforward. Because in her head that was the way it should be.
    He sighed. “Things change, Callie. Life gets in the way. Sawyer doesn’t live by anybody’s rules but his own. He didn’t even follow protocol today. He should have notified the state department first but he didn’t. He just called the DPA. He called you .” He emphasized the word as he placed a hand on his chest.
    She’d missed that. Miss Rules and Regulations had missed that. In her shock at the nature of the call it hadn’t even occurred to her that Sawyer should have contacted the state department first and they should have contacted the DPA.
    How could she have missed that?
    She didn’t need anyone to remind her that things could change—that life, or lack of it—could get in the way. She was living proof of that.
    Seeds of doubt started to creep into her mind. She’d missed the first rule of notification. And if she’d missed that, what else would she miss? Should she even be on this team?
    Rules were there for a reason. Rules were there to be followed. Rules were there for everyone’s safety.
    Then it really hit her. What was happening before her very eyes.
    The last thing she needed to do right now was look at the wider picture. She needed to concentrate on the picture right before her.
    Callum was turning gray, with the slightest blue tinge around his lips. His skin was waxy and he was still sweating. His hand remained firmly on his chest.
    “Callum? Are you okay?” She unfastened her seat belt and stood up, signaling to some of the other members of the team. “That’s not heartburn, is it?”
    He shook his head as she started barking out orders to the rest of the team. “Get me some oxygen. Find out how soon till we get there. Can we get an earlier landing slot? Speak to the pilot—it’s a medical emergency.”
    They literally had every piece of equipment known to man on this plane. Unfortunately, most of it was in the hold. And none of it was to treat a myocardial infarction.
    She cracked open their first-aid kit, monitoring his blood pressure and giving him some aspirin. She pasted a smile on her face. “Things will be fine, Callum. We’ll get you picked up at the airport and taken to the nearest cardiac unit.”
    His hand gripped her wrist.