couldnât believe my eyes when I came out of the treatment room and saw that man holding a gun to your head.â She raised watery eyes to Cody. âIâm glad you saved her.â
Saved her was a stretch of the truth. But he was pleased heâd been able to take Lowlife down before heâd hurt their doctor any more than he already had. He really hated seeing people get hurt, and he particularly hadnât wanted to see anything happen to Harper. âThanks for the vote of confidence,â he drawled. âBut Harper saved herself. She started the ball rolling when she dropped to the floor.â His relief at Harper being safe was overwhelming. Today the outcome had been good. He wouldnât think back to the darkest day of his lifeânot now. Too disturbing.
They were still standing in the middle of the department while other doctors and nurses were ducking and diving around them now, bringing patients in from the waiting room. Cody had had about all he could take of people staring at him and clapping him on the back for doing a cracking job on the assailant. They meant well, but they had no idea what it had really been like in Resus One. âCome on, Doc, letâs get out of everyoneâs way. Go have that coffee George mentioned.â
âDoc?â Harper shivered. That annoyance with George transferred to him. âThat man called me âDocâ.â
Comprehension slammed him. Of course, Lowlife had, and in a denigrating tone at that. âIâm sorry, never thought about it.â He didnât want to rile her any more. Not after what theyâd been through together.
Her shoulders drooped momentarily, then tightened again as she drew a long, slow breath. âThank you for knocking him down. I am grateful. You couldâve been shot.â Unbelievably her eyes teared up. Again. For him? Not likely.
Heâd never have picked her for the weepy sort, but then today hadnât been exactly normal. Violence undermined the strongest of people. Even his gut had tightened painfully at the moment when that gun had appeared. âStop talking and give your throat a rest.â He reached to take her elbow, saw those watery eyes widen and dropped his hand. Of course he was out of line, even if heâd only wanted to help. Being overly friendly to a colleague at work, no matter how well intentioned, could be seen as overstepping the mark. Apparently that hug had been okay at the time but now any other move from him wouldnât be.
Harper muttered, âIâve seen violence in the ED heaps of times.â
âBut never directed specifically at you, I bet.â The thought of that kind of personal, immediate threat brought back unpleasant memories. The looks on the faces of women in the pubs when their men came home from a dry six-week stint on the fishing trawlers. Some of the crew over-indulged in alcohol and drugs, then took the resultant mood swings out on their partners. Heâd stopped going to the pub with the guys after a while, unable to cope with what he saw but never managing to prevent it. Heâd tried talking them out of their rages, had taken some punches and given a few back in self-defence, but heâd never convinced those guys that what they were doing to their women was wrong. Some men had a mind-set about using their fists that was impossible to change.
But that was then, and heâd moved on to a different world, or so heâd thought. âCome on. Georgeâs office will be a lot quieter. Even with the police joining us.â
Her fingers worked her forehead, then her temples. âYouâre right.â
âAre you okay? Apart from your neck and throat being squashed?â She looked paler than before. Shock would do that, though he thought something else might be going on.
âOf course I am,â she snapped and stormed towards the corridor thatâd take them to the office affectionately known as