The Honourable Maverick / The Unsung Hero Read Online Free PDF

Maybe this wasn’t the way he usually arrived at work and he rarely turned up wearing his bike-riding leathers but it was no excuse for unprofessional behaviour from his colleagues.
    ‘Is Trauma One free?’
    ‘Yes. We got the radio message. Someone from O and G is on the way down.’ The nurse followed the rapidly moving stretcher. So did the receptionist, who was clutching a clipboard.
    ‘We haven’t got a name,’ the clerk said anxiously.
    ‘Ellie,’ Max snapped. They were through another set of double doors now, in the best-equipped area in the department to deal with a critical case. The paramedics stopped the stretcher right beside the bed withits clean, white sheet. Staff were waiting, having been primed to expect them, and they were wearing their aprons and gloves, ready to begin a resuscitation protocol. They all knew their first tasks. The portable monitoring equipment from the ambulance would have to be switched over to the built-in equivalents. A junior nurse held a pair of shears, ready to cut away Ellie’s clothing. A trolley was positioned near the head of the bed, an airway roll already opened in case intubation was necessary.
    It was no surprise to see who was ready to control both the airway of this patient and the running of this emergency scenario. Jet was wearing theatre scrubs now and had a stethoscope slung around his neck. There was nothing unprofessional about his immediate reaction to seeing who had come in with this patient. He didn’t even blink.
    ‘On my count,’ he said smoothly. ‘One, two…three.’
    There was a pool of blood on the stretcher as they lifted Ellie across to the bed. She groaned and her eyes flickered open.
    ‘It’s OK,’ Max said, leaning closer. ‘We’re in the hospital now, Ellie. Jet’s here and he’s going to look after you. We’re all going to look after you.’
    Her eyes drifted shut again.
    ‘GCS is dropping.’ Max tried to sound clinical. Detached. It didn’t work.
    Jet was holding Ellie’s head, making sure her airway was open. He was watching the rapid rise and fall of her chest and his gaze went to the monitor as theoxygen saturation probe on her finger began relaying the information he wanted.
    He frowned and flicked the briefest glance at Max. ‘What the hell happened?’ he murmured.
    ‘Massive haemorrhage. Seemed to come from nowhere as soon as she stood up. Severe abdominal pain as well.’
    The clerk was still in the room, hovering behind the nursing staff who were changing ECG leads, hanging the bags of fluid and getting a blood-pressure cuff secured.
    ‘What’s Ellie’s last name?’ she asked. ‘How old is she?’
    A registrar had his hands on her swollen abdomen. ‘It’s rigid,’ he announced. ‘Is she in labour? What’s the gestation?’
    ‘Thirty-six weeks and two days,’ Max said.
    Ellie was almost naked now. Totally vulnerable. Exposed to an expanding team of medical personnel. Someone from the obstetric department had arrived, closely followed by a technician pushing a portable ultrasound machine. Jet was holding a mask over Ellie’s face and frowning as he watched the numbers changing on the overhead monitor.
    ‘Ellie…’ He had his mouth right beside his ear and was speaking loudly. ‘Can you hear me? Open your eyes.’
    She wouldn’t want to, Max thought. This would have to be absolutely terrifying.
    ‘Are there any relatives who could give me her details?’ the clerk persisted. ‘Did her husband come inwith her? Or…her partner?’ The woman knew she was failing in her task but she made yet another effort. ‘The father of the baby?’
    That flicked a switch in Max’s head and its effect was magnified by how vulnerable Ellie was. How much trouble she was in right now. He had tried to protect her and somehow he had stepped into a new nightmare and was still by her side. Was she aware of what was happening? Still terrified? Did she know he was here?
    She had been so determined to stay away from