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She stared down at him as everything fell into place. The man at the door wasn’t Adrian. This was.
“She was due to arrive. Why didn’t I remember?”
I know this man, I know him intimately.
His hand went to his head, and he pushed back his dark blonde hair. When he did, she saw a nasty red mark on his forehead. He tried to sit up, but she put her hand against his chest and steadied him. “Please try to stay still, you’ve got a head injury.”
He groaned.
She’d never once needed her nursing skills outside of a job in her whole three years of training, but now that she’d stepped away from nursing it looked as if she was going to need it after all. She lifted his eyelids, examined his pupils, they looked normal. His eyes were hazel, she noticed. She loosened his tie, undid his collar, and held up her hand. “How many fingers do you see?”
“Three.”
She moved her hand. “Now?”
“Two.”
“What month is it?”
“January, it’s the twenty-eighth.”
“Good. Can you tell me where the pain is?”
“My head. Think I hit it on the desk. I ducked.” He waved his hand in the direction of the window. “I was looking for my diary on the desk, then I dropped it on the floor. Heard the window breaking; saw someone out there.”
“Do you have pain anywhere else?”
“Yes. Leg. Knee.” His eyes flickered closed again.
She examined his limbs. He winced when she moved her hands around his right knee.
“It’s a dodgy ligament, old injury, but I think I put it out when I dropped.” The colour was draining from his face.
She stroked his cheek, gently reassuring him. “You’re going to be okay, but that knock on the head is worrying me. I’ll call an ambulance and get you checked out.”
“No, you won’t.”
Lily’s head snapped up. It was the other man, the man that she had been flirting with at the door—the man she’d been French kissing. The man who was obviously not Adrian, now. He’d climbed back in through the window and was approaching with determination, his expression overcast. She glared at the gun in his hand. “Please tell me you’re with the police.”
He nodded, then dropped to the floor on the other side of Adrian and put one large hand on the injured man’s jaw, shifting it from side to side as he looked him over. “Come on, we have to get you out of here.”
“Be careful with him,” Lily exclaimed, shocked at his brusqueness. “He has a head injury, a knee injury, and he’s at risk of concussion.” She went to snatch his hand away from the injured man, but the other man locked his fingers around her wrist. His grip turned rigid. The stern, controlling look in his eyes silently informed her that she could only move if he allowed her to.
“This man needs to be checked at a hospital,” she repeated, stubbornly, attempting again to jerk her arm from his grasp.
The dark-haired man held her tightly for a moment longer, to make his point, before letting her go. “He needs to be taken to a safe house is what he needs.” His tone was stern, and he shook his head as if annoyed. “This man is a key witness in a criminal investigation. The longer he is in London, the more likely it is that someone will take another shot. I can’t let that happen.” He looked frustrated.
Lily was getting pretty frustrated herself. She couldn’t follow what he was saying, and she didn’t like his attitude. “Look, I know what I’m talking about. I used to be a nurse and I’m concerned about his head injury.”
The dark-haired man ignored her and spoke to Adrian instead. “Are you convinced now?”
He’d got Adrian’s attention. “Yes. I’m convinced, whatever you say, I’ll do it.” He let out a deep sigh.
“I thought so.” The policeman shifted, drawing Adrian to his feet with one arm locked around his waist and back. Again he looked at Lily. “You get on the other side.”
“I’ll help you if you promise me you are taking him to the hospital.”
He glared at her. “This man is in danger. The longer we hang around the more likely it is that someone will take another shot at him. Do you want that to happen?” His eyes were narrowed as he assessed her, looking her over as if he was suspicious of her.
