He looked as though he’d been poleaxed for a moment. But he recovered fast. He took a quick step towards her and caught hold of her by the shoulders. Meg felt a frisson run down her spine when she saw the anger in his eyes. ‘Damn you, Meg! How could you—?’
He got no further. Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off when a sudden burst of noise rang out across the countryside. Meg’s heart missed a beat as she realised that what she’d heard had been the sound of gunshots.
‘What the devil was that?’ Jack demanded, as he let her go and ran back to the others.
Meg hurriedly followed him. ‘Where did it come from?’ she asked, stopping beside Lesley.
‘I’m not sure…Over there by those trees, I think.’ Lesley pointed towards a small stand of trees some distance away. Even as Meg turned to look there was another round of shots fired.
‘Right, everyone back on board, pronto!’ Jack rapped out. ‘I want all the doors closed and locked from the inside. Then I want the shutters put up over every window. I’ve no idea who’s firing those shots, but let’s not take any chances.’
He turned to Bill. ‘Can you make sure the new chap knows what’s what? I want us ready to leave here as soon as possible if need be.’
‘Will do.’ A rather shaky Bill let Rory help him into the driver’s cab.
Meg helped Kate get Katu back on board then hurried along the train, securing the doors. They hadn’t closed the steel shutters over the windows since they’d boarded the train and some of them proved rather recalcitrant. However, they were all finally closed and the train was secure. She could hear the engine starting up, rumbling as it built up a head of steam. Whether they would be able to outrun any pursuers was open to question but she agreed with Jack’s decision. Until they knew what was happening they couldn’t afford to take any chances.
‘Two trucks coming in fast from the direction of the woods!’ Guy had been watching through a crack in one of the shutters. Everyone ran to take a look at what he had seen. Meg’s mouth went dry when she saw the trucks heading towards them at some speed. Who was in them? Friend or foe?
‘My heaven, it’s Richard!’ Jack’s shout startled them all. Meg peered through the gap in the shutter and realised that he was right. The trucks were the ones Richard’s men had been driving, although she could see no sign of him as they screeched to a halt. It was only when a couple of the men dropped the tailgate of one of the trucks that she spotted him, and her heart turned over when she realised that Richard had been injured.
‘Get him in here fast!’ Jack was first to reach the door. He unlocked it, his face settling into grim lines as Richard was carried on board. Blood was pouring from a wound high on Richard’s right thigh and from another in his right shoulder. He was unconscious and his skin was tinged grey from the amount of blood he’d lost.
‘Richard! Darling!’ Yvonne rushed to his side, her face filled with anguish as she took hold of his hand. Jack firmly moved her aside as he began rapping out orders.
‘Kate, get scrubbed up and set up one of the theatres. Rory, you know what to do.’ He turned to Meg. ‘I want you to assist me. Lesley will assist Guy. Both teams will work simultaneously. OK?’
Meg didn’t waste time asking questions as she hurried to get ready. By the time Richard was wheeled into Theatre a short time later, everything was set up.
‘Guy, if you could take the wound to his shoulder, I’ll deal with his leg.’
Jack didn’t pause as he walked to the operating table. Richard’s clothes had been cut away and it was easy to see where the bullet had entered his upper thigh. Meg cleaned the surrounding skin and covered it with a sterile drape then stood aside. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that just a half hour previously she’d been talking to Richard and now he was lying unconscious on the table. However, if Jack felt the same, he didn’t allow it to affect his work.
As soon as he got the go-ahead from Rory, he began. ‘Looks like a high-velocity rifle shot to me. See how deeply the bullet is embedded in the tissue.’
He carefully eased away a bit of cloth from Richard’s trousers which had been carried into the wound when the bullet had entered his thigh. Meg could see then how deeply the bullet had embedded itself into the flesh.
‘It’s going to be difficult to get it out, isn’t it?’ she asked softly, studying the damaged tissue.
‘It isn’t going to be easy, let’s just say,’ Jack observed grimly. ‘It’s within a hairsbreadth of the femoral artery. Thank heavens it didn’t hit it.’
Meg didn’t say anything. There was no need. They both knew that if the bullet had cut through the artery Richard would have bled to death before his men could have got him to the train.
Jack worked steadily, cleaning and carefully abrading the damaged tissue until he reached the bullet. ‘Forceps.’
Meg passed them to him then held her breath as he carefully withdrew the bullet and dropped it into a kidney dish. Guy was working away on Richard’s shoulder while Rory constantly monitored the patient’s condition. When Jack was sure that the wound was as clean as he could get it, he packed it with sterile gauze and covered it with a light dressing.
‘I don’t want to close it until I’m sure there’s no sign of infection,’ he explained to Meg. He stepped away from the table, a frown darkening his brow. ‘I just hope to heaven that there’s no other damage, but it’s impossible to tell at this stage.’
Meg paused in her counting of the swabs they’d used. ‘But there are only two bullet wounds.’
‘Yes, but high-velocity gunshot injuries can cause damage to other organs as well because of the shock waves that pass through the body. We’ll just have to keep a close eye on him to make sure nothing is amiss.’
He looked up as Guy came to join him. ‘Everything OK your end?’
‘I think so. First gunshot wound I’ve had to deal with, to be honest.’ Guy looked momentarily worried.
Jack slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Knowing you, it will be fine, Guy!’
The younger man smiled. He looked a lot more confident when he left the theatre. Meg smiled to herself, thinking how typical it was of Jack to worry about Guy’s feelings. He was a good boss and a wonderful team leader who always got the best out of everyone. But, then, she might very well be biased!
Funnily, her heart felt lighter than it had done for a couple of days even though the situation was so dire. Just working alongside Jack, that seemed to lift her spirits and give her hope. Maybe she’d misread the situation and he hadn’t viewed her as a substitute for his ex wife the other night after all. Maybe she could make him understand that it would be wrong to deny himself the chance of ever falling in love again.
And maybe she was using rose-tinted spectacles to view the situation because she was too cowardly to face the truth, a small voice whispered.
She ignored it with some difficulty, but she’d been telling the truth when she’d told Jack once that she was an optimist. How she prayed that she wasn’t going to be proved a silly little fool!
‘And you’re quite sure that he’s going to be all right?’
Yvonne couldn’t hide her concern and Meg heard Jack sigh. Richard was in Recovery at that moment with Kate keeping a careful eye on him as he came round from the anaesthetic. Yvonne had been waiting for them when they’d left Theatre and it was obvious to Meg that she’d been crying.
‘I can’t make any promises as yet, Yvonne. However, I’m hopeful.’ Jack’s tone was gentle as he gave Yvonne a reassuring hug. ‘We got the bullets out and that’s the first step, so let’s just take it a day at a time.’
‘You’re right. I know you are. It’s just so hard…’ Tears welled into Yvonne’s eyes again and she turned away with a broken sob.
‘I’ll go with her,’ Meg offered immediately.
‘Would you?’ Jack’s gaze was intent when he looked at her. ‘It’s a difficult situation, isn’t it? But, then, what relationship ever runs smoothly?’
She ha
d no idea what he’d meant by that. However, there was no time to ask him as Alison came along the corridor just then to see how the surgery had gone. Meg quickly excused herself and hurried after Yvonne, closing the door as she followed the other woman into the waiting room-cum-lounge.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked solicitously, sitting down opposite her.
‘Yes. No. Oh, I don’t know!’ Yvonne laughed shakily as she hunted a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. ‘I feel sort of up in the air, as though I don’t know whether I’m on my head or my heels, if you know what I mean.’
‘Only too well!’ Meg heard the rueful note in her voice and quickly tried to pass it off. Yvonne certainly didn’t want to hear her problems! ‘I take it that you didn’t expect to run into Richard again like this?’
‘Not really, although I suppose the possibility was always at the back of my mind. Maybe that’s why I offered to fly out here—who knows?’
Yvonne stood up and began pacing the floor. ‘It’s all such a mess! I don’t know what to do and that’s the worst thing. Now Richard might…might die, and I couldn’t bear that!’
Meg got up and put a comforting arm around Yvonne’s shoulders. ‘You mustn’t start thinking like that. The surgery went well so you must try to be positive.’
‘I’ll try.’ Yvonne managed a watery smile. ‘After all, he had two of the best surgeons in the business working on him, didn’t he?’
‘He did, indeed. Jack always does a brilliant job,’ Meg agreed sincerely, unaware just how much her voice betrayed.
‘You really admire Jack, don’t you?’ Yvonne’s tone was thoughtful. ‘Is it just his work you like or him as well?’
Meg shrugged, a little colour touching her cheeks at the rather too astute observation. ‘Of course I like him. Jack’s a great guy.’
She looked round as the door suddenly opened. Her colour deepened when Jack came into the room. His gaze lingered on her flushed face for a moment before he turned to Yvonne with a smile.
‘Just thought you’d like to know that Richard is awake and asking for you.’
‘Oh, I’ll go and see him right away.’ Yvonne hurried from the room and a small silence fell after she’d left.
Meg shifted uncomfortably. Was it her imagination or did the air seem to be full of a strange kind of tension?
It bothered her even though she wasn’t sure as to its cause. She hurried to break the silence at the same moment that Jack spoke. They both stopped then Jack shrugged.
‘You first.’
‘No, it wasn’t anything important. What were you going to say?’
He looked momentarily uneasy, which surprised her and seemed to add to the overall feeling of tension. Her hands unconsciously clenched as she mentally prepared herself for what he might say.
‘I just wanted to apologise, Meg,’ he said simply. ‘I was way out of order when I said what I did about you and Richard before.’
‘Why did you say it?’ Meg bit her lip, wishing that she’d simply accepted the apology with good grace. Did she really want to go into the whys and wherefores?
Jack took a deep breath and she knew that he was finding this incredibly difficult. His voice grated roughly when he answered. ‘Because you were right.’
‘Right? About what?’ She stared at him in confusion, seeing myriad expressions chase across his face. There were so many that she felt dizzy from what she was witnessing, felt dizzier still when he actually answered her question. Frankly, it was the last thing she’d expected him to say!
‘About me being jealous, of course!’
The admission was tinged with impatience, as though Jack resented having to disclose it. Meg licked her lips because they felt parched all of a sudden.
‘W-were you?’ She winced when she heard the wispy little voice she barely recognised as her own emerging from her lips. However, it was hard to behave as though this were an everyday occurrence.
Jack had just stated—quite clearly, too—that he’d been jealous at the thought of her being interested in Richard. This was definitely a red-letter day!
‘Yes! I just said that I was.’ Jack must have heard the bite in his voice, just as she’d heard it. He took another deep breath and stalked to the window, but it was impossible to see anything with the steel shutter being locked into place so he couldn’t fall back on that old ploy.
Meg felt her lips tilt with the beginnings of a smile and struggled to control it. It wouldn’t be at all tactful to let Jack see that she was amused. After all, it must have cost him dearly to make that admission so it wouldn’t be right to…to smile about it.
Her mouth curved a bit more and she clamped small white teeth around the edge of her lower lip to make it behave, but it was a losing battle. To hear Jack say that was the one thing in the world guaranteed to make her smile!
‘What’s so funny?’ he demanded, looking round and catching sight of her expression.
‘I…um…well, you know.’ She shrugged, striving for nonchalance, although her heart was singing. Inside her breast there was a whole aria being sung, each swooping, soaring note lifting her spirits higher and higher. Jack had been jealous. It was like being handed a much-wanted gift!
‘You think it’s amusing that I should feel like that, do you?’ He demanded, his brows lowering ominously. Meg smirked.
‘I’ll have you know it’s never happened to me before and I sincerely hope that it never happens again either!’
Oh, he was really getting himself into a tizzy now! How typical, though. Most strong, self-reliant men would feel the same way about making themselves appear the slightest bit vulnerable.
That thought sent a rush of tenderness through Meg’s body. Her smile was equally tender as she treated him to it. ‘I hope that it never happens to you again too, Jack.’
She took a shallow breath then hurried on before her courage deserted her. ‘There’s no need to feel jealous about me and Richard or me and any other man, for that matter.’
‘No?’ His eyes seemed to gleam like smooth grey satin as they traced her face in a look which made Meg’s heart seem to swell. She loved him so much but could he tell that just by looking at her?
‘No.’ She willed him to understand, willed him to take what she was offering him and rejoice in what it could mean for them both. The future suddenly spread before her—long days full of love and laughter, commitment and sharing as they grew old together. Maybe she was presuming too much but this wasn’t the time to start having doubts. If she could convince Jack that the future was theirs for the taking then it could come true!
‘I’m not like Briony was, Jack. We are two different people.’
There was a moment when he stared at her and his eyes seemed to be full of everything she could have wished for, before the shutters came down. Meg could hear the sound of them falling inside her head and nothing had ever sounded so final before, apart from the tone of Jack’s voice, of course.
‘No, you aren’t like Briony. You’re everything she isn’t—warm, caring, tender, loving. You’re everything a man could want, in fact.’ He reached out and touched her cheek then let his hand drop to his side.
‘I just wish I’d met you first, but wishing doesn’t change things. I can’t erase the past, Meg. I can’t pretend it never happened. All I can do is learn from my mistakes and never put myself in the position of repeating them.’
Her heart seemed to wither inside her when she heard what he said. ‘So you prefer to remain alone for the rest of your life rather than take a chance again?’
His face filled with pain as he heard the anguish in her voice but his voice remained determined. ‘That’s right. I suppose it’s the coward’s way but it’s far less painful at the end of the day, Meg, believe me. One thing I have learned is that there are no guarantees where love is concerned. It can end just like that and I’m simply not prepared to go through all that heartache if I can avoid it.’
He left the carriage without another word and Meg d
idn’t try to stop him. She couldn’t hold him against his will, couldn’t make him take what she was offering if he didn’t want it.
She took a deep breath.
She couldn’t make Jack love her if he was no longer capable of loving.
‘They were waiting in the trees…to ambush us…’ Richard paused to gather his strength.
By tacit agreement everyone had gathered in the hospital bay after dinner that night. Richard had made a remarkable recovery from his surgery. Meg guessed that his rapid improvement owed much to the fact that Yvonne was sitting beside him, holding his hand as though she had no intention of ever letting it go again! It was obvious that they’d worked through their problems and reached an understanding.
Now Richard smiled as Yvonne held a glass to his lips so that he could take a sip of water. Meg looked away, finding it too painful to witness the look that passed between them. It just seemed to highlight how empty her own life was going to be now that Jack had turned his back on the possibility of them having a future together.
Unwillingly her gaze went to him and she coloured when she discovered that he was watching her. She turned away at once, not wanting to examine what had been in his eyes. What was the point in looking for something that wasn’t there and could never be there?
She focused on what Richard was saying instead, but she was so conscious of Jack that when he shifted slightly she flinched as though he’d touched her. It struck her then that it was going to be impossible to stay on board the train in the present situation and that she would have to find some way of leaving.
‘My men managed to fight them off and I don’t think we shall have any further trouble from them.’ Richard smiled thinly as he looked around. ‘However, I intend to make sure that you aren’t put at risk in any way. You will have an armed guard to accompany you for the rest of your journey.’
‘If you really think it’s necessary.’ Jack sighed when Richard nodded. Obviously, he wasn’t keen on the idea but was wise enough to accept the inevitable. ‘Well, you know best, I suppose.’
He looked at the others. ‘How do you all feel, by the way? Are you prepared to carry on as planned? If anyone wants to back out, just say so.’
Touched by Angels Page 17