If he tried to fight his way through, to get to Kriss, the police would deal with Jem. Ben clearly wasn’t going to let things get that far, and headed him off. Jem knocked him away but Ben seized him again, and the two men wrestled with each other before a punch to the stomach, followed through by another to the jaw, felled Jem. The knife spun away across the floor, and Ben staggered back to retrieve it.
The police surged forward and Arianna followed, desperate to make sure that Ben was all right. But as she reached the open door of the bar she saw that three policemen had Jem on the floor and Ben was kneeling next to him, still talking and obviously trying to calm Jem and inspect him for any injury. She should stay back, and let him finish what he’d started. Hanging onto his neck and kissing him could, and almost certainly would, come later.
The muffled beat of a helicopter was louder now and it was coming in close, hovering just feet above the jetty so that the men inside could jump down from it. The incident team had medics with them, who ran ahead towards the ferry.
They were taking no chances and Jem was put onto a stretcher and examined before they carried him out of the bar. Ben sat back on his heels, obviously drained by the last hour, his hand moving to his side. It was then that Arianna saw the blood.
‘Ben...’ She ducked past a couple of the island police, skidding to a halt next to him. He looked up at her, summoning a tight smile.
‘It’s okay. What is it you’re supposed to say? Just a scratch.’
‘You can let me be the judge of that, Ben.’ Arianna loosened the vest, lifting it over his head, and saw a patch of blood on his shirt. The knife must have been deflected by the vest and sliced just below its protective shield.
‘Uh... Can’t you do that later?’ He winced as she unbuttoned his shirt, trying to make a joke of it.
‘Be quiet.’ Arianna turned to call for a medical kit, but one of the officers had already thought to fetch one, and it was lying on the floor behind her. She examined the wound on his side carefully.
‘How’s it looking, Doctor?’ His tone was still flippant, but Arianna could see pain in his eyes.
‘It’s superficial.’ The wound was bleeding a fair bit, but it wasn’t deep. Once the flow of blood was staunched, and Arianna had stitched it, he would be all right.
‘I’ll dress it, so that we can get you back to the health centre.’ She took a wad of gauze from the medical kit, positioning it over the cut. ‘Hold that there, will you, while I tape it. Keep the pressure on it.’
He did as he was told, providing the essential third hand that made any dressing easier to apply. The officer in charge of the scene cleared a path as Ben was led to a police car, and got behind the wheel himself, driving them the short way back to the health centre. He shook Ben’s hand and Arianna sent him away, assuring him that there was nothing more that they needed.
The health centre was silent, and Arianna locked the main door behind them.
‘Where’s Jonas?’
Arianna picked up the note on the reception desk. ‘Andreas and Eleni have taken him to their house. He’s okay; they’ll keep him occupied there. I’ll get you fixed up and then you can see him, yes?’
‘Yeah. Good, thanks.’ He went to wrap his arms around her shoulders, and then drew back again. ‘I’m sorry. There’s a smudge of blood on your dress.’
‘That’s okay. I keep a change of clothes here and it’s not the first time I’ve had to wash blood out of something.’ She hugged him, careful not to touch the dressings on his side. Ben’s chest rose and slowly fell, as if now he could finally breathe.
‘I’ve got you, Ben,’ she whispered against his chest.
‘Yeah, I know. That feels so good, right now.’
She led him through to her surgery and he climbed onto the examination table, rolling stiffly onto one side. Arianna cleaned the wound, anesthetising the area in readiness for the stiches. They had to be perfect. Nothing less would do on his perfect body. She’d leave no scar, even though she wouldn’t be there to see the wound knit and the mark fade. Ben lay silently as she worked.
‘Done. Would you like to see before I dress it?’ Arianna didn’t usually offer patients that option, but it would save on a dressing because Ben would be peeling it off as soon as her back was turned.
‘Yes, thanks.’ He peered into the mirror that she positioned above his side, tilting it a little so that he could see. ‘I’m impressed. Very neat.’
He was trying to smile but the lustre had gone from his eyes. Maybe if she waited he’d get around to saying what was on his mind. Arianna picked up his bloodied shirt, holding it up and then throwing it into the bin.
‘You can’t let Jonas see you in that. Andreas has a couple of scrub tops that he keeps here; he won’t mind if you take one.’ The V-necked blue cotton top looked enough like the casual shirts that tourists wore that once it was out of the context of the health centre it would hardly draw a second glance.
‘Yes, I need to see him.’ Ben started to sit up, and Arianna helped him swing his legs down from the couch.
‘Of course. Not with blood on your hands, though.’ Arianna took a wipe from the box on her desk, picking up his hand and carefully wiping it. However much she cleaned him up, she couldn’t restore the light in his eyes, and Jonas would see that. She saw it, and it made her heart ache.
‘Jem saw Kriss go? Is that why he got so agitated?’
‘Yes. He was very on edge when I went in there, but he seemed to be getting calmer. I’d managed to persuade him that there was a way out of the situation for him, and that he didn’t need to hurt himself or anyone else. Then he saw Kriss leave with Eloise, and he just flipped. He was shouting about killing anyone who got in his way.’
‘So you got in his way.’ Arianna tried not to show her disapproval.
‘There wasn’t much choice. He wouldn’t have stopped, and if he’d have got out of the bar there would have been casualties.’
‘There was one.’
‘It was only superficial, though. You said so yourself.’
She threw the wipe into the bin, collecting a new one to clean his other hand. ‘What’s going on with you?’
‘I just need to see Jonas.’
Of course he did. He hadn’t once said that he needed to see her, though, even though Arianna was struggling not to think that way. Of course she came second to his child; she’d never respect a man who thought differently. Being somewhere on the list would be nice, though.
‘He needs to see you too. But not with blood all over you and not with that look in your eyes either. What’s the matter, Ben?’
He shook his head, as if maybe that might knock his thoughts into some order. ‘I’ve been thinking about what would have happened if I’d been more badly hurt. If I couldn’t get back to Jonas...’
Arianna puffed out a breath. Not being there for the people he loved was a dilemma for Ben and probably always would be. ‘You are who you are, Ben. Who you are is important for Jonas too.’
It was important to Ben. The man who believed he could no longer make a difference, and who’d made the biggest difference of all to Jem. Without Ben’s intervention, the situation would have gone bad very quickly.
‘Yeah.’ He straightened his back, as if trying to settle a weight on his shoulders. ‘It was easier when I jumped into the water after you. A lot less complicated.’
‘Maybe you just thought it was. A lot of things seem less complicated when you’re twelve.’
‘True. Another fifteen years and perhaps I won’t be worrying about Jonas so much.’
‘I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve heard reports to the contrary.’ Arianna had finished cleaning his other hand, and she threw the wipe into the bin.
‘Do you know what’s going to happen to Jem?’
‘Yes, I heard the police say that they’ll be taking him to Athens initial
ly, for a psychiatric evaluation. He’ll be in a secure facility, but he’ll be well looked after; I know the place. He will be charged, I don’t see any alternative, but he’ll have a fair hearing.’
Ben shook his head. ‘I wouldn’t like to be the one to make a decision about that. What Jem did was entirely wrong, but I can still see how it all happened.’
‘So can I. But we’re doctors and our job isn’t to make judgements; it’s to do our best for people, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.’ She smiled at Ben. ‘So I think we’re off the hook with that, at least.’
He smiled, coiling his fingers around hers. ‘What would I do without you to dispense stitches and good advice?’
He should go and see Jonas now. Maybe the gentle walk to Andreas and Eleni’s house would finish the job of restoring his spirits. But Ben didn’t seem inclined to move just yet and suddenly he reached out, wrapping his arms around her.
‘Careful...’
‘It’s okay. I just need to hold you.’ He hugged her tight, and Arianna rested her head against his shoulder.
‘When Jem tried to get out of the bar, all I could think was that you were out there. I had to stop him from getting anywhere near you, Arianna.’
Maybe that was what any woman would want to hear. That a man’s only thought was for her, and that he’d risk serious injury to save her. The way he’d jumped into the water after her had fuelled her fascination with Ben all these years.
But things weren’t that simple now. He had Jonas to think about, and it was impossible that Ben didn’t see the conflict. The things she loved most about him, his honourable nature and his bravery, might just be the things that tore them apart.
Now, in his arms, those thoughts were easy to ignore. She looked up at him, and all the warmth that had been missing from his eyes was there once more. When she kissed him, all of the yearning she felt was in his response.
‘You know you’ll always be my hero, don’t you?’
* * *
Ben ached a little, but that was largely across his shoulders, from the tension of trying to talk Jem down. Even after the anaesthetic wore off his side didn’t hurt too much, and if he took it easy for a couple of days he’d be as good as new.
He decided to tell Jonas what had happened, carefully leaving out all of the what-ifs and might-have-beens. Arianna had told Jonas that his dad had been very brave, and that the injury was just a scratch. She’d put a very large dressing on it, just to make it look a little more serious than it was.
‘Phwoar, Dad!’ Jonas had fallen for Arianna’s version of the events hook, line and sinker, and was obviously impressed. ‘Will you get a medal?’
‘No. You only get a medal if you’re very, very brave.’
Jonas pulled an indignant face. ‘But aren’t you very, very brave, Dad?’
‘No.’ The word lost its impact on Jonas, because Arianna chorused a ‘Yes’ at the same time.
When she heard that Ben’s injury didn’t preclude him from sitting up or eating, Eleni insisted that they stay for dinner. They ate under a large olive tree in the garden, with Ben propped up on cushions, and Andreas filling his plate from the serving dishes on the table. Arianna took a call, and left for half an hour to visit a feverish child, returning to say that she’d reassured the first-time mother that her little one was fine. Andreas promised to pop in and see her before work tomorrow and the business was concluded with far less fuss and more good humour than the interruption of a dinner with friends at home would have entailed. Along with all its professionalism, the health centre still retained all that was best in the community that surrounded it.
They left early, making their way slowly to Arianna’s car. All Ben wanted to do was to sleep, feeling the curve of her body against his, but he should be there for Jonas tonight, to make sure that he answered any questions that the boy had.
‘Dad...’ It sounded as if the first of Jonas’s questions was on the way. ‘Can we go to Arianna’s house?’
‘Why do you want to go there?’ Ben took his son’s hand, feeling the stitches pull a little.
‘So that Arianna can help me look after you.’
‘Tonight, you mean?’ He could see Arianna smiling out of the corner of his eye.
‘Yes. Arianna, you can make sure my dad’s all right, can’t you?’
‘Of course I can. If that’s what you want me to do, Jonas.’
‘Yes.’
Ben wasn’t going to talk about it any more, and he certainly wasn’t going to look at Arianna because he’d just start laughing. Or kissing her, and then Jonas might catch onto the fact that her motives for inviting them to stay weren’t entirely medical. He reached for the car door and eased himself into his seat.
* * *
Arianna had supposed she should sleep in her own bed, leaving Ben and Jonas in the large bed in the spare room. But when it was time to put Jonas to bed, he’d asked her for a story. Ben was tired too, and he’d lain on the bed, listening as Arianna told one of the stories she remembered her father telling her and Xander.
Halfway through, a thought occurred to Jonas. ‘What happens if my dad bursts his stitches? Will he bleed all over the carpet?’
‘I’m not going to burst my stitches, Jonas.’ Ben opened one eye.
‘Oh.’ Jonas looked slightly disappointed. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, I’m sure. Arianna’s stitches are very special. I’m not going to do any more bleeding, and particularly not all over the carpet.’
‘Okay.’ Jonas seemed happy with the explanation. He wriggled towards the side of the bed, leaving a space between himself and his father. ‘You can lie here, Arianna.’
‘Hey! Arianna’s got her own bed, you know.’ Ben’s hand went to his side as he tried not to laugh.
But Jonas shot her a pleading look, and she couldn’t resist. Arianna climbed onto the bed, snuggling between Ben and Jonas, and by the time she’d finished the story he was asleep.
She should go, now. But when she moved she felt Ben’s hand close around hers. ‘Don’t. Please.’
He’d been so concerned about Jonas, but he needed a little comfort too. Carefully she snuggled against him, holding his hand between hers.
Maybe she’d wait until Ben was asleep too, and then leave. But Arianna didn’t think so. It felt that this was where she was meant to be, where she would have been if fate hadn’t intervened and changed the trajectory of her life. Part of a family that was stronger together than it was apart.
It couldn’t happen. But, for this one night, she could pretend it might.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SOME WOUNDS DIDN’T HEAL.
The one on Ben’s side was going to be fine. He was a little stiff and sore, but the sudden, unreasoning panic when he’d seen the blood had been an overreaction.
Maybe the result of a greater wound, which had been inflicted when Emma died. Mostly Ben could live with the ache, but at times like these it seemed to be draining the life blood from him. He’d tried to help Jem, because protecting his patients had become second nature to him. But he couldn’t even protect the people he loved. Certainly not Emma, and now he’d taken the risk that Jonas might lose the only parent he had left, because instinct had told him that he must prevent Jem from getting anywhere near Arianna.
It was a conundrum. One that could only be solved by letting Arianna go, but that seemed impossible right now. One more wound that might never heal.
The next day was Saturday, and Arianna spent it with him at the hotel, looking after all four of the children while Lizzie and James went out sightseeing together. When there were no demands from the kids to animate her, she too seemed thoughtful and quiet.
‘You’re staying here tonight?’ Arianna asked after they’d put the children to bed and Lizzie and James had returned to watch them.
‘I could...’ Perhaps she
wanted to spend the night alone, to think about whatever was bugging her. Tonight suddenly seemed an impossibly long time and he drew her close, hugging her.
‘Or you could come back to my place?’ She turned her gaze up to meet his, and Ben could feel the echoes of the nights they’d spent together shivering through him, driving away all of the doubts and what-ifs.
‘I’d really like that...’
* * *
As soon as her front door closed behind them, she kissed him. As if she was intent on driving away the silences of the day, submerging them in the chemistry that never failed them when they were alone.
‘Come and lie down...’ She’d been tending to him all day, making sure he didn’t overdo things, but this was clearly quite a different request.
She led him into the bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it from his shoulders. Ben let her do it, allowing these moments to blot out the past and the future, everything other than Arianna. She undressed him slowly, carefully, piling pillows so that he could recline on the bed.
‘I can be very gentle with you.’ Her fingers grazed the top button of her dress, the gesture unbearably erotic. Ben grinned.
‘I’d prefer it if you left out the very. Maybe we could just take a little break to mop up if I start to bleed all over the carpet, eh?’
She smiled, slowly unbuttoning her dress. Stopping for one agonising minute before she let it fall to the floor at her feet.
‘You’ve been wearing that underwear all day, and you never told me?’ Ben shot her a reproachful look. Arianna’s underwear was a constant fascination to him. Practical but pretty, and very sexy.
‘I didn’t want to give you ideas you couldn’t follow through on...’ Her wicked smile was the only thing that mattered to Ben right now.
‘I can follow through. Don’t you worry about that.’
She nodded, her gaze sweeping his body. It must be pretty obvious to her that he had every intention of following through, and then some. Climbing onto the bed, she kissed him lightly on the lips.
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