Wounded Heart excerpt

Hi peeps,

Excitementment news, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF ER ROMANCE is available! Well, the ebook version and the UK paperback are available, you North American peeps will have to wait another couple of weeks before the US paperback version is available. But still! Exciting!

To celebrate, here’s an excerpt from my contribution, ‘Wounded Heart’. Enjoy!
 

A doctor and a policewoman take their burgeoning romance to the next level while she guards a wounded witness . . .
 
 
~ Excerpt ~

“Detective Constable Hicks?”

Tired in her bones, Ella removed her hand from her eyes and focussed on the two uniformed constables standing straight and tall before her, hats tucked under their arms. “Yes?”

One of the constables stepped forward. “I’m Constable Ayres, and this is Constable Taylor. We’re here to protect the patient.”

“Good.” She nodded toward the A&E door. “The patient is currently in an A&E Trauma Room, and we will be informed of any developments.” Her cell phone buzzed. Pulling it from her pocket, she said, “You two stay on point, make sure no one enters through that door that isn’t supposed to be there.”

The uniforms nodded and stationed themselves at the swinging doors. Never taking her eyes from them, she pressed ‘accept’ and raised the phone to her ear. “Hicks.”

“Detective Constable, how is the witness?”

At the sound of her sergeant’s voice, she straightened. “Sir, he’s currently in A&E. The nursing staff will inform me the moment we’re allowed access.”

“Good.” Crosby exhaled. “Christ Almighty, Hicks, this was a royal fuck up.”

“Yes, sir.” Again she saw the chaos of an operation gone bad. Simmons spinning like a top, an almost comical surprise on his face. Delayed reaction from the police surrounding him. The blood. God, the blood.

Pushing the horror aside, she focussed on work. “Sir, is there any update on the situation?”

“They’re still searching for Collier, but no one is hopeful of a capture.” Crosby exhaled again. She could almost picture him, lines cut deep into a careworn face, tired eyes speaking of his concern as his words never would. “We’re reliant on that witness. He better fucking hope to whatever God he prays to he can identify Collier.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Make sure you get him to talk, Hicks. Don’t fuck up.” His tone implied ‘again’.

Guilt turned her stomach to knots. “I won’t, sir.”

“Good. Report in one hour.” The phone went dead.

Slowly, Ella lowered the phone and replaced it in her pocket. Pushing to her feet, she started toward Ayres and Taylor.

The A&E doors swung open and a doctor strode though, his gaze searching the waiting area. Ayres and Taylor straightened, sharp eyes assessing the situation but there was no need. This doctor she knew.

Ripley.

His chocolate brown hair was askew, probably from his surgical cap, and a shadow of beard darkened his jaw. The white jacket did nothing to hide his lean form or broad shoulders, and the green of his shirt somehow highlighted the flecks of green in his hazel eyes. As he looked at her, the beginnings of a smile quirked his sensuous mouth, before settling back into lines of concern.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to focus on work. Just work. She was responsible for the safety and interrogation of a witness important to both Federal and local police. She wasn’t going to allow her attraction to a doctor whose first name she didn’t even know distract her.

Squaring her shoulders, she nodded a greeting. “Dr. Ripley.”

“Detective Constable Hicks,” he said solemnly. Even as his eyes twinkled. “Good to see you again.”
 
 

17 suspense-filled tales of ER romance Succumb to these completely addictive and highly contagious medical romances set in the Emergency Room and throughout the hospital. These are stories that go way beyond the classic doctor-nurse romances of yesteryear. This is medical romance reinvented for today, with an invigorating injection of edgy modern romantic suspense, with stories by bestselling writers Alina Adams, Tina Beckett, Sam Bradley, Karen Campbell, Lucy Clark, Cynthia D’Alba, Cassandra Dean, Jacqueline Diamond, Dianne Drake, Fiona Lowe, Janice Lynn, Sue MacKay, Wendy Marcus, Lynne Marshall, Julie Rowe, Patti Shenberger and Abbi Wilder.

· A nurse transfers to a hospital halfway across the country only to run into the handsome young doctor she never quite got over . . .

· Shy residents lock eyes in a lonely midnight cafeteria . . .

· A doctor and a policewoman take their burgeoning romance to the next level while she guards a wounded witness . . .

· A famous surgeon, back to woo an old flame, gets his fingers burnt . . .

Call a code – for love!