PROLOGUE

Rubbing her eyes, Lindsey Helm slowly stood up from her post at the nurses’ station in the hospital and walked down the quiet hallway to the back room to organize supplies. Most nights, she loved the quietness of the calm hospital. This wasn’t one of them.

She was carrying a full course load to finish her nursing degree and working forty hours a week, and it was beginning to catch up with her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a night out on the town, seen her best friend, Stormy, or done something as luxurious as take a long bath.

But it would all be worth it in the end. She’d inherited her family’s work ethic, and growing up, her parents had taught her that the only way to succeed in life was to put in one hundred percent effort no matter the situation. She’d been taught to work hard, and she wasn’t going to start complaining now. Lindsey would never be happy being handed something for free. It meant nothing unless she’d earned it.

Her brothers—her wonderful, amazing, over-protective brothers—always tried to help her, to carry her along, but that wasn’t what she wanted. They’d managed to better their lives, just as her parents had wanted, and she needed to prove she could do the same.

Though her family hadn’t had a lot of money while she was growing up, they had always provided ample love. Even though the finances had changed, thanks to the hard work of her brothers, the love remained as strong as ever.

Leaning against the dim storage wall, she rubbed her temples. Was it terrible of her to hope for a trauma just so she could stay alert? Yeah, that probably wasn’t the best thing to hope for.

Another lesson her mother had always taught her was to be careful what you wished for.

A loud crashing noise, followed by the echoing shout of a male voice, snapped Lindsey into high alert. She took a step toward the door and a chill ran down her spine. This wasn’t the sound of EMTs barreling into the ER.

An uneasy fear gripped her. She tried to tell herself that it was nothing more than a violent patient whom the staff was trying to restrain. Still, something didn’t feel right, which left her frozen where she stood instead of rushing ahead. Even though, normally, she would be in professional mode, she felt as if she should stay exactly where she was.

Ridiculous.

A scream sounded and prisms of fear shot through Lindsey’s entire body. Moving away from the door, she found a wrapped scalpel, grabbed it, took off the covering, and stuck the unsheathed blade in her scrub pocket. She couldn’t just continue to hide in the closet, though. It was three in the morning, and there was only minimal staff in the ER. They would need her in there.

Her coworkers were out there. Patients needed her, and she had a responsibility to help. She was trained for this and didn’t have time to panic. Gathering every ounce of courage, she cracked open the door. She couldn’t see anything, but she could hear cries from down the hallway.

Leaning against the wall, Lindsey slowly made her way toward the nurses’ station, listening for further sound. There was nothing. The lack of noise had her more worried than the scream she’d heard not long ago.

When she reached the end of the hallway she peeked around the corner, but didn’t see a single person. It was okay, she assured herself as she moved a little quicker to go down the next hallway, which led to the ER doors.

She was sure her friend Sandy was in there helping Dr. Stamos with an unruly patient. The paramedics who had most likely brought the patient in must have already had the situation fully under control since she’d taken too long in the supply closet.

Pushing open the ER door, she didn’t immediately see the crew. Her worry was for nothing, she assured herself.

“Dr. Stamos,” she called out.

The ER door slammed shut behind her, taking her breath away and causing her to jump at least a foot in the air.

“Hmm. What do we have here?” A man in desperate need of a haircut and shave took his time perusing her body from head to toe with beady eyes as he shifted from foot to foot in front of her. “Had I known such hot doctors were in this hospital, I woulda come in a whole lot sooner.”

Lindsey took a few seconds to assess the situation. The man was obviously high on something, or more likely, many somethings. She didn’t want to be within grabbing distance of him. Taking a couple of side steps, she scooted away, trying to nonchalantly put much-needed distance between them.

He wasn’t necessarily acting violently at this point, but she almost felt naked with the way he was staring at her, as if he could see her body through the loose scrubs. Where in the hell were the paramedics and the doctor? And where was Sandy?

“What are you doing in here?” Lindsey asked him with as much calmness as she could muster.

His scabbed lips went up in a grin. “I need some medical care, doc,” he said, taking a step closer to her. She shifted sideways and backward.

“I’m not a doctor, but I can get one for you,” she said, wanting to get away from this man and to a phone where she could call for reinforcements.

His laugh sent a chill through her. “This place seems like a ghost town to me, lil’ doc,” he told her.

Lindsey weighed her odds of getting through the door she’d just come in, but the man was nearer to it than she was. Plus, she wasn’t sure where Dr. Stamos or Sandy were and she felt like an animal in a small cage.

“There are plenty of staff here, sir. If you just sit down over there, I’ll get someone to help you right away,” she said with bravado.