Ben’s laced hands were already regularly pressing down hard on John’s sternum. ‘Five, six, seven.’ Where the hell’s tha
t ambulance?
Tori looked around, back to him and shook her head once.
Had he spoken aloud? Or had she read his mind? He hoped the second option as he didn’t want to terrify Rita any more than she already was. But that ambulance was needed right now. If not minutes ago. There’d be a defibrillator on board to shock John. Hopefully bring him back to life. How far away was the nearest hospital? Or the ambulance station—if they had that system here. Why in France, John? I feel hog-tied. The language is foreign, the system unknown. But it didn’t really matter where they were. This was John, his best mate, and at the moment he’d give anything to see him open his eyes and ask what was going on.
‘Twenty-one, twenty-two.’
Tori was ready to breathe two lungfuls of air into John the moment Ben reached thirty compressions. Then they’d start all over again. And again. Damn, he had never felt so helpless.
His shoulders were tight, his arms already feeling a pain, but he’d keep going for as long as it took. This was John.
The sound of a siren filled him with relief but he didn’t stop the compressions until two paramedics carrying a medical kit and the most important defibrillator he’d ever set his gaze on were beside him and calmly, quickly going about their jobs, attaching the pads for the electric current to John’s chest, feeling the carotid to confirm what was obvious but had to be checked.
An ECG machine was applied as well, the flat line terrifying, despite how often Ben had witnessed that in his career. He looked for the woman to translate. ‘Tell them he went into cardiac arrest less than three minutes ago.’ Still time to get a favourable outcome. Barely, but barely was better than not at all.
As the paramedics took over, Ben stepped back, reluctant to let go but aware these men knew how to do their jobs as well as he did. He reached for Rita, wrapped her in a hug. There was nothing he could say to alleviate her fear so he kept quiet. On his other side Tori stood watching every action, her body tight with worry.
When one of the paramedics called out something they stepped back, before the woman had even interpreted the phrase as stand clear. They all stared at the monitor reading John’s heart, willing him back to life. Nothing happened.
‘Come on, John,’ Rita cried. ‘You can do it. You have to. Damn you, start breathing.’ Tears streamed down her cheeks. ‘John. Please. Remember the kids.’
Her anguish cut Ben deep. He felt so useless. A cardiac specialist and right now there was nothing he could do to save his friend’s life. He felt a hand on his arm, knew it was Tori. Thank goodness she was here with them. Her presence couldn’t change the outcome, but he did feel something soft curl around his heart because of her. She was rooting for John and Rita, for him. And right now he needed her.
If the worst happened... He gagged. It won’t. It can’t.
‘Stand clear.’ The paramedic had reset the defibrillator.
John’s body partially lifted off the floor. Then he slammed back down, his head hitting the cushion.
‘We’ve got a pulse.’ At least Ben presumed that’s what the grimly smiling paramedic said to them as he pointed to the ECG machine.
Ben watched that line on the tiny screen as it flicked up and down, no longer ruler straight at the bottom of the picture. John wasn’t out of trouble yet, but he was a damned sight better off than he had been seconds ago.
Rita collapsed against him, her body racked with shivers. ‘Is he...? Will he...?’
‘Shh. At the moment John’s heart is working, though nowhere near perfectly.’ That was going to take diagnosis and treatment, and a lot of time in bed. If he was lucky. ‘He’s breathing again.’ He’d learned at the beginning of his career to keep things simple when patients’ relatives were in shock. Rita was no slug but right now she’d barely be absorbing any details except that John was alive. ‘These men will transfer him to hospital where he’ll be put onto a heart support machine to be monitored thoroughly.’
One of the paramedics held up a plastic board with a sheet clipped to it. ‘Nom?’
‘He needs John’s details,’ Tori said as she took the board. ‘What’s John’s full name, Rita?’
‘John Barry McIntyre.’
‘Date of birth?’
Surprisingly quickly, Tori had filled in every line and was handing back the information. When the paramedic asked her another question she tipped her head slightly. ‘Pardon?’
The helpful woman stepped up. ‘He’s telling you to bring insurance details to the hospital.’
‘But that’s back in our hotel. I’m not going there. I’m going with John.’ Rita turned to look at her husband. ‘I’m not letting him out of my sight.’
Tori took her hand. ‘Tell me where you keep your travel documents and I’ll go get them. Though if you’ve got your credit card with you, that’s probably all you need to get sorted.’
‘Will you? Everything’s in the safe, and our code is four-five-three-two.’
‘I’ll need your room key.’ Tori spoke softly.
‘Duh. Of course. Tori, will John be all right now?’
Ben’s stomach clenched at the unfair but expected question. No one knew the answer to that. He saved Tori by saying, ‘Rita, John is gravely ill. But he is alive. Hang on to that.’
Rita’s bottom lip trembled. ‘I understand. I was looking for rainbows.’
Tori gave her a sad smile. ‘I like that. Rainbows. You hang on to yours. Now, where’s our new friend? We need taxis and to find out where they’re taking John.’
‘All sorted,’ she was told. ‘One taxi will go to the hospital and the other will take you to the hotel and wait to take you to the hospital when you’re ready.’
Ben reached out and shook her hand. ‘Thank you for everything.’
‘You’re welcome. I hope all goes well for you.’ She nodded to Rita. ‘Times like this you wish you were at home, I know.’
Never a truer word, Ben thought as he led Rita out to their taxi. But at least they could be thankful for the excellent hospitals here. Watching John being loaded into the ambulance, he said, ‘Rita, you can go with John.’
‘I’d like to. Would they mind?’
‘Looks to me like they’re waving you over. Go on. I’ll be right behind you all the way.’ If John arrested again the ambulance would pull over while the paramedics tried to resuscitate him and he’d be in that ambulance fast. But it wouldn’t be easy for Rita, being stuck in there and not understanding a word the men might say. Still he added, ‘You’ll be fine.’
As the back doors closed John and Rita in, Ben looked around for Tori. ‘Hey,’ he called as she was about to get into her taxi.
‘Hey, yourself.’ Her smile was tired but full of understanding and something else. Not love? No, he’d got that wrong. Just because he wanted it, it didn’t mean he was going to get it. ‘See you shortly.’
Then she was gone, the taxi speeding down the narrow road as though John was the passenger and not Tori.
Tori. There when he’d needed her. Quietly efficient, backing his every move, even being one step ahead of him at times. Tori. They’d been in sync—unlike the end days of their marriage.
The taxi moved forwards, tailing the ambulance, his driver obviously not finding it necessary to get him to the hospital any sooner than John. Which suited Ben just fine. He wanted to know if John had another heart failure. Wanted to be there for him, and Rita.
God damn, John. How long have you been feeling unwell? All day? All week? Longer?
Ben thought back to the first moment he’d seen his friend on day one of the conference. Other than the weight gain John had looked fine. But he’d been quiet throughout dinner, hardly touching his food. Well, mate, you’re going to get a telling off for scaring Rita and me. And Tori.
Tori. Her name spun into his mind so fast he gasped. His wife. Ex maybe, but
still Tori. Not quite as he remembered her. She didn’t laugh so much these days, hardly at all really, and one of the things he’d loved about her was her laughter. Everything and anything had brought that deep, heart-warming sound bubbling over her lips. She’d taken her career seriously but she’d been full of sunshine and happiness.
‘Ici, monsieur.’
‘What?’ Ben looked around, surprised to find they were at the hospital and the ambulance was backing into the emergency bay. He handed over far too much money and leapt out to go be with Rita. He had her and John to think about now. Nothing else mattered until John’s prognosis was good and he was on the road to recovery.
Nothing else.
No one else.
How long will it take you to get here, Tori?
CHAPTER SIX
‘GO AND GET something to eat, you two.’ Rita stood before them, looking exhausted and somehow smaller. ‘Or have a strong coffee anyway.’
Tori eased herself up from the uncomfortable, moulded plastic chair she’d spent half the night on, and stretched up onto her toes, bent backwards to undo some of the kinks in her muscles. It had been a long night sitting outside the intensive care unit, gleaning the occasional piece of information about John’s progress. ‘Not hungry, but I could murder a coffee. Why don’t you come with us? We can go to the hospital cafeteria so you’re not far away from John.’
Ben slowly unwound his tall frame and came to his feet. ‘How’s he doing now?’
Rita dragged her hands down her pale cheeks. ‘Holding his own. The doctor says he needs complete rest and quiet. He’s been very lucky. We’ve been extraordinarily lucky.’
This lovely couple had had a second chance. They were lucky. In some ways Tori hoped Rita didn’t understand how close she’d come to losing her husband or she’d spend the rest of her life worrying about him every time he so much as winced. During the night Monsieur Leclare had come to the hospital after hearing about John’s heart attack from the specialist treating him. The fact they were all attending the conference had made short work of the barriers usually surrounding a patient. Rita had been adamant that Tori and Ben be in on any conversation about John’s condition, and Luc had been exemplary in explaining everything.