Secret Santa by Mina Carter Read Free Book Online Page A

same.
Although the alarm had been set off, until they got the
confirmation from Security through Drew that the alarm was real,
the staff would just treat it as a hoax. Lord knows they had enough
of those. Some kid only had to walk past once of the alarms, smash
the glass and they had to go through the whole sweep and search
procedure all over again.
    “Thanks mate, if you can bring the trolleys
around as quick as you can, I'd appreciate it. Bye.” Drew hung the
phone up, his lips compressing. It was the first time Jo had seen
him since this morning but she didn't have time to drink in the way
he looked. No time to appreciate the way he moved and the muscled
forearms visible thanks to his rolled up sleeves but she did
anyway. Within a split second though, her appraisal had cut off,
warned by the serious expression in his eyes. She knew that
look.
    “It's for real this time?” She asked, her
heart sinking as he nodded.
    “It is, fire in one of the offices. Let’s get
the patients moving.” He rose to his feet, at her side in the next
moment. He swept a loose strand of hair back over her ear and
kissed her quickly.
    “Be careful and make sure you're out quickly,
ok love?” He asked, his eyes firm on hers. Eyes filled with
concern. “Promise me.”
    “I promise.” As soon as he got her answer, he
was gone. Jo watched him walk off down the corridor, unable to
believe how things had changed between them since yesterday. The
kiss in his office, which was amazing enough in itself but added to
last night... Surely she was going to wake up any moment and find
it had all been a dream. Shaking her head to clear it, she headed
off in the other direction to start moving patients out.
    It didn’t take them long to start moving
people out. The staff worked long and hard on evacuation drills to
make sure they ran as smooth and quick as possible. Mere minutes
later Jo wheeled her last patient out to the marshal point before
heading back in to do a last quick sweep to make sure she hadn’t
missed anything.
    She hurried through the doors, smiling at
Emmie, leading another group of patients out, as she passed. Her
movements quick she checked her cubicles, pushing the curtains
right back and out of the way to give herself and anyone else a
clear line of sight.
    She pushed the last curtain open, tucking it
at the back. The next one had the curtains fully closed and she
wondered who had that section today. Quiet descended over the
department, the empty corridors and cubicles eerie for Jo, who was
used to seeing them bustling with life. Shivering a little, she
rubbed her arms. Just what she needed, to be on her own again.
    She turned, spotting a lone handbag under the
table and reaching down to pick it up. The sound of the curtain
behind her being pulled aside didn’t register at first. Not until
hard hands wrapped around her throat and started to cut off her
air…
     

Chapter Five
     
    Something was wrong. Drew stood at the
checkpoint and searched amongst the crowd for Jo. He’d already
checked once and the initial assumption he’d just missed her in the
mass of people was rapidly giving way to a gnawing, cold feeling in
his gut.
    Something was wrong.
    She’d been late for work today because of a
break-in at her place. A break in she didn’t find out about until
after he’d driven off. Sure, she’d opened the front door but she’d
stood on the doorstep waving him off before she went in. He didn’t
know a thing about it until she’d called the department a couple of
hours later to say she’d be late for her shift.
    He cursed under his breath as the crowds
moved again and he lost track of his count. His eyes narrowed,
concern visible on his usually scowling face. Something which made
a couple of his staff look at him in surprise.
    Let them look, he didn’t care. In the space
of a few short hours Jo had crawled under the iron plating over his
heart and made herself at home. She wasn’t here and he was as
worried as hell