Free Lightning Strikes Part 2 (36 Hours) by Mary Lynn Baxter Page B

down,” Noah encouraged her in a calm, no-nonsense doctor’s voice. “Tell us what happened.”
    “He had a fight with his girlfriend,” the nurse wailed. “Afterward, he cut himself.”
    “Where did he get the knife?”
    “It wasn’t a knife. He used a razor blade. We found it on the floor.”
    “He hasn’t come through ER,” Amanda said. “But we’ll search every nook and cranny to make sure.” She turned and faced the staff. “Get to it.”
    “Since Malcom’s covering OR, I can lend a hand.”
    “Thanks, Dr. Howell,” the redhead said. “If we don’t find Tommy—”
    “We will.”
    Noah’s voice was again hard, but confident. For the second time since she’d learned he’d be on call with her, Amanda was glad that he was there. If this kid wasn’t found, the hospital would suffer a black eye.
    “He’s not about to leave the hospital on a day like this,” Amanda said, her eyes straying toward the long window. Suddenly a bolt of lightning flared across the sky. She cringed, then sucked in her breath.
    A young man stood on the top of the adjacent building, his arms spread like an eagle.
    “Oh, my God, Noah,” she cried. “Look!”

Chapter Eighteen
    B right midday sun should have been moving across the sky, only it wasn’t. Torrential rains and winds continued to slash at everything in their path with the same brutality as a Texas tornado.
    Amanda stared outside the window of her office. Nothing but empty blackness met her gaze. Dark as Egypt, she thought, rubbing her arms as though they were chilly. They weren’t. This bizarre situation had left its mark. She stared at her watch and saw that it was after two o’clock on Saturday afternoon.
    She would have loved to say thank God Friday night was over, but nothing had changed. If anything, the weather predictions were worse.
    A gentle smirk touched Amanda’s lips. She wasn’t going anywhere. Her shift wasn’t over, and even if it were, she was marooned. Only a skeleton crew remained on duty in the ER, with no relief in sight. She and the nurses, and Noah, were it.
    This time Amanda’s lips tightened into a straight line. Noah again. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about him, especially when she was about to meet Gordon for breakfast, or was it lunch, in the hospital cafeteria? Gordon had called and practically begged her to meet him. He’d known that she wouldn’t leave the building, so he hadn’t even asked.
    “It’s too dangerous for you to be out on the roads,” she had said, hoping to thwart his well-intentioned effort.
    “I’m not that far away.” His voice had an obstinate ring to it. “Besides, I have a four-wheel drive. Remember?”
    “Still, the police are advising only those who have to get on the streets do so.”
    “I can make it.”
    She hadn’t argued with him any further; she simply hadn’t had the energy. Maybe it would do her good to sit at a table and actually eat a meal. She tried to recall the last time she’d eaten and couldn’t. More than food, though, she needed sleep. That short respite in the lounge hadn’t refreshed her at all. It had left her feeling drugged and drained.
    But it wasn’t just the frantic pace of the ER and her exhaustion that kept her torn up, it was dealing with Noah. If only she’d known he would get under her skin the way he had. She’d truly been caught with her dress tail flapping in the wind. Any other time that analogy would’ve brought on a smile, but not now.
    After what they had been through during the last fifteen hours, smiles were in short supply. And though she hated to acknowledge the fact, Noah had been a rock.
    If it hadn’t been for him, that young man, Tommy, who had climbed on the roof, would probably be dead. Amanda recoiled, knowing that nerve-racking experience was one she would never forget no matter how long she lived.
    The instant she had alerted Noah, his gaze had followed hers. Then he’d said without hesitation, “Come on, let’s