closer we can land?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Not for a plane this size. There’s only the South China Sea. Temur Sapora is the nearest airport from here.’
Philippe grimaced. For the first time he wished he’d taken the royal private jet. It was smaller and could probably have landed on a much shorter airstrip. But he’d wanted to be incognito—he’d wanted to have the chance of having a true holiday before he had to head back home to Corinez to take up his role in spearheading some changes in the healthcare system. The King had trained his children well. One trained in the armed forces to be the next King, one trained as a doctor to help facilitate changes in healthcare, and one trained as an accountant to join the advisory committee on finance.
But bringing the royal jet to Temur Sapora would just have alerted most of the news agencies around the world. Not the kind of holiday he wanted.
‘Give me a number for your chest pain, Harry, between one and ten.’ He couldn’t help it. Moving into complete doctor mode was so natural to him.
The redness started to fade from Harry’s face, replaced by a horrible paleness. Harry didn’t answer.
Philippe’s stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. As a doctor he’d dealt with many emergencies, but not at thirty thousand feet—and not without any real supplies. He had a horrible sinking feeling that what he needed right now was some kind of anticoagulant to stop the current damage to Harry’s heart. This guy was having a heart attack. And those kind of meds weren’t available at thirty thousand feet.
Within a few seconds Harry slumped over.
The steward panicked and ran to get their emergency kit and defibrillator. Philippe slid Harry to the floor. The passengers close by were wide-eyed but moved swiftly aside to let Philippe work.
Ten minutes later Philippe ran his fingers through his dark hair and let out an angry sigh. It was impossible. The defibrillator wasn’t even picking up a shockable rhythm. CPR was having no effect and they were too far away from landing to continue indefinitely.
He stared down at Harry and withdrew his hands slowly, making a final check of the pulse before he glanced at his watch. ‘Time of death, two-fifty-six,’ he said as he shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Harry,’ he said quietly. ‘I guess you’re not getting the trip of a lifetime any more.’
ARISSA GLANCED AT her watch. It was odd. Harry Reacher’s plane had landed hours ago and he should have been here by now.
Her stomach squeezed. She hoped he hadn’t had a last-minute change of heart. Getting doctors here was difficult enough. As it was, she used all her own holidays to cover here five weeks a year.
She finished scrubbing her hands at the sink and moved over to the small trolley she had set up. ‘Okay, Adilah, let’s get a proper look at that finger.’
She pulled on some gloves and touched Adilah’s finger to ensure the local anaesthetic had taken effect. Her mother adjusted Adilah on her knee. ‘How many stitches do you think it will need?’
Arissa gave a smile. ‘I think about four will be enough. That’s a nasty cut you gave yourself, Adilah. But I’ll have it fixed in no time and it won’t hurt a bit.’
Arissa bent down and started making the tiny stitches as she sang a nursery rhyme that her mother had taught her as a child. Adilah smiled and joined in. Within a few minutes Arissa was done, giving the wound a final check and covering it with a small dressing. She pulled out her prescription pad. ‘I’m going to give you some antibiotics for Adilah, as the wound was pretty dirty when she got here. She’s more liable to infection than most, so hopefully this will keep things at bay.’
Adilah’s mother gave a grateful nod. Arissa noted the dark circles under her eyes. Having a five-year-old with leukaemia was taking its toll. ‘Bring her back if she shows sign of a temperature or any discharge from the wound. Otherwise try and keep the dressing dry for the next few days. It should heal without any problems.’
There was a movement at the door, and Arissa looked up. Darn it. Another tourist, doubtless looking for the luxury resort that had a similar name to their clinic.
‘Give me a minute.’ She waved her hand as she moved to dispose of the items on the trolley and wash her hands again.
Instead of waiting at the door the curious tourist stepped inside, nodding at Adilah and her mother as they left and then turning his head from side to side, scanning the clinic area.
Arissa felt her hackles rise. He was likely looking for luxury Egyptian cotton sheets, straw parasols, cocktails and personal waiters. This simple clinic would be something completely outwith his normal environment.
She sighed and turned around, trying her best to paste a smile on her face. ‘Are you lost?’ Her heart stopped somewhere in her chest. Wow. Okay, Mr Tourist was about to knock Hugh Jackman off her ‘if only’ list and steal his place.
Dark hair and dark eyes, combined with height and a muscular build. He was dragging some kind of backpack behind him. Not like the usual designer luggage she might have expected.
He was holding a baseball cap in his hand. He tilted his head to the side. ‘Arissa Cotter?’
She blinked. This couldn’t be her guy. Wasn’t Dr Reacher in his sixties? She held her breath for a second. ‘Who wants to know?’
Her heart started thudding against her chest as she tried to control her breathing. Was he a reporter? A private investigator? Had the secret she’d tried to hide for the last few years finally tracked her down?
The man crossed the room in three long strides, holding his hand out towards her. ‘Philippe...’ He paused, then gave the briefest shake of his head. ‘I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.’
She didn’t like this. She didn’t like this at all. She automatically stepped back and he looked a little surprised.
It didn’t matter that his eyes were the darkest brown she’d ever seen. Her breath was tangling somewhere inside her, as she wondered if things were about to come crashing down around her.
She didn’t answer him. Her words caught somewhere between her chest and throat.
He took a deep breath. ‘I’m really sorry to tell you that I was on the plane next to Dr Harry Reacher. He had a heart attack while we were in midair.’
It took a few seconds for the words to process. ‘Wh-what?’
Her brain jumped away from the fear. For a few moments she felt utterly selfish. She’d imagined this was all about her. ‘Is he in the hospital?’
Something flitted across the eyes of the man calling himself Philippe and she knew instantly what came next. A horrible prickling feeling spread over her skin.
‘Oh, no,’ were all the words she could form. She took a deep breath. She’d never had a chance to meet Harry Reacher but his emails over the last few months had brightened her days, his enthusiasm and passion for his work brimming over in every sentence.
The
