‘I—I thought that was a pretty rare injury. I read in a book that it’s quite common to miss that particular injury on X-ray.’

‘Not in my department,’ Jago said softly, visibly unimpressed by her error. ‘Next time request the right views and check them carefully. Expect the unexpected. Rare injuries still happen. Refer the patient to the orthopaedic team for a manipulation under anaesthetic and then join me in Resus. We’ve got an RTA coming in.’

‘Yes, Mr Rodriguez.’ The young female SHO was pink with mortification and Jago gritted his teeth impatiently. The girl was sloppy and over-confident and he’d be relieved when she finished her six-month stint in two weeks’ time. Some people weren’t cut out for emergency medicine and she was one of them. And on top of that, her longing looks were beginning to irritate him. She’d made it obvious that she’d be happy to extend their relationship beyond the confines of the hospital but he had more sense than to break hearts in his own department and these days he was becoming more and more picky about who he shared his bed with.

By his side Charlotte winced. ‘Ouch—you were hard on her.’

Jago lifted a dark eyebrow, his expression cool. ‘You’d prefer that she discharged a patient with a dislocation?’

‘No, but—’

‘Patients have the right to expect the very best care when they come into this department. She has a great deal to learn.’

Ending the conversation abruptly, Jago pushed his way through the swing doors just as the ambulance roared into the ambulance bay.

The paramedics opened the back and lifted out the stretcher. ‘Young female with head and chest injuries. She was shunted from behind so we’ve had her on a backboard. GCS of 7 at the scene but she regained consciousness fairly quickly and it’s 12 now, but she’s not saying much.’ The paramedic frowned. ‘She hasn’t been able to tell us her name or anything, but we’ve got her bag so we need to try and find out who she is.’

Jago turned to look at the still form of the girl lying on the trolley and his powerful body froze in shock. He stared in stunned disbelief, his muscular shoulders tense as his eyes raked over the blonde hair and the endless limbs.

I love you, Jago.

‘I know who she is.’

Only years of exercising rigid control over his intrinsically volatile emotions prevented him from displaying his reaction to her in a very public way.

The paramedic was looking at him. ‘You do? Oh—right. Well, in that case…’

‘Take her through to Resus,’ Jago ordered, his eyes still on the long, primrose blonde hair, now matted with blood.

Do you think I’m pretty, Jago?

‘Her air bag didn’t open properly and she hit the wind-screen,’ the paramedic explained as they manoeuvred the stretcher into the A and E department. ‘Her head bled a lot and she’s going to need stitches, but we’ve put a pad on it for now. She might have chest injuries, too, from the way she was thrown against the steering-wheel. Weird really. There didn’t seem to be anyone else involved. You should have seen the car. Frankly, she was bloody lucky to escape alive.’