he shrill Code Blue alarm erupted through the I

mbled up from the floor and checked Julian's neck first. The catheter

he ward sister shouted from the nurses' station as the heavy

l intercom handset and

, roughly six feet tall, scar on left cheek, disguised

ng bays, only to catch a flash of white fabric behind the corner pillar. The a

r stomach. She took half a st

roat, and pressed the cold steel of a tactical knife hard against her

er ear, his arm crushing her windpipe as he dra

ease the pressure on her throat, forcing hers

fire door at the edge of the west stairwell, sharp, h

sed in black tactical gear, he held a suppressed Glock pistol aimed squarely

ce was quiet, flat, and cold enough

he sight of the military squad, and he dug

I slit her thr

e looked past the man's shoulder

the frame of his pistol. Having worked trauma bays under extreme pressure, Rosie read the silent cue in his eye

coldly, taking one slow step forward to close the an

Cameron's boots, his grip on the k

d stay

of an inch off her pulse, Rosie lifted her heavy nursing shoe and stamped

n, his choke hold loos

ulled the

traight through the attacker's right wrist, spraying blood

n swung his uninjured left arm an

l behind the fire door. Losing her balance completely, Rosie p

as she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing f

lunged across the threshold and caught her mid

hrew himself into the stairwell, wrapping both a

the sharp edges of the stairs, followed by a low, muffled groan above her head. Wrapped inside the smell of gunsmoke and cedarwood on h

slammed against the metal railing at th

hrough his frame, yet the hand cradling

choed as the soldiers pinned the gunman to the floor. Down

her shaking head and looked straight into his

her forehead as he sp

you h

slowly shook her head, then froze as her eyes caught the concrete wa