Read Online Masquerade by Nicole Flockton - Free Book Online

affected her.
    “I’m fine, but thanks. I’ll go see to the other victim and establish the extent of his injury.” She glanced over to the pale face of the other chef. It wasn’t burn marks that stained his uniform but blood and lots of it. She looked around the room and asked. “Is there a first aid kit here?”
    “We’ve got this one,” another staff member replied, holding a very basic kit for her to see.
    Sophie realized that kit wasn’t going to have the necessary pressure packs to stop the bleeding. “Looks like we’re going to need my kit, too,” she muttered to herself.
    “I can arrange for someone to get it for you.”
    Sophie turned and looked over her left shoulder where the owner of the voice stood. It seemed the maître d had realized it wasn’t a slight accident.
    “Thanks, Simon. They can go next door and see Cliff the doorman. Tell him that Sophie Franklyn from apartment six-twelve B needs her first aid kit. He’ll know where it is.”
    She trusted Simon to follow her instructions. She had briefed Cliff on the location of her kit just in case something like this in the building ever occurred.
    With careful steps, she made her way to the sink and her other patient. She squatted down and saw fear in the man’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Sophie and I’m a nurse. What’s your name and can you tell me what happened?”
    Compassion filled her as she watched him struggle to try to form the words. She touched his shoulders. “It’s okay, take your time.”
    “Josh. It’s all a blur. I cut my arm. Then I heard a whoosh sound. Next I knew, Tim started to scream and fall to the floor with the pot following him down.” He looked up at with a blank stare — shock was setting in, too. “We were joking around and then … I don’t know what happened.”
    “Josh, shh, it’s going to be okay. Let’s take a look at that cut, shall we?” She gently reached out and took hold of his injured arm. Sophie bit her lip as she lifted the cloth he’d placed over the gash.
    The wound was deep, she could see clear through to the bone. Fortunately, he hadn’t cut a major artery. Still, his blood loss would be significant if other help didn’t arrive soon.
    “Has someone called an ambulance yet?” she asked, looking around at the rest of the kitchen staff.
    “Yes, I did.” Simon had arrived back with her bag. She smiled gratefully at him.
    “Thanks. Did the operator say how long the ambulance would be?”
    Sophie had to stand quickly and take the bag off him as he swayed at the sight of the blood seeping from Josh’s arm.
    She gave him a shake and he looked up with dazed eyes. “Simon,” she said, her voice soft and soothing. “You’ve been a big help, now can you wait out front for the ambulance?”
    He nodded and she let him go. She knelt back down, opened her bag, and took out a pressure bandage. She quickly wrapped it around Josh’s arm. She could hear Alex talking to his patient, his tone getting louder and louder and louder. He needed her help.
    “That should stem the flow of blood until the paramedics arrive and can deal with you. Now I need to go help Alex with Tim. Will you be okay?”
    She waited for a few seconds before Josh nodded his head. “Yeah, thanks, Sophie. Help Tim please, he’s a good … friend.”
    Sophie realized then there was more between the two than just a work relationship.
    “Sophie, I need you now.” Alex’s voice thundered over to her. She gave Josh a quick smile, collected her bag, and rushed over to Alex’s side.
    Sophie assessed the situation and knew exactly what needed to be done. She quickly pulled out a pack of saline to set up a drip. Fortunately, his left arm was uninjured and she was able to establish a vein to administer the IV.
    “I’m in. How’s his hand looking?”
    When silence greeted her, she looked up. Her heart plummeted at what she saw in Alex’s eyes. The prognosis didn’t look good.
    She thought about the look of pain in Josh’s eyes —