‘At least we’re both safe.’
‘We should book a hotel, then...’ Anouk looked dazed. ‘I’ll call now.’
Guilt jostled around Saskia’s chest.
‘Not for me.’ She placed her hand over Anouk’s to still her, even as she reached into her locker for her mobile. ‘I’m... I have somewhere to be.’
‘Where?’
The guilt swelled. And with it another sharp abdominal pain. It took everything she had not to wince. Not to let Anouk see. Not until she knew what was going on with her body, and not until she’d told Malachi first.
‘I... I’m staying with Malachi,’ she managed.
‘With Malachi?’
Anouk frowned, peering at her a little too closely for Saskia’s peace of mind. And then the unmistakable baritone of Sol Gunn, top neurosurgeon and Malachi’s brother, came to her rescue.
‘Saskia? Are you in here?’
And then he appeared in person, and all Saskia could wonder was whether he knew about her and his brother. If so, how much did he know?
But when he rounded the corner fully, his attention seemed distracted.
‘Oh, Anouk...’
He paused for a fraction of a second before turning back to her. Curious.
‘Mal says you need to get going, Saskia. His heli is on the roof and they want it cleared in case another emergency has to come in.’
‘I’m going,’ Saskia muttered, but Sol had already turned back to her friend, an intense expression clouding his face.
‘If you’re calling for a hotel, Anouk, you’re too late. I heard a couple of guys complaining an hour ago that every hotel in the city is booked out. The cordon is quite extensive—lots of apartment blocks have been evacuated.’
‘Great.’
Anouk gritted her teeth and Saskia couldn’t bring herself to leave. If their apartment block was in the cordon then Anouk would have nowhere to go. Yet she could hardly invite her back to Malachi’s; she didn’t even know where she stood with him herself.
‘You could find an on-call room,’ she suggested hesitantly.
‘I’m guessing they’ll all be taken, too,’ Sol told them. ‘They’re setting up temporary beds in community centres all around the place.’
‘Oh...’ Anouk’s face fell, and Saskia couldn’t help grabbing her friend’s hand.
‘I could speak to Malachi? See if you can come with us?’
‘Or you could just stay with me,’ Sol cut in quietly, firmly.
He didn’t add to the sentence, but it hung there in the silence. Slowly, so slowly, the reason for the tension between Sol and Anouk dawned on her.
Could it really be...?
‘Thanks,’ Anouk managed stiffly, ‘but I don’t think it’s a good idea.’
It was just too deliciously ironic to be true. Her and Malachi? Anouk and Sol?
‘That’s a great idea,’ Saskia gushed, before Anouk could shut him down.
When was the last time Anouk had done anything crazy? Why not now?