“Hi there!” Paige called. She looked at Ken Mallory in surprise. “Oh, Dr. Mallory! I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Well, I…I…”
“We went out to dinner,” Kat said.
Mallory was filled with a dark rage. He fought to control it. He turned to Kat. “I should go. It’s late and I have a big day tomorrow.”
“Oh. I’m sorry you’re leaving,” Kat said. There was a world of promise in her eyes.
Mallory said, “What about tomorrow night?”
“I’d love to…”
“Great!”
“…but I can’t.”
“Oh. Well, what about Friday?”
Kat frowned. “Oh, dear. I’m afraid Friday isn’t good, either.”
Mallory was getting desperate. “Saturday?”
Kat smiled. “Saturday would be lovely.”
He nodded, relieved. “Good. Saturday it is, then.”
He turned to Paige and Honey. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
Kat walked Mallory to the door. “Sweet dreams,” she said softly. “I’m going to dream about you.”
Mallory squeezed her hand. “I believe in making dreams come true. We’ll make up for this Saturday night.”
“I can’t wait.”
That night, Kat lay in her bed thinking about Mallory. She hated him. But to her surprise, she had enjoyed the evening. She was sure that Mallory had enjoyed it too, in spite of the fact that he was playing a game. If only this were real, Kat thought, and not a game. She had no idea how dangerous a game it was.
Chapter Seventeen
Maybe it’s the weather, Paige thought wearily. It was cold and dreary outside, with a gray driving rain that depressed the spirits. Her day had begun at six o’clock in the morning, and it was filled with constant problems. The hospital seemed to be full of gomers, all complaining at once. The nurses were surly and careless. They drew blood from the wrong patients, lost X-rays that were urgently needed, and snapped at the patients. In addition, there was a staff shortage because of a flu epidemic. It was that kind of day.
The only bright spot was the telephone call from Jason Curtis.
“Hello,” he said cheerily. “Just thought I’d check in and see how all our patients are doing.”
“They’re surviving.”
“Any chance of our having lunch?”
Paige laughed. “What’s lunch? If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to grab a stale sandwich about four o’clock this afternoon. It’s pretty hectic around here.”
“All right. I won’t keep you. May I call you again?”
“All right.” No harm in that.
“Bye.”
Paige worked until midnight without a moment to rest, and when she was finally relieved, she was almost too tired to move. She briefly debated staying at the hospital and sleeping on the cot in the on-call room, but the thought of her warm, cozy bed at home was too tempting. She changed clothes and lurched her way to the elevator.
Dr. Peterson came up to her. “My God!” he said. “Where’s the cat that dragged you in?”
Paige smiled wearily. “Do I look that bad?”
“Worse.” Peterson grinned. “You’re going home now?”
Paige nodded.
“You’re lucky. I’m just starting.”
The elevator arrived. Paige stood there half asleep.
Peterson said gently, “Paige?”
She shook herself awake. “Yes?”
“Are you going to be able to drive home?”
“Sure,” Paige mumbled. “And when I get there, I’m going to sleep for twenty-four hours straight.”
She walked to the parking lot and got into her car. She sat there drained, too tired to turn on the ignition. I mustn’t go to sleep here. I’ll sleep at home.
Paige drove out of the parking lot and headed toward the apartment. She was unaware of how erratically she was driving until a driver yelled at her, “Hey, get off the road, you drunken broad!”
She forced herself to concentrate. I must not fall asleep . . I must not fall asleep. She snapped the radio on and turned the volume up loud. When she reached her apartment building, she sat in the car for a long time before she was able to summon enough strength to go upstairs.
Kat and Honey were in their beds, asleep. Paige looked at the clock at her bedside. One o’clock in the morning. She stumbled into her bedroom and started to get undressed, but the effort was too much for her. She fell into bed with her clothes on, and in an instant was sound asleep.