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the sky bridge that led to the other wing. For the length of the bridge, they’d be exposed to prying eyes from both inside the hospital and anyone keeping watch from the outside.
    Stepping out onto the sky bridge, the two men sandwiched Brenna between them. Even that was a poor excuse for protection. If the sniper knew his business, he could take out all three of them with one shot, two at the most.
    “See anything?”
    He shook his head. “It’s empty. Let’s go.”
    He took Brenna’s arm and motioned for Jarvis to do the same, then they lifted her up and ran across to the surgical center.
    “Put me down before someone sees us!”
    Once she was back on her own two feet, Brenna rubbed her arms. “Just what I needed—more bruises.”
    Blake gave her a hard look. “Better a new bruise than a bullet hole. We go to the left here, then straight out toward the door.”
    By the time they reached the final turn, all of Blake’s fighting instincts were running at full bore. Keeping Brenna out of sight around the corner, he studied the lobby. Two women at the desk were talking on the phone and shuffling through paperwork. An elderly gentleman held a magazine but stared worriedly at a pair of double doors, no doubt concerned about someone in surgery.
    Finally, there was an orderly leaning against the wall near the water fountain, wearing a crisply pressed surgical uniform and gleaming black boots as he worked a crossword puzzle. Trahern frowned. The shoes were wrong; he couldn’t remember seeing anyone else wearing black boots. This guy wasn’t wearing a hospital employee ID badge, either.
    Trahern turned his back to the supposed orderly while he pointed him out to Jarvis. “He doesn’t belong here.”
    Jarvis nodded. “See any others?”
    They both turned slowly, as if they were unfamiliar with the lobby and trying to get their bearings. “No, looks like he’s alone.”
    “Leave him to me.” Jarvis’s smile would have frightened the dead.
    He split off, heading for a table that offered coffee and cookies for those waiting for patients to get out of surgery. He filled a cup, took a sip, and then started for the door. Just as he reached the orderly he deliberately stumbled, tossing the scalding hot liquid right at the man’s crotch. The orderly bellowed in pain and shock as he backed away straight into the water fountain.
    Jarvis did a great imitation of a man trying to make amends for his clumsiness. One of the women came out from behind the desk to help, but Jarvis waved her off, dragging his victim around the corner into the men’s room. Trahern doubted the would-be orderly would be coming out anytime soon, especially under his own power.
    Then he noticed that Brenna was no longer hiding behind him. She was standing off to his side, glaring at Jarvis as he disappeared from sight.
    “What was that all about? That poor man was just standing there. You can’t tell me that Jarvis didn’t spill his coffee on purpose. There’s no way he’d ever be that clumsy.”
    Good God. To shut her up, Blake kissed her. His temper was running hot, but he gentled his lips over hers as he teased her lips apart with his tongue. And damn, her sweet taste had his prick sitting up and begging for attention. He’d been too long without a woman, and it didn’t help that Brenna was kissing him back.
    Brenna moaned as her hands fluttered up his chest to settle around his neck. She pressed against him, making him painfully aware of the soft crush of her breasts against his chest. He wanted to drag her to the floor and bury himself in her sweet heat, but the hospital lobby was hardly the place.
    He ripped his mouth from hers, his breath ragged as he stared down into her bewildered eyes. Her confusion faded as she remembered where they were and what Jarvis had done, and the stubborn set to her jaw told him she wasn’t going anywhere until he convinced her that Jarvis hadn’t lost his mind. Keeping her inside the circle of his arms, he