Chapter Twenty-One #2
Caleb was on his feet in an instant. He snatched his gun off the kitchen counter and peered out the front facing window. “It’s Zach.”
“What’s he doing here this early?” She rose on shaky legs, grateful for the reprieve. Caleb had been moments from demanding answers she couldn’t give.
“I don’t know.” His voice had dropped, edged with steel. “But it’s not a social call.”
He opened the front door, using his body to block the entrance. “Tell me you have good news and Lopez’s band of merry men are in jail.”
“There’s been an accident.” Zach’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Jennie tried to reach Gia this morning, but she didn’t answer her phone.”
“Oh, shoot.” Her stomach dropped. Doctor Lewis was back from his conference and on call last night, and after the way she’d reacted to the unknown caller, she’d left her phone on silent for her own peace of mind.
She tugged Caleb’s arm, easing him aside so she could face Zach. “What kind of accident?”
“Some teenagers in the back of a pickup,” Zach said. “The kid driving lost control, and the kids in the back went flying. Jennie’s on her way from the clinic, she asked for you.”
“Send someone else.” Caleb's face was cold, his voice hard.
“Caleb!” He couldn’t possibly believe she would turn down Jennie’s plea for help.
Zach whipped off his cap, ran fingers through his hair, dislodging strands from the short ponytail he’d fastened at his nape .
“I get it. But Doc Lewis is at the clinic, he can’t leave. Doc Chee is about to have her kid any minute—she’s the one Gia replaced. The nearest medic unit is already engaged on a call.”
He glanced at Gia before leveling a stare at Caleb. “We need her.”
“I’ll get my coat.” Gia trotted to the bedroom and returned with her jacket and Caleb’s.
Caleb let out a defeated sigh. “I was trained as a medic.”
“Good, you can help.” Zach jerked his thumb toward his Tahoe. “We’ll take the cruiser.”
Dust billowed as Zach gunned the Tahoe down dirt roads into the rez, Gia clutching the grab handle in the back seat to keep from shaking to pieces as the accident site came into view.
A pickup, caked in dried mud, lay on its side next to a rocky outcropping. Nearby an older model Toyota sedan sat askew, Jennie’s red Nissan Frontier parked behind it.
Four teenagers—two girls and two boys—their faces pale and anxious, sat hunched by the side of the road. A fifth teenager—a boy—lay motionless beside the overturned truck, a woman kneeling beside him.
Jennie rushed over as soon as Zach braked. “I just got here.”
She gestured with a quick nod toward the frantic woman at the boy’s side. “That’s Darlene Yazzie—her son was driving.”
Gia was already moving. “Trauma kit?”
“I’ve got two in my truck.” Jennie sprinted to retrieve them.
Gia handed Caleb one and grabbed the other. “You and Zach triage the others. Jennie and I will assess the boy.”
She dropped to her knees beside the unconscious teenager and snapped on a pair of gloves. “What’s his name?”
Jennie gently steered the sobbing mother back. “His name is Keough.”
“Keough, can you hear me?” Gia checked his airway and listened to his chest.
A faint, high-pitched whistle. Lips tinged blue. Her fingers found the telltale shift in his trachea.
Collapsed lung.
She lifted the boy’s eyelids to reveal a blown left pupil.
Her lips flattened. Traumatic brain injury. A quick physical assessment revealed a dislocated wrist and cracked ribs.
“Jennie, stabilize his head.” Gia gave the boy’s shoulder a hard pinch.
He responded with a faint moan, but didn’t open his eyes.
She raised her voice. “Zach!”
He jogged over. “How bad?”
“Collapsed lung, possible brain trauma. Can you get a medivac out here?”
“On it.” He stepped away, already radioing for air support.
Darlene choked out a sob and dropped to her knees next to her son. “One of the girls said a silver SUV came out of nowhere—cut Keough off. Made him swerve.”
Gia’s mouth flattened. “Someone will know who it was.” Strangers didn’t wander into this part of the reservation.
Caleb jogged over as she prepped a needle for decompression. “Need help?”
“Oxygen tank. Back of Jennie’s truck. ”
Caleb returned with the tank as Gia inserted the needle into Keough’s chest. A sharp whoosh of air escaped, the boy’s breathing evening out slightly. Gia secured the cannula as his color improved.
The sound of rotor blades reached them.
Thank God.
They worked swiftly to stabilize Keough, loading him onto the medevac. His mother took off in her car for the hospital after assuring Zach she was in control and could drive.
As the helicopter lifted off, Gia turned to Caleb. “The others?”
“Two fractures, one concussion. No spinal injuries. They need to go to the clinic, but they’ll be okay.”
Relief loosened the knot in her chest. “You and Zach get the kids loaded in the Tahoe, Jennie and I will clean up.” Empty wrappers and plastic caps littered the ground at both triage sites.
She admired the back of Caleb’s jeans as he wandered over to the group.
Jennie bumped her shoulder. “Your bodyguard is hot and handy. You sure you don’t want to keep him?”
Gia shook her head, fighting a smile.
“What?” Jennie’s eyes twinkled. “You two aren’t related. You could—”
She cut Jennie off. “Let’s get these kids to the clinic.” The things she’d done with Caleb were burned into her brain.
“Your face is on fire.” Jennie gave a mock pout. “I want to hear every sordid detail later.”
They made quick work of the cleanup. Gia walked Jennie back to her truck.
Jennie slid into the driver’s seat.
Click. Click. Click .
She frowned. “Oh, come on. ”
Another turn of the key. Still nothing—just clicks.
With an exasperated glance at Gia, Jennie muttered, “I think it’s the battery.”
Zach had sauntered over. “Let me see.” He motioned her out and slid behind the wheel.
Click. Click. Click.
“That’s not the battery. It’s the starter.”
Gia eyed the Tahoe. Seven seats. Eight people.
One seat short.
Jennie must have been thinking the same thing. “I’ll stay behind,” she offered. “Richie Benally has to come tow Keough’s truck.”
She sighed. “I guess I’ll have him tow mine, too.”
Zach scowled. “You’re not staying here alone.”
“Then drop everyone off and come back for me.” Jennie waved her phone and gave Zach a smirk. “I’ll watch cat videos.”
Gia hesitated, unease ghosting across her skin. “Are you sure you’ll be safe?”
She caught Caleb’s eye. His jaw was tight. Something felt…wrong. He looked as if he felt it, too.
Zach didn’t look any happier.
“I’ll stay with Jennie.” Caleb leveled a hard stare at Zach. “You make sure nothing happens to Gia.”
“Oh, for goodness sakes, look around.” Jennie gave a half-twirl, her hands out, framing the buttes rising like sentinels nearby. “How much trouble could I get in? The Tohtsonis live, what, three miles from here? And the Sandoval farm is just over that ridge.”
She made a shooing motion. “Go. Take care of those kids.”
“I’ll be back in an hour,” Zach muttered.
“You worry too much.” Jennie flashed a grin. “Richie will probably arrive before you do. ”
She gave Zach an arch look. “Maybe he’ll buy me dinner.”
Zach’s eyes narrowed.
Gia climbed into the Tahoe, stomach unsettled as they pulled away.
She’ll be fine.
The unease nagging at Gia’s brain was something different. Something Keough’s mother had said to her.
What was it?
She stared out the window at her friend until Jennie and her red truck disappeared from view.