Chapter 2
TWO
“We’re four minutes out,” Kianna Russell radioed to the dispatcher from the passenger seat of the ambulance. Trace steered the truck down the street and made a left turn.
Kianna gripped the door handle and let out a breath. “The sleet doesn’t look to be letting up anytime soon.” The icy mixture collided with the windshield, and the gray sky grew darker.
“You’re telling me. Whoever decided it would be a good idea to venture onto the roads didn’t check the radar.”
Kianna grimaced. Please, Lord, don’t let there be any fatalities.
No family deserved to lose loved ones, especially around the holidays.
“Just get us there in one piece so we can get these people to safety.” Even if her holiday wasn’t going to be spectacular, she could make sure it ended well for someone else.
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” played over the radio station, and Kianna turned the volume down.
Trace gave her a side glance, his eyebrow raised.
“What?” She shrugged. “I’m not in the mood for festive holiday music.”
“Bad memories?”
“Something like that.” Kianna shifted her attention to the trees lining the road. She really didn’t want to bare her heart right now. Not when the song already dredged up reminders of what she’d once hoped for. Except her reality had turned out exactly like the song predicted.
Only in her dreams.
“A lot of people hide behind the tinsel and lights to mask their grief this time of year.” Trace sighed. “I get it. That used to be me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up reminders for you too.”
Trace shook his head. “Don’t be. God’s brought me so far from that time. Reminded me of all the goodness He has shown me. It still hurts at times, but I have so much to be thankful for now. Like my beautiful wife and baby girl I get to see when this shift is over.” He grinned.
Kianna stared out the window at the cloudy sky.
Trace had lost love once to death. While her experience with love wasn’t the same, it had the same effect.
Grief. Confusion. Heartache. Longing. It all swirled around her like a winter storm, threatening to pummel her in an avalanche she couldn’t escape.
“Everyone else might have the perfect Christmas with lights and mistletoe, but those good moments only come for other people.” She let out a laugh, but it fell short. Somehow, God had prevented her from partaking in the celebrations of life.
“I hear you. But I can tell you from experience, it’s not true.” Trace gave her a sympathetic smile.
He turned the corner and pulled to the side of the road. A green four-door sedan sat by the guardrail.
Kianna let out a breath. Thanks to other pressing matters, their conversation ended.
The hood of the vehicle was pushed in, and green paint streaked along the metal guardrail, where the car must have hit before coming to rest.
The rescue squad truck pulled up behind them, and the crew hopped out.
“I’ll grab the stretcher,” Trace said, then exited from the driver’s side.
Kianna pulled up her hood to keep the ice from searing her neck. Then she walked around to the back of the ambo and grabbed the medic bag. If the temperatures continued to drop, there’d be a nasty mix of slush and snow.
Eddie, from Rescue, followed her over to the car. Cracks lined the windows, and the side mirror lay a foot away on the ground.
Eddie rapped on the door. “Sir, I’m here with the rescue squad and medics. We’re going to get you all out of there.”
“How many?” Trace came up next to Kianna with the stretcher. He set the brakes on the wheels and wedged it into some rocks on the ground to keep it from sliding.
“Four. Two kids are in the back. Including one in a car seat.” Kianna grimaced. None of them could be severely injured. Not at Christmas. This season was one for miracles. At least, she’d pray and believe in one for this family.
The driver rolled down the window and leaned forward. “My door is stuck. And my daughter.” His voice caught. “She’s bleeding on her face.”
“We’re going to help.” Eddie smiled, then tugged on the passenger door. It opened, and he leaned in. Seconds later, he held a black-haired boy’s hand and guided him out onto the pavement.
The kid sported a puffer jacket. Even so, Kianna grabbed a blanket from her bag and walked over to the child. He was tall and lanky, maybe ten years old, and his wide eyes scanned the area.
She bent to match his height. “What’s your name?”
“Benjamin.” He blinked.
“It’s nice to meet you, Benjamin. I’m Miss Kianna, and I’m going to make sure you’re not hurt.” She held out the blanket. “This will keep you extra warm, okay?”
Benjamin nodded.
She wrapped the aluminum thermal blanket around him. “Does anything hurt?”
“No. But my sister.” He scrunched his forehead. “My sister has a bad cut.”
“You’re a good brother, looking out for her. We’ll make sure it gets bandaged up.”
“I’m her big brother. Of course I have to take care of her.” His pupils expanded. “That’s what my mom and dad tell me.” Benjamin turned back to the car.
Eddie hoisted a toddler with curly brown hair onto his hip.
Trace hurried over and held out his arms to take the girl, and she began to cry.
“Posie!” Benjamin dashed off. He made it a few steps before his sneaker slipped on the slush and he fell backward.
Kianna raced forward and grabbed the boy’s arm, putting her hand on his back before he could collide with the pavement.
“Thanks.” Benjamin didn’t even turn around. His focus stayed on his sister, and he reached out to take her hand. “It’s okay, Posie. This is a nice guy. He’s going to help us.”
Posie whimpered but the tears had stopped.
Zack circled around to the front of the car. “The passenger side is snug against the guardrail. Can they climb out the back?” He nodded to Eddie.
Kianna tuned out the rescue crew and signaled to Trace. “Why don’t we go sit on the back of the truck?” She pointed to the ambulance. “We can wait there for your mom and dad to come over.”
Benjamin peered at Kianna, then Trace. “As long as I can hold Posie’s hand the whole time.”
Kianna smiled, and a warmth worked its way up her arms. The compassion and concern this child had toward his sister brought tears to her eyes.
Don’t ever grow out of this innocence, kid.
Keep protecting your sis. And any girl you meet when you get older.
This interaction threatened to whisk her away to memories of a time when her own hopes of being protected and treated with care had been squandered.
“You got it, dude.” Trace’s comment pulled her back to the present.
She blinked away the tears.
Trace gave Benjamin a thumbs-up with his free hand, then the four of them walked over to the back of the ambulance.
She helped Benjamin up into the truck bed, and the kid sat, swinging his legs off the ledge.
Trace worked on cleaning Posie’s wound, and Kianna took Benjamin’s vitals. The entire time, Benjamin kept his hand wrapped around his sister’s fingers.
“There we go.” Trace pressed a bandage on Posie’s cheek. “You’ll be all better soon.”
“She’s going to be okay?” Benjamin’s mouth stayed open, almost like he was afraid to smile.
“I’d say so.” Trace grinned. “She had a cut from some glass, but the Band-Aid will help it heal in no time.”
“Benjamin! Posie!” Their parents called out and hurried over.
“Are they…?” The mom turned to Kianna, her lip quivering.
“They’re fine.” Kianna moved to the side to give them space for a minute. A few scratches lined the woman’s forehead and cheek. Kianna would triage her in a moment. It was a good sign that both parents were out and moving.
Thank you, the woman mouthed before taking Posie from Trace’s arms and enveloping Benjamin in a hug. The father moved into the embrace, and Kianna got Trace’s attention and pointed to the man’s wrist. It was black and blue and swollen.
Trace pulled supplies from one of the metal compartments in the vehicle and laid them out.
Tires crunched over the slushy roadway and came to a stop.
The police cruiser’s lights flashed through the precipitation.
The car door shut, and Cole Stuart and Anthony Thomas got out.
They stopped for a second to talk with Ridge Foster, the rescue squad lieutenant, before making their way over to the ambulance.
“I’m going to stabilize your arm.” Trace cut a piece of brown adhesive tape to bandage the father’s wrist. “But it should be x-rayed to make sure nothing is broken, given how swollen it is.”
“While you’re doing that, I’d like to ask a few questions.” Cole stepped up.
“Sure.” The father nodded. “I’ll tell you everything so you can catch the guy.”
Cole exchanged a brief glance with Kianna, and her heart skittered. She turned her attention to the mom and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm, even while her fingers quivered.
What was her body doing? There was no reason for the nerves around Cole.
She’d only had a few brief interactions with the K-9 officer.
And it certainly wasn’t enough time to warrant feelings for the man.
Even if they’d bonded briefly after witnessing the crash of the transport van just the other day.
Kianna had only felt safe around Cole because he was doing his job of protecting people.
If time had taught her anything, it was that in the end, it would be too good to be true.
There was always some red flag that lurked under the surface, and sooner or later, it would break to the top.
Kianna squeezed the bulb and watched the pin on the gauge climb before releasing the air valve. “I’m going to clean the cuts on your face, but everything else looks good,” she told the woman.
“I still can’t believe it. One minute I was driving and this man was walking along the shoulder.
He turned as we approached, and all of a sudden, he runs out, waving his hands.
” The father blew out a breath. “I jerked the wheel to the left to avoid hitting him, and I lost control. The tires spun out, and we hit the guardrail.”
Kianna opened a rubbing alcohol wipe and continued attending to the woman.
“Can you describe the man?” Cole’s brow furrowed.
“He had brown hair down to his shoulders and a beard. He wasn’t wearing an orange jumpsuit, but I think it was—” The man shuddered.
“Mackey.” Cole raised an eyebrow, and the other officer frowned. “Did you see which direction he went?”
Mackey. Kianna’s stomach twisted. So they still hadn’t found him. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if he wasn’t caught. But the more time Mackey eluded the police, the easier it got for him to escape once and for all.
“Yeah. I lost consciousness, and when I came to, he was tapping on the window where my son was seated. At first, I thought he was going to try and get into our car, until my wife yelled that the police were on the way. Then he hopped the guardrail and took off that way.” The man pointed across the road to the wooded area.
“That’s helpful.” Cole nodded, then turned to Thomas. “We need to widen our search. I’ll call it in and start out with Titan.”
“I’ll take this family back into town, then meet you out there,” Thomas said.
Kianna and Trace finished up with the patients, and Thomas escorted them to his cruiser.
Cole stepped to the side of the ambulance and radioed in.
Kianna turned to Trace. “Are you good to take the ambo back to the station?” She checked her watch. “Our shift is over, and I want to stay out here. Join the search.”
Trace squinted against the snow flurries that had begun to fall in place of the sleet. “He’s dangerous, Kianna. I’d let the police handle it.”
“I know what Mackey is capable of, and I can’t stand around and let him go free. Not when he’s responsible for killing someone I knew.”