Chapter 9
NINE
Someone pushes at my arm. “Sir, you have to move back!”
Disbelief has me frozen in place as the air medics hustle around Rosalie, buckling her into the stretcher, preparing her to be loaded.
Truck grabs me, wrapping an arm around my neck, pulling me close to his side.
“Let them work,” he growls, giving me a shake. “She’s got a strong pulse. They’re going to make sure she gets to the hospital safe. We’ll meet them there.”
“She was almost lost.”
He squeezes my neck. “We’ve all gotten close.”
“Not like that,” emotion clogs my words as the lead medic settles an oxygen mask over Rosalie’s delicate features.
A pain of blue-white headlight beams slash across the helicopter, blinding us for a second before they shut off.
“That’s Beast,” he says, “Go tell her you’ll meet her there, and then get your ass to the truck.”
My legs are weirdly wooden and weak at the same time as I move toward the stretcher. There’s nothing normal inside of me right now.
I’m an ocean of anger and fear.
“Hey,” I rumble, as I push my way up the bed she’s on. “I’ll meet you there, promise.”
The medics share a glance, but back off for a few seconds.
“Stay out of trouble, okay?” I choke out, hardly able to speak as I brush her hair back. “Enjoy the flight.”
Her gaze softens and she nods. “Too bad it’s not a sunset flight over the beach.”
God. Bless.
I shake my head, more emotion squeezing the column of my throat. “We’ll go. Soon as you’re ready.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that,” she says then winces. “Hurts to talk.”
That does it.
Tears push past my eyelids and drop onto the flight blanket they’ve tucked around her.
“Time’s up,” the head medic says tersely, and unlocks the stretcher.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She manages to wiggle her arm until her hand is free. The last thing I see before they load up is her thumbs up signal.
I’ll never forget that sight.
It’s a good thing someone else is driving.
I slam into the passenger seat, already barking orders.
Beast ignores me as he buckles his seat belt. “You did good tonight even though everything went upside down.”
Truck flies into the back seat. He exhales as he sprawls out. “Ready.”
Neither of them say another word to me. Good fucking thing.
Because all I can do is stare out the window for the hour long drive to the trauma center, biting my knuckle as I cry like a fucking baby.