Back the Blue: Eligible Bachelors
One
“Shit,” Malcolm hisses. “This is going to suck.”
“Dammit,” I sigh. “This is not how I wanted to start my Friday night. We better vest up.”
“Absolutely,” he nods. “I’m not getting taken out by a bunch of drug dealing asshats. Too bad we don’t have helmets though.”
“Well, hopefully if we’re aiding a fellow gang member, they’ll give us some cover,” I counter lamely as I pull my vest on.
“You’ll have better than that,” Lenny our driver calls back. “Sounds like the FBI is responding to this.”
“What?”
Malcolm and I react in unison. Lenny grimaces and shakes his head.
“Sounds like one of the members is on their top ten right now. They want him. Bad.”
Malcolm locks eyes with me. His expression says it all; he doesn’t want me out of the ambulance. He wants to take the risk for me. And while I love him for it…
“Over my dead body,” I growl.
“You better hope you don’t get your wish, Lorna,” he says seriously. “If there’s only one patient, I can handle it.”
“I’m your superior, it’s not your call.”
He doesn’t like this, but he doesn’t argue. Thank fuck. Right now, I need to get myself ready for whatever lies ahead. In five more minutes, Lenny curses from the front seat. That’s not unusual, but it sets me on edge even more tonight. When we pull to a stop, we lean forward and check out the scene.
“Multiple injuries. Multiple victims,” I mutter.
“And it looks like the FBI has secured the perimeter,” Malcolm points out.
“Let’s get to it,” I say with a nod.
I turn for the door, but before I can push it open, someone does it for me. And my breath stops at the sight of him. I swear to God he fills the entire bay he’s so large. But when his eyes lock with mine, they widen for just a moment. And that’s all I need to stop my assessment of his very fine physical attributes and set him in his place.
“I’ve got a job to do and you’re in my way,” I say coldly.
“We need another minute to secure the perimeter,” he growls.
“I need to assess the victims, prioritize their injuries, and call for more assistance if necessary,” I snap. “A minute could cost me a life.”
“This is a gang war,” he snaps.
“I don’t care.”
His eyes narrow and I straighten as much as I can standing in the open door. Just as he takes a breath to say something else, someone calls out.
“Hughes, we’re clear! Get those medics out here, now!”
I don’t bother to hide the smirk on my face. But I gasp when he grabs me by my waist and pulls me out of the ambulance as if I weigh nothing. Then, without a word, he grips my elbow and hustles me over to a man lying in a pool of blood. Not giving a damn about Mr. Body Builder, I drop to my knees and get to work.
Time passes as I do my job. I’m vaguely aware of the voices around me. Some are calm, some aren’t. Without realizing it, I’m somehow aware that the agent that pulled me out of the back of the ambulance is hovering. When I have a second, I glance around and find Malcolm working on another victim. I smile a bit, thankful that he’s not distracted. As soon as I’ve stopped the bleeding on my patient, I hear sirens alerting me to the arrival of more medical personnel. Which is good because I need to get my patient on a stretcher, like, yesterday. No sooner do I put one foot on the ground to stand, a shot rings out.
And I fall flat on my back, gasping for breath and clawing at my vest.
“Fuck.”
The word is spoken simultaneously by me and the agent, who is now hovering over me as he scans the perimeter with his giant weapon. For a few moments, I do a quick assessment of myself. I reach under my vest and check for a wound, lest these criminals have amour piercing bullets. When I feel nothing but tenderness, and no blood, I start to prop myself up. Somehow, though, the agent manages to keep me on my back with his left hand just seconds after he fires his weapon.
“Let me up,” I snap. “I need to get my patient on a stretcher.”
“He’s going to have to wait,” he hisses. “Your safety comes first.”
“My vest did its job.”
“And I need to do mine,” he says in a low voice.
Knowing he can easily keep me in place, I lay my head back on the ground with a frustrated growl. When I let my eyes close, I swear I hear him chuckle, but I let it go for now. Because I can’t do my job if I take a bullet, and I don’t really want to press my luck. Another thirty seconds pass and I hear someone call out another all clear. This time, when I move to sit up, the agent aids me. But before I can do anything else, he presses his massive hand over my vest where the bullet struck me. I immediately slap his hand away, and his eyes flash with anger and…something.
“I need my patient on a stretcher, now.”
Without breaking eye contact with me, he shouts out to someone and gets an affirmative response. Then he grips my elbow and helps me stand. Our eyes stay locked together, and before I can tell him something about himself and how he’s interfering with my job, he leans in close and speaks in a low voice that shouldn’t sound sexy in this situation.
“I swear I’m going to keep you safe,” he says. “I’m going to stay with you until you’re clear of this patient, and then some if necessary. No one else is going to take a shot at you on my watch.”
Despite the touch of Neanderthal possessiveness, which annoys me to no end, my breath catches in my throat at the sincerity laced in his tone. And for whatever reason, I believe him.
“Fine,” I rasp. “Let’s get this man on a stretcher and get him to the hospital.”
“You got it,” he grins.
And with that, another agent appears with my stretcher and the two of them help me do my job with an amount of effortless efficiency that belies some type of medical training. No sooner are we moving toward the ambulance, I shout back to Malcolm.
“What’s your status?”
“Gonna be a few minutes, but I’ll hitch a ride with another crew.”
He looks up and locks eyes with me. I give him a nod of acknowledgement and he does the same. But the small grin on his face as he looks at the giant agent who has his hand plastered against the small of my back annoys the fuck out of me. And I plan on giving him hell for his lack of personal space just as soon as I can.