Chapter 2
Two
The station alarm tripped, followed by multiple radios squawking. Chairs scraped against the linoleum floor. The paramedics inside Renegade Ambulance Station One stood silently, waiting for the dispatcher. A half beat later, the radios came alive. Static burst from multiple locations in the rooms.
“Doc! We’re up!” Swanny called out. The team had called Jackson Doc ever since they’d learned he’d been a combat medic in the military. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
Swanny tugged a Renegade Ambulance Services cap over his flaxen curls, casting a shadow on his blue eyes, and snagged the trauma bag, his normal saucy grin missing.
He was tall and lanky and still had a touch of a South Carolina accent in his voice.
Some people thought he was a bit too casual, but there wasn’t anyone Jackson trusted more to have his back.
The dispatcher continued. “One vehicle overturned, at least two victims. Fire and law enforcement en route.”
“Good. That means the firefighters will have the Jaws of Life with them.” They’d need them if the collision had made it so the car doors were jammed.
Jackson swallowed the rest of his Mountain Dew and dropped the empty can into the blue recycling container on his way out of the room. The two men grabbed their gear and rushed outside into the thick August air. The suffocating heat enveloped them.
The bay where the ambulance was normally parked had an electrical issue, so the vehicle remained parked on the side of the building while the electricians worked. Swanny ran around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel. Jackson swung up beside him and slammed the passenger door.
The moment Swanny started the engine, Jackson reached up and flipped the switches to engage the sirens and the flashing white and red lights.
He pushed the button on his radio. “RAS 1, Ambulance 15 en route.”
A short burst of static came through the speakers, followed by the dispatcher’s voice. “Roger. RAS 1 responded and en route. RAS 2, stand by.”
Ahead, the cars were moving to the side to allow the ambulance passage. Swanny blared the horn twice, warning oncoming traffic at the red light that he was going through. He slowed, making sure all the traffic had come to a standstill before moving through the intersection.
Jackson drummed his fingers on his thigh. He had no patience for small talk. Adrenaline stormed his system. His entire body hummed with the need to move. When his jaw began aching, he realized he had it clenched. Opening his mouth wide, he stretched his jaw.
“Relax, Doc. We’ll be there in two minutes.”
Swanny, he knew, understood Jackson’s need for action.
Just as his colleague promised, two minutes later, they were on scene.
The local fire department had already arrived and set up flares and traffic control.
He shook his head the moment he saw the two vehicles involved in the collision.
One had struck the other with enough force that the second car had spun full circle and blocked the opposite lane.
Its entire front end looked like an elephant had wandered up and sat on it.
The firemen would need to use their Jaws of Life to get the person out of that car.
There was no way Jackson would be able to extract the victim without assistance.
The car that had caused the accident made him swallow a familiar tightness in his chest. He’d known too many people who’d been killed in traffic accidents, including his stepfather, to misunderstand what he saw at a glance.
The man’s head rested on the doorframe, eyes open and staring, the window glass shattered, his neck at an odd angle.
Jackson was no coroner, but as a medic and a paramedic, he’d seen broken-neck victims before.
Quietly, to himself, he murmured a prayer for the families of both victims and for the survival of the second one. Then he got to work.
Grabbing his gear, he raced from the ambulance to the car, aware of Swanny at his side. As he suspected, the door was wedged shut. He couldn’t see the woman’s face. A curtain of thick brown hair covered her face. He saw her chest move as she breathed.
She was alive.
“Sam!” He yelled to one of the female firefighters. “She’s trapped. We need an extraction.”
Sam grabbed the hydraulic rescue tool and hurried over.
Jackson and Swanny both stepped aside to give her room to work.
She maneuvered the Jaws of Life into place and activated them.
The metal jaws tightened and tore into the door.
The cracking and shuddering sounded like the entire vehicle was on the verge of collapsing.
It took two firefighters to fully free the female passenger.
She hadn’t regained consciousness. Jackson reached in and felt for a pulse on her neck. “I’ve got a strong pulse.”
He and Swanny worked to stabilize her before moving her to a stretcher, taking care not to jar her neck.
Jackson strapped her in, then glanced at her face.
He froze.
“Mia?” The name left his mouth before he could stop it.
His heart missed a beat as he stared at the young woman—she couldn’t have been more than twenty—who bore an uncanny resemblance to Mia Turner. But it wasn’t Mia. Mia would be in her late twenties by now.
He looked closer. This time he saw the differences. Mia had attached earlobes. This woman had hanging earlobes, double pierced. And her lips were wider. Nose slightly longer. Not Mia’s cute little nose.
He fought against the memories surging inside. Memories of forbidden kisses in empty classrooms. Of sneaking out after dark to meet up and waking exhausted in the morning. It had all seemed worth it then. He’d paid for those sins though.
He wrenched his mind away from Mia. This woman wasn’t her. Close enough to be a younger sister, or a cousin. Even though he knew Mia had been an only child.
“Dude, you okay?”
He lifted his gaze to meet Swanny’s concerned glance.
“Yeah. I’m good. I thought I knew her, but I was wrong.”
He clamped his lips shut. No way was he going to spill his life story with all the traffic around.
Swanny let it drop. “Cool. Let’s load her up and get her to the hospital. The cops will hang out here and wait for the coroner to retrieve the other victim.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Jackson took hold of the wheeled stretcher and moved it closer. “On three.”
He counted up, then he and Swanny gently lifted the unconscious victim onto the stretcher.
She moaned, moving her head restlessly. He jerked in response.
Had they hurt her? She gave no further indication that she felt anything, so they proceeded to load her onto the ambulance.
Blood streaked down her temple and melted into her hairline.
A dark bruise had begun to cover the left side of her face.
Jackson pressed his lips together. He’d have to ride in the back with her. He would never try to avoid his duty, but man, sitting next to someone who looked so much like his long-lost love would test him.
He squared his shoulders. This isn’t about me. Or Mia. It’s about doing what’s best for this young woman.
He crawled into the back of the ambulance. White LEDs on the ceiling lit the interior. He hooked her up to the monitor. Swanny shut the doors. A few seconds later, the engine started, the floor vibrating under his feet. The measured rhythm of beeps sliced through the motor’s rumble.
The ambulance jolted when Swanny began driving.
Jackson placed an oxygen mask over the woman’s mouth and nose.
Her chest rose and fell at a steady pace.
The numbers from the blood pressure cuff around her arm flashed on the monitor.
Jackson’s gaze constantly swept from the patient to the monitor, watching for any changes.
“Hold on. Stay with me.”
He forced himself to focus on the mechanics of his job.
But every now and then, memories of Mia wiggled their way into his mind.
He could almost smell the vanilla and cinnamon scent he’d always associated with her hair.
It had been his favorite aroma once. Now he couldn’t stand it.
It reminded him of everything he’d lost.
“Where…where am I?” A soft alto interrupted his thoughts.
He glanced at her face. Blue eyes glazed with pain and confusion watched him.
A wave of relief filtered through him. Mia’s eyes were a rich chocolate brown. The difference helped him separate them in his mind.
“You were in a car accident. My name is Jackson. I’m a paramedic. You’re in an ambulance, on the way to the hospital. What do you remember?”
The corners of her mouth pulled down. “A car came around the curve too fast. It crossed the center line. I had no time to react.”
On the monitor, her heartbeat revved.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it.”
She searched his face. “Why were you smiling at me? It seemed odd.”
He could understand that. After all, she was seriously injured. “I noticed your eye color. You remind me of someone I knew years ago.”
“Was it a good memory?”
Talk about awkward. He didn’t like speaking of his past. But if it kept her mind off her own injuries…
He shrugged at her. “In some ways, yes. I loved her very much. We were only kids. Younger than you. And we were stupid. We got carried away, and she got pregnant.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. So you were a teenage dad.”
If only. He rubbed his chest, soothing an ache there. His child would be around eleven years old now. He swallowed the sudden lump blocking his throat.
“No.” Jackson shook his head. “Unfortunately, I reacted badly. She didn’t have the baby.”
An oppressive silence flooded the confined space.
“I’m so sorry.”
He nodded. He’d spent the last decade trying to come to terms with his part in it. If he’d been supportive…if he’d controlled his emotions…if he hadn’t walked away…
If, if, if.