Chapter 6
Six
Jackson shouted and dove for Mia. Grappling her around the waist, he threw both of them toward the sidewalk, tucking himself around her so he’d take the brunt of the force as they fell. They crashed to the pavement so hard he couldn’t breathe.
His ribs were going to be bruised, if not actually cracked, but he knocked that thought out of his mind. He’d been a paramedic long enough to put his own discomfort aside. Any pain he suffered was minor and unimportant. What mattered was Mia’s safety.
Ignoring the aches, Jackson rolled farther away from the street, keeping Mia close to his chest. He ended with his back to the street, so that any gunshots—or anything else—coming from that direction would have to go through him first.
The roar of the engine hit his ears. The car’s wheels spun, spitting gravel in their direction, then the vehicle tore off.
Jackson waited just a few seconds to make sure it was really gone.
“Mia?” he asked urgently, pulling himself away from her. Pain shrieked through him, and he had to catch his breath again. “Mia, talk to me. Are you hurt?”
“No,” she wheezed back.
That’s when he remembered—she was asthmatic.
“Where’s your inhaler?” he demanded.
“In my pocket,” she gasped out each word.
He gave her a little more space to reach down. Her fingers shook as she pulled out the small inhaler. Between the shock and her inability to breathe, she struggled to remove the cap.
“Here, let me.” Jackson cupped his hand around hers, holding the device, and then, with his other hand, he removed the cap. “Here.”
He supported her back, lifting her gently as she brought the inhaler to her mouth. She depressed the top and inhaled deeply, holding her breath for a long moment. When she finally exhaled, he could tell she was already breathing easier, but he waited, knowing she had to repeat the dose.
After she used the inhaler one more time, she sighed. “Ohh,” she breathed in relief and replaced the inhaler into her pocket. “Thanks.”
He watched her wipe her brow, then looked her over, checking for injuries or signs of shock.
“Let’s get you back into the hospital. You should be checked out. He nearly killed you.”
“No. I’m fine. It set off my asthma, but you took the brunt of the fall. I really need to go check on Gus.”
“Look, I don’t want to tell you what to do,” he began cautiously. He’d been rebuffed enough by her today. “But I’m really concerned about you. Please let me follow you back to your house and make sure everything’s okay.”
To his astonishment, she didn’t argue.
“I’d appreciate that,” she said. “Can we go now? What if he tries to get to Aunt Gus?”
He didn’t think her aunt was in any danger, but he didn’t want to take a chance. “Sure,” he said. “Do you have any idea why someone would try to hurt you?”
There was no way that had been an accident.
“None. This is surreal. Can we hurry?”
He stood and grimaced briefly at the pain, then he reached down a hand and helped her up. Unlike her reaction before, she allowed him to assist her. When she stumbled on her feet, she leaned against him for a moment until she got her balance back.
“I’ll walk you to your car. Then wait for me. I’ll follow you home.”
He held her car door open for her and waited until she’d folded herself into her seat and fastened her seat belt before saying, “Listen, just so you know, I’m calling this in. I’ll have cops meet us at your house. I know you’re anxious about Gus.”
It was a sign of how worried she was that she didn’t argue. She simply nodded.
He closed her door and ran to his truck. He didn’t want to give the hit-and-run driver an opportunity to go for her again.
Once he was in the cab and driving behind her, he dialed 911. The moment he heard Vickie’s voice, he relaxed.
“Vickie, I need a police officer to meet me at 297 Locust Drive. I’ll be there within the next ten minutes.”
“Sure thing, Jackson. What’s the reason?”
“There was an attempted hit-and-run.”
“You got it,” Vickie responded. “Anything else?”
“Nope. Just a cop or two.” He’d already checked Mia out as best he could, but once he got back to her house, he’d keep an eye on her for any signs that something was wrong. Maybe once she saw her aunt was fine, she’d be willing to get checked out more thoroughly.
She pulled into her driveway, and Jackson parked along the curb, leaving the spot behind her for the police car on its way. He jumped out and speedwalked to her side. She hadn’t even grabbed her purse out of the car when the front door slammed open.
An irate blonde stomped out of the house.
Oh yeah. He remembered her cousin Jane. She had been a year ahead of him at school. As far as he knew, she’d never had any kind of relationship with Mia. Jane gave him a once-over before a sneer slid over her angry features.
Yep. She recognized him. Mia’s entire family had disdained him ever since he’d known her. Guess that hadn’t changed.
Completely ignoring his presence, Jane lit into Mia. “You were supposed to be home at six!” she shouted. “I have things to do, you know.”
To her credit, Mia straightened, totally in control. She wore dignity like a comfortable cloak. “Maybe if you’d shown up at eight this morning as we agreed, I could have arrived home earlier.”
Jane seemed to swell with outrage. He had the random thought that if he had a pin and pricked her, she’d pop like an overfilled balloon. “If you want me to come back tomorrow…”
Mia’s right eyebrow rose. “Oh? You don’t need the money?”
Jane seethed, but Mia shrugged. “Anyhow, is Gus okay?”
“Of course. She’s watching TV…” Jane’s voice slowed to a halt as a police cruiser turned into the driveway and parked behind Mia’s car. “Oooh! What have you done?”
Jackson nearly snorted. Jane had always been a vicious gossip.
Mia smiled, although he was pretty sure her teeth were clenched. “Nothing. There was an accident earlier today. They’re meeting us here to get the report.”
Technically, that could be true, since he believed all three instances were related.
Jane’s mouth screwed up. “I’m sorry I missed the excitement.” She pivoted on her heel and stalked to her vehicle, her entire body vibrating with offense.
“Do you think she’ll be back tomorrow?” Jackson murmured. He’d figured out that she was here to care for Gus. But even though the elderly woman was her great-aunt too, she seemed pretty steamed. The Jane he’d known would have had no problem ditching a relative if she’d felt like it.
“She’ll be here. No doubt very late in protest. But she’s pretty deep in debt, so I don’t see her turning down money.”
For a moment, Mia’s countenance darkened.
Something about the topic of needing money bothered her.
He told himself he didn’t want to know. The less he knew, the better.
He didn’t want to become any more involved in her life than he was.
She’d broken his heart once, and he already knew from his reaction to her that he wasn’t immune to it happening a second time. Which annoyed him no end.
Officer Mark Ortiz sauntered up to them. His dark hair was very close-cut, a military-style fade, his tanned face serious. “Hey, Jackson. Got here as soon as I could. Vickie said there was a hit-and-run. Did you get a look at the driver? Or the car?”
Mia brushed her hair behind her ear. “I saw his face, but it wasn’t clear. The sun was in my eyes. I could see that he wore dark sunglasses, and I could see his smile. Oh, and he was in a blue sedan.”
“Smile?” Jackson startled.
“Yes.” She chewed her lip. “I’m pretty sure he was aiming for me and it wasn’t an accident.”
“Mark. I think we have to consider that between what happened with Mia a few minutes ago, the young woman who resembled Mia in a hit-and-run earlier today, and the woman in the hospital who also looks like Mia, something’s going on.”
“Did you get the plate number, Jackson?”
“I did.” He rattled off the number. “The same car was involved in an incident earlier in the day.”
“I’ll see if Captain Balluff is willing to assign a patrol to do drive-bys here.” Mark took a few more notes, then hopped in his car with an instruction to call if there was anything suspicious happening, no matter what time of night.
They both watched him disappear.
“I wonder…” Mia started.
Jackson swiveled to face her. “What?”
A flush stained her cheeks. “It’s probably nothing.”
“‘Probably nothing’ means you still think it’s something. Tell me.”
She huffed a breath. “Fine. I was a counselor at a summer camp. In fact, Dylan was there.”
He’d forgotten that Cynthia had signed him up. “Go on.”
“It was run by this foundation. I went to the school earlier this week because I hadn’t been paid yet. They’d never heard of the foundation, which was odd, but it wasn’t like it was through the school. So I tried to contact the foundation, but I keep getting no response.”
This was raising all sorts of red flags. “I’m wondering if that was on the up and up. Especially with all the drugs entering the schools.”
An image of the young girl who’d died from the new drug flashed in front of his eyes.
Mia crossed her arms. “I hate the thought that drugs were being passed around in front of my eyes.”
“Look, are you okay if I leave? I want to see if Dylan has shown up yet. I’m starting to worry about him.”
“I’m good. I have a gun in the nightstand beside my bed.”
His mouth dropped open. He closed it with a click. “Seriously? Are you a good shot?”
“I am. I made sure of it. Living alone, I wanted to be able to take care of myself.”
“Okay. I’m heading out, then.” He walked to his truck, still trying to process Mia with a gun. He waited until she was inside the house before he left. Then he immediately dialed Cynthia.
“Hi, Jackson.”
“Hi. Have Reggie and Dylan shown up yet?”
“Dylan texted me. He’s staying with Reggie tonight.”
Jackson hit his hand against the steering wheel. Why hadn’t she insisted he come home? However, he knew he had no authority to argue with her methods.
“Why didn’t you text me? You know I’m worried,” Jackson said, his hands clenching.