35. Beck
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
beck
My jump bag is on the table, my eyes scanning the supply shelves. The life of a first responder isn’t all action and glory. Part of the job is mundane tasks like refilling your equipment to make sure you’re ready if a call comes in.
The Darling Fire Department has been incredibly welcoming. Whether that’s because I’m packmates with Kash Ford or because word has already spread that I’m Jules’ baby daddy, I can’t be sure. Maybe a little of both, knowing the town gossip chain.
Having been out of the field for a little while as I finished up my doctorate, I made sure to maintain my continuing education credits for my NREMT.
With my National Cert up to date, it made applying for the transfer of my certification to Arizona that much easier, and I received formal notice that I was approved to practice within just seven days.
Now here I am, my first full shift as a volunteer, and I feel that old excitement burning through my veins.
It’s the reason I was so eager to jump on board Kash’s idea for Horses for Healing.
The opportunity to help people without being tied to a brick-and-mortar is where my heart is.
That’s why paramedic work has always been so satisfying, even if I’m over-qualified.
My phone rings, so I pull it out of the pocket of my black cargo pants and lift it to my ear.
“What’s up?”
Kash’s voice comes through the line, his tone serious.
I can sense a spike in nerves through our pack bond and try to stay calm.
“Hey, bro. Maybe I’m just worrying over nothing, but Jules’ location has been pinging from the same spot for over forty-five minutes with no movement.
I know service is spotty, but that seems unusual.
Elliott noticed too, and she texted me a few minutes ago. ”
My brows raise. “How in the hell does Elliott have your number?”
“I made Jules send it to me and give her mine before she left.”
Of course he did. And he calls me the mother hen.
“Look, I’m sure she’s fine. Did you try calling her?”
“I did. It went straight to voicemail.”
My instincts rear up, swift and fierce, but I tell myself that’s normal if there’s no cell service.
“Look, let’s give it another thirty minutes. She should be out of the worst part of the mountains and into the descent into the Valley by then. Service should be better. If we haven’t heard from her, we’ll look at what our options might be.”
Just then, the alarm bells ring throughout the old fire house. My heart pounds in my chest, and Kash curses on the other end of the line.
“Hey, McCoy, we just got word from Highway Patrol that they need us to assist with an accident on I-17. They’re dealing with another accident—a multi-car pile-up—near the Valley, and we’re the closest station to the new call.”
My gut sinks all the way to my toes.
“Any idea what kind of vehicle it is?” I ask hoarsely.
“We’ve been told it’s a dark-colored sedan. That’s all I’ve got for now.”
I give Alan, the fire chief, a nod and grab my bag as he rushes to grab his gear. Releasing a relieved breath, Kash does the same on the other end.
“You heard him, Kash. It’s not her car. I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Yeah. Just…keep your phone on you if you can. I’ll try to stop freaking out over here and let you do your job.”
“Daisy! Look at Daddio’s nails. Aren’t they pretty?” Charlotte calls out in the background, making me smile.
Apparently, my brother is getting a manicure. Gotta have Kash snap a photo of that .
“Go keep those two in line. I’ll call if anything comes up.”
“Ten-four.”
He hangs up, and I’m climbing into the ambulance with the rest of the crew as we pull out right after the firetruck. It’s further out than we normally would go, but when Highway Patrol asks for help, you do what you have to do.
Thirty minutes later, we come to a stop alongside the highway, and I notice a black four-door sedan that’s crashed into a tree down the rough embankment. Three of the guys rush down to the wreck and immediately begin calling out orders.
“He’s got a pulse, but it’s thready!” Dave shouts.
I’m still up on the roadway, scanning the area, because something just feels off. It’s the middle of the day and perfect weather conditions. What the hell caused this guy to run off the side of the road?
State Troopers arrive, quickly taking control of the traffic flow even though there’s very little along this stretch at the moment.
“Hey! We’ve got another vehicle over here!” an officer yells.
“I’ll take this one,” I call out, nerves once again lighting up in my gut. When I make it to the opposite side of the two-lane road, he points to a spot nearly half a mile from the other car.
“Saw the other tire tracks and followed them over here. They traveled quite a ways.”
The trunk of a white car is visible, and I once again relax because that’s not Jules’ truck.
I almost pull out my phone to check the GPS and see how far away her last ping was, but I tell myself I need to focus right now.
Slowly, Dean and I make our way down the rocky edge, heading for the second scene.
“Looks like there’s damage to the left rear bumper,” he says conversationally. “Driver’s door is open.” He peers into the vehicle. “Where the hell is the driver?”
We start scanning the ground, searching around the trees.
“Found her!” he calls out, and we both rush over.
He kneels down, hands reaching for the woman, but my gut is already telling me this is bad .
“Holy shit,” he whispers, eyes rushing up to meet mine.
My heart stalls in my chest as he rolls the woman over, her bloody blonde hair plastered to her forehead. Her eyes are closed, and I can’t tell if she’s breathing, but nothing is making any sense.
“Jules!” I cry out, rushing to her side. I try to force my emotions back into the box they get shoved into for particularly difficult cases, but the sight of her looking so lifeless is making that impossible.
“Chief! We’re gonna need you over here!” Dean calls out over the radio. “She’s alive, Beck. Her pulse is strong. Let me just check her over, okay?”
I nod, hands nervously brushing the hair out of her pale face as the other man does the standard assessments. “C’mon, Jules. Wake up. Let me see those big brown eyes.”
Chief’s voice comes from behind me. “What the hell is going on… Oh, fuck. Okay. McCoy, you good?”
A tear falls onto my hand.
Funny, I didn’t realize I was crying.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just…” I clear my throat. “Don’t ask me to leave her because that’s not happening.”
“Wouldn’t think of it, son,” the older man says, gripping my shoulder. “But there’s something else you need to know.”
I force my eyes off of the love of my life and tip my head back to look at Alan. “What is it?”
“Just ID’d the other driver.”
At that moment, I don’t even need to ask who it is. I already know.
“It’s Jack Ford, and he’s in bad shape. He didn’t have his seatbelt on and was halfway through the windshield.
You might want to give Kash a call, and the Callahans too.
If it’s what it looks like, and I’ve been doing this for years and haven’t been wrong once, they’ll want to be waiting at the hospital. ”
I nod, another tear falling to the dirt beneath me. Pulling my phone out, I take a deep breath and exhale, desperately trying to pull myself together. When I tap on his name, it only rings once.
“Beck, have you heard from?—”
“Kash, I need you to listen to me right now.”
The line is silent, so I know he’s putting pieces together and doing exactly what I’m doing—trying not to lose his shit.
“Give it to me straight,” he chokes out.
“Get Wyatt, but tell him to give Charlotte something to do so she’s occupied for a minute.”
“Fuck,” he curses, then I hear him pull the phone from his mouth and shout for my brother.
I’m staring down at the lifeless body of my Omega, wondering why in the hell she hasn’t woken up yet. That’s not a good sign.
Dean says softly, “It doesn’t look like anything’s broken.
She’s just got one hell of a goose egg on her forehead, probably from the steering wheel since the front window seems to be intact.
There’s a small burn and laceration on her cheek and nose, probably from the airbag.
She’s got a seatbelt burn across her chest and will probably have a ton of bruising, but she’s here. We’ve got her.”
I nod just as I hear Kash and Wyatt’s voices come across the line.
“Okay, we’re here,” Wyatt says, his voice solemn. “Beck, just tell me. Is she alive?”
“She’s alive but currently unconscious. I’m at her side, and Dean is taking care of her. Her vehicle careened off the side of the road just past the cliffs and was stopped by a large boulder. Except it’s not her truck. She’s in a white car. I’m not sure?—”
“That’s Gran’s car,” Kash murmurs huskily. “Something must’ve been wrong with her truck, so she swapped them at the last minute.”
“Do they know what caused the accident?” Wyatt asks.
“Another car hit her from behind. It was the car from our original call. But, Kash?”
“Yeah, brother?”
“The other driver was Jack. It’s… Alan isn’t sure if he’s gonna make it.”
The line goes silent, shuddering breaths the only sound I can hear.
“I need one of you to call the Callahans, then all of you get your asses to the hospital. It’s gonna take us at least thirty minutes to get there, and right now we’ve only got one ambulance since we didn’t know there were two…two victims.” My voice catches, and I try to pull it together again.
“Beck,” Dean murmurs, nodding toward Jules.
Her eyelids are fluttering and her nose scrunching as she slowly comes to. When she finally opens her eyes, I’m there, waiting.
“Hey, little mama. You scared the shit out of me.” My fingers tremble as I reach over and grip her hand. “Don’t try to move, okay?”
“Beck?” she wheezes, lifting her free hand to her chest and pressing her palm there.
“Shhh. You were in an accident. Dean here is taking good care of you.”
“An accident?” Her brow furrows just before her eyes go wide. “There was a car behind me. He rammed me twice, then got me the third time. I couldn’t avoid it. He could be around here somewhere. Did you?—”
“Jules…” I hesitate, wondering if she needs to hear this right now, or if it will only make matters worse.
“What is it?” she whispers.
“Tell her,” Kash says, reminding me my packmates are still on the phone.
“The other driver was Jack. Alan’s got him on the other side of the road.”
“Oh my god!” she cries. “Is he hurt too?”
I nod. “I’m gonna have everyone meet us at the hospital, okay? The guys are freaking out.”
A tear spills down the side of her face. “I’m s-sorry.”
“Hey… Shhhh. None of that now. You’re alive, and that’s all that matters.” Unable to help myself, and needing the contact, I lean down and lightly brush my cheek against her jaw.
“McCoy, “ Alan calls out, “the second unit just pulled up. We’re gonna load Juliette into that one. You can ride with her.”
I nod, appreciating the fact that he’s not looking down on me for my complete lack of professionalism right now. But the man gets it. He’s got a pack and an Omega at home. Plus, he’s known the Callahans and Fords for decades.
“I’ve gotta go,” I tell the guys. “See you at the hospital.”
Ending the call, I pocket my phone as a couple more guys from the crew make their way over to us.
They give me reassuring nods, carefully collaring Jules’ neck and gently lifting her up onto the board.
As they cart her out of the dense forest and maneuver her up the steep embankment, I’m right there with her, talking to her, making sure she stays alert, letting her hear the sound of my voice.
With every minute that passes, her eyes get clearer and her voice stronger, but it does nothing to settle the riotous panic that’s alive in my blood.
Climbing up beside her, with Dean on the other side, I switch between checking and double checking her vitals and staring down into her face.
There’s no doubt she can see my worry, and when she grips my hand, pulling it over her heart, the steady thump against my skin helps ease my nerves the slightest bit.
Being on the opposite side of this situation has given me a fresh perspective of just how heart-wrenching these moments can be, but I owe the Darling Fire Department a huge debt of gratitude after this.
Not just for the care they’ve shown Juliette, but also their continued support of me—a man they’ve barely gotten a chance to know.
The entire drive back to Darling, I send my thanks up to whoever may be listening that my Omega is still here with me. That we’ll get plenty more horseback rides, nights spent with our family, and cuddles together with our little girl.