Page 51
I finish replacing the equipment used on the last run and make note that it's ready for the next shift when the alarm begins sounding yet again. We've been on the go with one call after another since shift change, and from the looks of it, there's no end in sight. We are all running on fumes from lack of sleep but in less than five hours I'm off for four days and I can't wait. "What do we have this time?"
"Robbery and assault!" Elena Pierce calls out as she runs by me toward the EMS squad. "Outside the Pelican."
My body goes cold and then hot as adrenaline floods my system. Images of Kelsey blast my mind, and all I can think of is getting to my girl. Making sure she's safe and sound.
I climb into the passenger seat of the fire engine and pull out my phone, foregoing texting for a call and ignoring the rules about personal use while responding to an active emergency. I need to hear Violet's voice. To know she's okay.
But there's no answer.
I try again, and the call goes to voicemail like before.
A string of curses leaves my lips as I try again.
Hud is behind the wheel as we roll out, with Jameson Dean behind me in the rear beside Bellamy Woods. Hud gives Pierce and the EMS squad the lead, and I want to be in the vehicle ahead of us, just to get there a few seconds faster.
"She's fine, Sully," Jameson says from the back.
Bellamy asks questions in a low voice, and I hear Jameson saying Violet's name. I ignore them and call again. Voicemail. Come on, baby. Pick up.
I try again. And again. The string of curses leaving my lips with every unanswered call gets more colorful and desperate. I know she's busy with whatever's going down, but I need a response. If something's happened to her…
Hud takes the turn a little faster than he should, as though he senses my growing rage and apprehension. But how can I not be upset? Violet knows I'm on duty. Knows I'll be calling despite the protocol against personal calls on duty. She knows I'll be worried. She knows I care.
If she's safe, she'd send a thumbs-up. A text. Something.
I fist my phone. Her lack of response or acknowledgement means she isn't okay, and my fear is growing to a fever pitch I'm wondering if I can control. Kelsey's face appears again, until she and Violet merge into one, and I smother a groan.
I feel sick. Am I going to show up and find Violet shot just like Kels?
Red-and-blue lights blind me as we roll to a stop and block the street. I squint against the glare and search desperately for Violet. I lock on a group gathered in the alley, and I see MacGyver in uniform. I bolt toward him, heart thumping hard against my ribs as I leave the guys behind and push my way into the circle. That's when I look down and see the two victims.
My vision goes hazy and dark at the corners.
"Sully."
MacGyver braces his hands on my shoulders and gives me a hard shake, making me realize he's said my name a few times.
In a low voice he says, "She's okay, Sully. But you can't be around her looking like you do. Get it together. Don't scare her even more."
Pierce and Bellamy do assessments. Violet leans pitifully against the side of the building, looking pale as a ghost, a bloody rag in her lap.
Ty, her boss, is out cold on the ground beside her, beaten to a bloody pulp.
"Let me go."
Chase gives me a steadying look before he releases me.
“Violet,” I say as I fall to my knees beside her.
Violet flinches and jerks back with a gasp, and I swear softly, earning a glare from Pierce.
I hold up my hands. "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to scare you." I reach for Violet's wrist, taking her pulse above her smartwatch. She blinks dazedly at me, and I can tell she's concussed and in shock. The angry cut at her hairline bleeds profusely, but she seems unaware of it sliding down her beautiful face and dripping off her jaw.
Head wounds bleed more, I remind myself. "What happened, sweetheart?"
Vi blinks at me, lips trembling as she tries to speak. She takes a ragged breath and slowly shakes her head without speaking.
"Where do you hurt? What happened? Talk to me, baby."
