Once Burned (Firehouse Fourteen Book 1) (9 page)

Mike sat in the watch room, her eyes focused on the blank screen of the television as thoughts tumbled one after another through her mind. Saturday night had been a disaster but she had nobody to blame but herself. She was the one who had been stupid enough to show up at the nightclub, even knowing what could happen. The worst of it was that she hadn't been able to think of anything else for the last three days. How could she still find herself drawn to Nick, after everything that had happened between them? After so many years had gone by? After what he had done?

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, mentally cursing herself. Paperwork was scattered on the desk in front of her, the pages filled with her small handwriting. The top pages were nothing more than an update on the damn program that had been thrown in her lap. Right along with Nick. It should have been easy. All she had to do was let Jay run the show, like they had discussed. All she had to do was sit quietly in the back and do nothing. She didn't need to be involved. Except now she was—because of Nick. And now, for the first time in a long time, she doubted her ability to do something, because she really didn't think she could do this anymore.

Because of Nick.

The other pages were nothing more than heartfelt venting, a way to work through her anger and frustration. The rambling words were addressed to nobody, meant only for her eyes as she laid out all the reasons she could no longer take part in the project. It was just a draft, allowing her to vent her frustrations, to get everything out of her system. She wouldn't turn it in. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't, even if she had thought about putting in a formal request, to make it real.

No, that was the one thing she couldn't do, no matter how much she wanted to. There would be too much backlash, too much retaliation from Captain Nelson. Against her. Against Jay.

But that didn't make taking part in the program any easier. Part of her really thought she couldn't do it anymore. Being around Nick was taking too much out of her. And helping Jay out wasn't worth her sanity. But she'd stick with it. Because Jay had always stuck by her, no matter what. And because part of didn't want Nick to win.

Mike stood and stretched the kinks out of her back then grabbed the paperwork and stacked it in a neat pile, the report on top. Maybe if she talked to the captain, explained why—without going into too much detail. If she could explain why, give him a sound, reasonable explanation, then maybe he'd be willing to work something out.

Mike chewed on her lower lip, her mind running through all the possible scenarios and outcomes. Her mind made up, she left the watch room and headed back to the officers' room. She had to tell Captain Nelson she couldn't do it. Her nerves would never last the next few months—not if the last month was any indication. Her sanity was more important.

Her steps faltered, doubt filling her. Who was she kidding? She couldn't tell Captain Nelson she wanted off the project, no matter what reason she gave him. He'd be livid. But maybe she could work something else out, offer a compromise.

Yeah, as long as she could come up with something brilliant in the next thirty seconds.

She paused at the closed door, took a deep breath, and knocked, waiting for the muffled invitation before opening the door. "Cap, can I talk—"

Her words were interrupted by the shrill noise of the alarm. Time froze for a few heart-pounding seconds as the disembodied voice of a faceless dispatcher announced a vehicle rescue. Time snapped back and life erupted around the station. Mike threw the paperwork on the captain's desk then ran into the engine room, gathering her gear before jumping in the back of the engine with Jay. He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a thumbs-up, but the traditional lucky sign failed to bring even a hint of smile to her face. Jay studied her as she pulled on her gear, finally shouting over the roar of the engine as it pulled out of the station.

"You okay?"

Mike waved his question away and settled back in the jump seat, trying to clear her mind as the engine sped through the late evening traffic on its way to the interstate. She turned in the seat, craning her neck to peer out the front window at the stopped traffic clogging the road in front of them. Rush hour should have been over an hour ago, which meant something else was causing the standstill. Mike turned back around and slammed on the engine cover to get Jay's attention, then motioned out the window. She reached over and pried a Halligan bar from its bracket, then pulled a handful of latex gloves from the box wedged beside her.

The engine slowed, the tires rumbling over the rough shoulder before coming to a stop. Mike threw open the door and climbed out, following the captain around the front as the spot lights on the side of the engine lit the scene.

One car rested against the guardrail at an awkward angle, the back and driver's side caved in. A second car was on its roof in the culvert off the shoulder, apparently having flipped over the guardrail. Jay made his way to the first car while Mike climbed over the damaged guardrail and slid down the small incline, taking in the scene immediately surrounding the vehicle. A quick glance showed one person inside the car, still strapped in the passenger seat and hanging at an awkward angle.

Mike signaled to the captain, holding up one finger to indicate the number of people, then dropped to her knees and climbed in through the broken driver's door window. The middle-aged woman grabbed for her, sobbing and muttering words that made no sense. Mike tried to comfort her with soothing words, doing a quick visual assessment of the patient then looking around for the driver. There was no one else in the car.

"Ma'am, I need you to calm down. Can you tell me what happened?"

Mike listened as the woman muttered something about being late for a party, something else about her boyfriend, but Mike couldn't make much sense of it. She backed out of the car and waved to the captain, motioning that she needed him.

"Cap, we have a missing driver. Anyone up there see anything?"

"Let me check." He turned and headed back up, his feet sliding under him as he struggled up the incline before finally reaching the road and disappearing into the gathering crowd. Mike muttered an obscenity to herself then crawled back into the car, doing a physical assessment of the woman while listening for the tell-tale sound of the ambulance's siren. Minutes went by before the medic unit finally arrived and Mike mumbled a quick thanks when Dave joined her by the car.

"What do you have?" He sat the large trauma box and collection of collars on the ground next to the car then tapped her on the leg, guiding her as she crawled out.

"Possible neck and back and she's complaining about her right ankle. I can't get in close enough to see. Possible ETOH. Not to mention a missing driver." She lowered her voice for the last part, not wanting the woman to overhear Mike telling him she had been drinking and that her boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

"Great." He climbed into the car, only to reappear two minutes later. "Get the backboard for me and have them call for the helicopter. I'm going to send her downtown."

"Will do," Mike assured him, grateful to be doing something besides patient care. She keyed the mike hanging from her turnout coat and relayed Dave's request as she made her way back up the hill. Several minutes later, she had the long board from the medic unit and was making her way back down to the overturned car, her eyes searching for any sign of the driver. There was a slight chance the body could be under the car; if that was the case, there would be little hope for him.

Dave was quiet as he treated the woman, calmly answering her hysterical questions while Mike helped out in silence. They finally maneuvered the woman out of the seat belt and were positioning her on the backboard when a raging bellow exploded around them. Dave and Mike both stopped what they were doing, startled, and looked up as a ragged man came hurtling toward them from the sparse wooded area on the other side of the culvert.

The man screamed obscenities, running at them like a raging bull. Mike figured he was over six feet tall and weighed a solid two hundred-forty pounds. From the blood streaming down his battered face, there was a good chance he was their missing driver.

The thought whirled through her mind with lightning speed, followed immediately by the realization that the man was charging them, his meaty fists already swinging through the air as he moved closer. Mike's instincts took over. She turned, facing the threat head-on while positioning herself in front of Dave, who had lowered his end of the backboard to the ground and hovered over the patient in an attempt to shield the injured woman.

From the corner of her eye, Mike saw a flurry of action on the road above them as police officers jumped over the guardrail. The raging bull was much closer, bellowing at them to leave the woman alone as he lunged toward them. Mike knew it was coming, saw the large arms swinging before he even reached them. She braced herself and lowered her shoulder, hoping to at least stop the man before he ran right into the patient. Her reflexes were fast but the man was faster. A fist the size of a bear's paw caught her in the face and she toppled backwards, managing to fall to the side and avoid Dave and the patient.

The crazed man fell on top of her, knocking the wind from her as he continued swinging. Both of them struggled, Mike trying desperately to draw breath through what she was sure had to be a collapsed lung. The man's struggle suddenly ceased, turning him into nothing more than dead weight on top of her. A second went by before the weight was moved by the late-arriving police. She rolled to her side, her arm wrapping around her middle, her chest heaving.

"Shit! Mikey, are you okay?"

She blinked and turned her head, watching as Dave hovered over her, his hands already pressing in on her arms and side, assessing. She shoved his hands away and pushed herself to her hands and knees, still trying to drag air into her lungs as blessed numbness spread along her face.

The disjointed noise around her was suddenly magnified, echoing with the buzzing between her ears. Mike closed her eyes and rested her head against the cold ground while she concentrated on breathing, finally able to pick out individual words with her first lungful of air.

"Second helicopter—"

"No, he's combative...by land..."

"Bruised ribs at least—"

"...one helluva shiner." Mike finally opened her eyes and looked up to see Jay peering down at her, a cold pack in his hand. He reached out to help her stand then held the cold pack to her face as he led her away from the commotion by the car. She took a few steps then stumbled, forced to lean against Jay so she wouldn't fall down as he led her up the incline.

"Oh, man, everything's swimming," she muttered, reaching up for the cold pack. Jay steadied her as they walked the remaining distance to the road, then she gingerly sat down on the guardrail. The earlier bustle that had erupted with the stranger's startling presence had slowed into organized chaos. Mike took a deep breath and immediately wished she hadn't when a sharp pain pierced her side. She wrapped one arm around her chest and leaned forward, taking baby breaths through her mouth.

"Mikey, you're not looking so good. Maybe you better get in the ambulance."

"No, I'll be fine."

"Yeah, right. I'm getting someone."

"Jay." Too late, he was gone. Mike didn't bother calling him back because he was right. The charging bull had caught her by surprise and she was starting to feel the damage. Part of her wanted to do nothing more than just go home and sleep it off, but that was wishful thinking. There was no doubt she'd be making a trip to the hospital, whether she wanted to or not.

She closed her eyes again, shutting out the turmoil taking place around her. The dizziness wasn't so bad with her eyes closed but the darkness magnified the sounds of the scene, which made her head hurt. Biting back a wince she opened her eyes again, in time to see Dave approaching her with the trauma bag in hand. A paramedic from the second medic unit was behind him, directing the transport of both patients up to the road.

"How are you feeling?" Dave asked, kneeling in front of her and opening the bag.

"Like I've been run over, how do you think?" Mike watched as the two patients, both on backboards, were lifted over the guardrail and taken to the nearest medic unit. "How's the guy?"

David glanced at the medic unit then turned back to her, shrugging. "I'm pretty sure he's got a closed head injury. Both pupils are shot. Raccoon eyes. Not to mention the combativeness. Not good signs."

Mike grunted, not really having anything to say, then closed her eyes as Dave poked and prodded and examined. His hand pressed against her side and she winced.

"Hmm. You're definitely going to need X-rays. Other than that and the side of your face, you look okay. C'mon, let's get you to the hospital and get you checked out."

"Gee, I'm so lucky. And here I was looking forward to going on another call." Mike stood then swayed as a wave of dizziness washed over her, making her stomach roll. She closed her eyes and reached out, feeling Dave's arm go around her to support her. A second passed before the world righted itself and she could open her eyes.

"Alright, sit back down." Dave lowered her back to the guardrail, still supporting her as he called for Jay to bring a stretcher.

"I don't need—"

"I'm in charge here so don't even bother. You're going on the stretcher whether you want it or not."