The bay explodes into motion. Boots. Coats. Radios. The rush of adrenaline I’ve trained years for.
My body locks into go-mode.
Axel reaches the engine at the same time I reach the ambulance. Cole shouts assignments.
“Brooks, Ramirez, you’re first medic team in. Take Medic Two!”
My heart kicks.
Of course.
Of course we’re paired today.
Axel slides into the passenger seat, breath fogging the cold windshield. I hop into the driver’s side, shove the rig into gear, and we shoot out of the bay lights flashing.
For a moment, the only sounds are sirens, snow tires grinding over icy roads, and my pulse hammering louder than both.
Axel says quietly, “You drive faster than you used to.”
I smirk. “You always hated my driving.”
“Because you took corners like you were trying to impress death.”
“Still do.”
A muscle twitches in his cheek. “I noticed.”
I shouldn’t want to smile at that. Not when there’s so much weight between us. Not when everything about him is wrapped in a decade of ghosts I thought I buried.
But damn it—I do.
“Route 14 in sight,” I say, professional again. “Two vehicles. One rollover.”
Axel leans forward, scanning. “Copy. Take left flank. I’ll grab vitals. You assess driver.”
The second I park and jump out, the cold slams into me. Snow flurries sting my cheeks. The smell of leaking coolant and burned rubber fills the air.
Axel moves beside me—fast, efficient, powerful. His voice takes on command strength when he calls out instructions.
This is the part that’s familiar in a way I hate admitting: we work together effortlessly.
We always did.
He reaches the crumpled sedan at the same time I do, crouching to stabilize the door frame as I scan the driver for responsiveness.
“Ma’am? Can you hear me?”
She groans.
“Pulse is weak but present,” Axel reports, already slapping a cervical collar out of his pack. “Glass in her hairline.”
“Airway open,” I say, leaning in.
He angles the door wider so I can reach.
“On your count,” he murmurs.
And god help me, that tone—that steady, patient, syncing-to-me tone—shoots straight through my bloodstream like a memory I wasn’t ready for.
