Her violent coughing had ruptured blood vessels in her eyes, and her lids were puffy. Her lips looked like they were beginning to swell too. She grabbed his hand that rested on the door. "It doesn't last long," she wheezed. "I need help." Her eyelids fluttered as she forced out the plea.
He swore again.
The pen isn't enough!
He'd read somewhere that they were only meant to buy time. Maybe ten to fifteen minutes. They didn't stop or reverse the effects of anaphylactic shock. Eden needed medical attention. Fast.
They were almost fifteen minutes from town. An ambulance would never get there in time.
He noted the time on his watch then opened her door and scooped her up into his arms. He rushed to the passenger side of his car. Her body hung limp in his arms, and he nearly dropped her before he managed to get the door open and deposit her on the seat. He was already in his own seat when he remembered the first aid kit in his trunk had another Epi pen.
He hated taking precious time to retrieve the pen, but Eden would need another dose of epinephrine before they reached the hospital.
He left his lights flashing as he raced down the highway, driving far faster than he had ever driven, even as a reckless teenager. Picking up his handset, he barked into it, "Dispatch this is Wheeler," He rattled off his badge number.
"Dispatch. Go Wheeler."
"I have a 10-33. Twenty-six-year-old female in anaphylactic shock." He stated his location and ETA to the hospital. He had to suck in a deep breath before finishing. "I need the ER standing by to receive the patient."
He glanced at Eden's face.
Her eyes were now closed, and her normal olive complexion looked pale except for the angry red splotches covering her face and neck. A blue tint surrounded her swollen lips.
He pressed a little harder on the gas, inching the speedometer even higher. Kennedy would never forgive him if he let her best friend die.
He spoke into his radio again. "Janice!" In his panic, he forgot all formality. "Get all available officers to block every possible intersection along main street in seven minutes. I need to get this woman to the hospital fast!"
As soon as he released the radio, he grabbed Eden's hand and squeezed it. "Stay with me, you hear."
Her eyelids fluttered open but then closed again.
His heart raced, and his skin flushed from the adrenaline coursing through his veins, creating a prickly, electric sensation throughout his body. He barely registered Janice's response as he checked the time on his watch. As soon as the exit for Providence came into view, Rudy used his teeth to wrench the lid off the second Epi pen. He didn't cringe this time when he rammed it into Eden's thigh, he just prayed it would be enough to save her life.
He kept dispatch apprised of his location and turned on his siren as he exited the highway and hit the traffic in town. He kept a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel as he raced down Main Street of his sleepy little town at ninety-five miles an hour.
He sucked in a deep breath when the EMTs, a doctor, and two nurses darted out of the emergency room entrance with a stretcher before he could even bring his car to a stop.
Relief warred with fear as he watched them pull an unconscious Eden from his car. Knowing there was nothing more he could do, he sank back into his seat and prayed.
A knock sounded on his window half a second before his door was wrenched open. Sheriff Robert Winters crouched beside him. "Are you okay? What happened exactly?"
"I saw her car swerving..." Rudy's voice shook as he talked. The more he tried to fight the tremor, the worse it became. Then a stinging sensation hit the back of his eyes. He stopped talking and looked away, not understanding why he felt the urge to cry.
Robert clasped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a little shake. "It's okay. It's just the adrenaline wearing off."
Rudy shook his head. He'd felt the adrenaline drop many times, but something about today's emergency affected him much stronger than ever before.
"You did good work. You saved her."
He looked at the doors to the ER.
Did I? What if I wasn't fast enough? Kennedy will kill me.
Kennedy. He picked up his phone as Robert walked away and called his sister-in-law.
* * *
A warm,calloused hand slipped into Eden's cold one, and a muffled voice said something, but Eden couldn't interpret it through the fog in her head. Her hand wiggled and the voice came again.
