“You’re welcome.” The inspector nodded.
“Thank you,” I reiterated as my son pulled me away from the firefighters and toward the closest entrance for tower one.
I hoped that interaction would be enough to help Kirin focus on something else for the day. Maybe even longer, as I contemplated when and if I would text Blaze back.
Chapter Ten
Blaze
Our alarm sounded.
The call came in for a car crash.
Four of us suited up and left the fire hall in the pumper truck, the lights flashing and siren telling other drivers to move out of the way.
As emergency responders, we headed out for many calls other than fires, most of them being medical in nature. Often, we beat the paramedics to the scene and assessed the situations, gave first aid, blocked off the area, or assisted in other ways.
From the passenger side of the truck, I spotted the accident ahead. It looked like one of the vehicles wasn’t paying attention to the color of the streetlights, leading to an SUV crashing into the driver’s side of a minivan. Neither of the vehicles were electric, reducing the risk of a fire.
The instant the truck stopped, we were out the door.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry.” A man rushed toward us as an ambulance pulled up beside our truck. “The sun was in my face. I didn’t see that it was red.”
I guided the man over to the sidewalk so the other members of my team could work with the EMTs to help those in the minivan. Controlling emotional people in an emergency situation was just as important as helping those who were injured. “Is there anyone else in your vehicle?”
He shook his head. “No. Just me. I was heading into work.”
“Are you injured at all?” I looked him over, trying to spot any signs of blood or him favoring a body part. People involved in crashes sometimes had a rush of adrenaline that hid their pain for a brief period of time.
“I don’t think so.” He glanced toward where his SUV was wedged into the minivan. “Are they going to be okay? I tried toget a response from the driver, but he only moaned. And I think I saw a kid in the back.”
A moment of panic clenched my heart. Ladon and Kirin? I blinked to regain focus. Wait, Ladon didn’t drive. It couldn’t be them. Yet those in the vehicle were already getting the attention they needed.
“This the driver?” An EMT appeared beside me with her medical bag. Jones, a human who often responded to the same calls as us.
I nodded. “Yeah, he says he isn’t injured but I’ll leave him to you to check over.”
The police pulled up then, obviously to question the driver.
I left them and walked over to where my team worked with the other paramedics to retrieve the minivan driver and his passenger from the vehicle.
“Are you busy?” the other EMT, Waverly, asked before I had a chance to find out where Captain Lee needed me.
“Um, no.” I turned to him to find a young child in his arms.
“Good.” He handed the child to me. “Take him while we get his dad out. He seems okay. Was buckled in well. I just don’t want him wandering off or for someone to grab him.”
The boy wrapped his legs around my waist as I pulled him closer. “Is my daddy okay?”
I couldn’t answer his question as I hadn’t yet seen the condition of the omega in the driver’s seat, only the condition of his minivan. “He has the best people helping him right now. They’ll take him to the hospital and get him all fixed up.”
A sob wracked the young one’s body as he sniffled. “I don’t want to go to the hospital. We’re supposed to go to my poppa’s birthday. The cake is in the back. It’s chocolate.”
“Your poppa’s, huh? Don’t worry, we’ll get you there.” I didn’t know when, but I knew everyone who responded to the scene would work together to ensure this child was treated andremained in the care of family. “What’s your name?” The more information I could get from him, the easier it would be to contact other family members.
“Roe Svensson. My daddy is Lucas Svensson, and my father is Tobias Svensson, but he is away on a business trip.” The boy took a deep breath before sticking out his bottom lip. “I don’t know my poppa’s name.”
“That’s okay.” I rubbed his back. “You did well, Roe. You gave me lots of information. Would you like something to eat or drink?” We usually included a cooler bag with water and snacks as part of our situation response equipment. We never knew when it would be necessary to help a victim or a distraction for others at the scene.
