“Nothing.” Annika focused her gaze out the window. Her face heated in response to his smile, even though she couldn’t see it. Thank goodness for brown skin.
Nilay’s face lit up. “This is a chopper base? You’re a flight medic?”
Daniel nodded. “Yes, on the side.”
“Wow.”
Annika grinned to herself. Her little brother was completely starstruck. Just when Daniel couldn’t get any cooler, he turned out to be a helicopter flight medic. She sighed, slightly disappointed. Nilay’s radar was most likely tainted by the fact that he thought Daniel’s jobs were amazing.
“So...do you carry a gun?” Nilay started his questions.
Annika rolled her eyes in the back seat.
“No,” Daniel answered. “There’s no need. We’re not cops.”
“Right. So what do you get to do?”
“Well, we start IVs, stop bleeding, do minor procedures if necessary. Basically, we stabilize the patient so we can airlift them to the surgeons as quickly as possible.”
“What’s some of the worst you’ve seen?”
“Well, there was the gunshot wound a month ago at Phil’s Place.”
Too late, Annika began shaking her head from the back seat in an effort to get Daniel to not mention that.
“There was a gunshot at Didi’s bar?” Nilay’s voice filled with alarm.
“Uh—” Daniel side-eyed Annika.
“It was nothing. No need to mention this at home.” She glared at Daniel.Thanks a lot.
“What do you meannothing?”
“Hey, there’s a spot. Think you can get it in there?” Daniel interrupted.
Nilay concentrated on his parking, and Daniel offered information about the base before Nilay could continue with his interrogation.
Daniel held Annika’s arm for support as he guided them through the door and into the building. Normally, Annika would have insisted she could walk on her own—her feet were not injured!—but she wasn’t inclined to say no to being this close to him. She might never get another chance.
“The base is set up much like a house. We have three bedrooms, one for each of us and one for the pilot. That way we can rest in between calls,” Daniel told them as he led them to a small room with a single bed and a desk.
By this time, Nilay was bouncing with excitement and asking about everything he saw. Daniel sat Annika on the bed and turned to Nilay. “You’re free to look around while I do this, just don’t touch anything.”
“Seriously? Awesome! I promise—I won’t touch anything. Where’s the chopper?” He started to bounce away, then turned back. “You’re okay, right, Didi? I mean, I can stay if you need me.”
Annika shook her head. “I’m fine. Go ahead.”
She had barely finished before Nilay was off.
Daniel had opened a black bag, rummaged through it and pulled out a small pouch, which turned out to be a suture kit. “Sorry about telling him about the incident at the bar. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
Annika shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s only a problem if he tells my parents, which he won’t because he thinks all this—” she waved with her good hand “—is supercool.”
He placed a small nightstand in front of Annika before he turned to open an overhead cabinet and get things set up. The muscles of his back and arms flexed as he reached inside the cabinet and pulled out a clean sheet, which he draped over the small nightstand, placing Annika’s injured hand on top of it. He left the room for a minute and returned, drying his hands on a clean paper towel. He pulled up a chair and sat down across from her, donned gloves and proceeded to set up his instruments.
His breath came steady and sure, his movements graceful and practiced. He filled the small space, and she was mesmerized. More than aware of the fact that she sat on a bed he slept in and that they were very much alone.
When all seemed set, he gently removed the makeshift bandage he had put on. He cleaned the wound and readied a needle. “This will pinch. It’s just lidocaine.”
