“Oxygen bottles.”
“Secured.”
Daniel secured himself and made his “off call” to dispatch. “Medevac Ten responding, four souls, two hours’ fuel.” He listened to the dispatcher on the headset give him the details as they took off.
He sighed and made eye contact with Crista. “Bar brawl.”
At Nilay’s wide-eyed expression, he answered, “Nope, not too early—these are the ones that were out all night getting drunk, and now they fight.” He shrugged and shook his head.
The vibrations and noise of the chopper were familiar to Daniel, but he was impressed by how Nilay took it all in stride. The chopper landed in a field and the ambulance was already waiting for them.
“We’ll do it hot,” came the order from Andrea.
Daniel nodded as he got off the chopper behind Nilay, pushing the boy’s head down so he was bent at the waist as they exited behind Crista. “She wants us to move fast, so she’s not turning off the blades.”
They approached the ambulance to find the patient strapped to the stretcher with a large piece of glass protruding from his arm. Crista spoke to the EMTs while Daniel explained to Nilay, “He has a penetrating injury to his arm. With the amount of blood we see in the gauze, there may be a major blood vessel involved, which is why they called us.” He dropped his bag and crouched down to open it, pulling out multiple packets of gauze. “This is QuikClot. It’s a special gauze that has clotting agents in it to promote quick blood clotting, so our patient doesn’t bleed out.” He glanced at Nilay. There was a lot of blood, but damn, the kid was listening and observing the patient with no sign of even going pale. “Here, put on these gloves and let’s open a few of these packets and apply them.”
Nilay did exactly as he was told. He moved naturally, as if he’d done this his whole life. Daniel smiled as he applied the QuikClot Nilay handed him. “You’re a natural.”
“Thanks.”
“We’re attaching a monitor to the patient so we can continuously monitor blood pressure. We’ll also monitor his oxygen levels and heart rate for any rhythm changes.”
“All right, boys. Let’s move.” Crista was ready.
As Crista and Daniel loaded their patient into the waiting chopper, Nilay was already seated, buckled, helmeted and ready for liftoff.
Daniel smiled at him.
Nilay grinned and mouthed, “This is awesome!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ANNIKA
NAYAPATTEDDOWNher sari for the billionth time, and Annika couldn’t help her grin.
“Oh my God, Naya, it’s going to be fine. You look amazing. That burgundy looks like you were born to wear it, so stop fussing. I’m never wrong.”
They were in the parking lot outside of the hotel where the wedding would take place, waiting to be part of thejaan, the groom’s procession, which should start in the next fifteen minutes. She raised her face to absorb the warmth from the midmorning sun in the November chill as thedolplayer tested out his beat. The dolplayer held the single drum with a strap around his neck, so the drum lay horizontal at his waist. He played one side with a stick and the other side with his hand.
The loud drumbeat was as synonymous with weddings as a bride and groom and the scent of burning incense. The crowd responded to thetaka-taka-tumwith cries of enthusiasm as they began to move their bodies to the beat of the dol. Thejaan would dance the groom to the entrance of the hall, where the bride’s family would greet him.
Naya spared her a glance. “I’m not fussing. I’m just not used to wearing a sari. Not everyone has your grace.” She scowled.
Annika laughed. “You’re all worked up because Ravi is going to be here with his family. It’s cute—I’ve never seen you so nervous over a guy before.” She grabbed Naya’s hand. “I said, stop fussing. You are an amazing and accomplished woman. There’s nothing to be nervous about.” She squeezed her hand. “And didn’t both sets of parents agree to the initial meeting anyway? It’s like you have preapproval.”
Naya held up her hands. “Of course. I’m being ridiculous. I just want them to likeme, not the résumé.” Her gaze dropped to Annika. “You’re looking pretty damn amazing in that sari yourself. Sometimes I’m right. That purple is working for you. Wait until Sajan sees.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Thanks.” She glanced down, seeming to notice the color for the first time. Truth was, she was no more comfortable in a sari than Naya was. They only wore them on special occasions, so while she could manage it, they both relied heavily on safety pins. She tried to be excited to see Sajan, but it was all she could do to smile back at Naya at the mention of his name.
“You do know what color sari you put on today, don’t you?” Nothing got past this girl.
Annika gave her cousin her best “duh” look, but the truth was that she was distracted—she couldn’t stop thinking about Daniel. He had kept his distance since their little fallout, presumably respecting her wishes. But thoughts of him kept finding their way into her mind. At least once a day, one of her students mentioned that fire truck. Even the bar seemed a bit empty without him to flirt with. And then there was her brother, FaceTiming her with his “Daniel is so awesome” commentary. She had rolled her eyes at him, but her heart had clung to every word Nilay said about Daniel.
Then there was that kiss, of course. She only continued to replay that moment fifty times a day.
“Oh, shit, Annika.” Naya squeezed Annika’s arm, even as a small smile crept onto her face. “You didn’t tell mehewas coming.”
