Sirens filled the air as the first fire truck arrived on scene. Not far behind was a second truck, followed by an ambulance and a slew of SUVs marked “U.S. Capitol Police”.
One perk that came with living in the nation’s capital…when a bomb goes off, and there’s no shortage of first responders. And they’d gotten there pretty damn fast.
“Ma’am, are you all right?” A female paramedic talked to her as she and her partner rushed her way.
“I’m fine, he’s the one who needs your help.” Natalia’s heart kicked against her ribs when she glanced Jagger’s way and saw his dark lashes fluttering against his cheeks. “Come on, Jag.” Hope bloomed. “Open those eyes for me.”
Several long, terrifying seconds passed by before he finally began lifting his lids.
“Tal?” His voice sounded rough, his left hand reaching blindly for her.
“I’m here.” She didn’t hesitate to grab his hand, thankful his grip felt stronger than he currently looked.
Those gorgeous, dark brown eyes of hisfinallyrose high enough to meet hers. “You’re…hurt.”
“Ma’am, that cut in your head’s still bleeding. You really should be checked out by a doctor, just in case.”
“I said I’m fine.” She brushed off the medic attempting to give her aid, too worried about Jagger to feel bad about being so abrasive.
“She’s right,” Jagger’s deep voice interjected.
Natalia glanced back at him. Ignoring the blood slowly trickling down the side of her face, she leaned in closer with a whispered a promise of, “I’m okay.”
“Can’t risk…lose…you.” He was slurring his words now, and his eyes were starting to close. “Jusss…found…y?—”
His eyes fell completely shut and his head lolled to the side. When his grip loosened to the point his hand slipped freely from hers, the panic and fear she’d felt minutes earlier returned in full force.
No!
“Jagger?” She started to reach for him but was stopped by the paramedic who’d been trying to help.
“We’ve got him, but you need to give us room to work.” Her blue eyes implored Natalia to understand what she was saying.
Get out of their way. That’s what she’s saying.
The last thing Natalia wanted was to leave Jagger’s side. But the uniformed woman was right. He needed medical attention, and she was impeding their attempts to give it.
She pushed herself up to her feet and took a few steps back. Her eyes never left him as the pair of medics got to work doing all they could to help.
The separation gave Natalia the time she needed to get control of herself. To start thinking like a government agent, rather than a frantic lover.
Looking around, she committed as much of the scene to memory as she could. The burning car and the pieces of it strewn about the ground. The rapidly growing crowd.
She looked at each and every face she could see, wondering whether the person responsible was here. Whoever it was, they were out there, somewhere. They’d hurt Jagger. Could havekilledhim.
Tears burned her eyes as they slid back to him. She was surprised to see he’d been strapped to a backboard and was being wheeled on a gurney toward the ambulance parked in the street.
Natalia found the nearest officer and hurriedly told him who she worked for. She looked around, only then recalling her purse had been on her shoulder at the time of the explosion.
There!
“My I.D.’s in my purse.” She pointed to where it lay. The small bag was barely visible near the spot where she’d landed in the bushes.
With the cautious officer following her closely, she went over to where it was and pulled it free. Natalia unzipped the purse, grabbed her wallet and official I.D., and rushed to prove she’d been telling the officer the truth about who she was.
“I’ll give you my statement on the way to the hospital,” she informed the detective in charge a few minutes later. Her gaze went to the car that was still burning. “But I’m going to need a ride.”
Nearly three hours later…
