“You should carry,” Alex says almost begrudgingly. “While walking and while in the ambulance, just in case.”
Aside from the fact that I can’t have a gun in the back of an ambulance, at least I carrysomething.
“She carries mace around,” Mason tells him with a cheeky grin.
Ah, his nickname:Mace. I get why he laughed now.
“Better than nothing,” Alex grumbles, unknowingly echoing his partner earlier.
“How long you down for, man?” Mason playfully smacks Alex’s good arm.
“I’m fine,” Alex immediately refutes.
Saw that coming. I know his type; he’s a tough guy. You can’t expect them to accept all the steps of their care without giving them just enough worry that they’ll be stuck recuperating even longer just to get them to oblige at least a little to initial care.
“Just be careful not to rip your stitches or healing will take even longer. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
His eyes meet mine with such intensity that my breathing stutters. “I’ll be careful,” he notes, his voice suddenly far more gravely than it had been. But his eyes stay on mine, burning into my mind so intensely that I don’t look away. Ican’tlook away.
I swallow hard, trying to sooth my suddenly dry mouth.
Mason breaks the spell. “No worries, Medic Liv. I’ll make sure he’s careful with it. You should get back inside, the sun’s down and it’s getting cold.”
Right, cold. And I’m… still in a t-shirt and sleep shorts. That explains why I’m shivering.
That’s what I’ll tell myself anyway.
“Well, good night to you both. Hope everything goes okay for you all out here.” I toss my bag over my shoulder and glance around the street. Jett and Alice are closing up the rig, about to leave. There are even more officers scattered around the block, taking pictures, and dealing with the two guys who had been on the ground when I came outside and who are now being lead to the back of a squad car.
“Good night, Liv. Sleep tight,” Mason waves, still smiling, while Alex just watches me walk away, still pinning me with that same look.
As I trudge back up the front steps of my building, my mind drifts back to before my evening went awry and I remember.
My food’s still in the microwave.
Chapter 2
Alex
The apartment building door shuts behind her with a metallic slam that echoes across the street. And I keep staring at it anyway.
My arm burns beneath the blood-soaked bandage that paramedic, Alice, wrapped around it, but somehow that isn’t the thing my brain keeps fixating on.
No. It’s Liv’s hands. Jesus Christ. The woman touched me for maybe five minutes, and my skin still feels hot where her fingers pressed against my arm to keep pressure on the wound. Firm, steady, and confident. Not shaking or hesitant like most people are when they hear gunfire.
No, she heard gunfire, looked out her window, saw blood in the street, and came running downstairs carrying a med bag.
Who the hell does that?
“You’re staring.” Mason’s voice cuts through the thought.
I drag my attention away from the apartment building and look over at him.
He’s standing near the curb with his sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened, watching me with the kind of expression that means he’s already about to become insufferable.
Behind him, uniforms shove the two shooters into separate squad cars while another officer reads one of them his rights loud enough to be heard over the sirens. The second suspect isbleeding from the mouth after trying to swing at a cop during the arrest, completely missed, and faceplanted on the pavement.
“I’m assessing the scene,” I say.
