Edge of the Heat (Westwood Harbor Corruption) (4 page)

Emma felt her knees weaken a little bit.
What in the hell is going on with you sister? He's just a man! You've seen handsome men before! Get a hold of yourself!

"
Uh, hi, uh, you, uh," Emma stammered.

Ugh.
She wanted to slap herself in the face. She was never tongue-tied around men. But then she wasn't attracted to very many men either. Spending most days of her life with tons of handsome men, all of whom were just normal people, did that to her. Looks didn't impress her anymore. Besides, her ex-husband was one of the most handsome men she knew and also one of the biggest jerks on the planet.

"Hi, Emma right?" He strode towards her, big legs eating up the distance between them in nanoseconds. She put her hand up, intending to shake his,
but he kept coming. He leaned in for a hug and actually picked her up off her feet and squeezed her, twirling her around once and setting her back down where she started. His scent: warm cologne, bacon, and pure, clean man, enveloped her.

Emma gaped up at
him.

He chuckled, "Sorry, I know we haven't even met yet but I feel like I know you already."

"Frankie has told me all about you, and I spent some time praying that you would recover fully, and of course I have already had my lips on yours." Redness crept into his cheeks at that admission but he didn't look away.

Emma's eyes widened and her mouth tried to open wider. It was already open as far as it could go though.

"Oh, ah, nobody told you I gave you rescue breaths?"

She managed to shake her head no.

"Yeah, uh, well, once I got you turned over and your airway open, you still weren't breathing. I didn't have an aid bag or a mask so I, uh, I just uh ..."

He trailed off, still gazing in her eyes. Emma almost forgot what he was saying. His dark baby blues wer
e so blue and big. His eyes had the innocence of a 2 year old - incapable of telling a lie. He put his mouth on hers?! That was unheard of these days! With diseases and lawsuits, you never, ever put your mouth over someone else's mouth. You always used a mask or a barrier.

But he didn't have one. And he didn't want to wait for one. He would have done the same for any of his brothers here in the engine company. That rule didn't necessarily apply to others in the business.

In her mind, his lips closed over hers. She shivered.

"Oh, ah, I'm totally clean you know. I don't have any Hepatitis or anything." She heard him suck in a nervous breath and hold it.

Oh man, he thinks I'm worried about getting something from him because I haven't said a frickin word yet! Emma, say something!
She screamed inside her own head. Mentally, she slapped herself across the face.

"Um, Craig, right?" She forced a smile and took his hand in both of hers. "Thank you so much. You saved my life. I owe you big time."

His shoulders relaxed and the smile

(
and those dimples, dear lord!
)

reappeared. "No way, you don't owe me anything, anymore than that lady you saved today owes you anything, amiright?" He tipped a wink to her and headed back over to the stove top.

She chuckled, "Yeah, you are right, I guess."

He turned back around, two plates in hand, and put them in front of two opposite chairs at the table. "Sit down and have some lunch with me."

She eyed the plates. BLT sandwiches. Yum. She eyed Craig. Bigger yum. "Ok." Emma smiled and pulled out her chair.

The radio squelched and the tones started. Craig stood up and eyeballed the radio speaker. "Damn," she heard him swear under his breath. "Engine 18, respond to smell of smoke. 402 Westwood Blvd." He turned around and put a finger on each
stove dial, manually checking to be sure they were off. "Sorry, I have to go. I'd love to see you again soon."

He rushed into the hallway and a moment later, she saw the big, red engine pull out onto the road with lights flashing.

"So how di
d it go yesterday, anyway?

What?
Emma was jerked back to the here and now by Jerry's question. They were headed to a school out of their district for a possible sprained ankle, Code 1 - no lights or sirens.

"You know, with firefighter hot and heavy. How d
id it go?"

"Oh, it went fine. I said thanks."

"Yeah, and then what?" Jerry looked knowingly at her.

"And then nothing. He had to go out on the call."

"So you were in there for all that time, and all you said was th-"

"Hey Jerry," she interrupted him, "Did
you know he gave me mouth to mouth?"

"Um, yeah, he mentioned it. Didn't I tell you that?"

"No, you most certainly did not. I thought I started breathing again after he opened my airway." Emma scowled at him and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, well, you were breat
hing by the time I got there. irregular breathing, but breathing. And some oxygen got you all regular and comfortable again."

"Oh." She lapsed into silence. Boy, she should have seen the long tunnel and the big light. But maybe her heart hadn't stopped bea
ting so she hadn't technically been dead. Maybe you only see the tunnel when you are actually dead for a little bit. Not breathing for 30 or 40 seconds doesn't make you dead. Maybe you only get a glimpse of the afterlife if you are dead.

Abruptly she sat
straight up in her seat and strained against the belt, gasping a small "oh" of surprise.

"What Em, what's wrong?"

"My vision Jerry, I forgot all about my vision!"

And she had. Yesterday afternoon she had reveled in being back at work, enjoying each adrenal
ine rush and code 3 and patient interaction. When the day was over and she had relived each call at least once her thoughts had stolen to her talk with Craig. That one she replayed 4 or 5 times, berating herself each time for her horrible conversation skills. This morning, she had even started to think of ways to get them over to Firehouse 18 to see if he was working. There had been no call for Engine 18 yet, or she would have jumped it.

"Your vision? What about it?"

Oh yeah, Jerry didn't know she had been lusting after Craig for 24 hours now, so he also didn't know why the relationship she had been fantasizing about with him would never happen now. Should she tell him?

"Nothing. Nothing. I was ah, just being silly."

Jerry peeked over at her and said "Come on Em, spill it. What's going on? Does this have anything to do with the sexy new guy?"

She laughed. Jerry knew her too well. "Ok, Ok, I guess I worked myself into a little crush for the new guy because I wasn't thinking of my vision."

"I knew you would like him! Hell, I'd like him if I were a straight woman. He seems like a helluva nice guy and I'm no expert, but I can tell by the way you and those cops were looking at him yesterday that he is easy on the eyes."

Emma felt jealousy flare in her brain and a l
ittle pain beat in her chest at the thought of the cops looking at him. Especially the young one. No wait, especially the older one. She was about to demand to hear all about it when logic reasserted itself.

"But it doesn't matter Jerry, he's cute, but he
's not the man in my vision."

"Yeah, so?"

"If he's not the man in my vision there's no reason to pursue him - the man in my vision is the love of my life. And that's what I want. Love, family, security."

Jerry's brow creased and he frowned.

"But Em, he's just a cute guy. You don't have to marry him. I haven't seen you have fun with a guy in ..." He trailed off.

Emma knew what he was thinking. She never dated. And Norman, the only man she'd been with since Jerry knew her certainly hadn't been fun. He had be
en all hot body, hot passion, and then 100% abuse. They had only been married for 8 months, and 7 years later he still acted like he owned her. He still put the word out that she was a slut, a whore, and
his
so if anyone ever did show an interest in her it wouldn't last long.

"Well, Em, I don't think I've ever seen you have fun. And besides, how do you know this guy isn't the guy from the vision?"

"Because he has light skin and light hair!" Weren't you listening when I told you about the vision?"

"Of cours
e I was - I guess I just missed some of the details."

"The man in the vision had dark skin, and dark hair."

"Dark like what - black?"

"I don't think so. His skin was really dark but his facial features didn't look black. Maybe he was Indian or Mexican or h
alf something? Like President Obama," Emma said and smiled.

"Maybe it is President Obama - Emma Hill, yes we
can,"
Jerry finished in his best Obama impersonation, including a leer and an eyebrow waggle.

Emma giggled. "Yeah you goof. Don't call me once I've
kicked Michelle to the curb and moved into the White House."

"Oh I'll be over for dinner every night!" Jerry stopped the silliness and asked "So if it's not this guy - what are you going to do? Be celibate until your vision guy shows up?"

"Yeah like that's hard? I've been celibate for 7 years now."

Jerry gave a low whistle of appreciation. "7 years? That's like a lifetime. Why would you do that to yourself?"

"Ah you know, every time I got involved with a guy after - after Norman, he always got to them and told them horrible stuff or threatened them. They never stuck around. They never called back. They wouldn't take my calls. One guy wouldn't even talk to me afterwords. That was Sam, you know the cook at Cafe Rio? I don't know what Norman said to him but it must have been awful because I went to his work once and tried to get him to talk to me and he wouldn't look at me or say a word. The owner finally threw me out and told me never to come back. Eventually I just stopped trying to date."

"Did Norman like, s
py on you?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Maybe he just has a lot of ears on the ground, being a cop and all."

Jerry lapsed into a serious-sounding silence where he chewed on his bottom lip and furrowed his brow.

"Em, I love you, and I never want to see you go, bu
t one thing I've never understood - Why do you stay here in this nasty city? Why not move somewhere new and start a new life where Norman can't ruin it? I know you have the money, and I know you have the guts."

"Lotsa reasons Jer - you gotta know. Westwood
Harbor isn't exactly the nicest place to live but you don't move either. And this is my home. I grew up here. And ..." here she trailed off, wondering if she should share her biggest secret ever, the one that hit the first head injury secret out of the park.

Jerry pulled into the school zone and drove as slow as possible, probably trying to finish this conversation before they had to get out.

"And what?"

Emma sighed. Jerry was her best friend. He knew almost all of her secrets. If anyone should know this s
ecret it was him. For the 100th time in the last 5 years she said a little prayer of gratitude to herself that she had never told Norman this.

"And, I have a twin sister and I don't know who she is and I don't know if she lives here, but if she does, and I
move, I may never run into her." Emma pushed every word out in one quick, shaky breath.

"Twin sister!" Jerry exclaimed, pounding on the steering wheel once and pulling himself up and out of his seat. Emma watched her feet. She wasn't sure if she was glad
or not that she had shared. Jerry had a tendency to overreact to things and be loud when she wished he would be quiet.

"You have a twin sister and you never told me?" Jerry asked incredulously, as he pulled in front of the school and put the ambulance in p
ark. Emma glanced up and saw a woman walking towards them from the front door.

"Yeah Jerry, I do. I don't know who she is or how to find her," Emma's nostrils were flaring and her cheeks flamed red. She didn't want to talk anymore. "We were split up and pu
t in two separate foster homes when our mom died giving birth to us and I haven't been able to find her in my whole life. But maybe someday she'll find me if I stay here." Emma opened her door and jumped out, grabbing the aid bag from the compartment behind her seat in one fluid movement.

Emma practically ran up the sidewalk to meet with the woman and find her patient, leaving Jerry behind.

Emma finished giving her narrative to the nurse at Westwood General and turned over patient care. She w
heeled her gurney out in the hall and started for the exit doors.

"Um Em, can I talk to you for a sec?" Jerry sounded quite and a little timid.

"Of course," Emma said, but she didn't slow down.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off back there."

Emma let out a deep breath. "You didn't piss me off. I'm sorry - I didn't mean to be so sensitive."

"Great! Then we are best friends again!" Jerry threw an arm around her neck and gave her a noogie with his free hand.

"Damnit Jerry! I hate it when you do that," Emma growled, quickly zig-zagging the gurney to avoid hitting an old man in a wheelchair. The nurse pushing him down the hallway gave them a scolding glance and moved to the far side of the hallway.

Emma pulled her scrunchy out of her strawberry blond
hair, raked her fingers through it, and reworked the ponytail at the base of her skull, trying to steer the gurney with her hips.

As they passed the receptionist on the way out of the E.R., someone called to them, "Hey, paramedics, hey you." They turned in
unison and saw a young man in blue scrubs waving them over. "Oh man, what now," Jerry mouthed quietly. Emma pushed the gurney against the wall and they went to see what he wanted.

"Hey you guys gotta take Dr. Mishra on a ride-along," blue scrubs said.

"Says who?" Jerry blurted out aggressively.

Blue scrubs eyed him warily, "Not me man, Dr. Mishra told me to get him a ride-along and I called your dispatch and they said you were here and to tell you to take him out."

"Did they call us by name?" Jerry demanded.

"She said a bald guy and a cute blond," blue scrubs stammered.

"Well that's obviously not us," Jerry growled, getting in blue scrubs' face. He jerked a finger at his head. "I'm not bald, I shave this. And she's
strawberry
-blond and
hot
, not cute," jerking his thumb at Emma.

Emma laughed then got between the two men, backing Jerry up.

"Sorry about him, he hasn't had any coffee yet. Where's Dr. Mishra?"

"Oh, ok, I'll page him right now," blue scrubs picked up the phone, keeping his eyes on Jerry.

"Emma, I don't want to do a ride-along," Jerry whined. "I don't want some jerk doctor in our ambulance telling us everything we are doing wrong."

"Well we gotta, so just be cool. I'll call dispatch and see how fast we can dump him."

Emma went out to the ambulance and called on her cell. She was holding for the dispatch supervisor when out walked Jerry with a handsome, dark-skinned man. He was a bit taller than Jerry, with short, jet-black hair. He looked like he was probably of mixed-race, possibly half-white and something else. Indian? Maybe. His eyes were dark and alert, cataloging everything as they walked along. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth as he listened to Jerry. He threw back his head and roared a hearty laugh, showing perfectly spaced and colored teeth. Not one cavity in that mouth. His body was slim and he looked very professional in his tan pants, white dress shirt, and black shoes. She thought he looked like Benjamin Bratt from Law and Order, and she thought Benjamin Bratt was sexy as hell. What is this? Two sexy men in two days? Maybe that fall had messed with her hormones or something.

"Yes, this is the dispatch supervisor, may I help you?" a woman's voice rang in her ear. Emma hit the green
end call
button without taking her eyes off the doctor.

That's him.
The man in my vision. It must be.
Electricity tingled up and down her spine. She flipped down the mirror and checked her teeth and hair. Ugh! She hadn't put any makeup on this morning. What was wrong with her? Well, no time now.

Sh
ould she get out? Should she stay here? Wait for him to come? Her brain swirled in confusion and anxiety. Too late! Jerry was walking him past the ambulance to her door. Her breathing quickened and she saw stars float in front of her eyes.

"Em, this is Dr.
Mishra, Dr. Mishra this is the best paramedic you'll ever meet: Emma Hill." Jerry said through the open window. He was slightly behind the doctor and Emma noted he wrinkled his nose. She ignored it, not wanting to think about what that meant.

Emma forced
a smile and tried to speak.

"Doctor, uh, hi," she finally got out.

He put his hand through the open window and flashed her a heartbreaking smile, "Call me Reece."

"Reece, uh awesome, uh. Hi." Emma grasped his smooth skin and pumped his hand lightly. His ha
nd was warm and delicate, and rather small for a man's. She sucked in breath hard, trying to clear her thoughts.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jerry cock his head quizzically and knit his brows together. She knew she was making a fool of herself an
d she wasn't sure how to fix it. Her mind was racing but she couldn't capture one thought.

"Emma, what a lovely name for a lovely woman." Reece pressed the back of her hand to his lips briefly. His speech was crisp and clipped and his accent was slight, as
if he had come to America as a young boy.

She dropped his hand and looked at Jerry. "It's my turn to drive."

"Oh, ok, well, not for 30 minutes, but whatever."

She slid over to the driver's seat. She couldn't be lead paramedic, making decisions and trying
not to kill people with Dr. Mishra - no - Reece watching her.

Reece opened the passenger door and climbed in. He sat in the passenger seat. Jerry watched him, eyebrows raised.

"Reece, buddy, ride-alongs sit in the jump-seat in the back. You can walk through the middle there."

Reece looked over his shoulder into the back of the ambulance. Emma studiously looked straight ahead at the wall of the hospital. "Well, certainly not
Doctor
ride-alongs?" he asked with arrogance in his voice.

"Yes, doctors, lawyers
, the President of the United States when he courts Emma - all ride-alongs sit in the back. Paramedics only up here."

Reece didn't move. Emma wasn't looking at them but she could feel the tension.
Did he want to sit next to her? What was he doing?

Reece sw
ung back around to face Jerry. "Well perhaps I should not ride along with
you
."

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll call dispatch and get you another ambulance," Jerry retorted back swiftly.

Reece sniffed, apparently knowing when he was beat. "OK. I will sit in the back then."

***

They cruised the area in silence for a bit. Emma could tell that Jerry was irritated with Reece. She knew he would get over it soon. Jerry didn't hold grudges.

Reece leaned towards the opening between the back of the ambulance
and the front and shouted over the noise of the diesel engine, "Did the President really ride in your ambulance?"

Jerry snorted laughter. "No, but he would sit in the back if he did."

Emma let out the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. It seemed things were OK again between the two men "It's quiet, let's go get some lunch," she suggested.

"Awww man, why did you have to say the Q word Emma, you know better than that! Now all hell is going to break loose," Jerry whined and threw his hands in th
e air.

Emma glanced towards the back, eyes wide.
Why did Jerry have to be such an ass sometimes?

"Shut up Jerry, that's just superstition," she scolded.

"Yeah well, it's good superstition. You never say the Q word until you are home," Jerry grumbled.

"Ok
sorry, let's stop at Nan's Ok?"

"Sure," Jerry agreed sulkily.

"Uh, Reece, are you OK with a bite to eat?" she yelled over her right shoulder.

"Sure," Reece yelled back.

Emma drove to Nan's, a quiet hole in the wall in the industrial area. They liked to eat here because the food was quick and plentiful.

"Unit 17, 10-7X-Ray on Mineral St," Jerry relayed their status to dispatch and they headed into the restaurant, Jerry and Emma both checking their portables to be sure they were on.

Sliding into a booth, Emma held her breath again as Reece slid into the booth next to her. She wanted to be able to look at him, but instead she was almost touching him. Her brain was working overtime, analyzing his every move. Did he like her? Did he even notice her? Did he know how nervous she was? Was she acting weird?

"So where in the hospital are you going to work?" Jerry asked Reece.

"I'm an anesthesiologist. I float between the E.R. and the surgical center."

"So why do they want you to go on a ride-along?"

"I am being considered for the Surgical Ward Director position when Dr. Faust leaves in 1 month, so I have to experience all aspects of the hospital, including ambulance care."

"You don't look old enough to be a medical director, what are you 35?" Jerry demanded.

"36 actually," Reece answered proudly. Emma thought he missed Jerry's aggressive stance this time.

"That's amazing," Emma said, hoping to defuse any more arguments. Reece beamed at her.

"Emma, you should come and see me at the hospital. I could show you around my department. Maybe we could get lunch and make a day of it," Reece said.

Jerry raised his eyebrows. Emma ignored him. Inside she danced a little happy dance. "I would love to Reece."

Emma noticed a waitress heading to their table just before she heard the explosion. She was looking at the waitress and saw her lose her balance and start to tip their plates before the noise registered in her ears. Her senses went on high alert and she grabbed Reese's head, pushing him under the table and throwing her body on top of his, lacing her hands around the back of her head. She opened her mouth and started to yell to Jerry but Jerry was also on the move already. The window they were sitting next to imploded and shards of glass rained down.

Emma and Jerry looked at each
other under the table, eyes wide. Jerry jumped up and ran over to help the waitress. Emma lifted her head and looked around. The room was eerily silent. All the customers were under their tables and a small girl across the room looked to be screaming. Emma couldn't hear her.

Emma pushed at Reece, trying to get him to move out of the booth. He pushed back. She stood straight up on the bench seat and climbed out onto the table and jumped down.

"Anybody hurt?" she yelled, raking her eyes around the room.

She
couldn't hear herself. All she could hear was a high-pitched screaming in her ears. She ran to Jerry. He helped the waitress to her feet and pushed her lightly towards the kitchen.

"Jerry, I can't hear!" she yelled to him. He looked at her and pointed to
his ears, then shook his head.

Our ears. Oh God don't let our eardrums be exploded.

Emma grabbed her radio mike and pressed the button. "Central, this is Unit 17. There has been an explosion near Nan's on Mineral Street. My partner and I can't hear anything so you won't be able to talk back to me. We are heading out to look around and see where it came from. Send fire engines and ambulances, everything you have available." She spoke smoothly and steadily, willing herself to stay calm. Adrenaline coursed through her system, but she had learned long ago to keep it contained.

She looked around the room once more. Everyone was still under their tables, peering out at her and Jerry. No one was asking for help. They were not needed here.

Jerry waved his hand in front of her face and pointed towards the door. She nodded.

Emma ran to the table where Reece was still kneeling underneath it, his face lined with fear.

She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out. He half-heartedly tried to pull away but she held on tight and hauled him out, pulling him towards the door. If this was a mass casualty scene, they would need all the help they could get, and a doctor was a good start.

Once outside, she looked right and left swiftly. An acrid, chemical smell filled her nostri
ls. The unnatural silence pressed in on her heavily.

Directly across the street was a parking lot, and on the far side of the parking lot a red brick building had smoke pouring out of all of its windows. Glass littered the parking lot below. People were al
ready milling about in the street and Emma didn't know if they came from the red brick building, or another.

Jerry was at the ambulance grabbing their aid bag and long board. She ran up to him, still gripping Reece's hand tightly. She grabbed Jerry and pan
tomimed talking on the radio then pointed at him and mouthed "did you?" He shook his head no.

"Central this is Unit 17, explosion is at the red brick building near the parking lot on Ridge St. We are heading over."