Page 33 of Cop Blocked

“What the fuck? Get off of me. I’m getting her out of that car.” I fight back, trying to free myself from his hold.

“Don’t be an idiot. You’ll only be in the way. Rescue’s got the tools out. They’ll get her out of there a lot quicker than you can. Stay. Out. Of. The. Way.”

“Like, I’d ever listen to you.” I buck again, but his grip is ironclad. “Goddammit, Smitty. Turn me loose. If that was Zoey in that car, you know damn well nothing would stop you from being by her side.”

“I’d hope like hell one of you morons that I work with would keep me out of the way. I’m doing you a favor, asshole. Quit squirming and calm down. Piper’s wigging out. Maybe you should get your shit together and pay attention to her if you care so fucking much.”

I flip my head back and hear a loud crack this time. Smitty lets go long enough for me to get away.

He’s right. On more than one count. Piperisfreaking out and fighting against the EMT’s. It takes everything in me to trust my gut and turn my back on Rachel. I can only hope my colleagues will save her. Right now, I think Piper needs me more.

“Logan! I need my mommy!” She cries out the minute she sees me.

“Can you get her to settle down? We don’t want to sedate her without knowing the extent of her injuries,” Alan, an EMT that I know pretty well, asks.

I nod and scoop Piper up into my arms. “See all those men over there working on Mommy’s car? They’re my friends, and they’re going to get Mommy out of there. She’ll be right behind us. Now, we need to make sure you’re okay. I’m coming with you, okay?”

She buries her head in my chest. “I want Mommy.”

“Get her in the rig, Walsh,” Alan orders.

Doing my best to keep her calm, I rub her back while climbing into the back of the ambulance. “I know you do. We’re going to get Mommy to you as soon as we can.”

EIGHTEEN

Rachel

There are voices whispering around me. The air is cold against my skin, and my whole body aches.

I hear the faint sound of a machine beeping as I open up my eyes. Everything is blurry at first. As everything comes into focus, I notice I’m in a hospital room. The noise is coming from the hustle and bustle outside of the room.

Looking around again, I find Logan stretched out in one of those God-awful recliners. Piper is sound asleep on top of him. Her little head is resting on his chest.

A cough creeps up my throat making me wince in pain.

The noise grabs Logan’s attention, and he sits up, careful not to wake Piper.

“You’re awake,” he whispers.

“What- cough- happened?”

There’s a light knock on the door, and then a nurse walks in.

“Miss Beasley, I’ll let Doctor Richman know you’re up. I was coming to check on you.” As quickly as she appears, she’s gone again.

“Oh!” It hits me. The loud crash, metal crunching. Something burning. “Piper.” Tears roll down my face. “She’s okay?”

Logan squeezes my hand softly and nods. “She’s fine. Nothing more than a few scrapes. She exhausted herself, crying for you.”

“My poor baby…”

“Rachel.” Doctor Richman enters the room. “How are you feeling?”

“S...s...sore.”

“That’s to be expected. You hit your head pretty hard on the headrest and suffered a concussion. Luckily, your CT Scan showed no signs of trauma. I’m afraid your left ankle was broken pretty badly. The orthopedic surgeon on-call was able to operate and put two pins in to stabilize it. You will need to follow up with him after discharge. In the meantime, we can get you something for pain. First, I do need to go over a few things with you, though.” He touches the top of my eyelids and shines a bright flashlight in my eyes. “Let’s start with something simple. Can you tell me what day it is?”

I think for a minute. “Saturday?”

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