Page 79 of Last Chance Christmas
“She’s going to be okay?” Benjamin’s mouth stayed open, almost like he was afraid to smile.
“I’d say so.” Trace grinned. “She had a cut from some glass, but the Band-Aid will help it heal in no time.”
“Benjamin! Posie!” Their parents called out and hurried over.
“Are they…?” The mom turned to Kianna, her lip quivering.
“They’re fine.” Kianna moved to the side to give them space for a minute. A few scratches lined the woman’s forehead and cheek. Kianna would triage her in a moment. It was a good sign that both parents were out and moving.
Thank you, the woman mouthed before taking Posie from Trace’s arms and enveloping Benjamin in a hug. The father moved into the embrace, and Kianna got Trace’s attention and pointed to the man’s wrist. It was black and blue and swollen.
Trace pulled supplies from one of the metal compartments in the vehicle and laid them out.
Tires crunched over the slushy roadway and came to a stop. The police cruiser’s lights flashed through the precipitation. The car door shut, and Cole Stuart and Anthony Thomas got out. They stopped for a second to talk with Ridge Foster, the rescue squad lieutenant, before making their way over to the ambulance.
“I’m going to stabilize your arm.” Trace cut a piece of brown adhesive tape to bandage the father’s wrist. “But it should be x-rayed to make sure nothing is broken, given how swollen it is.”
“While you’re doing that, I’d like to ask a few questions.” Cole stepped up.
“Sure.” The father nodded. “I’ll tell you everything so you can catch the guy.”
Cole exchanged a brief glance with Kianna, and her heart skittered. She turned her attention to the mom and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm, even while her fingers quivered.
What was her body doing? There was no reason for the nerves around Cole. She’d only had a few brief interactions with the K-9 officer. And it certainly wasn’t enough time to warrant feelings for the man. Even if they’d bonded briefly after witnessing the crash of the transport van just the other day. Kianna had only felt safe around Cole because he was doing his job of protecting people. If time had taught her anything, it was that in the end, it would be too good to be true. There was always some red flag that lurked under the surface, and sooner or later, it would break to the top.
Kianna squeezed the bulb and watched the pin on the gauge climb before releasing the air valve. “I’m going to clean the cuts on your face, but everything else looks good,” she told the woman.
“I still can’t believe it. One minute I was driving and this man was walking along the shoulder. He turned as we approached, and all of a sudden, he runs out, waving his hands.” The father blew out a breath. “I jerked the wheel to the left to avoid hitting him, and I lost control. The tires spun out, and we hit the guardrail.”
Kianna opened a rubbing alcohol wipe and continued attending to the woman.
“Can you describe the man?” Cole’s brow furrowed.
“He had brown hair down to his shoulders and a beard. He wasn’t wearing an orange jumpsuit, but I think it was—” The man shuddered.
“Mackey.” Cole raised an eyebrow, and the other officer frowned. “Did you see which direction he went?”
Mackey. Kianna’s stomach twisted. So they still hadn’t found him. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if he wasn’t caught. But the more time Mackey eluded the police, the easier it got for him to escape once and for all.
“Yeah. I lost consciousness, and when I came to, he was tapping on the window where my son was seated. At first, I thought he was going to try and get into our car, until my wife yelled that the police were on the way. Then he hopped the guardrail and took off that way.” The man pointed across the road to the wooded area.
“That’s helpful.” Cole nodded, then turned to Thomas. “We need to widen our search. I’ll call it in and start out with Titan.”
“I’ll take this family back into town, then meet you out there,” Thomas said.
Kianna and Trace finished up with the patients, and Thomas escorted them to his cruiser.
Cole stepped to the side of the ambulance and radioed in.
Kianna turned to Trace. “Are you good to take the ambo back to the station?” She checked her watch. “Our shift is over, and I want to stay out here. Join the search.”
Trace squinted against the snow flurries that had begun to fall in place of the sleet. “He’s dangerous, Kianna. I’d let the police handle it.”
“I know what Mackey is capable of, and I can’t stand around and let him go free. Not when he’s responsible for killing someone I knew.”
Three
“I’m coming with you.”
