Page 29 of Sapphire's Gem
“Thanks, partner. How is Warrick?” Wylde asked as he held the mask over my face and captured my gaze.
“The same as these two and refusing aid until everyone else is cleared. I’m going to take him in my car to the ER,” the cop said.
“Cassidy, take these two as well; they need help urgently,” Wylde stated as he rose to his feet. Before I knew what was happening, he bent down and swung me up into his arms.
“Hayden, put me down!” I yelled in shock.
“Shut up, woman. For once, do as you’re told!” Wylde snapped and, carrying me in his arms, began marching away.
I gazed over his shoulder at Vengeance, who looked uncertain before she began to laugh. I glared at her as Cassidy bent and grabbed Sparrow. Unlike me, Sparrow curled into his arms like a purring kitten. Slut!
“Wylde!”
“Oh no, Sapphire, you called me Hayden; that’s not something I’m forgetting anytime soon,” Wylde chided as I leaned my head on his shoulder. I didn’t feel up to arguing with him as I fought not to cough up a lung.
As much as I was coughing, I couldn’t help but take in his broad shoulders and the strength in his arms. I was also highly aware of the muscles in my chest, my body cradled against. Wylde—not Hayden—carried me over to his car, and someone in the back shoved open the door. The guy who’d tried kicking the door in stared back at me, amused as Wylde carefully dumped me into the rear seat.
“Nice,” he murmured and coughed hard.
Wylde leaned in. “Do as you’re told and don’t cause Cassidy any issues; he’s got enough problems with his hardheaded brother.” Wylde sent the guy next to me a dark look.
“Bull,” the guy muttered.
“Fuckin’ firemen. Think they’re invincible. Warrick, do as you're told,” Wylde ordered.
I chuckled, which was a mistake, as a coughing fit wracked my body.
Wylde shoved the oxygen mask back over my face. “Keep it there.”
“He’s a bossy ass, always has been,” Warrick said through his own breathing mask. Sparrow was deposited carefully in the passenger seat, and I glowered. How come she got to sit up front? Cassidy climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Stay with the three of them, Cassidy. I’ll cover here. The captain will be okay when he realises Warrick was involved. Family comes first.” Wylde nodded at Cassidy and banged on the roof of the car, and Cassidy pulled away.
“You’ve known him long?” I asked Warrick after several minutes of silence.
“Yeah, since I was a kid. He’s an asshole but a good one,” Warrick complained as his brother laughed in the front seat.
“You’re just pissed because we’re making you get medical attention. You know as well as I do, soot in your lungs can kill. That fire was spilling toxins all over. Something was seriously wrong with it,” Cassidy retorted.
“It went up too quickly,” Sparrow stated.
“It did?” Cassidy asked.
“Arson, bro, no doubt about it, and I think the front was primed with accelerant. She’s right; it caught far too quickly for it to be natural,” Warrick said.
“Sparrow, my name’s Sparrow,” Sparrow retorted and coughed. I sat forward and gripped her shoulder as she succumbed to a long coughing fit. Cassidy clearly didn’t like what he heard, hit the sirens, and put his foot down.
“Keep that mask over her face,” he ordered as he blew through traffic.
I had no intention of removing it. One-handed, I typed a message to Stitch ordering her to the hospital. I didn’t get a reply, so I guessed she was already on her way. Sparrow seemed worse than Warrick and me, and I wondered if it was because she’d been closer to whatever accelerant had been used.
Sparrow coughed, removed her mask, grabbed some tissues and hacked something black into them. I exchanged a worried glance with my VP as I replaced her mask.
“Stay calm, Stitch is coming,” I murmured. Sparrow nodded, but I knew she was in pain and possibly starting to panic.
Cassidy pulled into the ER slot for ambos and hurried around to Sparrow’s side. Two nurses rushed out with gurneys, placed Sparrow on them, and raced away with her. I was trying to get out when Cassidy swooped me up and carried me inside.
“Got two more. These were closest to the fire and also the last ones out. They’re both hacking up lungs,” Cassidy announced as he approached a nurse.
