Pack Balance

by Crissy Smith

  “Step aside,” she shouted over the loud crowd as she pushed her way through.

  A young man was lying on the ground with two women at his side. The closest looked similar to the male, so she guessed it was his sister. “What’s going on?” Julie asked her.

  “I don’t know,” she screeched. “My friend and I were in the store while my brother waited outside. I saw him talking to two guys but then Leslie called my name and I looked away. We finished getting some snacks and when we were heading to check out, I heard someone yell and my brother was on the ground. I dropped my stuff and ran out here, but he was already passed out.”

  Julie exchanged a look with Shawn as he joined her. Why was this called in as an overdose if he wasn’t doing drugs?

  “We need to get his body temperature down. That’s one of the tips the ER doctor gave me,” Shawn said as he placed cold packs around their patient.

  “I saw him take some pills,” someone called out.

  Julie glanced up at an older man who stood only a few feet away. “He got them from those two.” He pointed, and Julie followed his hand across to two boys the victim’s age.

  The young men backed up before they turned and sprinted off. Julie didn’t have time to worry about them. She could give the cops a description later.

  “I’m going to get the gurney and call this in,” Shawn said, hopping to his feet.

  Julie nodded, busy getting supplies out from her bag. She would prep her patient while Shawn was gone. They’d need to do an IV and get some fluids in him. As she worked, she glanced at the sister. “What’s his name?”

  “Corey,” the girl replied.

  “We’re going to take care of you, Corey,” she said, bending closer to the boy. He couldn’t have been older than twenty. He must have trusted the two punks that he’d gotten the pills from. She heard police sirens coming nearer and hoped they’d catch the drug dealers.

  “Here we go,” Shawn called out.

  They worked together to get Corey loaded up. Shawn started to push the gurney, and Julie looked back at her patient’s sister. “We’re taking him to Medical Center. Get your family and you can meet him there.”

  The younger girl nodded before she ran off. Julie felt horrible for her. There was a chance that Corey wouldn’t make it from what Shawn had said about the other cases. Julie would do everything she could to save him, though.

  She ran to catch up to her partner. As she turned the corner, she almost collided with Cooper.

  “Hey.” He caught her by the shoulders. “You okay?”

  “Yeah fine.” She was happy to see him but she needed to help Corey.

  “You’ll want to talk to one of the witnesses. He pointed out the two that gave our boy the drugs,” she told him.

  “Shawn gave us the description. We have patrol officers looking for them. We’ll wrap up here and try to get to the hospital before you leave.”

  She nodded before sliding past him and into the rig. She went right to Corey’s side and got to work. Julie didn’t even look up when the doors closed. Shawn would get them where they were going and Cooper would find the dealers. She had to believe that. It was so sad to see men and women, young and old, giving up their lives to this horrible craving for drugs. She didn’t blame them, but she wished she could help somehow before they ended up in her ambulance. Maybe she could find somewhere to volunteer when she wasn’t working. She’d discuss it with Cooper.

  She peered down at Corey. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer that the kid would make it.

  * * * *

  Exhausted, Julie pushed through the doors that separated the emergency entrance from the waiting room. Corey was still being treated, but his chance of a full recovery was good. They’d managed to lower his temperature and get fluids in him quickly enough that the drug hadn’t been fully digested. The doctors had given him something to counteract the poison. Shawn had gone ahead to clear out the rig and get them ready for their next call. God, she just wanted to go home and get off her feet. It sucked to work twelve hour shifts but she only had to work three or four days a week, and she enjoyed that. Knowing that Cooper would be there when she got off gave her something to look forward to as well.

  She spotted Cooper standing against the wall close to the doors and her heart started to beat faster. She slowed down, just taking in his lean body as he spoke into his phone. He looked up and saw her watching. He quickly ended his call before strolling toward her. Julie stopped walking and waited.

  “You look tired,” he said when he reached her.

  “I am.” She glanced at her watch. “And I still have a long night ahead of me.”

  “We found Shawn working restocking and cleaning the ambulance when we arrived and he said the same thing. We all figured a quick break for some food might help. Josiah and Shawn ran to the cafeteria to grab you guys some dinner, so I thought I’d wait on you,” Cooper said.

  She wanted her hands on him, just for a moment. “Come on.” She grabbed hold of him and pulled him outside. The ambulance was in the back bay where they had direct access to the emergency room doors. No one else was allowed to park there, so they would have some privacy. She led him to the back of the rig and opened the door. She pushed him down onto the bench before stepping between his legs. He looked up at her with an amused smile.

  “Want something?” he teased.

  “No,” she said seriously. “Need. I need you.” She lowered her lips to his. The spark between them was as evident as it always had been. He opened for her, and Julie slipped her tongue into his mouth. He’d been chewing on mints and the freshness of his taste danced over her taste buds. She moaned, letting him swallow the sound.

  Cooper gripped her waist, bringing her closer. She knew she couldn’t climb into his lap, even though that was what she really wanted. Not only was she working but they were also out in the open. It wouldn’t be good if they got caught. Plus, there was no telling when Josiah and Shawn would return. So she slowly eased off kissing him. She didn’t do more than lift her head, though, keeping her body close to his.

  “Thank you,” she told him.

  Cooper chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I should be thanking you. I’m not sure I can, since you melted my brain.”

  Julie laid her forehead against his. “I was walking out, thinking about how much I was looking forward to going home to you, and there you were.”

  “I’m glad I could offer you something, even when I’m not near,” he said.

  “You always have,” she assured him. “I was so stupid to leave.”

  “Hey.” He gripped her chin. “We both made mistakes. I should have told you sooner. If I hadn’t shifted for the first time during a dangerous situation, your reaction would probably have been less severe. But we’re going to work past that. I’ll teach you everything there is to know about what I am. I’ll share every part of my wolf with you.”

  She was relieved to hear his promise. It went hand in hand with her thoughts earlier. If they were going to make it, she needed to know everything there was that made Cooper special. Being in his arms felt so right. It didn’t matter if their future children were human or shifters. She loved Cooper. “I feel better,” she shared.

  “Good.” Cooper nodded. “Shawn said that Corey will probably survive. He’s the first victim that has that chance. I’m proud of you both.”

  She beamed with pride. “We were lucky. He had just taken them when we got there. Is it your case?”

  “Yes, we had a breakthrough today. I’m really hoping that we’ll be able round up the people responsible tonight. We’re waiting on the call.”

  “You know who’s distributing it?” she asked, excited.

  “We do,” he confirmed.

  “That’s wonderful!” She hugged him.

  He patted her back. “Now, if we can just get the rest of this shit off the streets, we can keep more people from dying.”

  “I hope you do.”

  “We’ve got a head start. One of
my officers found the two boys from earlier. We arrested them,” Cooper informed her.

  “You caught them?”

  “The older gentleman is coming to the station to ID them, but I’m certain we got the right guys. We’ll lean on them and find out where they got their stash. They still had some on them,” Cooper said.

  “We’ll celebrate once this is over. I’ve already thought about it. I think it would be nice to get everyone back together again. You can barbecue,” she told him.

  “Good idea,” he agreed. “It’ll be nice to see all our friends once again. Maybe your brother will be able to make it.”

  That reminded her that she needed to check with Garrett and see when he would be coming down. “I’m having lunch with Shelby tomorrow. I’ll mention it to her. I don’t think she’s ever attended one of our parties.”

  “Hey!” Shawn called out.

  Julie turned to see her partner walking beside Josiah, each of them carrying two Styrofoam containers. “Looks like our dinner is here,” she said to Cooper.

  “One more kiss,” he requested, tugging her back to him.

  She consented easily, wrapping her arms around his neck. They kept the kiss soft, since they now had an audience.

  “Okay, break it up,” Josiah demanded with humor.

  Julie straightened and glared at him. Josiah held up his hands, his grin wide. “We brought food,” he said.

  “I called dispatch and put us on break,” Shawn told her, as he passed over one of the boxes.

  “Thanks.” She accepted her food before she climbed into the back of the rig and sat next to Cooper. Josiah and Shawn joined them and within minutes, they were all stuffing their faces. The hospital had surprisingly good food, and she and Shawn routinely ate their dinners there after a transport.

  As she enjoyed her lasagna, she glanced over at the others. Her partner and Josiah had become friends when she’d first started to date Cooper. Because of the hours they worked and the high-stress levels, their relationships were crucial to them not burning out. She’d missed her friends almost as much as she’d missed Cooper.

  Josiah glanced up and winked at her. She smiled back. Yeah, they would all get together after the cases ended. Cooper finished first and started collecting trash. Julie closed the lid on hers and handed it over to him. Josiah and Shawn also killed off the rest of theirs. Cooper juggled all the containers as he hopped down from the back of the ambulance to stroll to the dumpsters located off to the side.

  “Need to finish straightening up and then we need to go,” Shawn said.

  She nodded in agreement. She’d love to spend the rest of the night in Cooper’s company but she still had hours left on her shift. The four of them had grabbed a quick meal several times before, so Josiah and Cooper knew how to help clean up to make sure the rig was sterile and ready.

  Shawn began to wipe down the back while Julie quickly straightened up. She pulled the inventory log down and made notations of what they’d used for Corey while Josiah helped Shawn with the last of the cleaning.

  Headlights shined over her and she looked up toward the entrance of the ambulance bays. A black SUV idled facing them.

  “Get down!” Josiah shouted and dove for her. He caught her around the waist and they both fell to the hard floor.

  Three loud pops echoed around her and she covered her head, not knowing where they were coming from. Fear paralyzed her and she couldn’t move. Those were gun shots! The squeal of tires seems to echo around the small area before she was shaken.

  “Julie.” Josiah leaned in to her field of vision. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “I think so. Cooper? Shawn?”

  “Stay here and I’ll check on them,” he ordered.

  The weight on top of her disappeared and she rolled over to peer out of the rig. Her training kicked in and she jumped to her feet when she spotted Cooper on the ground. Shawn stood at the same time as she did. He appeared disheveled but no worse for wear.

  “Go check on Cooper,” he told her.

  Julie didn’t waste any time arguing. She leaped from the ambulance as Josiah knelt beside Cooper. She was so damn happy to see Cooper moving his head and arms before he pushed his upper body off the ground. She sprinted to her lover just as Cooper sat up.

  “Are you all right?” she shouted.

  People were starting to come out of the ER doors. Doctors, nurses and patrons venturing out, now that the excitement was over.

  “I’m fine,” Cooper said as she reached him.

  Julie crashed into him, throwing her arms around his neck. “You sure?”

  “Yes, baby.” He held her tight. “They missed.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes and she tried to hold them in. Her throat burned and her stomach was in knots. “Someone shot at you.” She couldn’t believe it. She knew that his job was dangerous, but Cooper hadn’t been out on a call. He’d been having dinner with her.

  “It’s okay.” Cooper petted her back.

  Julie drew away a little to study his face. He was dirty and she wiped off his cheek.

  “Anyone hurt out here?”

  She turned to see who was approaching. She recognized Dr. Rodriquez, who’d taken over Corey’s care when she’d dropped him off. “No, we’re fine,” she said.

  “I’ve called the cops,” Dr. Rodriquez told them.

  Josiah stood and held out his badge. “We are the police, but we need some more officers. We’ll need to secure this area so we can collect evidence, so thanks. If you can get everyone back inside, that would be great.”

  In the distance, sirens grew in volume.

  “Oh, Cooper.” She hugged him again. “I was so scared.”

  “I’m sorry you got mixed up in this. I would never put you in danger on purpose.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” she assured him. “This was some random—” She stopped. “You know who took a shot at you.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Let’s get you two up.” Josiah came back to their sides, Shawn with him.

  “Wait!” She held up her hand. “Do you know who that was?”

  Cooper looked past her to his partner.

  “Our suspects. I recognized them too,” Josiah answered.

  Her head spun and she gripped the front of Cooper’s shirt. This was unbelievable. “But…” She didn’t even know what to say.

  The first cruiser pulled up as Julie felt like everything was moving too fast around her. Shawn hauled her to her feet and kept an arm around her waist as the cops moved them from their rig. They stood cuddled together as the police started their procedures. It wasn’t until Cooper’s captain stood in front of her that she realized how much time had passed.

  There was now yellow tape blocking access to the ambulance bay. She couldn’t see either Cooper or Josiah.

  “Cooper?” she asked.

  “He’s answering questions. Why don’t you come with me? Let’s find you somewhere to sit. Your partner went to call your boss,” Captain Martinez said.

  She’d met Cooper’s supervisor several times at fundraisers and functions when they’d been dating. He’d always been kind to her and she felt reassured seeing him on scene.

  “I’m a trained EMT. I should be handling this better,” she whispered.

  “You’re doing fine. Most people wouldn’t handle something like this well,” he reassured her.

  She decided to believe him. She was cold and just wanted to find that seat he’d promised. “Okay,” she agreed. She thought he’d asked her a question, but she wasn’t sure.

  He led her toward one of the department’s SUVs. She’d ask him to turn on the heater, and try to collect her thoughts.

  Chapter Six

  Cooper watched his captain lead Julie away from the scene. She was pale and shaking, and he really wanted to comfort her, but he had questions to answer.

  “You’re sure it was Jordan Bradley?” Fisher asked him.

  “Positive,” he confirmed. He couldn’t believe that the young p
unk had dared to try to kill him. He was even more pissed that Jordan had put Julie and Shawn at risk. He and Josiah were trained to deal with bad people, but the EMTs only wanted to help. They didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of his investigation.

  “No sign of the SUV or Jordan,” Turner said, as he joined them. “The call went out to every officer with their information. We’ll catch them.”

  “Jordan should have listened to the mayor—or at least practiced better. I’m going to rip his arms off when I get my hands on him,” Cooper declared.

  “You were lucky,” Fisher said. “From what Josiah said, if you hadn’t dropped when you did, the first bullet would have hit you.”

  “Not luck,” Cooper corrected. He glanced over at his partner. “Josiah saved us.”

  “I heard he protected your woman also,” Turner said.

  Cooper nodded. “He did.” Cooper owed Josiah for that. Not only had seen the gun hanging outside the window and called out a warning, but he’d also shielded her with his own body.

  “Then don’t do something stupid. You owe it to him not to go off half-cocked,” Turner said.

  Cooper glared at his fellow detective. He knew Turner was right, but he was pissed off. He took a deep breath to calm himself. His wolf was close to the surface, the need to protect and defend strong inside him. He knew it was because Julie had been put in danger but that didn’t mean he felt any less angry.

  “We got him!” Josiah yelled as he jogged toward them. “The asshole went back to the bar that we are still watching. Lexis pulled up and took the gun. We caught both of them red-handed.”

  “Thank God!” Cooper rose and looked around for Julie. She was sitting in the back seat of one of the vehicles, drinking a bottle of water. She smiled at something that his captain said, and finally he relaxed. His shoulders slumped with relief and his heart slowed. Even his wolf seemed to fade back.

  “The warrant just came through for the Bradleys’ place and bar, Kade’s apartment and the mayor’s office and home. We need to coordinate our searches,” Josiah said.

  “We’re done here,” Fisher stated. “I’ll have some of the uniforms finish up with witnesses and the crime techs finish their collecting. Let’s head back to the station and get this done. I want them all in jail before the night is over.”