Rex fought the hands on him, knowing that he was struggling with a flashback, but unable to help himself. The memory of the pain and trauma from that day had swallowed him under.
Then the hands left, and there was a calm voice telling him everything was okay. That voice got through the pounding madness, and he relaxed enough to take a breath. Eventually, the flashback faded, and he reconnected with his surroundings. He thought he’d been behind the counter with Ahmed, but he was now out in front of one of the drinks coolers. What the hell…
The woman cop stood in front of him, a calm smile on her broad mouth. “There he is,” she murmured.
The paramedic hovered beyond her shoulder, a shocked look on his face. Rex cringed. It must have been bad to make a medic look like that. “I’m sorry.”
The cop shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. Seriously. We moved a little fast, maybe. You don’t have to be strapped down.”
Rex scrubbed a hand down his face. “I can’t be strapped down.”
That calm smile again. “Roger that. It’s fine. But we have to get you to the hospital. You’re bleeding again.”
Rex looked down at himself. Yeah, he was leaking blood everywhere. His scrub pants were trash.
“I can put you on the gurney and not strap you down,” the medic said. “But you have to promise me you’ll hold on in case we’re in a crash or something. It’s a bit of a security issue.”
The guy was joking, but Rex knew there was truth to the words. “I’ll hold on,” he promised.
Blood was dripping from his head again, and he knew he needed care. Drawing in a huge breath, he looked toward the overturned gurney. Damn. He’d done that, obviously.
The medic moved to the gurney and flipped it right-side up, then stepped back, leaving Rex plenty of room.
Rex looked down at his feet, telling them he had to move. A hand popped in from the side, strong looking in spite of its small size. She had pretty fingernails, painted a metallic dark pink. The color was startling, and he felt a smile flash over his face.
Without hesitation, he took the hand. The cop had been a steadying influence to him, and he needed every bit of it he could absorb. She guided him to the gurney and stood to the side as he lowered himself to the mattress again. He couldn’t lay back just yet, but he could sit here a minute.
The woman squatted in front of him, her leather duty belt creaking, still holding his hand. “Better?” she asked, giving his fingers a squeeze.
Rex nodded, his vision tunneling. “I’m fine. You need to go find the shooter.”
But he didn’t let go of her hand.
“My department is on the job,” she said, voice steady. “We have an idea who it is.”
Oh, good. That would ease his mind if they got him off the streets. Reluctantly, he let go of the woman’s hand, resting his own on the gurney.
A second medic approached, looking grim faced. He planted his hands on his hips as he surveyed the scene. Rex didn’t like him.
“We need to get him on the bus,” the man growled.
The second medic waved a hand. “We’re just taking a little extra time with a vet,” he told the grumpy driver.
The man crossed his arms over his chest, glowering. “We need to speed it up. He’s bleeding everywhere.”
Rex didn’t appreciate the tone, but he really was bleeding everywhere. He looked at the original medic and nodded.
The man moved in. “Mind if I lift your feet to the gurney?”
Rex shook his head and allowed himself to be helped. Then the two men moved in to get the gurney moving. It was a fairly smooth ride until they got to the ambulance. They almost tipped him over getting him in, and for a moment he wished for the security of a belt, but not really.
The female cop followed along behind, keeping eye contact with him. “You’re going to be fine,” she promised him.
Rex nodded, even as the ambulance doors slammed, concealing her from him.
CHAPTER TWO
Lauren watched the ambulance pull away and worried about the wounded hero. The guy had stepped in when needed, then gotten shot for his effort.
“I think he’ll be alright,” Diego murmured, nudging her in the arm.
“I know,” she sighed. “Why do the heroes have to pay, though? He was being a good Samaritan.”
“That’s how it goes, sometimes, kid,” Diego said, sighing, turning to walk to their cruiser. “You know that as well as I do.”
Yeah, she knew he was right. But she still felt bad for the guy. Maybe she would call in later and see how he did. Rex Neptune. Sounded like a damn basketball player or something. After being on the job for the better part of twelve years and seeing way too many bullet holes, she didn’t think the wounds were serious, but she’d been surprised before. As for the gas station owner, well, he was a different story. If he survived, it was only because of Mr. Neptune’s actions.
Lauren waited until the detectives arrived, did her pass-on, and left the scene. She had reports upon reports to write before she could head home, and blood all over her from helping the hero. Keegan was going to be mad at her. They were supposed to have breakfast in the morning, and she wasn’t sure it was going to happen.
By the time she signed off, it was creeping toward six in the morning, and she was dog-tired. On her drive home, she called the emergency department at Santa Rosa Hospital. She would have called her friend Gen, but she didn’t think she was working at the moment.
“Hey, this is Officer Collins with San Antonio PD. We had a couple of shooting victims sent there tonight. Can you update me on their progress?”
“Please hold and I’ll transfer you to the shift nurse.”
Lauren listened to the terrible hold music for a solid five minutes before her call was answered.
“Who is this and what is your relationship to the patient?” a woman with a harried voice demanded.
“This is Officer Collins with San Antonio PD. We responded to a shooting at a gas station tonight, and I wanted to see if I could learn the status of the victims.” She reeled off the names.
There was clattering on the other end of the line, like the woman was typing. “Mr. Ahmed is in surgery as we speak. And Rex will be fine. He’s getting stitches and will be staying the night for observation. The stomach wound was a through and through and missed everything important.”
Relief flowed through her at the news. Excellent. “Thank you so much, ma’am. You have a good night.”
“Officer!”
Lauren paused. “Yes?”
The woman hesitated. “Rex is one of our nurses, and he’s playing off the injuries. Can you tell me what happened?”
Lauren snorted. “Well, unofficially, he may have attacked a gunman and saved Mr. Ahmed’s life.”
The woman sighed on the other end of the line. “Yeah, that’s kind of what we figured. That sounds like Rex. He gives everything to his patients. Thank you for letting me know.”
“And thank you for letting me know about their status. Have a good night.”
Lauren smiled as she turned down her road. Being a cop was a hard job and though things had been traumatic tonight, she hoped they turned out for the good. Rex had been a hero, even though he’d struggled. They hadn’t apprehended the assailant yet, but it would happen. Somewhere he would screw up or someone would talk, and they would grab him.