Her Kind Of Hero. Carol Steward

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СКАЧАТЬ She left the eatery, climbed into her truck and turned west, toward her apartment. It was after midnight, and morning would come early.

      Fog rolled in from the river and a fine mist coated the streets with black ice. Even four-wheel drive wouldn’t help in conditions like this. The light ahead turned green and Calli took her foot off the gas pedal. From the side street, a truck spun out of control.

      She tried to determine a way to avoid it, but there was no escape. The truck rammed the passenger door, pushing her vehicle into another car parked along the street. Her head slammed into the driver’s side window and shattered the glass.

      Calli screamed, then covered her eyes with her hands, feeling a cold draft. She tried again to open her eyes, but they hurt too much. She pulled on the door handle, but the door didn’t move.

      “Help! Help! Someone help me.” A few minutes later, sirens wailed. Voices commanded that she not try to move. Louder and louder the noise grew, then stopped. The fireman knocked away the remaining glass from the door. After the paramedic took Calli’s vitals, he reassured Calli that they would have her out soon.

      Calli awoke to pitch black. She tried to blink and found her eyes were covered. Reaching out, she felt a hard rail to her side. Her head hurt and her left arm ached. She vaguely remembered an accident and an ambulance.

       Where am I?

      The room was silent except for beeping noises in the distance. She licked her parched lips and grimaced. She heard breathing, then footsteps, followed by a warm deep voice.

      “Calandre Giovanni? I’m Sergeant Northrup, Palmer Police Department.”

      The police? What are they doing here? Am I just imagining an accident? Or is this about the break-ins at the apartment complex? For all she knew, he may not even be a cop. “Where am I?”

      “University Hospital. You were in an accident.”

      Calli gasped, then let out a moan as she tried to move. She must have been seated, as her mind was fuzzy. “What’s wrong with me?”

      “Let me call the nurse for you.” He stepped out of the room, and was gone for a few minutes.

      His voice sounded familiar. What were the chances that he was the patrolman who’d nearly wiped her off the road? Next to zero, she assured herself. If the officers who’d responded to that call had caught the kids, they were probably still at the juvenile facility booking them at this very moment.

      When the cop returned, Calli decided she’d rather ask questions than answer them. She needed time to clear her mind. “Where’s the nurse?”

      “It’ll be a few minutes before anyone can come down. Emergency room’s a busy place tonight. You okay?”

      “Do I look okay?”

      He stammered a minute, then apologized. “I meant, you’re not going to be sick or anything, are you?”

      “I’ll live. Were you the officer at my accident?”

      “No. That would be Jake Williams. He asked me to take your statement while I’m here. I came in with an unrelated ambulance call.”

      Hysteria threatened to return to her voice. She swallowed, trying to soothe the scratchiness. Absently she ran her dry tongue over her lips.

      “Need a drink?” Without delay she felt the officer lean against the bed. “Here.” She lifted her hand, ready for him to place a paper cup in her hand. Instead she felt a strong hand wrapped around a huge insulated-type mug. Pursing her lips to drink, she jumped when she felt the brush of his fingertip against her lower lip as he placed a straw in her mouth.

      He chuckled. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you what to expect.”

      Embarrassed that all of her assumptions were wrong, making her feel even more helpless, Calli resented the warmth of the personal contact between them. She jerked her hand away. “Thanks. That’s enough.” The sooner she got rid of him, the better. The last thing she needed was a cop to keep her company. “So what do you need from me?”

      “Just need to ask a few routine questions. No hurry. I’m here waiting to talk to another patient. My partner’s still on the streets. Sheesh, they’re a mess tonight. You’d think these drivers had never seen ice before.”

      Calli tried to sit up, and failed. She heard him bump into something, then felt a strong hand on her arm.

      “Can I help?”

      “I want the nurse. Where’s the call button?”

      His warm hand fumbled with hers and gently guided her fingers toward the side of her bed. His baritone voice was edged with control. “Here’s the call button.”

      A calm confidence echoed his voice, and the scent of his aftershave sent a shiver of awareness through her.

      Memories from her past tainted the image of this knight in shining armor. Calli realized that not only did she not have a clue as to what Officer Northrup looked like, but she had no idea if this man was really a cop. I’ve been watching too much television. He couldn’t be the one I saw earlier.

      “I’m sure it’s frightening not to be able to see anything. You may not even believe I’m a police officer. Who could blame you, after the night you’ve had?”

      The fact that he’d read her mind made her more suspicious. “Sorry, I’m not used to…” trusting people.

      “You’re cautious, just as you should be under the circumstances.”

      “Cautious.” Now that is an understatement.

      Calli struggled to pull herself out of the fuzziness and remember more about the accident.

      Shuffling noises followed by a nearby clank dragged her back to the present image of a cop sitting next to her bed, as if he planned to stay a while.

      I’ve managed to avoid the officials for three years, and now, over a simple car accident, I’m trapped. “So, what did you want to ask me?”

      “Can you tell me what you remember?”

       Chapter Two

      Luke finished Miss Giovanni’s statement just as his partner radioed from the car that he was ready to call it a night. With all the reports they had to fill out, Luke didn’t argue, but silently confessed he wouldn’t have minded spending a little more time with Calandre Giovanni.

      Back at the station, Luke opened the locker room door; a strange mixture of aftershave and gun metal slapped him in the face. After the night he’d had, a room full of his fellow officers should have been a relief. It wasn’t.

      He shrugged the blue shirt off and straightened his uniform on the hanger, trading it for his street clothes. The young officer next to him was doing just the opposite. “What a night,” Luke said.

      “What’s СКАЧАТЬ