Harlequin Intrigue October 2017--Box Set 2 of 2 by Amanda Stevens

Author:Amanda Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488016165
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Maria strained to get a visual on the person dragging her out of the smoke. She tried to speak but only coughed more. The next thing she knew she was on the ground alongside the male figure who’d saved her. His hands had felt so familiar and instinct said they belonged to Austin.

Either way, both of them were gasping for oxygen as the sounds of police sirens pierced the air.

Within a few seconds, voices surrounded both her and the male figure next to her in a circle. She squinted through blurry eyes well enough to see that it was Austin lying beside her and relief washed over her. They were on their backs and neither seemed able to move.

“You’re going to be okay. Help is on the way,” one of the voices said as the sirens drew near.

The city of Austin had a solid police presence and she was never more grateful for that fact than now.

Maria tried to sit up and get a visual on Cliff. It was no use. Her eyes were too blurry and she couldn’t stop coughing. She’d lost the sound of his voice somewhere in the thick of the struggle.

The next thing she knew an oxygen mask was being placed over her nose and mouth. She took in a couple of deep breaths before she tried to stand.

“That’s not a good idea right now.” An EMT’s face blocked her view. She glanced toward Austin who was already pushing to his feet.

Maria needed to see Cliff. She’d lost all contact inside the smoke bomb and she wanted to make sure he was being attended to.

“This is Lieutenant Danville of APD and I need all onlookers to clear the area,” came a strong male voice over a PA system. She glanced around through burning eyes and realized a small crowd had gathered.

She pulled the mask up far enough to ask, “My partner was with us. Is he okay?”

The EMT immediately repositioned the mouth covering on her face as she coughed.

“I’m not sure, ma’am. I can ask for you if you’ll keep this on,” he stated.

She was already nodding and making an effort to speak again.

“Hold on. Just let me make sure you’re good to go,” he said. The EMT’s shirt had the name Roger embroidered above the pocket.

Maria lifted the mouthpiece again and coughed. “Roger, my partner might be lying in that fog, taking his last breath. So, I’m not keeping this thing on and sitting here doing nothing until I know that he’s out of there safely.” Her voice was scratchy and sounded like she’d swallowed fire but she didn’t care. At this point, all she cared about was making sure that Cliff had been found and that bullet, meant for her, hadn’t done any damage to her friend. He had a wife and kids to go home to.

And then she saw the stretcher and an EMT straddled over a lifeless body as he hammered a man’s chest—a man who could only be Cliff—counting beats as he tried to pump air into his lungs.

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