“Roger…”
He was already hitting the gas. Theambulance creaked in protest, but they still had all their tires asit burst into movement. The man released her hand and jerkedagainst the cuffs. She caught Roger’s wild-eyed glance back at thembefore he pressed harder on the accelerator.
“Fahk this fahken night!” Roger declared,his Boston accent becoming far more pronounced. Maggie had onlyever heard his accent slip through so strongly once before, thenight she’d graduated paramedic school. They’d each been abouttwelve beers deep when Roger reverted to his Southie roots.
“Maggie, get up ’ere!” Roger barked ather.
Maggie glanced down at the man. A vein inhis forehead throbbed to life as he pulled his wrists forward tostrain against the cuffs. He bared his teeth at her. Lions wereless intimidating than this guy.
“Go!” he snarled at her.
The woman, Maggie, Aiden recalled, leanedaway from him and started to rise when something hit the side ofthe ambulance again. Maggie staggered backward and hit the wall.When she cried out in pain and her hand flew to the back of herhead, his vision became clouded by a red haze of fury.
The ambulance screamed a protest when Rogerpushed on the gas harder.
“Maggie!” Aiden shouted, and her eyes flewto his.
She gawked at him until another wrenchingsound filled the air and the back door of the ambulance flew away.One of the Savages who had attacked him leapt into the ambulance.The vamp’s eyes were bright red when they focused on Maggie. Shescreamed and lurched forward. Aiden assumed she’d been diving forthe front and Roger, but then he heard a strange noise.
Aiden jerked more forcefully against hisrestraints as the Savage lunged for her. He had to protect her.Maggie spun and, holding out two paddles, hit the Savage in themiddle of the chest with them. Another sound filled the air, andthe vampire squealed as he staggered back.
“Bastard!” Maggie shouted, and lifting herleg, she drove her foot into his stomach to shove him out the door.The man bounced across the pavement before spinning away. Maggieleaned against the wall, panting for air as she watched the guymiraculously jump back to his feet and race toward them again.“What is wrong with him?”
“Drugs!” Roger declared.
“No, his face….” Her words trailed off.Aiden met her confused stare when she turned to look at him again.He couldn’t help but be impressed by her ability to fight off aSavage, but she wouldn’t be able to fend off more than one ofthem.
“What is going on?” she demanded, holdingthe paddles as if she were going to use them on him next.
“Uncuff me. I can protect you,” he replied,aggravated he couldn’t break the flimsy restraints yet.
Her eyes narrowed on him. “I can’t uncuffyou.”
“I can keep you safe,” he said slowly as shedidn’t seem to understand what he was saying to her. Perhaps shewas in shock; he wouldn’t blame her if she were.
She glared at him. “I don’t have the key,”she replied in the same tone and pace of voice he’d used withher.
He turned his attention to the back of theambulance and the Savage running down the sidewalk after them, butthe vamp was losing ground. It didn’t matter, Aiden decided, they’dmoved past the threat, for now. He was already getting stronger ashis sudden need to keep her safe fueled his adrenaline. He wouldget out of these cuffs before they arrived at the hospital.
A loud crack filled the air, and when theback of the ambulance tilted to the right, Maggie realized theaxle, weakened by whatever hit the ambulance, had snapped. A tirebounced down the street toward the Savage veering off the sidewalktoward them. With an ear-splitting, awful grating sound, the rotordug into the asphalt, chewing up chunks that banged against theundercarriage of the ambulance. The sparks flying into the airshowered the back of the vehicle with bursts of golden light.
Maggie stumbled and tried to catch herbalance, but she couldn’t fight the downward slant of theambulance. She was going to plunge straight out those back doors asthat twisted freak had. Releasing the paddles, she scrambled tograb something solid.
Strong fingers encircled her wrist, draggingher back. The EKG machine rolled forward, still beeping theimpossibly steady rhythm of her patient’s heart. She expected to goflying out the door with the stretcher and the machine, but the manjerked himself to the side so forcefully he flipped the stretcherover. Metal bent with a screech as the stretcher twisted to followher patient’s movement. The leads of the EKG machine snapped, andthe cart rolled out the back door while her patient remainedinside.
Maggie shrank back when he landed beforeher, the mangled stretcher spreading over the top of them. With hisposition, he blocked most of the aisle of the ambulance. Less thanten minutes ago, she’d been staring at this man’s exposed spine,and now he waskneelingon the ground, staring at her.
Have I gone as nutty as my mother?Is this some sort of psychotic break, and I’m imagining itall?Am I going to wake to find myself in a straightjacket?Her mind raced with those questions as his eyes burnedinto hers and the ambulance came to a grinding halt in the middleof the road.
Despite his earlier, near-dead status,healthy color flushed her patient’s chiseled cheekbones. The blackstubble lining his jaw made him appear more menacing, something hedidn’t need as the man had practically pulled a Lazarus.
“Maggie May, you okay?” Roger asked.
She had to think about the answer to hisquestion. “Fine,” she finally croaked, having decided that if she’dfallen down the rabbit hole, she might as well ride out theinsanity and have some tea with the Hatter. “You?”
“Few more gray hairs, but still kicking.How’s the patient?”
“He’s ahh…” She gulped. “He’s kneelingbefore me right now.”
