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He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Tears ran down her face. She was in another place—her past, maybe?
“Do it for me, Arianna,” he begged. “Do it before Leo returns. We’ll have to report you for negligence. That’s a crime. Arianna, damn it!” He looked around again and this time crushed her mouth with his.
He felt her shudder.
A hand landed on his shoulder. “Captain, are you out of your mind? Flirting at an emergency scene? Want me to report you?”
“Shut up, Leo. Get the BP cuff and an IV bag. She’s better doing it here than in the air.”
Leo jumped into the copter.
“Arianna, you heard Leo? He’s a man of duty.” Rafael cupped her head with a hand and smacked her cheek.
She jerked back stunned. “You slapped me.”
“Feeling better?”
She inhaled and exhaled. “My hands are shaking.”
“Look at me, Arianna. Tomorrow is Annabelle’s birthday. Her first birthday. Do you want to spend it in jail?”
She shivered. “No.”
“Then, pull yourself together. Even if this is the devil himself, you have a job to do. Do it.”
Leo jumped out of the copter. “Here’s the BP cuff. You have your stethoscope.”
She exhaled heavily and got to work. After wrapping the cuff around the patient’s arm, she adjusted the earpieces in her ears, placed the diaphragm over the brachial artery, inflated the cuff, released the air, and listened.
“Low. Seventy over forty. Needle?” She opened her hand to receive a syringe, and slowly slid it into a vein.
“Perfect,” Leo said, and Rafael exhaled in relief. She removed the syringe, left the needle as a port, and connected the IV tube.
“Leo, hook it to the bag.”
“Done. Captain, he can go up now.”
Leo and Rafael carried the stretcher up into the copter, and Leo secured it in place. Arianna placed a cannula into Julio’s nostrils and hooked him up to an oxygen tank.
“Damn! He’s bleeding again.” She pressed cold towels onto his chest.
“Take your seat and buckle in.” Rafael ordered.
***
“Ready, Captain.” Arianna called, her voice steadier than before.
The copter was airborne and stabilized. They were flying low enough for her to move out of her seat without danger. She unbuckled herself, removed her headphones, and stood, stepping over to the stretcher. Removing the blood-soaked towel, she replaced it with another.
“Mia Rina.” The barely audible words startled her.
He was awake, using the nickname he’d given her as a teenager when they’d been in love and carefree. Fear and anger knotted inside her. Slowly, she turned her head and met his dark gaze.
“Finally...I found you,” he rasped out. “In a copter.” She saw the amusement in his fearless eyes. “Come closer.” He had trouble breathing.
“Quiet. Don’t talk. Save your breath.”
“Listen. I...not long...dying.” He shut his eyes. She increased the flow of oxygen and added another towel to his chest. “Take care of...Annabelle.”
