Whitney"Should we put Santa gifts out for her?" I whisper as I reach over to lie Stella down in her crib.Ryan gives me a look, motioning us out of the nursery. When we close the door partway and walk down the hallway, he turns to me. "Whit, she's ten days old. She's not going to even wonder when she gets older if we did anything for her first Christmas.""Logically I know that, but what if when she's older, she asks for pictures?""Then she'll have them of all of us with her at her grandparents' opening gifts. Babe, don't overthink this. Let's just go to the living room, make sure everything is turned off, and sleep while she does. You know as well as I do she'll be up in a few hours and we'll be dragging ass tomorrow."He's right. We're still trying to get on a schedule and it's been harder than I imagined it would be. "Sounds like a great plan to me."I almost don't want to go any further down the hall than our bedroom. There's a part of me that wants to ask Ryan to mak
VOLUME TWO:TANKBlaze"Dispatch, this is thirty-two, thirty-two show us en route to the call for the vehicle collision at the bottoms," I notify our intent to respond as my partner Logan and I make our way to the call that came over the radio moments before. We're not far away, five minutes on the curvy backroads. I hang on as Logan hits a pothole that's gotten worse after the brutally hot summer we had. "Damn county needs to fix these roads," I gripe as I brace my hand above my head to keep from hitting the roof of the ambulance.The radio cackles as dispatch comes through with more information about the scene we're headed toward. "Be advised we're hearing now it's an officer who's been involved in the collision. They've requested the fire department bring in the jaws of life."Thank God, Trevor isn't working today. He texted me earlier telling me he was going fishing, so the fear I feel isn't as bad as it would be if I were wondering where he is. Going over the list of the
TankEverything fucking hurts. I've never felt this kind of pain before in my life, not even when I was in the military. What's worse is I don't remember what I've done to cause myself to be in this agony.The last thing I can recall is driving to the bottoms with my windows cracked, hard rock playing as loud as I could handle it, and my thoughts on the red-head spitfire who's been ignoring me for months. I was formulating a plan to get back in her good graces, to let her know her job didn't mean jack shit, if it meant my ultimatum kept her away from me. She called my bluff and when I got to my fishing spot, I was going to text her, let her know I'd deal with her job because fuck – I missed her. After that all I remember is pain."Trevor, can you hear me?"I'm trying to tell this woman who keeps screaming at me that I can indeed, fucking hear her. She's shoving something into my side near my lung and it's killing me.I go to grab for it, feeling plastic. Maybe it's a tube.
Blaze"With him, I wouldn't be good driving. I wanna be back here, making sure he's comfortable until we hand his care over."Logan nods, and we race like hell for the helipad where the air evac will meet us to take him to the nearest trauma center an hour away. I administer anything and everything I can to make him more comfortable, watching his low blood pressure and heart rate with a critical eye.Suddenly his already low pressure begins dropping. "Trevor!" My hands shake, and for the first time, I don't know what to do. My normally instinctual training is gone and I'm scared to death. "Don't do this to me," I look around in the back of the ambulance, everything looking foreign to me. His blood pressure drops further, beeps going off everywhere and I'm lost. Tears are streaming down my face and I'm hyperventilating, unsure of what to do to help him. He's dying in front of me, and I can't help him. I gasp, jerking awake so hard that I fall off the cot I've been sleeping o
TankA few days home and I'm wishing like hell I was back in the hospital. It's not like I actually enjoyed being in the place, but there was a sense of safety I felt. Nurses were around at all times, if I needed it, there was an IV of medication that could knock me out of my misery for a few hours. No one questioned when I asked for it. There the pain wasn't so all-consuming. Doctors and nurses came in at all hours of the goddamn day and night, it gave me something else to concentrate on. In my home I can't get away from my pain, can't get away from the thoughts running through my head, can't get away from Blaze's hot body always so close to mine. I know part of the problem is I won't take the painkillers, but I hate the way they make me feel. And I can't physically take Blaze, because that's just work I can't do quite yet."Trevor, where are you?"My stomach clenches as I hear the voice of the woman-turned-angel who's overseeing my care. Having Blaze fulfill every need I have i
TankI fucking hate painkillers. I hate the way they make me feel like I'm flying, the dry mouth I get, the weird ass dreams I have. I hate it all, but I've also learned my body needs to rest. And fuck, I'm tired. More than anything, I'm tired – exhausted even. "Want to take the sweatpants off?" Blaze asks as she follows me into the bedroom. "Yeah, I'm gonna get hot. I do every time I take these damn things. They make me sweat like a meth addict."We've cut the legs off this pair to make them into shorts, but it still takes both of us working to get them down my legs, past my cast, and off my feet. I grab onto the waistline of the boxers I wear to keep them from going with them. Laying down, I help her as best I can by adjusting my leg so that it's propped up. "You comfortable?" "I'm fucking tired," I yawn, putting my arm up over my eyes. "Tired, sore, and damn sorry you have to wait on me hand and foot."That's the crux of this whole situation. When I was in the hosp
TankGoddamn, I'm having the best dream ever. Blaze's hand is on my boxers, cupping my dick with her small hand. It hasn't seen action since the last time she and I were together six months ago, so it's got a mind of its own.Not to say I haven't jerked it. I have, but there's no one who can get me off the way she does. Blaze isn't one of those let's do it in the dark with the lights off on days that start in T kind of women. She's very sexually aware and knows exactly what she wants. No playing coy with her, she'd much rather grab you by the balls and stick her finger up your ass to make sure you get off hard. Which is why, when I realize this isn't a dream and her hand is actually down my boxers wrapped around my cock, I have to put my own hand down there and grip the base to keep from coming."Holy shit," the oath is ripped from my throat as I groan, forcing my eyes open against the lingering effects of the painkillers. "Blaze, I'm gonna come," I grit my teeth against the n
Tank"How are you really doing?"I fight not to roll my eyes at my older sister. She's my second mother, has been since the day I was born. I remember her dressing me up and showing me off to her friends when I was little. I'm glad there aren't any pictures because I looked like a horrible Cabbage Patch Doll reject if I recall correctly. It never bothered me, but sometimes her need to mother me is suffocating, especially as I got older and started living my own life. It's never cool to have two moms breathing down your neck, and that's exactly what I have some days. "Save all your motherly concerns for my niece. She should be here very soon," I give her a slight grin, adjusting my leg on the couch in the den. I hope the grin softens the blow of my tone. I'm not in the mood for it today. If I'm honest, I'm not even in the mood for my own company. Given carte blanche, I'd probably tell them all to get out.I hate sitting here, almost like I'm holding court. Blaze sits in the rec