2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Z ara wished the hospital staff would stop prodding her, and the oxygen mask was downright annoying. She needed to go check on baby Phoebe.

A coughing fit seized her lungs. She pulled the oxygen away only to have the nurse put it back in place.

The nurse held his hand over Zara's. "That cough proves you need this. Keep it in place, even as you cough."

When the fit eased, the nurse gave her another admonishment to leave the mask on and turned to leave.

"Do you have to leave?" A speck of panic tinged her heart.

The nurse turned back to her, a puzzled look on his face. "You'll be all right. I'll come back and check on you soon. Keep the mask on." He left.

She was alone. The tiny room seemed like it might close in on her. Being new to Hazel Hill, she didn't have anyone to call to come sit with her, not that she'd had that in Indianapolis either. She tried to shake off the loneliness and be the tough, independent woman she made the world believe she was. But she longed to not be alone.

A man appeared in the doorway, his dark hair disheveled, his uniform damp—no doubt from the intense heat of the July night and the fire. His blue eyes sparkled, and his grin was higher on one side than the other. Will.

The fluttering in her chest, while perhaps only the result of smoke inhalation, made her struggle to catch her breath.

She waved.

He entered the room with determined steps and was by her side in an instant. His smile faded, and worry lines took its place.

She lifted the mask. "I'm fine."

He put his hand over hers and nudged the mask back over her face.

At his touch, her skin tingled. What was this man doing to her? Hadn't she sworn off relationships? But that was before Will. Not only did her heart ignite whenever she saw him, he was a believer. She'd never dated someone who actually loved Jesus. The last guy had said he did, but that was only a ploy to get into Zara's bed. If only she'd realized that sooner.

Her eyes were still so dry from the smoke, tears wouldn't flow. She blinked hard to clear her mind. "How's the baby?"

"Alive, thanks to you. They're taking her to Charlotte."

"By air?"

"No, she's stable enough for an ambulance ride. But she's so little they can only do so much for her here."

She pulled the mask away from her face. "I can't decide if that's good news or bad news."

He nudged the oxygen mask to her face again. "Prognosis is good. How's yours?"

She chuckled, which brought on a coughing fit.

He ran his hand up and down her back until the coughing eased.

Once she could speak again, she said, "I'm not going to die, even if it sounds like it."

"That's good. Hazel Hill wouldn't be the same without you."

"It's not like I've been here for long."

"But we're all better for having you here."

"Stop or I'm gonna puke."

He laughed. "When can you ditch this joint?"

She shrugged. All the tests were coming back better than expected, so maybe she could get back to work. After all, they had another seven hours of their shift.

Will silently sat with her until the nurse came back about ten minutes later. With instructions to rest, drink plenty of water, and use a prescribed inhaler when needed, Zara was released. Another ten minutes, and she and Will were walking through the hospital emergency waiting room.

Logan jumped up and strode to Zara. "Are you okay?"

"If you two keep fussing over me, I'm going to call your moms. Let's get back to work."

Will touched her elbow, sending electrical bolts up her arm.

"My mom would like that, but I don't think ‘get back to work' was what the nurse meant by ‘get some rest.'"

She shrugged. "I haven't been working long enough for leave. There's no discussion." She resumed her path to the exit, hoping the guys would follow her and drop the whole rest idea. The last thing she wanted to do was go home and sit on the couch by herself. She wanted to be with Will and Logan. Focusing on the job would be infinitely better than "resting."

The guys did follow, and when they arrived at the squad cars, Will gripped her shoulder. "I'd like to note my disapproval of you continuing your shift, but I know it's a futile fight."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you know me so well already." A strong urge to hug him overcame her, so she spun toward the cruiser. Gripping the door handle, she called back to Will. "We'll see you at end of shift."

"Breakfast?" Will's eyes were locked with hers. While she knew Logan was included in that invitation, something more personal was being directed at her.

"Absolutely." She slid into the passenger's seat and tried to catch her breath. What on earth was happening between her and Will?

Still patrolling, Will hung up with his mom. Only two more hours until the end of his shift. Her ability to get up at the crack of dawn still impressed him, but she was in bed by nine every night, so six wasn't so crazy. She'd heard about the house fire and had called to check on everyone. His mom had grown up in Hazel Hill, and she was one of those people who knew everyone.

He'd told her how Zara had saved the baby, and his mom promptly asked when she would get to meet the woman that had stolen his affection. Once again, he found himself wanting to argue, but there was no point. His mom was right, like always.

As Will turned onto the major state road that ran through downtown Hazel Hill, a car zipped past him, blowing the red light.

He grunted, flipped his lights and siren on, and radioed it in to dispatch.

The car did not slow down. It wove between the two eastbound lanes but never crossed the double yellow line that divided the highway.

Will increased his speed to keep up with the black Honda Civic.

"Come on, dude, pull over." He radioed in the make and model along with the license plate.

Why wouldn't this guy stop?

The Civic turned onto a residential street. Will's anxiety rose. It was the time of day people started emerging from their houses for early walks and runs, heading to work, or taking their kids to daycare.

For the safety of those who lived here, Will didn't want to match the guy's forty-five miles per hour, but he also needed to not lose him.

The crazy driver turned left and then right, down Main Street, another four-lane road. Here, he was able to push the Civic up to sixty miles an hour and blew through two more red lights.

But Will stayed with him.

As they passed the high school, another squad car turned out behind Will.

Zara's voice came across the radio and reported that she and Logan had joined the chase.

The Civic turned back into a neighborhood, barely missing the car sitting at the stop sign waiting to turn.

Lord, please help us get this guy before he hurts someone.

As they reached the end of the subdivision's road that led out to another main road, a car sat waiting for the light, but the Civic did not slow at all. Instead, he whipped to the right and destroyed a person's wildflower garden at the corner of their yard.

Will slowed and drove around the stopped cars and into the cross traffic that slowed at the sight of him. But the Civic now had a quarter mile on him. Thankful traffic was light, Will floored it.

At the next intersection, the car skidded around the corner, tires squealing, rubber burning.

Will spoke into his radio. "Permission to perform PIT maneuver. Suspect is not stopping and is becoming more erratic."

The dispatcher replied, "Request being relayed."

Will's arms shook as he gripped the steering wheel. This had to end.

County and state police had both been contacted, so they would be ready to take over should the suspect leave HHPD's jurisdiction.

But Will wanted to end it way before that became necessary. If this guy went out on the country roads surrounding Hazel Hill, he could get to crazy speeds but also risk flying into a ditch and rolling the car. Will didn't want the risk for himself or the driver of the Civic.

The road ahead of them was mostly clear. If he was going to perform a PIT, this was the time.

He repeated his request and relayed the conditions before them.

The dispatcher replied, "Affirmative. PIT authorized."

Will pressed the gas pedal and closed the gap further.

The vehicle turned to the left toward another major road, so Will took the opportunity.

As soon as the side of the Civic was facing Will, he rammed the back quarter, pushing the car off the road and into a tree. It wasn't a perfect PIT, but it got the job done.

Once the car was stopped, Will threw the cruiser into park, opened his door, jumped out, and pulled his gun.

But the driver scrambled across the passenger's seat and out the far door.

"You've got to be kidding me." Will ran after the suspect, who was now sprinting across the field, headed to a nearby neighborhood.

His radio crackled, and Logan reported that he and Zara were headed to cut off the suspect in the neighborhood while Will pursued on foot.

Will hurdled several ditches that were becoming easier to spot as the sun dispelled the night's shadows.

The suspect, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, darted between two houses—the only two-story houses on the block—that backed up to the field.

Through heavy breaths, Will reported the information over the radio.

He continued the chase and emerged from the other side of the houses in time to see Logan tackle the suspect. Will skidded to a stop in the soft grass beside them.

Zara joined him and gave him a slap on the back. "Good work."

Will leaned over and rested his hands on his knees, breathing deeply. It felt good, not only to have the suspect apprehended, but also to hear accolades from Zara.

Logan cuffed the suspect and pulled him to his feet.

The man, probably in his early forties, had a snake tattoo stretching up his neck. He eyed Zara. "You?"

"Well, if it isn't Ernie Nelson. Looks like you still can't outrun the law. Are you out on probation?"

He spit out a derogatory word for a woman.

Will's blood ignited into fury.

Ernie said, "Nope. Probation ended last week."

"Has it been that long already?" Zara crossed her arms and rested them on the gear that circled her middle.

Will stood a little taller beside Zara. "It looks like you're headed back. What was so important that you needed to run that first red light?"

Ernie's eyes narrowed and his face hardened. A stonewall. Great.

Logan took him to the car and searched him before shoving him in the back of the squad car.

Zara squeezed Will's sweaty arm. If it wasn't for the magnet in her touch, he'd pull away.

"I'd offer you a ride back to your squad, but I don't think you want to ride with that dude." She coughed.

"I can walk."

Another squad car pulled up behind Logan and Zara's. A woman with short blonde hair emerged. "Looks like we were a block or two too far away."

Once Ernie was inside, Logan swung the back door shut and stretched his back. "I would definitely have preferred Wesson to have taken him down."

A muffled bark came from the back of Megan's squad car. "Apparently, he wants to say hi or is mad you took down the bad guy." Megan opened the door and the sable-colored German shepherd jumped out and ran to Logan then darted to Will.

Wesson leaned against Will's legs. He gave the dog a furious rubdown. Hazel Hill was blessed to be able to have a K9 in the department and double blessed that it was Wesson.

Megan joined them. "Wanna ride?"

"Sure." Out of the corner of his eye, Will noticed Zara's eyebrows do a strange little dance. Was she jealous? She didn't need to be. He reached out and touched her hand. "I'll see you at breakfast."

Logan called, "Ready, Grant?"

"Let's roll." Zara smiled at Will. "See ya soon."

He wasn't sure if it was the leftover adrenaline from the chase or that enticing woman who sent his heart on another high-speed chase—who was he kidding? He knew.