Cassidy

My head was whirling as I followed Sean. His unexpected visit had thrown me, and I didn’t know what to say or do. I automatically wanted to hurt him when he asked about the man I was dating. My shot about becoming like him was a lie. There was no way I’d ever be able to jump from man to man. The truth was, I was scared.

The instant I saw him, I felt my resolve begin to waver and rapidly leak away. When he kissed me, it was all I could do not to respond. I was about to break when he moved away. The things he said scared me. I didn’t like the tone of his voice. He sounded dead. I knew I had to follow him when he rushed out of the house and got into his car. Luckily, I’d been about to leave the house when he showed up, so my keys, ID, and bank card were in my pocket. I hated to carry a purse. I ran to my car and took off after him.

He drove aimlessly, but despite that, he wasn’t reckless. Sean was too controlled and careful to put others in danger. Even when he went faster than he should, he was cautious. I had no clue if he had a destination in mind. I didn’t know the area well enough yet to know where he might be headed.

I was a couple of cars behind him when a large delivery truck ran the red light and plowed into him. I screamed and watched in horror as his car spun around in the middle of the intersection. I don’t know how the others with the right of way like us kept from hitting him or anyone else. The driver of the truck that hit him kept going.

I somehow pulled my car off to the side of the road and got out. Heedless of the danger, I ran to his car. Despite being terrified, I had enough sense to yell at those getting out of their cars to call 911. I kicked into training mode. The guys, Mark and Dad, had not only trained me in all manner of self-defense and weapons but also made sure I had what they called combat medic training. As SEALs, they all had it.

Getting to the driver’s door, I saw him slumped over the deflating airbag. There was blood on it and his face. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving or making a sound. The glass had shattered out of the driver’s window. Reaching my shaking hands inside, I felt for his pulse. I was terrified it wouldn’t be there. It took a few moments for it to register that it was. When it did, I sagged in relief.

“Sean, can you hear me? It’s Cassie. Open your eyes. I need to know how badly you’re hurt, my love,” I asked hoarsely, trying not to cry. He didn’t respond. Grabbing the door handle, I attempted to yank it open, but it was crushed, so I only got it partially open. I growled in frustration and jerked harder.

“Here, let me help with that,” a man said from behind me, making me jump. Glancing back, I nodded. I needed to get closer so I could assess Sean. I yanked on the door handle while the stranger pulled on the door frame. I noted he had on gloves, which protected his hands from the shards of glass. That’s when it registered that he was dressed as a biker. Opening the door far enough for me to squeeze inside took a few tries.

“What else can I do?” the biker asked.

“See that white car over there?” I pointed to mine. He nodded. “There’s a first aid bag in the backseat. Will you get it for me, please?”

“Sure will,” he said before jogging off. I gave my attention to Sean.

I rechecked his pulse, then lightly tapped his cheek. “Sean, open your eyes.” When it didn’t work, I called louder and used his team name. “Fiend! Attention, sailor!”

That got a slight twitch out of him. Before I could repeat it, the man was back. I took the open bag. Finding gauze, I tore it open with my teeth and wadded it up to press to the head wound that was bleeding everywhere.

“Here, let me hold that,” the biker said.

I didn’t bother to argue. I let him do it so I could check Sean’s pupils and call his name more. I heard people talking and shouting, but I ignored them. The wail of sirens was in the background. I hoped it was the paramedics and not just cops coming to the scene.

“Fiend, talk to me! It’s Cassidy,” I growled.

Sean groaned, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“Fiend, is he a biker?” my helper asked.

“No, although we know a bunch. He was a Navy SEAL. It was his team name.”

“Ah, got it. I served with a bunch of SEALs. My name is Vader.”

“Thank you for helping, Vader.”

“You’re welcome. I saw what happened. That truck just kept going. I got a partial plate.”

“I’ll need that.” I was busy trying to assess Sean and talk while fighting my panic.

“Sir, ma’am, please move back. We’ve got this,” another man’s voice startled me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a fireman standing there. He was carrying a bag, which told me he was a paramedic. Reluctantly, I moved back along with Vader. I was so into Sean that I hadn’t noticed the firemen and police arriving.

Police were being mobbed by people trying to tell them what happened. I stood there watching the only person who mattered. Suddenly, I was snapped into action. I fumbled to get my phone out of my back pocket. When I had it, I dialed the first number in my most frequently dialed. Gabe picked up.

“Hey Cass, this is a surprise. How’re you?”

“Gabe, I need your help. Sean came to see me. He’s been in an accident. A truck hit his car, then fled. We’re at the intersection of Graves and Hunt in Jacksonville, Florida. Vader, tell my friend the partial license number and anything else you know about the truck. We need to get working on finding whoever that bastard was. He didn’t even bother to stop.”

Gabe started swearing. Vader gave me an odd look, but he did as I asked. He had the truck’s color, model, and half the license plate. When he was done, I went back to talking to Gabe.

“How long ago did this happen?” he asked.

“About ten minutes maybe, I don’t know. Gabe, he’s not responsive. He’s bleeding from his head. I don’t know how badly he’s hurt. What if he dies?” I sobbed.

“He’s not going to die. If he does, I’ll go to hell and bring his ass back and then kick it for doing it. He’s a tough bastard. Many have tried to kill Fiend and have failed. Find out where they plan to take him.”

“They’ll take him to UFHealth. It’s the closest,” Vader informed me.

“UF?”

“Ahh, yeah, the University of Florida Health is a Trauma One center. He’ll be in great hands.”

“Thank you.”

“I got it. You get your ass to the hospital. We’ll be there as fast as we can. Gonna get the bird in the air. You stay with him,” Gabe ordered.

“I will,” was all I could choke out. Gabe said a few other things, but I couldn’t focus. All I could do was stare at the fireman working to get Sean out of the car. If he died, I wouldn’t be able to go on.