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Sirens in her Heart
Natalie Peck
Copyright 2015, The Electric Scroll
All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by The
Electric Scroll. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written
permission from the publisher. For information contact The Electric Scroll,
745 N. Gilbert Rd. Ste 124 PMB 197, Gilbert, Arizona, 85234.
The characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and entirely in the imagination
of the reader.
Thanks and Dedication
I wish I could deliver these thanks in person to Shirley
Thulin, a “mudder like no udder”, the most wonderful
gramma in the universe, seamstress extraordinaire, author,
and my first cheerleader.
She was one of the first readers of this, my very first
manuscript, and she liked it. Without her, I would never
have written a second book.
Sirens is dedicated to her, with the regret that she didn’t
live to see it published. Rest in Peace.
Books by Natalie Peck
Sirens in her Heart
Meet Me Midway
The Moms Place
A Gigolo for Christmas
Bits and Bites (an anthology)
Sirens in her Heart
Natalie Peck
1
The noise of the gong penetrated her sleep-deprived
brain. Rebecca struggled to sit up even as her hands groped
to pull on her short boots. A groan came from the next cot as
Roger rolled over and followed suit.
“Geez; Thursdays are usually quiet. Is the world going
crazy tonight?”
Rebecca flashed him a tight half-smile over her shoul-
der, reaching for the dispatch phone.
“Yeah, Tom, what’ve we got?” She grimaced as she jot-
ted down the address and other information on their call.
Roger finished tucking in his shirt for the fifteenth time to-
night and reached for his clip-on tie.
“That’s all you’ve got?” She listened and expelled her
pent-up breath. “Okay, we’re gone.”
She set the receiver back on its cradle and grabbed her
own tie. She ripped her note from the scratch pad, snapping
the scrap of paper to the top of her clipboard.
As they hurried to the ambulance, Rebecca told Roger
the address, then said, “I think you’re right; the world’s nuts.
This one’s a hostage situation.”
Sirens in her Heart
2
Roger’s mutters were lost in the sound of the siren. She
knew as they entered the street, he was fully awake and
planning the best route to the scene.
She wondered what to expect on the upcoming call. She
automatically looked for traffic on her side of the unit, and
mentally prepared herself.
When she caught herself preparing, she chided herself
for it. The need was no longer there, but it didn’t change
things much; it was now her habit.
When she’d been in training, her knowledge was new, as
were women in the emergency medical field. She’d fought
hard in her small hometown for the chance to show women
could be a viable and valuable asset on an ambulance.
No matter what she found at the scene, Rebecca couldn’t
show any weakness. The city fathers were waiting for her
failure. They wanted to hold her up as a bad example, jerk
her from duty and reassign her to a desk. It seemed a hun-
dred years ago, not just ten.
Rebecca had devised a safety plan; a game, really. If the
dispatcher said it was a traffic accident, she’d picture the
bloodiest scene, add the messiest complications and make a
mental picture in 3-D with HD color and stereo sound.
Then she’d decide how to react to that situation; what
she’d do first, then second and third; she did this all the way
to the scene. Reality had never been as bad as her imagina-
tion, and she’d never been at a loss in the actual situation.
Rebecca gave herself a mental shake and transcribed her
notes to the pad on her clipboard. She took a deep breath.
The days of trial were over.
So was her marriage to Simon and her life in Garfield.
She’d moved after the divorce. She now lived several hun-
dred miles away and worked for one of the top ambulance
Natalie Peck
3
companies in the city.
She went over her mental list again. She’d never been on
a call like this before. Also, this was an unfamiliar section of
town. She and Roger had traded stations with David and
Larry. David’s wife had been due with their first child two
days ago; he wanted to be close if Cheryl went into labor
while he was working.
As they pulled up to the scene Rebecca picked up the
mike, radioed their arrival time to Tom and wrote it on the
run sheet where she’d entered the other information enroute.
Roger brought the ambulance unit to a halt where a po-
lice officer indicated. They both stepped from the van, going
to the officer for an update.
Rebecca checked the street and houses with somber gray
eyes. She listened intently to the officer explain the situa-
tion. It was similar to stories she’d seen on the news from
time to time but with a definite difference.
Husband and wife quarrel; husband slams out of the
house, gets a gun and comes back. He threatens to blow
away her and their kid and then himself. This time, though,
it was worse. The child was a special case; she was on life-
support.
“At home? How did they arrange that?” Rebecca asked.
“The wife is a Critical Care nurse. She quit her job to
care for her daughter at home.” He shook his head. “I don’t
know what set the husband off, but he sounds desperate; like
it’s his only option.”
“How old is he?” Roger asked.
“Early forties; the neighbors we questioned said the
couple had been childless forever, then had this one girl.
They were the ideal little family; very close.
“About a year ago, a drunken kid on a Harley lost con-
Sirens in her Heart
4
trol and the bike went onto the sidewalk. Ran over the
daughter. She made it, but barely. What a mess. Stupid fool
kids; I wish they’d learn booze and driving don’t go togeth-
er.”
A firefighter walked up to where they were standing.
“Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?”
Rebecca looked up at him and suddenly felt her mouth
go dry. ‘Good looking’ didn’t even come close to describing
the ruggedly handsome man asking to join them. She tried to
swallow, but there was nothing there and it came out a gulp.
“Say, Chief,” he spoke to the police officer, although his
eyes were on hers. “Your boss wants you on the horn.”
His emerald eyes sparkled as though lit with a green fire
from deep inside him. His blonde hair picked up the reflec-
tions from the safety lights blinking all around them. It
shone like a polished gold helmet. He was tall; over six feet,
she judged. A smile hovered at the corners of his mouth. She
wanted to reach out and touch it with her fingertips.
Watching him, Rebecca discovered she was having
trouble breathing normally. It felt as if a tight band was
squeezing her chest. Suddenly feeling dwarfed, she straight-
ened and stood as tall as her scant three inches over her five
feet allowed.
Her motion caused him to look from her feet to her head
as he boldly assessed her. She felt heat flooding into her
face and wondered if her blush was visible to the world in
the scant light. His evaluation had been so thorough, she
wondered if he’d even counted her freckles.
His gaze moved to take in her short black curls. Had she
run a comb through them since tumbling out of her bunk this
last time? She hoped so.
Still keeping his eyes on her, he said, “Say, Roger; long
Natalie Peck
5
time, no see. You got a new partner since I saw you last. I
bet you appreciate the scenery. Ralph wasn’t nearly such an
eyeful.”
Rebecca felt her face grow hotter and her mind went
blank; she couldn’t think of one bantering word. That was
unusual. She often found guys teasing Roger about her;
she’d usually come up with a witty quip to make them
laugh.
She’d enjoyed the camaraderie between the ambulance
and fire crews. When they sometimes went to breakfast after
a particularly rough shift, she liked the kinship they provid-
ed.
This time she was having trouble just breathing. Any
joking words were lost in the desert of her dry throat, but her
gaze was riveted to his green eyes. No one had moved but
the officer who went to answer his call, yet she felt as
though she was standing closer to him.
Rebecca realized Roger had introduced her, but she’d no
idea what he’d said. Her feelings were in an uproar.
Again, the man’s glance slid across her body. She felt a
tingling along her nerves where his eyes stroked her, touch-
ing her body with a fire wand. He was dangerous. She
couldn’t afford passionate entanglements; she had to keep
all men at arms’ length so she could succeed at work…and
at life, now that her divorce was behind her.
Suddenly, a shot rang out. Conversation abruptly halted,
and for a split second, nobody moved. Then there was mo-
tion everywhere.
The first thing Rebecca knew, she was flying across the
sidewalk. She landed with a thump in the grass. A moment
later, the air whooshed out of her lungs as a body landed on
top of her. She couldn’t move. She tried to get up, but
Sirens in her Heart
6
couldn’t budge the bulk above her. She had no breath to cry
out, but she started to struggle.
“Stay still, you fool.” A harsh male voice grated in her
ear. The resulting spurt of anger gave her back her breath.
“What do you think you’re doing? Get off me.”
“No chance, Spitfire. Not until the bullets stop singing.”
“I can take care of myself; get off me, you stupid oaf.”
A terrifying sensation came to her as she looked up at
this man, overriding the anger and causing fear to engulf
her. More fear even than the now-ancient fear of failing the
challenge of her job. It was the insidious fear of her purely
physical reaction to this man.
The new fear shuddered through her body. He felt her
shake and turned his deep green eyes on her. An unspoken
question was there. She watched him and felt he could read
what was going through her. She was humiliated.
“Don’t fight it, Sweetheart,” he said softly but with a
wicked grin. “I can take care of you.” He moved his hands,
gently sliding them from her shoulders down her arms.
Anger flooded her again. She thought how he had the
audacity to tackle her like a football player. Then, making
light of the feelings streaking through her, he said he was
only trying to protect her. Rebecca glared at him.
“Get your hands off me!” She spit the words out as she
shoved against his chest. Her gasping breath was not from
exertion, but from her shockingly physical reaction. She
desperately looked around for Roger. There he was, coming
towards her from the police barricade.
“Roger!” Her eyes fastened on him like a lifeline, im-
ploring him to rescue her. Humiliating tears stung her eyes
and she felt more vulnerable than at any other time of her
life.
Natalie Peck
7
Roger helped her up as the firefighter eased off her.
Roger must have realized she was trembling. He softly
asked, “Are you okay?”
Numbly, she just nodded.
She took a deep breath as she tried to pull herself to-
gether. She blinked hard to rid her eyes of tears without ac-
tually wiping them; she didn’t want others to see her weak-
ness. She fought to regain her focus.
“Hey, Roger,” the firefighter’s voice intruded. “She’s al-
so a nice armful.”
Her anger at his words steadied her. It restored her sense
of balance and her sharp wit at once. She spoke to Roger.
“Tell your friend Tarzan he’d better keep his hands to him-
self if he wants to keep breathing air.” She turned her back
on them and headed toward her unit, picking up her scat-
tered papers and her clipboard on the way.
She reached the van and stowed the clipboard beside her
seat. She heard the rasp of the radio. Suddenly, she realized
she’d not even thought about the events happening inside
the house.
She turned, searching for Roger again. He was walking
her way. She was glad because her legs felt shaky and she
didn’t think she could walk right now.
What’s the matter with me? I’ve never felt turmoil from
a simple touch before. Simple touch? Yeah, right.
She was relieved Roger was alone. She looked past him.
The firefighter still stood, hands on his hips, watching her.
Even at this distance, he had power to make her heart speed
up; her breath come in little gasps. She thought once more
how emotionally dangerous he was to her. She shivered
again before turning to Roger.
He looked at her. “Are you okay, Bec?”
Sirens in her Heart
8
She nodded and then asked what had happened inside
the house.
“The father was in despair. His precious daughter was
just lying there, not getting well. He wanted her out of her
misery, and he out of his. A psychiatrist helped his wife talk
him out of it, so no harm was done.”
“But the shot; Roger, I heard a shot.” She wildly won-
dered if she’d lost control of all her senses since meeting
him.
“I know. When he threw the gun outside, it went off as it
hit the ground. Luckily, nobody was hurt. Come on. Let’s
check with the mother and see if little Mandy is okay.”
Rebecca threw him a questioning look. He answered her
unspoken inquiry. “That’s the little girl; Mandy.”
In a daze, Rebecca followed him to the house. She
hadn’t heard anyone say the little girl’s name. She shook her
head to clear the cobwebs; or at least remove those haunting,
emerald green eyes out of her mind.
Her brain just laughed at her: fat chance, Bec.
About the Author
Natalie Peck lives in Gilbert, Arizona with her family
and a thousand romance novels. She enjoys dining from her
good china by candle-light, especially when the special
guests are her husband and children. She loves to hear from
her readers, and promises to answer every email.
Connect with me online:
Website: electric-scroll.com
Blog: electric-scroll.blogspot.com
Email: n-peck@electric-scroll.com
Facebook: Natalie Peck
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