Seducing Simon(65)

His heart was jamming double time as he shoved aside the people gathered. Someone tried to pull him back, but he came up swinging.

Maybe he connected, he wasn’t sure, but his knuckles hurt like hell.

He slid down the ravine, his feet not cooperating with his brain. He came to a stop beside two men from his crew who were setting up cables from the wench so they could pull the Jeep right side up.

Dropping down on his belly, he slithered forward, yanking his flashlight from his belt and shining it into the interior of the Jeep. His heart nearly stopped when he caught sight of Toni’s blood covered face.

“Get me some light down here!” he yelled back up.

A.J. came sliding down seconds later carrying a floodlight. He tossed it to one of the first responders and directed him to hold it up.

“Damn it, you two,” the chief yelled as he scrambled down the embankment. “I don’t need a bunch of half-cocked firemen out of their heads with worry. Get back. We’ll get her out.” Simon ignored him completely, his focus on Toni, trying to see if she was breathing. A.J. argued fiercely above him, and apparently he was successful because he bent down and pointed his own flashlight into the interior of the Jeep.

It was one giant cluster. The Jeep had come to rest against a tree, almost completely turned over. Toni leaned heavily against her door, and blood dripped down her forehead. Simon shoved himself closer to her, reaching for her neck. Gently so as not to compromise her spine, he pressed his fingers into her flesh, praying desperately that he found a pulse.

Sweet relief poured over him. She was alive. For now. He shined the light down her body, grimly noting her legs trapped under the smashed in dash and steering wheel. Her left arm was fixed in an unnatural angle, obviously broken. Her rounded abdomen rested against the steering wheel, and he wondered how much of a blow her belly took.

“Where are the damn paramedics?” he shouted hoarsely.

“They’re three minutes out,” A.J. said, his voice filled with anxiety.

Simon swore and turned his attention back to Toni. “Toni, Toni, sweetheart. Can you hear me? It’s me, Simon. Wake up, baby.” He reached a hand out to touch her cheek, wiping the blood away as more ran down. God, he couldn’t lose her now. He hadn’t gotten to tell her how sorry he was, and how much he loved her. “Don’t take her from me,” he whispered fiercely, hoping the words wrenched from the depths of his soul somehow made it to God’s ears.

Matt picked that moment to careen down the incline, despite the responders’ best attempts to hold him back. He got down with Simon.

“How does it look?” His voice was sick with worry.

“Is there anything I can do?” A.J. asked desperately.

Simon shook his head. “Are they through with the cables yet? We’ve got to get the Jeep turned over so we can get her out of here.”

“Get back,” the chief barked. “We’re going to try and get the vehicle back on its wheels.”

Reluctantly Simon eased back, his heart in turmoil. What if they couldn’t save her? He knew every minute she stayed trapped in the Jeep, the less chance she had of surviving. The golden rule of emergencies. Get the patient to the hospital as fast as you can.

The Jeep shook and the steel cables creaked in protest as they began reeling them in. After a groan, the Jeep swayed up and down. Then in one loud bang, it righted itself, landing heavily on the ground.

“Damn it, that was too rough!” Simon swore, rushing forward.

“We’ll have to cut the dash,” A.J. said as he, Matt and Simon surrounded Toni.

“Move away,” a new voice demanded.

Simon turned to see a paramedic, jump bag in hand, pushing him aside.

“It’s about damn time,” he growled.

“Get back and let me do my job,” he said in an even tone. He looked over at A.J. and Matt. “Look, I know this is tough for you guys, but back off.”

Simon moved a foot back, unwilling to get too far away from Toni.

The paramedic slipped a C-collar around her neck then checked her lungs. He cast a cursory glance over her broken arm then began prepping the other one for an IV as another paramedic rushed up with an oxygen bottle.

“I’ll hold it,” Simon offered, when the paramedic couldn’t get the mask to stay.

He nodded, and Simon stepped forward, holding the rebreather over her mouth and nose.

The Jeep shook and the loud noise of the jaws rent the night air as Mike and the chief began cutting into the dash to free her legs.

In a few minutes, the dash was peeled away, and the paramedic shouted for the stretcher. After a few minutes of securing her spine, they began the slow process of lifting her from the jeep and laying her on the stretcher.

Several hands helped lug the stretcher up the steep drop off, and once they reached the road, the paramedic picked up the pace, racing over to the ambulance.

“You can ride if you stay out of my way,” he said bluntly, as Simon arrived at the back of the ambulance.

Simon nodded and climbed in.

“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Matt called.

The doors slammed shut, and the ambulance started forward, as fast as conditions would allow.

Simon glanced down at Toni’s bloodied face. His heart constricted.

There was so much blood. And the baby. How was the baby?

“Here,” the paramedic said, handing him a bottle of saline and a wad of bandages. “Get her face cleaned off so I can assess the damage.