Hide My Memories: A Romantic Suspense Thriller Series (Hide Me Series Book 1) by Lisa Ladew Read Free Book Online

her.
    He climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. He could see in his mirror that she was still standing where he had left her. He was just about to get out and go talk to her when she finally got moving. She ran around to the other side and climbed in.
    West put the ambulance in reverse and backed slowly into the center of the bay, then pulled out. "Do you know the ten codes yet?" he asked her.
    "Yes," she replied softly.
    "You've got the radio then," he told her. "Tell them we are in service. We are medic twelve."
    From the corner of his eye he watched her pick up the radio and depress the button on the side. “Medic twelve, 10-8,” she said, in that same soft voice.
    As West pulled out onto Front Street, he could see her squirming in her seat. She seemed to be working up the nerve to say something. Finally she spit it out.
    "Don't take this the wrong way, but because we have a, uh, a history together, maybe someone else should be my trainer?"
    West raised his eyebrows. "You can talk to Lieutenant Masterson if you want. I can bring you back here on our lunch break if that's what you decide to do. But there might be an issue."
    "An issue?"
    "Yeah. All the paramedics in the regular training program refused to take you on. Just about everyone in the department is against hiring paramedics outside of the department instead of training someone who is already a firefighter. I understand why Lieutenant Masterson proposed the idea and why it was pushed through, there's lots of reasons for it, but  most of the paramedic-firefighters don't want to support the program. They are afraid that you and the people who follow you won't pull your weight. Or that it will erode their job security. Lieutenant Masterson came to me personally and asked me to evaluate you as a favor to her. Otherwise I wouldn't have done it either. Not because I have anything against hiring paramedics who aren't firefighters, but because all of my coworkers are so set against it. I've been getting a bit of flack about agreeing."
    West threw a glance at Katerina and noticed she had shrunk somehow; her face was sad and her shoulders drooped. He quickly looked back to the road. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Don't be upset. People are resistant to change, especially when it affects their jobs. They'll come around."
    She didn’t say anything.
    Desperate to change the subject, West cast around for something else to talk about. "How are you with IVs and intubations?"
    "I'm good," she said, and West was glad to hear a bit of confidence in her voice.
    "With both?"
    "Yes."
    West smiled. He’d be the judge of that. "Okay, you've got all IVs and all intubations today. Other than that, just let me call the shots. It's your first day out, you can get a sense of how we do things here at the Westwood Harbor Fire Department."
    Out of the corner of his eye, West saw Katerina look at him. He stopped the ambulance at a red light and looked at her too. She was smiling. A wide, genuine smile and the simple beauty of it almost knocked him over. God, she was gorgeous.
    He noticed the car in front of him moving and turned his attention back to the road. She laughed suddenly, sharply, almost like it was forced out of her.
    "What? What's funny?"
    "Nothing," she said. "I'm just happy."
    He snuck a quick look at her, and she certainly did look happy. Radiant almost. Vastly different then how she'd looked when she showed up.
    She flapped a hand at him. "Sorry, I just, uh, I've just had a lot of worries on my mind lately, but I'm feeling better. Maybe it's starting a new job. It cleared some things up for me."
    West felt relief in his chest for her. Relief and happiness. He wouldn’t have to draw her out after all.
    The radio crackled, calling them. Katerina answered like a pro, quickly grabbing a pen and paper to record their assignment.
     
    ***
     
    Four hours later, they'd had five calls. One bike messenger who plowed into the back of a car and was pretty banged up; one