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

heart attack, CPR in progress; two car accidents, neither one of them serious; a probable stroke; and a homeless man who wanted a ride to the hospital for methadone, a drug that helps heroin users stop using heroin.
    It'd been a busy day so far, And West was looking forward to a break. He figured Katerina had to be also. He remembered how difficult it was when he was training. Being a paramedic is stressful enough, but when you're just learning the stress can be double or triple.
    But she’d done wonderfully. She had started two IVs and intubated the man who had the heart attack. Paramedics get a lot of practice inserting IVs during their hospital and field training but usually only one or two chances at intubating someone. The only time someone needed to be intubated - having a tube inserted into the trachea - was if they weren't breathing. And luckily, the majority of the calls they got just weren't that serious.
    She hadn't been boasting. Her IVs were perfect and she placed each of them on the first try, both in the back of the hand, which was one of the harder places to place an IV.
    And when she'd intubated the man who'd needed CPR, he held his breath at her first attempt. But it had been her only attempt. She placed it perfectly, double checking by listening to the man's lungs with her stethoscope, and then asking West to listen also. He'd been glad she had invited him, not wanting to offend her by double checking her work.  It's your job to double check her work , he reminded himself. But after her performance today he didn't think he would need to very often, or at all.
    The radio crackled and dispatch sent them to lunch.
    They were sitting outside the hospital, after dropping off their latest patient. He turned to her and asked, "Do you want to go somewhere for lunch?"
    She gave him a guarded look and said, "No thanks, I brought my lunch."
    "Oh, okay. Do you mind if I grab something?"
    "Not at all."
    She reached behind her seat and pulled out her backpack. He saw her take what looked like a breakfast bar out of it and open it, chewing slowly.
    That was her lunch?
    West headed downtown, planning on spending his lunch like he usually did. After a few miles drive, they drove under an overpass. A homeless man selling roses on the corner waved and ran after the ambulance. West pulled over at the first opportunity.
    The man ran up to the driver’s seat and West rolled down his window. "Hey Gene, how's it going?"
    Gene shook West’s hand and laughed, showing a toothless grin. "Good man, good. We missed you yesterday."
    "Sorry Gene, I got pretty busy. Did you guys eat?"
    Gene cackled. "No worries, no worries. We pooled our money and were able to feed everyone."
    West nodded. "That's good. How many you got back there today?"
    "About twenty, twenty-five."
    "Okay, see you in fifteen."
    West rolled up the window and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He noticed Katerina looking at him curiously. He held up a finger as the restaurant he was calling picked up. After they greeted him he told them his name and said he needed thirty meals to go. When his order was taken, he turned the ambulance around and headed a few streets over to the restaurant he’d called. "Sometimes I pick up some meals for some of the homeless," he explained limply, hoping she didn’t think he was showing off.
    But, "oh," was all she said.
    He parked the ambulance in front of the restaurant and asked Katerina if she wanted to come in.
    "I can help you carry meals," she said.
    "You don't have to – they box it all up for me and the owner helps me carry it out."
    He saw the look on her face and wasn't sure how to interpret it. "But you can if you want," he said quickly.
    She nodded and they walked inside the restaurant. The hostess, Jillian, greeted him warmly and he gave her a hug, then introduced Katerina. Their introductions were interrupted by the owner, Juan, who shouted at West from across the room. West smiled. Juan was a good guy. He always gave