Kira wasn’t going to let any of them down.
Frankie raced up the stairs. “Here.” She handed Kira a wide metal straw.
“Perfect.” Kira said, “If anyone is squeamish, don’t watch this.” She took Luca’s knife when he held it out, and cut the wound just enough to comfortably get the straw in. As soon as the straw was seated in the wound, she wrapped tape around it, holding it in place.
He let out a wheeze, then took a full breath, both his lungs filling. The labored breaths began to equalize, and the officer started to breathe steadily.
“There we go.”
“What happened?” Frankie asked, still beside her.
Kira said, “The air in his chest needed somewhere to go, so it escaped out the straw and his lung was able to reinflate. He can breathe now.”
“You saved his life.” Frankie’s voice was full of awe.
“He needs to be at the hospital, ASAP. This is only a temporary fix.”
Luca motioned over her shoulder. “The ambulance is here.”
Two EMTs rushed up the stairs with their gear. Kira ran down all the particulars and handed the man off to them. She scooted across the floor to sit with her back to the wall. Luca moved over and sat beside her, gathering her into his arms.
“You’re amazing.”
She smiled to herself. “I’ve been thinking the same about you.”
“Seems like God knew what He was doing, putting us together. We fit.”
The EMTs rolled the officer to their backboard, and the other cop helped them carry him down the stairs.
Luca was right. They complemented each other in some of the best ways. She lifted her chin and looked at him. “Yes, we do.”
Nineteen
Luca heard the shower shut off in the bathroom of his cabin, which he’d completely renovated. He’d gutted the whole place and rebuilt it over the winter while trying to wrestle with the particulars of this case. If it went on much longer, he was going to sand and restain the floors.
But having Kira here, in his place, just days after everything had happened, cleaning up and putting her comfy clothes on? Way more distracting than the investigation he still didn’t have answers for.
After they’d left the prison, he had taken her to the hospital to have her injuries looked at. Once her wrist was bandaged, they’d gone to her place and he’d hung out awhile until she fell asleep. He’d headed over to the police station then so he could go over everything with Mike.
She hadn’t wanted to be apart for too long, and neither had he, so as soon as she’d woken up and called him, he’d picked her up and brought her to his house. Since then, there’d been a whole lot of movies, tea, and comfort foods. Rowan, Sierra, and Huck had come by for dinner last night, and afterward, he’d camped out on the couch so she didn’t have to go home so late.
She’d told him it felt like she was on a retreat, and he agreed.
Luca grabbed the seasoning and shook it over the two steaks destined for the grill out the back. He already had the chopped veggies cooking over the flame. After they’d gone for a short hike earlier, he’d changed his boots for tennis shoes and pulled on a sweater over his T-shirt, giving Kira the bathroom so she could wash up and they could spend this evening in the Adirondack chairs on his porch, watching the sun go down and enjoying each other’s company.
Luca flipped the steaks with a set of tongs and seasoned the other sides. His phone rang behind him on the counter.
Jamie.
He answered, hitting the speaker button. “Hey, girl.”
“You sound happy.” Her alto voice sounded amused.
“Speak for yourself. How’s Logan?”
“The doctor cleared him to fly out of state for a national conference where they talk about wildland firefighting and make a plan for the new season. He’s pretty stoked to help represent the tracker-ring tech and get it on the market so more firefighters can be safe.”
Luca smiled. “That’s great.”