“I’ll be there soon.”
He prayed she’d be all right. “Please, Lord, be with her. She has to be so scared. Lord, please help her trust in You and take comfort in Your presence.”
He made record time to the accident scene. When his truck stopped at the curb, some of the emergency crew tried to move him along until he leaped from his truck and they recognized him. Belatedly, he realized he was still wearing his paramedic uniform. Although it couldn’t hurt right now.
“I’m fine! I don’t need to go to the hospital!”
Jackson whirled, following the sound of Mia’s voice.
She sat on the back of the ambulance, holding an ice pack to her cheek.
Jackson froze, his blood pounding in his ears. His legs shook. “Thank You, Jesus. She’s alive.”
“Ma’am, did you see the driver of the SUV?” A young police officer stood next to her. Jackson ran in their direction. Mia raised her head, and her eyes collided with his. A smile split her face, flashing her dimples. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
“I didn’t see the driver, no. All I saw was a gun. There were kids in the road. I had nowhere to go.”
Jackson shuddered. He reached her side. “You’re okay? You seem to have hurt your face.” He gently peeled the ice pack away from her cheek to see the extent of the wound. “You’ll have a beauty of a bruise. But it doesn’t look broken.”
“That’s what Moses said.” She touched the tender spot and winced, then placed the ice pack against her face again.
Jackson waved at his buddy and colleague. “Well, Moses is right. Hurt anywhere else?”
She shook her head.
The cop cleared his throat. “Tell me what happened after he shot at you.”
Peering around, Jackson saw her vehicle hooked up to a tow truck. The blood drained from his face. For a moment, his vision blurred. “Mia! Your car is totaled!”
“I know.”
“It’s a miracle you survived that.” The back window was gone. Chunks of glass glittered like diamonds. Her tire had shredded, and there were three bullet holes in the trunk.
“Tire shot out.” A second cop pointed to the destroyed rubber.
She’d come so close to dying.
He swallowed hard.
Mia addressed the first cop. “I saw the SUV. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw the gun. I stopped and reversed. But then he shot out the tire. I lost control. When I saw the boys in front of me, I jerked the wheel to avoid them and hit the tree instead. They ran off.”
That sounded like something she’d do. He rubbed his chest, trying to soothe the ache that seemed to be a near-constant part of his life now.
Hearing Mia describe the event sent waves of nausea through him. But she was fine, he reminded himself.
Moses sauntered over to him. “She’s bumped her head pretty good, and her car is toast. I tried to convince her to go to the hospital, but she refused to go.”
Mia glared their way.
Jackson raised his hands. “I’m not the one talking about you. That’s all him. However, I will point out that in my professional opinion, you should go to the hospital.”
She shook her head.
He didn’t pressure her, but he’d keep an eye on her.
The tow truck driver finished loading her car up and began driving away. Jackson spun and faced the other way. He couldn’t look at the car, knowing she’d been inside it when it crashed into the tree.
Another woman’s voice caught his attention. The woman shrieked louder and louder.