“I can move.”
“Okay, when I pull the door, you push it up as hard as you can from inside. Okay?”
“Roger that.”
“We don’t use radio talk on phones, Julia,” he teased, wanting to match her mood. “Every newbie knows that.”
“I’m taking it under advisement,” she told him. “Umm, I think you should hang up the phone now and rescue me.”
“Agreed.”
He climbed up the front of the car, moved into position, then reached down and gripped the door handle. He squeezed hard and pulled.
The wind fought him.
The almost upright angle and weight of the door made his task difficult under good conditions. In frigid temps, it was almost impossible.
He wanted her out of the car and in a warm, safe place, fast.
The door moved up.
He clenched tight, bracing himself, because if he lost his grip while Julia climbed out and the door slammed back down, he could seriously hurt her.
He heard a voice, and then he saw gloved fingers, grasping the back side of the driver’s door frame. First one hand, then two.
A wind gust buffeted him, jerking him to the left. His foot slipped on a slick spot, but he held tight. Come on, Julia, grab hold. Climb out. Hang on.
An arm followed. And then the second arm, grabbing hold of the back door handle, pulling hard.
Her head appeared, then disappeared for long, slow seconds.
That meant something wasn’t right. A caught leg, a foot turned wrong.
She disappeared back into the car while Tanner struggled to hold the door open.
The hands appeared again. Then the head, her blond hair whipping in the wind.
This time she made it through the opening, onto the car and slid down into the snow, free.
He let the door down easy, not wanting to rock the car over, then slid down into the snow next to her.
“You’re hurt.” He stood quickly, hauled her up and pulled her toward his car.
She tried to say something, but the storm stole her words. He tucked her into the front seat of the warm cruiser, circled around and climbed in next to her as the rescue vehicle came into view. He paused, letting heat seep into both of them. “Let me see your face.”
“Scratched, banged and bruised, but otherwise unscathed,” she assured him, but he reached over, grasped her chin gently and turned her face his way.
* * *
He’s got gorgeous gray eyes. The kind a girl could get lost in if she had a mind to. Fortunately, I have no such desire.
Hat-matted, snow-flecked hair. Was it dark? Light? She couldn’t tell because the dampness made it look dark in the uneven light of the police cruiser.
Square-jawed. Fierce, almost taut features, but as he examined her for damage, the look in his eyes said this warrior had a soft side he hid well.
And that was a relief, because she’d come close to giving him a good, swift kick back in the future pregnancy center.
His broad hands were chilled but gentle. His gaze probed her eyes, and for just a moment she wondered what it would be like to have Trooper Tanner locking eyes with her when he wasn’t searching for signs of concussion.
“Headache?”
She shook her head, then shrugged. “Well. A little.”
“This hurt much?” He touched the side of her face with the pad of his thumb.
“Ouch. Bruised, I expect.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna have a nice shiner with that one.” His smile offered sympathy tinged with sarcasm, a kind of fun mix. “And this?” He sent a light touch over her left eyebrow and seemed happy when she didn’t react.
“Should I ask how I look?” She made a face, and he responded with an overdone cringe as if afraid to tell her. She dropped her head back and sighed. “That bad?”
“Two bangs and a bruise. Not too bad. But wrecking two cars in one day? I’m glad I don’t have to pay your insurance, Julia.”
“The other one wasn’t my fault,” she protested. “Parked, I tell you. No way can you pin that one on me.”
“And this one?” Tanner slid his gaze to the upended car in front of them.
She sighed out loud. “That one’s all me.” She started to make a face, but wrinkling the muscles made her temple bruise hurt more so she stopped. “And Zach’s going to have a field day because he warned me to handle the car differently.”
“Yup.”
“Do you have siblings, Tanner?”
“One sister. Neda. She lives in Erie. Just far enough away that she can’t remind me of the dumb things I do too often.”
As the ambulance crew reached the car, Julia grimaced. “My advice? Keep it that way.” She shot a look of chagrin toward Zach’s approaching car and winked at Tanner. “Because I’m never going to live this down.”
“I do believe I said no when asked about going to the emergency room.” Julia frowned at her watch, then at her brother an hour later. “I have two kids and an overgrown puppy waiting for me at Dad’s. And I’m on call for the next forty-eight hours.”
“Protocol says head wounds get looked at.” Zach aimed one of those brotherly looks her way, the kind that should get him smacked except she was too tired to put up much of a fight. “And you’re not on call anymore. I called Dr. Salinas. She’s taking calls tonight to give you time to rest.”
“You what?” Julia lifted her brows, surprised. “You can’t have her do that. She’s got a lot on her plate right now. I’m fi—”
“You’re not fine,” Tanner reminded her. He scanned her face with a mix of sympathy and amusement. “Although I have to hand it to you, you’re one tough cookie. And no driving for twenty-four hours. You heard the doctor. How were you expecting to answer calls?”
Great. Just what she needed. Another bossy cop, and he wasn’t even related to her.
She was determined to be patient because like it or not, they would be working in the same area, and Julia knew it was way better to have the police on her side. “The doctor didn’t mean it.”
“I did mean it.” The ER doc strode back into the room, handed Julia a container of pain meds, then faced her. “I had them fill this upstairs because the local drugstores are closed due to the storm. Use them if you need them, Julia.” His tone and expression said he doubted she would, but should. “I wasn’t messing around. No driving for the next twenty-four hours. Go home and rest.”
She frowned as she slid off the examining table. Zach held out her coat. She shrugged into it, then turned and stuck her hand out to Tanner. “Thank you for the rescue. I appreciate it. Seeing your lights come across that overpass made me real happy.”
The sympathy in his gaze deepened. “Anytime.”
“Don’t say that,” Zach warned. “She’s going to be working under your nose in that new clinic, and Julia’s not afraid to lasso people into helping her. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Reddington.”
“I never do.” The promise in his voice pulled Julia’s attention up to his eyes.