Page 53 of Her Paramedic (Men in Uniforms #3)

T alia listened with everyone else as they sat at dinner while Zuri told them about a client who booked with her.

From the start of the story, she could tell that the man had shown up with ulterior motives.

Who in their right mind undressed in front of a stranger at an appointment?

People didn’t even do that at the doctor’s office.

Why had he thought it would fly at a wellness center?

“Then this man asked when his happy ending was coming and got belligerent when I told him our facility did not take part in such disgusting actions. I had to ask him to politely remove himself from the premises,” Zuri finished, rolling her eyes.

“No, you told that man you would throw him out ass naked if he didn’t get his gator talons moving,” Aryah corrected.

“Same thing,” Zuri replied, shrugging.

“It amazes me how people have such audacity,” Journee said.

“I’m surprised he didn’t try to complain about you, Zuri,” Nova added.

“He did. He asked for the manager, didn’t like it when I told him I was, and then asked for the owner, and I sent him Aryah’s way.”

“You co-own the center,” Alivia pointed out.

“Yes, but Ryah has a way of calming clients, which keeps them from leaving bad reviews. I also only go off like that when they deserve it because I don’t know who came up with the phrase the customer’s always right, but I can guarantee it was someone who never worked a day in their life and was used to getting what they wanted. ”

Aryah cut her eyes at Zuri. “You just don’t want to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

“It’s the consequences of their actions. They happen to not like my reaction,” Zuri countered. “But you’re the greatest at dealing with them, bestie.”

Talia laughed as Zuri gave Aryah a big smile, and Aryah rolled her eyes. They all knew she wasn’t irritated like she pretended to be. Of their group, she always seemed the most relaxed and mellow. She enjoyed giving Zuri a hard time.

“Tal, how was the hair show?” Nova asked. “I hate I missed it. I had so many showings.”

“It was good. There was a bigger turnout than the one I went to the year before.”

“She’s being modest,” Alivia said. “Her salon won first in one category and second in another, and she placed individually in two.”

Congratulations came from those who hadn’t been there, and Talia thanked them.

There were a lot of talented stylists and salons in attendance, and she always felt humbled when she or her shop won.

She was glad she’d participated because stopping at the nail competition pushed on an idea Talia had been toying with for the last year about expanding her salon and the services they offered.

When she’d found out the space beside her was about to be up for lease yesterday, as she was leaving work, it pushed the idea a bit more.

She wanted another stylist, another braider, a dedicated color specialist, nail and lash technicians. She wanted to be a one-stop shop for every beauty need.

“Axel and I have decided on a house,” Kaydence said after there was a lull in their conversation. “We’re going to make an offer on Monday.”

“If your offer is accepted, how long will you have to wait until you move?” Aariah asked after congratulations went around again.

“The seller has stipulated a ninety-day closing,” Kaydence responded.

“Is that common, Nova?” Journee asked.

“Usually, a closing takes forty-five days. Sometimes sixty. When the seller asks for ninety, it typically means they’re moving into an apartment and haven’t started looking, and didn’t want to pay for two places while they wait on the home to sell,” Nova responded.

They finished dinner, exchanging hugs before going their separate ways after Talia told Alivia to let them know soon what she wanted to do for her birthday at the end of the month.

W hen Talia arrived home, she started looking for stations for the technicians she wanted to hire.

She knew it wouldn’t be an overnight project, but she already had her starting point.

Her first order of business was to make a list of everything she needed to do, everything that would be required for an expansion.

She would call the owner of the outlet her salon was in first thing Monday to see if she’d be able to lease the space with a few changes.

Then she would speak to her stylists about what she wanted to do.

It was over an hour before she’d finished making her plan and looked it over on her tablet. She knew she’d refine it each time she looked at it. She picked up her phone and saw she had a missed call from her dad in Line while she’d been at dinner.

She called him back, and as the phone rang, she gathered her tablet, turned out the lights, and headed to her bedroom.

“Hey, little girl,” her dad greeted, and Talia shook her head with a smile. It didn’t matter how old they got, she knew it would always be his chosen endearment for her and her sister.

“Hey, Dad. What are you up to?”

“Nothing much. I wanted to get your opinion on something.”

“What’s up?”

“Courtney and I were discussing this year's Christmas plans and thought we would come visit then instead of during Thanksgiving, and you all can come visit us next summer.”

Courtney was teaching summer classes that year, and her parents hadn’t gotten to come visit like they wanted to.

“That works for me if it does for everyone else,” Talia replied.

It would also put them back on their schedule of how they typically visited each other each year since their parents had moved.

“The two of you can stay with me when you come. I don’t know if Kaydence and Axel will be ready to have guests since they’ll just be moving. ”

“We’ll think about it. We wouldn’t want to keep you up.”

“Really, Dad?” she asked, and it received a chuckle.

“Just looking out for you and your eardrums, kid.”

She shook her head. “How thoughtful.”

She spoke to her dad for a bit longer before they ended the call. Talia put her phone on the charger, then headed into her bathroom to shower. She would text Slate when she got out before going to bed.

? ─ · ─ · ─ · ─ · ─ · ─ · ─ ?

S late sat behind the wheel of the ambulance as they were parked in the spot they preferred.

He was reviewing the current progress reports for the first week of training for the new security services.

Ace was always thorough in his progress reports and kept him and Killian in the loop.

Regardless of them being silent partners.

Which at this point neither of them were anymore.

The reports did not surprise him. Ace had sent the candidates he wanted to start with, and aside from one, Slate had agreed.

Because all of their hires were retired veterans, they went through a psychological evaluation.

He raised a question about one who’d passed, but with a note from the therapist. Slate hadn’t thought it was a good idea to put him on extended jobs yet. They’d put him aside to consider later.

“I’m surprised you haven’t called Talia tonight,” Jonah teased.

“She’s having dinner with her friends,” Slate responded.

Jonah laughed as Slate closed the reports and put his phone into the cupholder before giving the younger man his attention. “That’s the only reason you haven’t. You’re so whipped.” Slate rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he called Talia on every shift.

“Don’t be jealous, kid. You’ll fall in love one day. Just wait for it.”

“Thanks for the advice, old man.”

Slate was contemplating smacking him in the back of the head when a call came in.

“Dispatch to unit seventeen.”

“Seventeen. Go ahead, dispatch,” Slate responded.

“We have a code 23C05 at 357 Huntley Ave.”

“Copy dispatch,” Slate responded, putting on his seatbelt and pulling out of the parking lot. “Seventeen en route,” he finished as Jonah flipped the sirens.

Their destination was close, and Slate made the usual six-minute drive in three. They pulled up to the address and found a frantic teenager on the porch. She shot down the steps towards them as they grabbed their kits.

“You have to help her! You have to help my sister!”

“Show us where she is,” Slate instructed calmly. She turned around and ran back up the steps and into the house. Then down the hall to a bedroom. They were hot on her heels, pulling on gloves as they entered.

There was a young woman, in her early twenties, lying on the floor on her back, eyes unfocused. They began taking her vitals, Slate checking her eyes. “Can you tell me your name?” he asked. When she remained silent, the teenager supplied it.

“Her name is Ashley.”

“What’s yours?” Slate inquired.

“Wendy.”

Slate watched Ashley wretch, and he turned her on her side so she wouldn’t choke on the vomit that soon decorated the floor.

“You told the operator that she’d overdose. Do you know what she took?” Jonah asked.

“Oxy,” Wendy replied while Slate pulled the Narcan from his bag.

He put the tube into her nostril, pushing the release and administering a dose. “Grab the back brace from the van,” he instructed, and Jonah was on his feet out of the room a second later.

“Will she be okay?” Wendy asked.

She would be okay, in the sense that she would live, but how this would affect her was a different story. Slate could lie to her, but he wouldn’t. “We’re going to take her to the hospital, and they’ll do everything they can to help her. Did you take any pills, Wendy?”

“No,” the teenager responded, shaking her head.

Jonah returned with the back brace almost as fast as he’d left. They got Ashley on it and returned to the van.

“I’m coming too,” Wendy said.

They loaded her in, and Jonah rode in back with the patient and teenager. Slate pulled away from the house, sirens on, and headed to St. Mary-Corwin Hospital.

F orty minutes later, Slate was finishing the incident report while Jonah talked to the nurse he liked.

The younger man started his as soon as they’d handed Ashley over to the hospital staff and had finished, while Slate waited with Wendy for her dad to arrive.

Since they hadn’t allowed her back with her sister, she’d stuck to his side until her father came.

While he waited with Wendy, she’d told him it was the second time her sister overdosed, but she hadn’t been there the first time.

She knew how they were portrayed in movies, but never thought she’d see it in person.

She’d been scared. That was normal, but Slate could tell that the image of her sister like that would bother her for a long while.

He signaled to Jonah that he was heading to the van once he finished and exited the hospital. As he slid into the driver’s seat, his phone vibrated in the cupholder. It was a text from Talia.

Talia: Hey, baby. How’s the night going?

Slate: A typical night.

Jonah got into the van. Slate placed his phone back into the cupholder and headed to their spot. He’d just pulled in when his phone vibrated again. He picked it up, checking the message.

Talia: I don’t know if that’s supposed to mean it’s slow or crazy. It could go either way.

“Ooh. Wifey must be available,” Jonah teased, eyes glued to his Switch as Slate got out of the van.

“She is,” he responded, closing the door before the other man could respond. He called his girlfriend, leaning against the ambulance.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey, gorgeous. How was dinner?”

“It was good. We went to that new restaurant that opened a few weeks back. So, which kind of typical is it?”

“It hasn’t been too crazy,” he responded, wishing he had some wood to knock on. “We just came off a call where a teenager saw her sister overdose.”

“Are they okay?”

“As okay as they’re going to be.” Slate knew that it would affect Wendy mentally and maybe emotionally, but Ashley would get the trifecta. “What time is your first appointment on Tuesday?”

“Eight-thirty. Are you thinking about coming Tuesday morning when you get off instead of that evening?”

“Yeah. I wanted to make sure you’d be home when I got there.”

“You do remember you have a key, right?” she questioned.

“I do, but I wanted to see you before you went,” he responded.

“Someone’s clingy,” she teased.

“First Jonah calls me whipped, and now you’re calling me clingy.”

“Well, neither of us is wrong.”

Slate snorted, but he didn’t make it a habit of lying to her, so he didn’t deny it.

“Slate,” Jonah called, and Slate knew he was yelling through the window. “We have a call.”

Déjà vu, Slate thought. “I have to go, baby.”

“Okay, be safe. Let me know when you make it home.”

They both knew she’d be asleep when he did, but he’d text her. “I will. I love you.”

“And I love you.”

They ended the call, and he got back into the van. “What are we walking into?” Slate asked as he glanced at the address on the screen.

Jonah gave him the code of the call, and they headed in that direction, Slate glad that he hadn’t jinxed them yet.