Read Heroes (Hollywood Heartthrobs #1) for Free Online

officer came up to Tucker and Alec, held out her
hands, and told them they were all coming to the hospital together. Tucker and
Alec looked too terrified to argue.
    “They
come with me,” Dean said, with a sudden rush of anger.
    “Yes,
sir, your sons will ride with Officer Malley and meet you at the emergency
room. We need to ensure you are all safe and sound.” At this point the
paramedic was helping Dean to his feet and leading him to the ambulance. He sat
in a chair in the back. The woman in blue was lying, still apparently
unconscious, on the stretcher in the middle of the ambulance. Her neck was in a
brace and her left arm (bone still protruding ghoulishly) was strapped immobile
next to her.
    The
next few hours were a haze to Dean.
    He
could recall only vaguely the ride in the ambulance, sitting in a chair at the
back while a paramedic leaned over the woman in blue. Then there was an
emergency room, Tucker and Alec led by the police officer to sit near him while
a doctor satisfied himself that Dean was in fact unhurt. Someone handed him a
plain white t-shirt to put on, instructing him to take off his blood-stained
sweatshirt. At some point he must have either called Nathan or given one of the
medical staff Nathan’s cell number, because he remembered Nathan arriving. The
boys cried some more, this time probably with relief at the sight of their
father. Officer Malley had come to take a statement, and he told her what he
thought he remembered. The only clear memory he made of that conversation was
Officer Malley’s low whistle when he told her that, no, the woman had not been
with them. He had never seen her before. Dean had been cleared to leave, and
Nathan had attempted to lead him out with the boys, but he resisted. He had to
see that woman again, make sure she was okay before he left. Whatever he said
must have been convincing, because Nathan and the boys left quietly.
    His
mind did not finally clear until he got to the woman in blue’s room. A nurse
had led him in, then left, presumably to attend other patients. She was no
longer in the emergency area, but had been assigned a regular room. She was
unconscious, and her chart listed her as a Jane Doe. The clock above the window
said it was a little after 6pm.
    Dean
sat down on the chair, at last trying to process the events of the past hours.
He could see it over and over again in his mind: Alec standing in the street
holding the pieces of his broken carnival toy; the truck racing toward him
despite the squealing brakes; the blue blur as someone closer and faster pushed
Alec from the line of fire; and finally the green eyes locking with his as he
tried in vain to pull her back before the impact. He knew those seconds would
haunt him forever.
    He
stood up to look more closely at the woman who had saved Alec. The blue dress
was nowhere to be seen, instead she wore an off-white hospital gown. She was no
longer wearing the neck brace, but a wide band of gauze was wrapped around her
head just above her eyes. Her arm was covered in bandages different from the
ones in the ambulance. It looked like there was a splint or cast underneath.
Had she been in surgery? She must have, with a break like that. Was she
unconscious again from the surgery, or unconscious still from the accident? He
tried to remember if anything had hit her head. He knew the front of the truck
had hit her arm first, then he could remember her falling towards him. But she
had been unconscious when the ambulance arrived. The truck’s side mirror,
perhaps? That was a possibility.
    She
was young, maybe mid-to-late-twenties. Even with her eyes closed and bandages
on her head, she had a striking face. Her skin was fresh and naturally tan,
with lovely full red lips. She had high cheekbones that suggested dimples when
she smiled. Above the bandages coffee-colored brown hair fell loosely to just
above her shoulders. He already knew exactly what her eyes looked like. He
would never forget those bright green