Sudden Response (3 page)

stumbled, but didn't let that stop him from sprinting towards the ambulance and diving in.

With a pained sigh, Joe put her candy bar back and walked to the door. Eric held it open for her. A s they walked towards the

ambulance Eric asked, "Where are you going?"

"Cape Cod."

"That's a six hour drive," he pointed out.

"Yup, I'm leaving around four in the morning Friday. I won't be back until late Sunday night, but don't worry I'm sure you'll

have fun without me," she said, smiling.

"Bullshit, I'm going and we both know it," he said, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Greg mumbled from the back.

Joe climbed in behind the wheel and started the rig. She flicked on the emergency lights and pulled out. She kept one hand on

the wheel and the other on the emergency switchboard, switching the sirens from the fog horn to the wailing sound.

Eric pulled out an emergency run sheet and attached it to his clipboard, ignoring Greg's "oh my gods," which had now turned to

pure excitement. The kid was about to start operating on pure adrenaline. No doubt it would make the call more interesting.

"I'm going," he stated as he filled in the date and their names.

She maneuvered in and out of traffic with the grace of a pro. "Nope, you're really not."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Probably because I didn't invite you?" she said. She really enjoyed messing with him.

He snorted. "A nd you think that means something to me? I'm going. End of story."

"We'll see," she said.

"Yeah, we will, won't we?" he said confidently as they pulled in behind two police cruisers in front a small yellow house that

had seen better days.

"Echo seventeen on scene," he informed dispatch.

They stepped out of the ambulance the same time the front door flew open and a naked man wielding a knife ran out. "Fuck you,

pigs!" the man yelled as he ran towards them.

"I'm so going," Eric said before he launched himself at the guy. He grabbed the man's hand and twisted it behind his back,

making him drop the knife.

Joe ignored the man's screams and threats of violence as she kicked the knife away and helped Eric take the guy to the ground.

She held the man's legs down while Eric restrained him to the ground.

Two cops came running towards them from behind the house as older officer came out of the house, leading two cuffed,

bleeding men towards them. The cops spotted them and grinned.

"Oh look, Eric and Joe brought us a present," Bret, a cop ten years their senior, said as he shoved the two men in front of him.

"Don't worry we brought you something, too," he said, gesturing to the two men under arrest.

"Oh, Bret, you are just the sweetest man alive," Joe said, giving him a sweet smile that made the older man chuckle.

"I do what I can. Do you want to look these two over for us?" Bret asked.

"Sure thing," Eric said. "Just as soon as you take tiny here off our hands."

The two officers quickly took over. Eric helped Joe to her feet. She pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer and squirted

some in Eric's waiting hand before taking some for herself.

"Hey, isn't that your third rider puking?" Jeff, one of the younger cops asked.

Joe and Eric stilled. Slowly, they turned around and sure enough there was Greg vomiting all over a dead bush.

Joe sighed heavily as Eric asked on a drawn out sigh, "Why must you embarrass us? A t least aim for the perp on the ground."

Chapter 3

"How's your stomach?" Joe asked. Eric didn't miss the slight twitch of her lips.

Greg' face reddened. "It's fine. Just something I ate I think," he said quickly.

"Uh huh," Eric said, trying not to laugh. The guy puked at all six calls they had. Five hours on the job and the kid still hadn't

said one word to a patient. He ended up vomiting every single time they arrived on scene. Then he'd sit up front for the drive to

the hospital and remain there sipping a water or ginger ale.

It would suck for Greg, but there was no way Eric or Joe could sign off on this ride along. The kid wouldn't be getting any

credit for this. No doubt Greg would try and argue it to death, but Eric wasn't budging. Yeah it sucked to have to do more ride

alongs, but it couldn't be helped.

Eric wasn't about to put some patient's life on the line for anything.

"A lright, gentlemen," she looked at Eric, "and I use that term loosely. I'm going to catch a few winks." She stepped around them and headed into the fire house.

"I think I should lie down, too," Greg said. Eric didn't miss the look the guy was sending Joe's ass. It also hadn't escaped his

notice that Greg swore up and down that he wasn't tired and was going to hang out with the guys until he found out that the three

of them shared a bunk room. Once he knew he'd be sleeping in the same room with Joe the guy started up with the fake yawns.

Joe might be one of the toughest woman he'd ever known, but that didn't mean he stood by and left her to handle shit like this.

He never had and never would. A s much as it got Joe's panties in a bunch when he stepped in and played her protector, he

wouldn't stop.

She might think of herself as one of the guys, but she wasn't. Joe was a beautiful woman with beautiful hair, killer eyes, and a

sexy little smile that drove men nuts. It didn't hurt that she had a killer body, not that she thought so. It really killed him that she

didn't know how hot she was. If you tried to tell her she'd laugh her ass off. She was the most down to earth woman he'd ever

known. If she wasn't his best friend......

There really was no point in finishing that thought. She was and it was his job as the man in her life to kick the living shit out of

any asshole that hurt her. With that in mind he followed the overeager puppy as he drooled after Joe to the back rooms.

"There are only two beds, Greg. You'll have to throw some blankets on the floor between the beds or go see if there's a spot on

the couch,"

Joe explained apologetically as she unlaced her black boots.

Greg eyed the small space between the two beds and fought a smile. He'd be sleeping inches from Joe. Not fucking happening.

Eric eyed his unmade bed with his old sleeping bag thrown on top of it and then Joe's. He smiled. A h, god love her, Joe

always put comfort first. There was no sleeping bag for Joe, oh no, not for his Joe. Her bed was already made with what he

knew were clean high count cotton sheets, a down comforter and an extra firm pillow.

Joe pulled off her light blue uniform shirt, leaving her in a very tight white tank top. He could easily see the light baby pink

sports bra she wore underneath. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught Greg licking his lips as he stared at her chest and as

usual Joe was completely oblivious.

Why did she have to make his job so fucking difficult?

"Greg, you can have my bunk," he said.

"Really?" Greg said, looking even more excited. No doubt the man thought he was about to be left alone with Joe all night, in

the dark.

"Yup, it's all yours," he said.

"Cool. Thanks," Greg said quickly, taking his boots off and then he chucked his shirt, making sure to flex to show off his flat

stomach and slight build.

Joe mumbled goodnight around a yawn and climbed onto her bed. Greg climbed onto the other bed, keeping his gaze firmly

locked on Joe.

"What happens if we get a call?" he asked absently.

Eric gestured to the white phone on the wall above Joe's bed. "A really annoying sound will go off and that phone will ring."

"Oh, okay. If we don't hear it will you come wake us up?" Greg asked, still staring at Joe.

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Eric said, pulling off his boots.

"What are you doing?" Greg asked.

"Getting ready for bed. What does it look like?" Eric asked, not bothering to hide his smile at the man's obvious

disappointment.

"But...but....."

He yanked his shirt up over his head and made sure he flexed his much larger muscles. Stupid, but it was a guy thing. He

needed to put the scrawny little bastard in his place.

"Where are you sleeping?" Greg asked nervously.

"We're double bunking of course," he said, grinning.

Greg' eyes widened and Eric could have sworn the man was ready to bolt. He reached out and flicked off the light, leaving

them in total darkness.

"A h," Greg swallowed loudly, "that's really not necessary I don't mind taking the floor."

"Oh, I don't mind," Eric said. Just for shits and giggles he pressed his foot on Greg' mattress and pushed down, making the guy

think he was about to have company.

The guy actually squealed. In ten seconds flat Greg was off the bed, the door was thrown open, and he was making a mad dash

to safety, leaving Eric laughing his ass off.

"Oh, that wasn't very nice," Joe said, her voice thick with humor.

He sighed heavily. "Yeah, but it sure did put a smile on my face." He closed the door and walked over to Joe's bed and

climbed in behind her.

"A nd just what do you think you're doing?" Joe demanded even as she scooted forward to make room for him.

"Going to bed. What does it look like?" he asked, throwing an arm over her waist.

"There's a freshly vacated bed right over there," she said sleepily.

"I like this one better. It's comfy," he said, snuggling up against her.

She groaned. "Eric, we're not kids anymore. Go sleep in your own bed."

"A h, too late, I'm already drifting off," he said, biting back a chuckle as she poked him.

"Jerk."

"Yup."

"If you snore in my ear I'm gonna have to kill you," she pointed out.

"Duly noted," he said, closing his eyes and snuggling closer to her. He knew she was only busting his balls. Ever since they

were kids they'd been very touchy feely. They snuggled, they cuddled, she sat on his lap, he normally threw his arm over her

shoulders when they were just sitting around or walking, hell they even skinny dipped a few times.

More than once he had some woman he was dating flip out over it. Hell, his date to the prom dumped his ass on the dance floor

when he refused to dance with her instead of Joe. He didn't care. This was his best friend, his Joe. They were close and he

didn't give a damn if anyone had a problem with it. Joe kept him happy, kept him grounded, and had been there for him for

everything in his life without question.

Her shoulder was the one he cried on when his father died. She was the person who cheered him on at his football games. She

was the one that he went to when anything big or small happened in his life and she would most likely be there when he took

his last breath.

"That better not be what I think it is," Joe mumbled in the dark.

It was. "It's not. Jeez, woman, someone's paranoid. It's my pocket light," he said, wincing. A h, he was only human after all. It

wasn't the first time she got him hard nor would it be the last time. The physical discomfort was a small price to pay to have

her in his arms.

"Well, then your flashlight is growing. Jeez, Eric, put a leash on that thing before it stabs me!" she teased.

"But it likes you," he pouted.

She giggled. "I seem to remember a certain tenth grade math class where it liked standing up in front of the entire class."

He sucked in a breath. "Hey, that traumatized me!"

"Uh huh," she said around another yawn. "I bet it did."

"It did," he readily agreed as he leaned in and inhaled her vanilla scent. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. She sighed

contently.

"Night, Joe,"

"Good night, John boy," she said.

"Smart ass."

Chapter 4

Joe whimpered pathetically as her really annoying and loud alarm clock went off, letting her know it was two in the afternoon.

She blindly reached out and started slapping her hand down, knowing it was only a matter of time before she hit that damn

alarm clock. A minute later pure beautiful silence surrounded her once again.

Deciding another hour of sleep was just the ticket she rolled over and closed her eyes. What felt like moments later her cell

phone went off.

Muttering a few choice curses she rolled over and answered the phone without opening her eyes.

"Hello?"

"Hi, sweetie. Did I wake you?" A lice Parish, her surrogate mother, asked. Since the grand old age of eight when Eric took a

mud covered Joe home A lice had been her mother. Her own mother, Pamela, adored the situation and happily relinquished all

control and decisions to A lice.

Of course this was not an agreement A lice made with Pamela. Pamela just decided that she no longer had to do anything for

Joe, because she found another sucker in her life to push her responsibilities onto. It didn't really surprise anyone when Pamela

suddenly packed up and left town when Joe was sixteen. It hadn't mattered by then, because she'd already been living with A

lice and the boys for two years by that point.

"Hey, mom, yeah I guess I dozed back off again," she said, trying to stifle a yawn. She'd only slept for a half hour this morning

with Eric before they had a call and after that the calls kept coming. Then they ended up staying an extra three hours over their

shift this morning.

"I'm sorry I woke you, sweetie," A lice said. It made Joe smile knowing that if she'd been Eric, A lice would tell him to get his