Page 32 of For the Record
McCoy’s strong arms caught Sawyer seconds before she face-planted in the parking lot, lifting her in the air like some damsel in distress. Sawyer sagged against McCoy for about two seconds before she remembered herself.
“Put me down. I’m fine.”
She wasn’t sure that was true, but she’d be damned if she let McCoy see her weak like this. Sawyer wasn’t weak.
“You’re not fine. How long has this been going on?” McCoy asked gently, lowering them both to the ground. She didn’t let go until Sawyer was safely leaning against the Rover’s front wheel well. Sawyer stared at the mechanic through blurry, unfocused eyes, aware of McCoy’s calloused hand pushing strands of her damp hair off her cheek. “It’ll be okay, Sawyer.”
“It’s my friend. She collapsed but is conscious.” Sawyer’s gaze widened a little, and she watched McCoy speak calmly into her cell phone as she unlocked the Rover. “Yes, Miller’s Mechanics. 4580 No. 3 Road, Richmond.”
McCoy’s voice faded in and out as Sawyer struggled to remain upright. She was so tired, and her entire left side felt numb, but her eyes blinked open once McCoy was crouched in front of her moments later. She was rifling through Sawyer’s purse. “Yes, um, Sawyer Marie Lavoie. L-a-v- …”
Sawyer took slow, even breaths, concentrating on her soothing voice.
Chapter 16
McCoy
“Sawyer, here, take these.”Coy gently pressed the two low-dose aspirin against Sawyer’s lips.
Sawyer’s eyes flickered open, and her hand left where it’d been clenching her chest to shakily grasp the Yeti water bottle on the ground. Coy saw this and shook her head. “Chew them. The ambulance will be here soon, but those should help if you’re having a heart attack.”
She scanned Sawyer’s body slowly, noting the restrictive blouse and slacks she wore. “Your clothes are too tight. Can I?” Coy asked, her gaze not leaving Sawyer’s as she gestured to Sawyer’s blazer. Upon Sawyer’s slight nod, Coy reached for the blazer’s buttons, hoping Sawyer couldn’t see the tremble in her fingers.
She’s a victim, a patient. Just like the ones you’ve helped on the trails.
But try as she might, Coy couldn’t get the image of Sawyer falling out of her head. Had she not been so thrown by their kiss, she might have known earlier that something was off with Sawyer. Coy had noticed Sawyer a few times holding her stomach or rubbing her neck, but Coy had chalked it up to the strangeness of the situation. If Coy hadn’t had regrets of pushing Sawyer away and decided at the last minute to run after her, who knows how long Sawyer would have been alone, possibly dying?
Tears burned her eyes, blurring the last button on the blazer so Coy had no choice but to blink. She swallowed, wiping her damp cheeks with the heel of her hands and darting a quick look Sawyer’s way. Her eyes had drifted closed once more. “I’m just gonna undo the first few buttons on your blouse,” she explained, reaching for the material. Sawyer’s normally tanned skin had taken on an unusual pallor, and as Coy revealed Sawyer’s collarbones and chest under the blouse, the ragged, uneven rise and falls of Sawyer’s breath were unmistakable.
“Call Desmarais. Tell Barb … I’ll be late,” Sawyer mumbled, opening her eyes long enough to meet Coy’s concerned gaze. They closed again seconds before she slumped over, unconscious.
“Shit.Shit, Sawyer,“ Coy exclaimed, slipping her hands around Sawyer’s waist and carefully guiding her the rest of the way to the ground. Falling to her knees, she placed two fingers against Sawyer’s neck in search of a pulse. Nothing. Coy’s eyes darted to Sawyer’s chest, noticing the lack of movement, and immediately ripped the remaining buttons open on Sawyer’s blouse. She could feel her own breath coming out short and choppy as she reached for the small scissors in her First Aid kit. Making quick work cutting off Sawyer’s bra, Coy ignored the few bystanders now hovering close by and began CPR.
One, two, three, four …
The distant sound of sirens sometime later was music to Coy’s ears, and she had to force herself not to sag in relief.Not yet, she thought through clenched teeth, not daring to let up too soon on the rigorous chest compressions. She had to keep Sawyer’s blood circulating until … until …
A hand landed on Coy’s shoulder, and she flinched in surprise, looking up bleary-eyed to find a paramedic. “Thanks, we’ve got her from here. Great job.”
Coy blinked and reluctantly let Sawyer go, aware of the tears dripping off her chin to dampen her coveralls. She answered the paramedics’ rapid-fire questions as they hooked up an AED to Sawyer’s chest, but her voice sounded far off, like she was stuck inside a dream or the situation was happening to someone else, not her.
“Clear!”
“Okay, we’ve got a pulse!”
Greg appeared beside her at some point, wrapping his arms around Coy. “You did good, kiddo. Probably saved her life. I’m proud of you.”
Why don’t you go wait for news at the hospital? Cancel your plans with Naz.
Coy closed her eyes as she sat at the foot of her bed hours later, her father’s parting words haunting her “guys’ night” like some kind of twisted, anti-lust omen. When she was putting back shots with Naz at the strip club, she thought the tequila would eventually drown out her old man’s voice. She’d foolishly hoped that once she’d seen Jasmine’s newest dance routine up on thestage, she’d forget she’d left a piece of her heart with Sawyer hours before.
As it turned out, tequila and the promise of uncomplicated sex no longer made Coy forget. In fact, the guilt of going on with her life when she had no clue how Sawyer fared caused crater-sized hollows in her gut. While they’d been at the strip club, she’d taken off twice to the washroom to call Sawyer, only to reach her voicemail. When that didn’t work, she called the hospital, but no one would give her any information. They either didn’t know of an update or wouldn’t share it, and the lack of news drove Coy insane.
Now, hours later, Jasmine stepped between Coy’s thighs, her sultry smile a promise of all the kinky things she had planned for the three of them. “You’re so strong,” she crooned, skimming her palms up Coy’s arms. Coy was still wearing her sports bra, but Jasmine let out a grunt of satisfaction as her nails scored her back and shoulders. She licked Coy’s closed mouth, kissing a path to her ear where she whispered, “I love it when you pick me up to straddle you.”
“Yeah?” Coy murmured, willing her body to respond. A flicker of butterflies, moisture at her core,something.Am I broken? ‘Cause Jasmine always does the trick. As Jasmine teased Coy’s mouth until she opened, she reconsidered. She wasn’t broken. She was human, a half-decent one at that. One who’d witnessed their crush have a heart attack. It made sense that sex wouldn’t magically erase the last hour of her workday when Sawyer had stormed in only to be rushed to the hospital.
“I think maybe she’s hinting something,” Naz whispered, stepping behind Jasmine. Deft, tattooed fingers slipped into Jasmine’s jeans, circling her waistline before landing on the enclosure. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” Naz’s voice was sweet, like honey, and the way Jasmine responded to the tattooist as Nazlaid wet kisses along her bare shoulders was all the reason Coy needed.