Page 112 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

“Only one way to find out.”

We were in the far lane, so it was easy enough to wrench the car sideways and mount the curb, parking it out the front of someone’s house. Rhys watched me unclip my belt and then did the same, grabbing Bronson’s lead. I retrieved the flowers and wine Garrett had selected and then wrenched the keys out of the ignition. Long steps took me up the footpath and closer to the sight of the accident.

“Rhett?”

Charlie was a firie from my station. He and two of the other guys were having a baby with our admin girl, Millie.

“What’s going on?” I looked around and then blanched. “Shit…”

It became evident as soon as I took the accident site in.

“Major collision,” Charlie explained. “Someone t-boned the other trying to get across the road and into this lane.” He gestured to what was left of the cars. They looked more like crumpled pieces of aluminium foil than cars. “Everyone survived, thank god, but the ambos had to work overtime to get everyone to the local hospitals.”

Which would explain where Garrett was. That was how it worked when you worked in emergency services. Sometimes you had hours, days, even weeks where little happened, but when it did? It was all hands on deck, adrenalin pumping as you moved your arse to save the day. In Garrett’s case, to save someone’s life.

“You need to be somewhere?” Charlie looked me up and down, seeing the smart clothes for the first time. “Got a date or something?”

“Worse,” Rhys groaned, raking his hand through his hair. “We’re on our way to meet Katie’s parents.”

“Whoa, that’s moving fast!” Charlie frowned as he stared at the traffic trickling past, waved forward by Noah, his team member and co-parent. “Unlike the traffic. When are you due at the parental units’ place?”

“Twenty minutes,” I replied.

“Shit. Shit…” People did things all the time I didn’t understand, but Charlie’s grin set my teeth on edge. The bloke was an idiot most days of the week, cracking jokes and playing the fool, but right as I sucked in a breath to ream him out, he found the perfect solution.

“Knox!” Charlie shouted.

“What?”

The other fireman looked back at the three of us with a small frown, obviously in the middle of talking to the crash unit.

“Taking Rhett and Rhys to Katie’s parents’ place.” He jingled the keys to one of the 4WD rescue vehicles we deployed when being called out to a major car crash.

“What?” Knox started storming over. “No?—”

“Let's go!” Charlie started loping towards the vehicle, a grin plastered across his face. “C’mon, buddy,” he said to Bronson, urging the dog on.

“Fuck yes,” Rhys said, sliding into the backseat. “Can you put the sirens on or something.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Charlie and I looked at each other as he turned the key in the ignition.

“If this isn’t an emergency, I’m not sure what is.”

He grinned at the rear-view mirror where Knox was sprinting towards us, his smile growing wider as he turned the sirens on.

“An emergency vehicle is only an emergency vehicle when it is being used in the course of duties in relation to an emergency.” I was pretty sure I was reciting the handbook words perfectly, but Charlie didn’t care.

“Pretty sure if we don’t get to Katie’s parents in time, they’re going to need to call an ambulance to take what’s left of us away,” Rhys said through gritted teeth. “How fast can this thing go, Charlie?”

He shot my friend and my dog a look over his shoulder.

“Let's find out, shall we?”

Chapter56

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