"If you live, Cole. If you live."
Marco's words hit harder than the sirens. Nathan's hands clamped tighter around the wheel. It wasn't the cops he feared. It wasn't even dying. It was the picture of Lily alone in their apartment, waiting for a father who'd never come back.
The SUV burst from a parking garage and into the street, tires screeching against the wet asphalt. Red and blue lights chased their shadow, with their sirens bouncing off narrow buildings on the street.
"Pressure on his wound!" Nathan snapped, jerking the wheel to avoid an oncoming car. The wounded man's breathing was shallow, his shirt soaked through. Nathan's paramedic training took over even as adrenaline threatened to drown everything else. "Marco, hold it! If you lose him now, you'll be carrying dead weight."
Marco's hands were steady on the gauze. "Don't tell me how to keep someone alive, Cole. You're not the only one with something to lose."
Nathan shot him a quick look. "You know what's at stake for me."
"Yeah," Marco said without hesitation. "That's why I called you. That's why I trust you."
The name he didn't say sat heavy between them. Lily. Nathan's jaw locked. He couldn't afford to think about her now, but the thought bled in anyway. If he went down tonight, social services wouldn't hesitate. His little girl would be gone before the blood dried.
Gunfire cracked from the backseat. The woman leaned out the window, returning fire at the flashing lights behind them. Nathan flinched instinctively at the first shot. He'd seen bullet wounds. He'd never been this close to making them.
"Keep the fire low!" Nathan barked. "If you hit a civilian or worse kill a cop, this won't end with just cuffs. It'll end with us in body bags."
The woman didn't answer. Another shot rang out. Nathan's hands tightened around the wheel.
A police scanner crackled faintly from the dashboard radio, half-broken but still picking up the broadcast.
"Unit Six in pursuit. Suspects armed and dangerous. Driver unidentified—vehicle flagged as stolen."
Nathan's stomach sank. He'd just been upgraded from paramedic to suspect.
Then a voice cut through the static—cool, calm, and in command.
"Hold pursuit until I arrive. Box them in. Do not lose them."
Detective Nina Carver. Nathan didn't know the name yet, but the tone made his blood run cold. Whoever she was, she wasn't panicked like the others. She knew what she was doing.
"Hard right, now!" Marco yelled.
Nathan spun the wheel, the SUV fishtailing into a narrow side street. His breath hitched as he saw the intersection ahead, a line of cars, late-night traffic boxed in tight. Civilians.
"Don't," he muttered under his breath. "Don't make me do this."
"Punch it!" Marco barked.
If he slammed through, someone would die. If he stopped, they were caught. The sirens were growing more distinct. A kid in the nearest car turned, eyes wide through the window. Couldn't have been older than Lily.
Nathan's chest tightened. Was he really willing to risk someone else's life just to get back to her? Was keeping her safe worth crossing that line? And in that moment, he seemed to have made his decision.
He yanked the wheel at the last second, grinding the SUV into a brutal side-swipe that scraped against the line of parked cars, bouncing them into an alley barely wide enough to fit. The grind of metal tore through the alley, followed by the sharp crack of shattering glass. They cleared the intersection by inches.
"Holy shit!" Marco shouted.
Nathan didn't answer. His pulse was like a hammer in his ears. That kid's face wasn't going away.
The wounded driver groaned, slumping harder against the seat. Nathan risked a glance. His breathing was tanking.
"Keep the wheel steady," Nathan barked, already reaching back one-handed. His fingers found the man's neck, checked the pulse. Weak. His other hand kept the SUV weaving through the alley's jagged turns. "He's crashing. Marco, elevate his legs. Now."
"You're driving!"
"I said now!" Nathan's voice cut sharp. His training was the only thing holding the man between life and death.
Marco obeyed, shoving a duffel under the man's legs. Nathan's hand pressed hard over the wound, keeping pressure without losing the road. His whole world narrowed to two things: keeping the car moving and keeping this stranger alive.
"You ever think maybe you're too good at this?" Marco muttered under the tension. "Like you were built for nights like this?"
Nathan frowned, clearly not liking the direction the talk was going. "I was built to save people. Not kill them. Not run them off the road."
The SUV burst out of the alley and into another stretch of empty street. For a second, there was nothing but the roar of the engine and the rasp of Nathan's breathing. Then, slowly, the sirens behind them began to fade.
"First tail's off," the woman said between breaths. "We might make it."
Nathan tightened his grip on the wheel. His hands were still slick with blood. He didn't know if it was the driver's or his own anymore.
Marco leaned back, still holding the gauze. "You just bought us a chance, Cole."
The SUV rolled into the dark mouth of a warehouse garage. Metal doors slid shut behind them, muting the world outside. For the first time since the call, Nathan let out a breath.
He didn't feel relief. Just the weight of what he'd done pressing in.
The woman jumped out first, scanning the street. Marco dragged the wounded man toward a crude medical table. For a moment, the only sound Nathan heard was his own heartbeat hammering in his chest. Then he realized he'd been holding his breath. He sat there, staring at his bloodied hands. His chest hurt in a way that had nothing to do with the chase.
What am I pulling myself into?
He forced himself to move, grabbing his kit and following them in. His voice was steady when he spoke, but it felt like someone else's.
"Get me light. I'm not losing him now."
Across the city, red and blue lights painted the night. Police cruisers cordoned off the intersections, officers shouting over the static of radios.
Detective Nina Carver stepped out of her unmarked car, calm in the chaos. Her eyes tracked the skid marks leading into the alley, the faint trail of oil.
"Which way did they go?" Her voice was quiet, but everyone nearby stilled.
An officer approached, out of breath. "We lost them in the side streets, Detective. Some civilian cars were hit, the suspects are reckless, armed..."
"Not reckless," Nina cut in, crouching to touch the black streak of tire rubber. "Precise."
She stood, scanning the city lights ahead like she could see through concrete. "Find me that car."
Her radio crackled as another unit came through. "No visual. They're ghosts."
Nina's lips curved in something that wasn't quite a smile. "No one's a ghost. Not in my city."