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to get you anywhere with me.”
    For some reason, her statement lifted Eli’s mood. More than it should have.
    Len opened the box, peeked in, and grinned. “You ate one. I must be making progress.”
    For some reason, that statement made every muscle in Eli’s body tense. He hopped off the rear deck of the ambulance and strode toward them. “Uh, no. That was me. Amazing stuff, Len. Thanks for sharing—with us .”
    Len’s eyes narrowed to slits. He opened his mouth to say something but got cut off by the screech of the wireless alert. They turned toward the videowall in the alcove and listened to the dispatcher’s voice: “Mass casualty incident at the intersection of High and Pearl. Multiple units requested. Caution advised. Fire crews and law enforcement not yet on scene.”
    Len and Cacy cursed in unison when they saw what appeared on the videowall. Dec had told Eli that the city’s surveillance cams, as well as most private home and business cams, were hooked into the emergency call system. When someone placed a call, the feeds from that location were automatically displayed on their screens so they could see what they were up against. It was an impressive system, something they could have used in Pennsylvania. It might have saved some paramedics’ lives.
    Tonight they were treated to a view of twisted metal and fiery wreckage. Len ran up to the screen and zipped his fingers along its surface, already yelling at his crew. “AV and NMOB collision!” He enlarged the screen capture and flipped it around, giving everyone a 360-degree view of the disaster. “Multiple casualties in the water. Mobilize four-two-zero, four-three-six, four—”
    Cacy grabbed Eli’s arm and tugged him into motion. “Come on. We’re four-three-six.”
    Eli kept up with her easily as they sprinted for their ride. “AV and NMOB?”
    Cacy didn’t miss a beat. “Amphibious vehicle and nonmotorized multiple-occupancy boat. Some jackass didn’t look both ways and crashed into a boatful of refugees. Third time this month. I’ll drive.”
    “You’re the boss, Lieutenant,” he said as he split off from her and rounded the ambulance to jump into the passenger seat.
    Cacy swung herself up into the cab and punched the ignition code. “Seat belt, Desert Boy.”
    She tapped the red square on the nav screen, and the ambulance bay doors whooshed open. Eli sat back and watched her slender fingers grip the steering wheel. She glanced over at him. “Ready for your first mass casualty in our fair city?”
    There it was. Another challenge. Eli smiled. “I think I can handle it.”
    “We’re about to find out if you’re right.” She flipped the siren on and hit the gas.

CHAPTER FOUR
    C acy floored the ambulance across Kneeland Street, splashed into the wide mouth of the Main Canal, and gunned the water jets.
    And immediately had to pull the throttle back with all her strength.
    “Damn sampans,” she yelled, rolling down the window and waving her arms at the people on the slow-ass flat-bottomed boat in front of the ambulance. They simply ignored the giant amphibious vehicle with the blaring sirens. “Take the wheel, Eli, will you?”
    “What?” He looked at her like he’d never driven an amphibious before. He probably hadn’t, since Pittsburgh was pretty much a desert wasteland. She hoped he was a quick study.
    “Take. The. Wheel.” She was halfway out the window when he scooted over and did as he was told.
    As the rig lurched forward, she nearly lost her balance and tumbled out, but Eli’s warm hand wrapped firmly around her thigh to offer her some stability. Cacy clenched her teeth. It felt annoyingly fantastic. His grip tightened and he swerved against the canal wall to keep from hitting a speeding uniboat as it zipped between the ambulance and the sampan. Cacy’s ribs hit the edge of the window. Hard. That did not feel fantastic.
    “Jesus! That was close,” he shouted. “You okay up there?”
    “Just fine,” she called,