Snowfall Read Online Free PDF Page B

sidewalks were clear. Caitlin immediately turned to face the wind, ably dodging the heavy flow of pedestrians as only a true city dweller could do. She knew the neighborhood. There was a nice market on the corner only a few blocks up. She would buy her food there and then take a cab home.
    By the time she got to the end of the block, the light had turned red, and she, along with a good ten or fifteen people, hovered on the edge of the curb, waiting for permission to walk.
    As she waited, she began a mental grocery list, smiling to herself about Aaron’s demand to buy milk, which, of course, she would do. She’d never had Pepsi on her cereal in her life, but she wasn’t going to tell him that and ruin his image of her bohemian habits. She liked being thought of as a bit of an eccentric instead of the heiress to the Bennett fortune.
    She glanced up at the light, her thoughts still on shopping, and heard a truck downshifting gears. She saw it coming from the corner of her eye and could see that the driver was trying to make the light before it changed. She turned her head, wincing as the truck hit a puddle of slush, and knew she was going to get splashed.
    And then, out of nowhere, she felt a hand on her back. Before she could react, she was shoved headfirst into the street. Instinctively her arms flew outward as she braced herself for the fall. It wasn’t until she heard squealing brakes that she remembered the truck. In the split second before impact, she saw her own reflection in the truck’s chrome bumper and screamed. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

Three
    “M iss…Miss…can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?”
    Caitlin moaned. Someone was yelling in her ear when she needed to sleep. Aaron. It had to be Aaron. He was the only friend she had who was rude enough to wake her like this.
    “Go away,” she muttered, and then winced as something sharp pricked her skin.
    “Get a neck brace on her. Dave, bring the spine board before I start this IV.”
    Suddenly she realized she wasn’t in bed. Before she could focus, someone began pulling at her arms, then her clothes, running their hands up and down her body in an intimate fashion. Panic sliced through her pain like a knife as she flailed blindly.
    “Easy, miss, I’m a paramedic. My partner and I are trying to help you. We’re going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out, okay? Just relax and let us do our job.”
    Caitlin flashed on the bumper of an oncoming truck, and then another wave of pain dashed her thoughts as the paramedics rolled her from her face onto her back. Somewhere in all the chaos, she realized she was being put on a stretcher.
    “Wait…wait,” she begged, trying to remember what she needed to say.
    “Easy, Miss,” the paramedic said. “We’re taking you to the hospital.”
    “Can’t go,” Caitlin muttered. “I’m out of milk.”
    The medics chuckled as they lifted her into a waiting ambulance.
    “You can get that later,” the second one said.
    She wanted to argue with them, but the words wouldn’t come. Doors slammed, shutting out most of the street noise. Now there was only the occasional question from the man who was sitting at her side.
    “Let’s roll,” he yelled.
    Moments later, the ambulance began to move. Then came the sirens, and Caitlin winced and tried to cover her ears, only to find she couldn’t move her arms.
    “My arms,” she muttered, trying unsuccessfully to open her eyes. “I can’t move my arms.”
    Someone touched her hand briefly, letting her know that he was there.
    “That’s because we buckled you onto the stretcher so you wouldn’t fall off. Just relax.”
    Caitlin’s body went limp, but her mind was in a panic. They didn’t understand. She couldn’t relax. She couldn’t be unconscious. It was too dangerous to sleep. Someone wanted her dead. She tried again to open her eyes, but the pain was too great. In the midst of her fears, the sound of sirens began to