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I pulled my radio from the back of my belt. “Emberly to Medic 1, copy?”

“It’ll be faster if we just carry him back. We might want to send one of the patrol officers down here to referee this,” Rocco suggested as he pointed to the disaster in the left-turn lane as other cars tried to get around the accident.

“Medic 1, copy.”

“We’re bringing an injured probie your way. Could you send uniforms down to the intersection of PCH and East Holly? There’s a traffic accident blocking the thruway.”

“Do you need assistance, Ember?”

Rocco smirked at me, and I chuckled. “Negative, Medic 1. ETA two minutes.”

I double-clicked the radio that I was out, and the three of us traversed the grass median until we reached the Ralph’s parking lot, where two EMTs were waiting with a wheeled stretcher. We loaded Procter onto the cart and followed him to the command center.

“Rocco, go fill in the EMTs on what happened. I’ll talk to the unis.”

Rocco hurried to catch up while I walked over to see the second-to-last person I wanted to see. Sergeant Olivia Tester. Detective Jacob Tester’s younger sister. I fought not to roll my eyes at the smug smile on her face.

“Hello, Lieutenant Emberly. How’s it going?” She hadn’t fallen far from the pompous Tester family tree.

Her father had been the police chief for Inglewood before he retired, which is why she and Jacob worked in El Segundo. He thought his shit didn’t stink.

The guy Jacob cheated on me with took a job in San Diego, and Jacob followed him there after dumping me.

The breakup was ugly as fuck—I was too old and set in my ways, and he wanted someone who enjoyed going out late and drinking too much. That wasn’t me, had never been me, and never would be me.

I swore off any romantic entanglements in the aftermath five years ago. A lot of muddy water under an old, lie-filled bridge. I wasn’t bitter. Not at all.

“I’m well, Sergeant Tester. There’s a minor traffic accident about a quarter mile north on PCH at East Holly. You might want to deploy some patrol officers to deal with traffic.”

Tester nodded. “I sent two officers down to handle it when our medic reported your request, and since we were already on scene, I sent them on foot. What happened?”

Another long sigh. “Probie fell off the curb, twisted his ankle in the street, and caused a collision.”

Tester laughed, just as I expected, but she didn’t add any smartass comments, which was a fucking miracle.

“I better get back. We’ve got a few more hours to collect donations, and I still have a probie on the loose. How’re things going here?”

Tester took me aside. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, Thatcher, but Jacob is coming back to the Inglewood station. His boy toy broke up with him and is now engaged to a guy in the Coast Guard. Jacob’s not staying with SDPD.”

I wanted to roll on the parking lot cement and laugh like a hyena, but that would be petty. I was an adult, after all.

I smirked. “Karma’s a real bitch, Olivia. See you around.”

I headed back to the street to get Rocco, so we could return to our spot to continue collecting cash for Thriving Tots. After that, I had a party to attend and a young man to introduce to my fire family.

Chapter Five

JD

After Thatcher ended the call, panic pooled in my gut. I wasn’t Mr. Outgoing before I joined the band, and that fact hadn’t changed. I went to the meet-and-greet events like a good band member, but I depended on my friends to carry conversations with fans, getting by with nods and smiles most of the time.

We had canceled the rest of our spring tour due to the accident, and there were a lot of upset fans out there, which was why all mail and social posts went through Lerner. They did a great job shielding us from some of the shitty things people posted, and I would forever be in their debt.

Bottom line, I had no desire to meet new people. I hated answering the questions people asked about how my hand was doing and whether I’d be able to play again. I knew folks only meant well. To me, it was a reminder of everything I’d lost.

As I was about to begin my own private pity party, there was a pounding on the back door of the beach house. I shuffled back there to find River fidgeting on the porch with a big grin.

“Hey, Riv. Rinse your feet, please. Sand-free zone,” I said as I handed him a clean towel from the basket.