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“Relax. This is just oxygen, and you really need that with all the water in your lungs, okay?”

“My dad,” the boy whispers.

I sit him up just a little as Ozzie and Teo hurry over with the stretcher. “Do you see him here?”

“No. He’s not…here. I fell out of my chair.” He lifts a weak hand and points, and I follow to see a wheelchair beside the water. It’s a large electric one. Expensive, by the look, and necessary.

“Do you have someone with you?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “My dad is going to be so pissed.”

There’s a sudden, heavy gasp beside me, and Ozzie drops to his knees. “Oh my god, Elio.”

The boy stiffens, and my gaze snaps over to Ozzie, who slaps a hand over his mouth. “You know this kid?”

“I…know of him,” Ozzie says very slowly. He swallows thickly, then says, “I met him in a store once. Um. Rune’s kid?”

It feels like the ground and the sky suddenly switched places for a second, and I only just manage to stop myself from toppling over when Lex takes the boy from my arms and lifts him onto the stretcher.

This is Rune’s kid?

Rune.

My…my Rune?

He has a child?

What the fuck planet did I wake up on? How do I not know this? Who else besides Ozzie does? Why is the rookie more informed than I am?

Oh my god, Rune’s son almost just died!

I don’t realize I’m spiraling until Lex has his hand wrapped around the back of my neck and his forehead pressed to mine. “Hayes and Zion are almost here with the ambulance. Do you need to go to the truck and get some air?”

I swallow heavily and pull back. “Did you…did you know?”

“About the kid?” Lex asks. When I nod, he pulls back, and his eyes cut away from mine. Oh. Okay. So maybe every fucking body but me knows. “I’ve never met him, but I knew. I had to do his insurance paperwork.”

And, well…I guess that makes sense, and I can’t be pissed at anyone for that. And it’s not like it’s Ozzie’s fault if he ran into Rune at the market. So maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing.

“We need to call him,” I say just as I hear sirens. God, those fuckers are so slow. And okay, yeah, they’re one of a few in our town, so they’re busier than us, but I think Camilo will appreciate the fact that we beat them.

It’s something I can be smug about once the shock and panic wear off.

Haha. Really, it’s fine. It’s all fine.

“You know you’re talking out loud, right?” Lex says.

My cheeks heat, and I push myself up to stand as Hayes and Zion rush over with the stretcher to transfer and transport the kid. “I’m going to call Rune.”

Lex’s eyes widen. “You?”

“I know he hates me, but I think it should come from me.” I start to jog over to where Hayes is strapping the kid down. God, what’s his name again? Elias? Eli…Elio. He blinks at me from over his mask, then lifts a hand, and on instinct, I step forward and take it.

“Can you come with me?” he asks.

“Oh, uh…well, bud, I’m supposed to ride in the truck, and—” Tears begin to fall from his eyes, and my heart shatters in my chest. The last time I was on a call like this, I had to watch them load a nonresponsive child who would never wake up. So maybe I can break a few rules here. I glance up at Hayes, who shrugs, so I look back down at the boy. “Elio, right?”

He nods.