Tessa's Treasures by Callie Hutton Page B

have to get what?” With all the equipment and the heavy mask covering his face it wasn’t likely he heard her.
    “My doll! There’s a doll in the back room, in a box on the top shelf. I have to get it.” The scream she tried for came out a croak. She coughed and instantly regretted the huge drag of air she inhaled.
    The fireman turned to a third man who’d just entered. “Get her out of here.”
    The man placed his hand on her forearm. “Come on, ma’am you need to leave so we can work on putting the fire out.”
    Her lungs burned. Every breath was labored and she could no longer talk. Her throat was raw and her eyes stung, tears flowing down her cheeks.
    As soon as she was outside she inhaled deeply, but a paramedic shoved an oxygen mask on her anyway. She continued to suck in deep breaths. “Come with me, we need to check you over.”
    Disoriented, she allowed herself to be led to the EMSA truck. She was hustled inside, a blood pressure cuff wrapped around her arm. She lifted the oxygen mask. “I need to get my doll.”
    The paramedic gently pushed the mask back into place. “Whatever you need from your store you can get when the firemen are done. Now lie back and let us check you over. You took in quite a bit of smoke.”
    “You don’t understand.” The mask muffled her cry. No one paid attention as they continued to work.
    “Tessa!” Lucas came into view at the back of the truck. “Goddammit, what the hell happened this time?”
    She raised the mask again. “Lucas, you have to get the doll.”
    “Doll? The damn doll again?” He climbed in alongside her, ignoring the paramedic’s dirty look.
    She wheezed and coughed, trying to get the words out. “Yes, the doll. Go get the doll.”
    “Ma’am, you have to keep the mask on.” The paramedic replaced it firmly on her nose and mouth. He glared at Lucas, lips in a thin line. “Sir, please refrain from talking to her, she needs the oxygen.”
    “Sorry.” Lucas took Tessa’s hand. “Honey, whatever you need from the store, we can get later. Now you need to do what the paramedics say. You need to relax.”
    “We can give her something to calm her. Are you her husband?” A female paramedic pulled out a needle and pushed it into a small vial.
    “No.” He rubbed his forehead. “Not yet, anyway.”
    “Ma’am, we’re going to give you something to relax you.” She swabbed alcohol on Tessa’s arm and plunged the needle in. The prick stung for a minute, and then her muscles relaxed.
    “Go get the doll.”
    Did she say that or think it? Hard to tell. She floated for a little while. Lucas blurred in and out of her vision. When he spoke his mouth moved like he was under water. She giggled. The medics continued to poke and prod. Something important slipped in and out of her mind. Unable to put her finger exactly on what bothered her, she pushed it aside. The back door of the EMSA truck slammed shut and a siren wailed as they pulled away. Lucas still held her hand. Warm and strong. Like him. Maybe if she closed her eyes for a minute, she’d remember what was so important.

Chapter Nine
    Dean grinned as he chomped on his gum, leaning against the brick wall across the street from Tessa’s store, arms and ankles crossed in relaxation. The bitch came out of the store coughing her head off, tears running down her sweet little face. Wait till I get a hold of that sweet little face.
    He frowned as the Jeep pulled curbside and the black-haired dude hopped out, looking all concerned. The bastard made a beeline for the EMSA truck and crawled inside. Are they gonna fuck right there in front of the paramedics?
    It was time to make his move. Game over. You lose. He was taking a big chance hanging around this shithole. The private jet he’d hired and his new home in Colombia beckoned. He pushed himself off the wall and strolled away from the chaos. Soon, little Tessa, real soon.
    ****
    Lucas pulled to the curb in front of Tessa’s Treasures. From the street, the