Melinda Di Lorenzo - First Responder On Call

She doesn’t remember her name

But she knows her child is in danger...

When Remo DeLuca stumbles on a mysterious, injured woman, the EMT springs into action to save her. Celia Poller doesn’t know who she is—the only thing she’s sure of is that she and her child are in danger! With so many unknowns between Remo and Celia, it’s no time for love, especially when someone wants them both dead and gone...

Amazon bestselling author MELINDA DI LORENZOwrites in her spare time—at soccer practices, when she should be doing laundry and in place of sleep. She lives on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia, Canada, with her handsome husband and her noisy kids. When she’s not writing, she can be found curled up with (someone else’s) good book.

Also By Melinda Di Lorenzo

Undercover Justice

Captivating Witness

Undercover Protector

Undercover Passion

Undercover Justice

Worth the Risk

Last Chance Hero

Silent Rescue

First Responder on Call

Trusting a Stranger

Deceptions and Desires

Pinups and Possibilities

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

First Responder on Call

Melinda Di Lorenzo

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09426-9

FIRST RESPONDER ON CALL

© 2019 Melinda Di Lorenzo

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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Text to speech

“Where do you hurt?”

“Everywhere. My leg, mostly.”

Remo tilted his head down. A dark splotch stood out on one of her thighs. It nearly blended in with her rain-drenched jeans, but staring at it made him sure it wasn’t just water.

Blood. Damn it again.

“The ambulance will be here soon,” he said, careful to keep the growing concern from his voice. “Hold my hand as hard as you want. Sometimes that helps.”

She gave him a weak squeeze. “Promise me.”

“I can’t do that.” It pained him a bit to say it.

“Xavier, Remo.”

He glanced toward the car. The engine was crumpled so badly that it was barely recognizable, the hood disintegrated. No doors. No steering wheel. An empty back seat. Except...

What was that?

Remo pulled off his glasses, gave them another wipe, then looked again.

A stuffed bear.

His gut churned. She didn’t just mean there was another person in the car with her. She meant there was a kid in the car. A kid named Xavier.

* * *

Dear Reader,

Like many of my books, the idea for First Responder on Call came to me in the form of a single vision. This time, it was that of a young mother lying on the road as a shadowy figure stood over her. From there, I built up Celia—a woman who can’t remember anything except that she absolutely must keep her son safe.

I’ve got to admit, I had a bit of fun researching the effects of trauma-induced memory loss. (Not in a macabre way! The science and psychology is very interesting!) I even got to interview someone who experienced it. And of course, I’m also excited to bring you the very dreamy first responder himself—Remo. I write a lot of police heroes, but it was great to step outside that box and bring to life this lovely EMT. I hope you enjoy their journey as much as I did!

Happy reading,

Melinda

To all the real-life first responders fighting the good fight.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Epilogue

About the Publisher

The buzz came first. A hundred—no, a thousand—bees, circling her head and making it vibrate with an indescribable pain. Next came the stinging. Over and over, the sharp points hitting her face, each one worse than the last.

If she could’ve made a noise, it would’ve been a whimper.

She tried to turn her head, to steer it away from the angry swarm. But she was clamped down. Something viselike held her in place, stopping her from even the slightest movement. All she could do was blink, and even that yielded little more than a blurred picture overhead. She wasn’t even sure what it was she could see above her. The night sky, maybe? A dark swirl of clouds, blocking out every star and barely letting through the moonlight?

Typical Vancouver.

The thought temporarily overrode the pain, probably because it was something concrete. Something that grounded her. Yes, the muted gray tone definitely embodied the city’s weather. Even in mid-July, a rainstorm like this one could be expected. It was usually a small sacrifice to make in exchange for being wedged between the Pacific Ocean and a half a dozen mountain ranges. But right now, it gave her a chill.