Together they worked on his friend, Diesel breathing into Stone’s mouth and Dani continuing chest compressions, her voice maintaining its calm, soothing tone as she counted. She must have been so damn good in the ER, Diesel thought, realizing for the first time what she’d lost when she was forced to quit her job at County Hospital.

It felt like they did CPR for an hour, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before Diesel heard the sound of sirens in the distance. He’d breathed for Stone eight more times before the ambulance turned onto his property.

“Diesel. Diesel, honey, you have to back away now.”

Diesel shook his head when someone tried to pull him away from Stone, then realized that Dani had stopped counting. She was gently pulling his arm.

“Help’s here,” she whispered in his ear. “Come on, honey. Come with me.”

Numbly he rose to his feet and let her guide him away from the two paramedics who had already placed the paddles on Stone’s chest. He flinched when Stone’s body arched at the first jolt of electricity.

He could only watch as the medics repeated the process twice more, horror finally setting in.

“Got a pulse,” one of them declared. “Ready for transport.”

“Where are you taking him?” Dani asked.

“Mercy West,” the medic called over his shoulder as they lifted the stretcher into the ambulance.

“Diesel.” He blinked down at Dani when she put her hands on his cheeks and tugged his face down to look at her. She leaned up to whisper in his ear. “The police are here. They may ask to go inside. You should shut Ritz down.”

He blinked again, comprehension returning in a rush. Hands shaking, he took out his phone and opened the app he’d designed for just such an emergency. One tap of his screen, and all of his computers shut down. Now the cops couldn’t search them without a warrant.

“Done,” he murmured.

She looked impressed. “Wow.” She smiled up at him. “You did good tonight, Diesel. Kept your head. Kept Stone alive. I’m proud of you.”

He felt his face heating. “Your voice calmed me.”

“I’m glad.” She ran her thumbs across his cheeks, wiping at moisture there, and he realized he’d been crying at some point. “Call Marcus. Tell him what’s happening. Tell him that Mercy is a good hospital. One of the attendings is one of the finest cardiac surgeons in the area.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. She’d known just how to make him feel better.

She leaned up to place a soft kiss on his lips. “Make sure the boys are okay. I’ll talk to the cops.”

Cincinnati, Ohio
Monday, March 18, 3:30 a.m.