Divine Intervention [Eternal Flames Maddox 7]

CHAPTER 1 Logan anxiously stood by as he watched what was supposed to be a normal training session, turn to something more. That was the story of a fire of any kind. Even the ones that were being controlled by the men who made them for training purposes. You never knew when something was going to go wrong and suddenly you were in the middle of a real emergency. Chaos broke out and Wyndingo started yelling out orders as Day and his group ran for the structure. Someone yelled, “Don’t open that f*****g door!” and suddenly the Battalion Chief, dragon shifter Wyndingo, took off into the burning building. Logan suddenly heard Ollie’s voice yelling for Wyndingo and he turned to see the large griffion, Pelt, grab Ollie around the waist and hold him back. Logan didn’t know what that was all about or even why Ollie was there, but the little cutie looked scared. Logan focused his attention back on the action and suddenly Wyn’s large figure appeared in the doorway carrying someone in his arms. Logan knew this was their cue and he bumped Sutton with his elbow. Bending, he snatched his medical kit off the ground and headed toward where Wyn was laying the victim on the ground. He and Sut worked quickly, as a well-oiled machine, as they placed an oxygen mask over the guy's mouth and nose and immediately started an IV line. Logan put his stethoscope in his ears and placed the end on the man's chest, listening to his heart and breathing. Without having to second guess, he knew Sut would be checking the guy over for any injuries. Although the man's heart was beating normally, his breathing was labored and wheezing, telling Logan he had inhaled the toxic smoke. They needed to get him to the hospital. So many complications could come up from even the smallest things, not that inhaling the smoke was a small thing. He was called over to check on Wyndingo and found the dragon had a slight head injury, but nothing that needed immediate attention and with one shift, the dragon would be back in top form. A little smoke inhalation himself, but that too would pass quickly for the dragon. Once he was done checking Wyn, and was sure he and Sutton wouldn't be needed and Wyn didn’t need a lift to the ER too, Logan got back to their patient. After loading the man into the back of the ambulance, Sut ran for the driver’s door as Logan sat beside the victim and kept a close watch on his vitals. Logan’s gaze roamed over the soot-covered face, but he could still make out some delicate features, almost feminine, but still man. Whoever this guy was, from what Logan could see, the guy was a handsome man. Jensen, that’s what Wyn said his name was. Logan quickly wrote that information on the chart he started. Logan’s gaze moved over Jensen’s form, double checking to make sure there were no other visible injuries, but he couldn’t help but notice the guy had a build he was usually attracted to. Logan loved looking at some of the big guys around here, but he wasn’t into the big types in his bed. He also wasn’t into the little guys either. He liked men built more like him. Jensen was only a few inches shorter than his own five-foot-seven, and maybe fifteen to twenty pounds lighter than his hundred and fifty. Where Logan had the build of a runner, Jensen was more like a twink. Or from the looks of him, Logan would guess Jensen just needed some nourishment. Maybe a few good meals would put a little healthy weight on his bones? From what he could guess, Jensen looked homeless. Thoughts from Logan’s past pulled on the fringes of his memories, but he shook his head, clearing the images quickly. He had no time for that. He needed to focus on his patient. Logan looked up at the face and gently lifted one lid to shine his flashlight inside, checking the man's pupils. He could see the guy had gorgeous Persian blue eyes that would probably look stunning with his long, jet-black hair. Sure, the hair was a bit stringy and dirty and smelled like smoke at the moment, but Logan could see that the long tresses would be dark black even when clean. He wrote a few more notes on the chart and his eyes found a note from Sut that Jensen had a few scratches on his left arm. Logan put the file down and gently lifted the arm to examine it, but found only smooth skin. Dirty, but smooth. He grabbed a sterile wipe and cleaned the area just to make sure the soot wasn’t covering anything up, but still only found clear skin. Maybe he had read it wrong, or Sut wrote it wrong? Logan placed the arm down and raised the other but again, there was no sign of injury. “Must be a shifter and already healed. That’s good news for his lungs,” Logan mumbled as he placed the arm back down and sniffed around Jensen to see if he could tell which kind of shifter Jensen was. Unfortunately, because of the layer of smoke, Logan couldn’t smell much more coming from Jensen. Which, in a way, was probably a good thing with him being homeless and all. You never knew what aromas were going to assault you when dealing with the homeless. From soiling themselves, to blood, and even drugs and alcohol. Sometimes a cocktail of all of the above. Logan turned and grabbed the file, then jotted down a few more notes. “ETA two minutes, Logan. How’s our guy?” Sut called out from the front. “He’s doing good. Vitals are fine. Just the wheezing in the chest has me worried. I’ll call it in,” Logan responded, then grabbed the mic that was attached to his uniform at the shoulder and began relaying the patient’s information ahead to the hospital where the nurses and doctors would be waiting for them. Once they were done handing Jensen off to the docs and giving them a rundown of their assessment, Logan made his way down to the nurse’s lounge to grab a quick cup of coffee. He was exhausted. He and Sut had been on call for the past twenty-four hours straight and this morning’s training session was supposed to be no big deal, then he could get home and collapse for his two days off. Before they would be able to head home, they still needed to get their asses back to the guys to make sure they weren’t needed anymore. As Logan stepped out of the nurse’s lounge, he saw Sut making his way toward him, pushing their stretcher. The two met up and headed back outside to their rig. Once they loaded up, they quickly headed back to the scene. * * * * Gods, his whole body hurt. Logan toed off his shoes and left them by the front door as he tossed his keys into the bowl he kept on the small table beside the door. He fished his wallet and cell from his pockets and tossed the wallet into the bowl as well, before plugging in his cell to charge and leaving it there. His body felt bone-weary and like he needed someone to actually push him forward or carry him to make him move. After getting back to the training house, he was happy to find that the fire was out, and everyone was cleaning up. Because of the three newbies, he and Sut volunteered to give a hand and show the three what to do so that Day and Nick could concentrate on other things. After they were allowed to leave the scene, they headed back to the station and cleaned the rig inside and out, then reloaded their supplies so it would be ready the next time it needed to be used. He was so glad he had decided to shower at the station before coming home. Now, all he had to do was pour himself into bed. Logan trudged up the spiral staircase in the corner of his living room in the two-story loft he and Sut rented over the hardware store. He loved this old building and the design. It was nothing like the little ranch home he rented back in Pennsylvania for five years before coming here to Maddox with Nick and his team. Sure, the little house had a lot of land surrounding it, but it was very rare he was able to let his animal free and run. There were still too many human neighbors for his comfort. Here in Maddox he didn’t have the land like he did there, but there were plenty of places he could go for privacy and roam for hours without having to worry about someone stumbling upon him. Thoughts of heading out the following day to do just that brought a smile to Logan’s face. It had been so long since he was able to shift and run free. He found that he was in desperate need of it. It would probably be the best time too with all the activity around town, trying to get Maddox ready for the Founders Day celebration in two weeks. King Destrain and Regent Dain, as well as Rhys, were pulling out all the stops for this one. They were planning on a week of carnival fun around the town square, which sat only a block away from where Logan’s apartment was. The carnival people were supposed to be showing up in a few days to start assembling the rides, food stands, and game booths. Once they did that, Main Street and town square would be roped off and blocked to all vehicle traffic for the duration. Which meant almost two weeks. Logan didn’t mind though. He hardly ever used his car here in Maddox and liked walking most everywhere. But all the people that would surely start to show up would be a problem. So now may be his only chance for at least two to three weeks to let his animal out. Logan stripped his clothes off and climbed into bed, sinking into the luxurious feather mattress that hugged his form, then pulled the sheet and blanket up to his waist. He put his arms under his head as he stared out the large bay window across the room that had a view of Main Street, Maddox. He could see clear to the gazebo that sat in the middle of the circular park that made up the center town square. When he had first moved here to Maddox, Logan had been so taken by the town. He thought it was going to be a lot smaller than he found, but was pleasantly surprised to find that even though Maddox was much bigger than he had imagined, it still had that small town feel to it. And with all the changes and renovations the pixies and the council were doing to it, Maddox looked like perfect middle America, right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. He loved Maddox so much that after only a week here, Logan had been shocked to realize that for the first time in his life, he actually felt like he was home. Growing up in the human foster system was hard and always moving around from town to town, never feeling like he belonged anywhere, made it easier for him to go away to college and begin his life without looking back. His case worker, as well as his foster parents, had been shocked to learn that he had won a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and even that he wanted to be a doctor in the first place. He had taken that scholarship and ran with it. Sure, the first few years were hard, going to school full-time and working a part-time job as well so that he would have some spending money. But by the time he made it to med school, he had also won a few grants that helped pay for all his expenses. After spending many years roaming around, then heading back to Pennsylvania to do it all again, the second time doing his internship in a hospital in the Poconos, then his residency down near Allentown, Logan had been hired at a prestigious hospital in Philly. He had his whole life laid out before him and was excited by what was to come. He got an apartment not too far from the hospital so he could walk to work. He started making a few friends and loved the work. His life had been going pretty good...until that day. Logan shook the thoughts from his mind. He didn’t want to remember that time in his life. It was what brought him to the worst moments in his life and the most painful. A vision of him huddled in a cardboard box, wearing filthy, torn clothes, as he tried to keep warm crossed his vision, and immediately Logan’s thoughts ran back to Jensen. He wondered what the guy's story was and how he ended up where he was, living on the streets, keeping to himself, and trying to be invisible. Just like Logan had done once. He was very familiar with what Jensen was going through. Maybe he should reach out and try to help him, like he had been helped so long ago by first Rune and then Nick? Logan sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling, unsure of what to do. He knew that if Jensen wasn’t ready to build a new life or start over, then there was nothing he could do about it. He had to get to a certain point himself before he had accepted help. But he wouldn’t know unless he tried. Logan smiled to himself, feeling really good about his decision, then closed his eyes. He knew he needed to get his ass in gear in the morning, so he could head to the hospital to check on Jensen, then get a few hours off in the forest to stretch his legs. So, sleep was definitely called for now. Logan allowed his body to relax and his mind began to drift. Visions of beautiful Persian blue eyes swam across his mind and Logan drifted off into a peaceful sleep.