Fire and Ash

It was late afternoon before they arrived at the address the Ingram's had given them. Quinn parked his truck across the street and glanced up at the three-story brick building. "Third floor, right?"

Instead of an answer, Quinn heard Sadie's door close and looked over just in time to see her crossing in front of the truck, as usual, taking the lead. He smiled, grabbed the keys from the ignition, and reached for the door handle.

The sound of squealing tires caught Quinn's attention. He looked out his windshield as a black sports car pulled away from the curb. Shifting his gaze to the street, he saw Sadie was directly in its path. He jumped from the truck and yelled, "Look out!" then saw Sadie dive onto the hood of a parked car.

Quinn's heart pounded in his chest as he raced across the street. When he came around the front of the car she'd dove onto, he found her sitting with a dazed look on her face. He knelt beside her, "Are you okay?"

She blinked her eyes. "I definitely need to visit the gym more often."

He chuckled, relieved she was all right and that her humor was still intact. "I don't know I haven't seen a move like that since Starsky and Hutch."

"Will I need to call my insurance agent?"

He rose on his toes to peer across the hood of the late model Buick and saw a fairly good size dent in the hood. "I'm afraid so."

He offered his hand in assistance and she stood on wobbly legs. "Whoa!" She grabbed hold of his arm.

He steadied her by slipping his arm around her waist. "Are you sure you're okay?" Beginning with her forehead his eyes worked their way downward.

"I'm fine."

He spotted a dark stain near the left pocket of her jeans. "No you're not. You're bleeding."

"It must be my elbow, it's beginning to sting."

He gently raised it. Sure enough, blood seeped out of a one inch cut just below the bone. He took both her forearms and guided her backwards to lean against the Buick. "Stay put, don't move." He ran across the street to his truck, removed his first aid kit from behind the seat. When he returned, Sadie was nowhere in sight.