Devante: Laurel Springs Emergency Response Team, #6

By Laramie Briscoe

From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author comes the next book in the Laurel Springs Emergency Response Team.

Trust Laramie Briscoe to provide engaging characters in a well-built world I want to revisit again and again. Carly Phillips, NY Times bestselling author.

Sometimes home finds us when we aren't looking…


Devante Soles

Laurel Springs was nothing more than a dot on the map when I decided I needed a change from the fast pace of Atlanta.

I'm more surprised than anyone else when I look around one day and realize I have friends who have become family, a city that's become a home, and a girl who's decided to make me believe in love.

Unlike me though, her past has followed her here.

A community that I once never thought I'd have, comes together with me to save her.


Eden Murphy

Chicago wasn't for me. The bright lights, the embezzlement I should know nothing about, and the made man who changed everything - it all contributed to me leaving. I never felt safe there. Little Laurel Springs though? It's everything I hoped it would be and more.

My coffee shop, A Whole Latte Love, isn't doing well, but I'm close to turning a profit.

And Devante? Well he's more than I ever could have asked for.

But Mario? He's the one I didn't count on coming back and demanding what I took…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laramie Briscoe
• Release date: Oct 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201336349

Book preview

Prologue

Devante

I’m scared.

The fear in Eden’s eyes hits me square in the chest. A fear I’ve never felt before follows. Usually when I’m out on a call, I’m helping people I don’t know. I’m on auto-pilot. There’s a repetition to the care I give. The automatic movements that have been ingrained; I can do them in my sleep. In the moment, I’m always able to push through anything distracting me from the periphery, but not this time.

This is different. She’s different. I’ve grown to care for her, and damned if her dark eyes don’t kill me.

Reaching down, I cup her cheek in the palm of my hand. I know. I’m gonna take care of you. She nods, closing her lids tight against the pain. I went to school for it and shit.

There’s a laugh with an almost smile. Barely there, but enough to make me feel better about the situation.

Thank you, Devante.

No need to thank me. I’d do almost anything to hear you laugh.

You ready? Cutter asks from where he stands at the back of the ambulance. I’ve called us in.

Just get us there.

He nods before closing the door, tapping on it twice out of habit. Turning my attention to Eden, I do my best to take my personal feelings out of the situation. It’s hard, impossible not to notice my hands shaking, the nervous fluttering I have in my stomach.

On a scale of one to ten, how is your pain?

She bites her lip, pressing her palm to her sternum. It was coming and going, but now it’s constant. I’d say an eight to nine. I ache so badly. It’s agony. She measures her breathing, presumably trying to control the pressure she’s putting on her chest and stomach.

When I grab the blood pressure cuff I go into the zone. This is the stuff I can do in my sleep. Pulse oximeter on her finger and thermometer in her mouth. Quickly I hook her up to an EKG monitor because of the chest pain complaint.

She moans loudly, eyes closed, moving around on the gurney.

Reaching out, I grab her hand with mine, rubbing the back of it with my thumb. You’re going to be fine, I promise.

Her eyes pop open, and she nods. The light brown depths that have always intrigued me, since the first day I met her, are dark now. Highlighting more than anything else for me how uncomfortable she is.

Reaching over for the radio, I go to call into Laurel Springs Medical, when I realize I don’t know how old she is. How old are you?

Twenty-four, she presses out between clenched teeth.

Younger than I thought. Three years my junior. Filing that information in the back of my mind, I continue. Excuse me for making the generalization. You’re bi-racial?

Black and white, got the best of both worlds. Her smartass grin is somewhat lopsided.

Laurel Springs Medical come in.

Go ahead.

I notice the voice is that of Stella Thompson. I’m beyond relieved she’s on duty. Ambulance thirty-five sixteen in route with a twenty-four-year-old bi-racial female complaining of chest and back pain. EKG is negative. Blood pressure is one eighty-five over one-fifty. Slight fever of one hundred point one. Oxygen at ninety-five percent. Preliminary thought is gallbladder. Requesting permission to administer pain medication to bring the blood pressure down.

Devante, is it Eden? she asks softly.

We’re not supposed to have patients we like more than others. We’re trained not to get personally involved, but Laurel Springs is such a small town, it’s inevitable. Day in and day out, we work, eat, have coffee, hang out together. This core group somehow becomes more like family than those who share the same blood as you.

Then there’s the others. The ones who get under your skin, burrow deep, and you want them to hang on for dear life. They’re the people who make your day better by just being around, and that’s who Eden is to not only me, but everyone. Yeah, I answer just as softly, still in denial this is happening.

She clears her throat, and it’s almost as if I can see her straighten to her full height and start paying more attention. Go on with pain medication, and continue with… she rattles off a blood pressure medication. How far out are you?

Cutter hears from where he sits in the driver’s seat. ETA four minutes.

Got ya, she says loud and clear. We’ll be waiting.

I put the radio back on its base and turn to Eden. I’m going to take care of the pain for you.

Thank you, she breathes deeply. Relief flashing across her furrowed brow. I’m glad Stella’s there. It’ll be nice to see another friendly face.

Taking a moment, I reach out, gently grabbing her chin with my fingers. "I’m not leaving you."

It’s okay, Devante. I know you have a job to do.

My throat tightens, but I manage to clear it. Nothing is more important than you.

In most situations I’d be worried about revealing my feelings. Relationships haven’t been my strong suit. Monogamy is the game I play, and the last girl did a number on not only my car, but my confidence. I’m a close to the vest type of guy, but in this one, it’s important for her to know she has support. I don’t know what her home life is like. We’ve never talked about it in the private moments we’ve had at the coffee shop. The only thing I know for sure is she moved here from Chicago for a better life. Same thing I moved here from Atlanta for. It’s the thing we’ve bonded over in the time we’ve spent alone.

I appreciate you.

Tearing my gaze away from hers, I get prepared to give her the shot that will make her feel better. Little stick and then you should be more comfortable.

She flinches slightly, but otherwise takes it like a champ.

We’re here, Cutter announces.

The ambulance lurches to a stop, the only sound in my ears is that of him getting out of the front seat and coming around to the back. When he opens the doors, I can see the tension in his shoulders. Neither one of us like to transport people we know, and Eden’s made an impact on the friend group, since we started including her.

He helps me get her lowered, and as I turn to help take her into the hospital, I see Stella running forward. On instinct, I yell out everything I’ve already done for her, so the emergency room staff knows what they’re dealing with.

We’ve got it from here. Stella looks at me, giving a reassuring smile.

I’m not leaving.

You’ve gotta stay out of the way, Devante.

We have a whole conversation between us as we look into each other’s eyes. There aren’t many I can do that with, but Stella is good people. I promise to sit over here in the corner. Just let me be here for her.

Okay, she relents.

Against my better judgement I have a seat, watching as they work on her. Cutter is standing just outside the door. He makes a motion with his hand, letting me know he’s going back to the ambulance. We’ve worked together long enough that he knows I’m not leaving. I don’t worry about anything to do with my job; I know he’ll take care of all of it.

He’s the best partner I’ve ever had, and an even better friend. When I first moved here, I got Rowan, but in the past few months, they’ve put me with Cutter. I’ve never had a partner I could call a friend. Especially not some southern white boy who goes hunting. But he and I? We’ve hit it off and I feel more welcome in his home than I did in the one I had in Atlanta. He sees and appreciates me for who I am.

Is there anyone we can call for her? Alisa, another new transplant to Laurel Springs asks. She’s worked with Stella for a while, and we’ve all gotten to know her as well.

I don’t know. I shrug. She’s never talked about her family to me. She’s from Chicago, I offer, hoping that helps some.

Yeah, she never talked about her family on girl’s night either, she sighs. We’ll have to see what we can find out in case decisions need to be made for her well-being.

I hate the way she makes that statement. I don’t want to think about decisions of that magnitude having to be made. Not when the two of us have basically just found one another. Yeah, whatever she needs, I’m here.

You’re a good guy.

Before I can answer, she moves around to make room for the ultrasound machine. While I sit, making myself small, and for someone who’s typically helping, feeling the most helpless I ever have in my life.

Chapter One

Eden

The world is hazy as I struggle to open my eyes. It’s extremely difficult but I fight against the fatigue plaguing my body. The last thing I can remember is feeling like shit at the shop. Correction, I’d been feeling rough for a few days, but there’d been no way I could take time off or close early. A Whole Latte Love has been barely making it since I opened a few months ago, but business is finally starting to become consistent. The money I managed to bring with me from Chicago has quickly been running out. If only I’d planned to get more.

I’d been debating on what my choices were with the shop when I started to believe I was really sick. And then I’d panicked because I’d been alone.

No wait, Devante was there. He was there, and I’d ridden in the ambulance.

There’s a beep, beep, beep, in the background and I wonder if this has all been a dream of some sort and I’ve slept through my alarm. If I have, I’m late for opening, and I can’t afford that. With a burst of energy I somehow manage to summon, I fight to sit up. Something is preventing me from doing it though, there’s a heaviness holding down my wrist and hand. Reaching down, I try to disentangle myself from it.

No, no, Eden, don’t pull at that.

Devante. It’s the voice I’ve been listening for every day since I met him shortly after I moved here. So this isn’t alarming. I’ve had more dreams about this man than I ever had about anyone else. He’s got a swagger I’ve never seen, and his body? It should be on the cover of Men’s Health. The tattoos, the lean muscles, the earrings in his ears. What I’m not used to in all the dreams I’ve had about him is the urgency in his tone.

What’s wrong? I question, fighting against the lethargy trying to pull me down.

Do you know where you are?

Am I supposed to know where I am? I laugh, unsure of why it’s so fucking funny. I’m loopy, almost as if I’ve drank too much, but I’ve only done that a few times.

Open those eyes for me, Eden, he encourages.

It’s so hard. They feel as if they’re a hundred pounds apiece. I’m trying.

The climb is difficult, like I’m scaling a mountain without the proper equipment, or any kind of preparation. Which, for me, is crazy. I’m prepared for everything.

C’mon, he keeps on. You’re almost there.

The light is bright, brighter than I expect it to be. My surroundings are slow to come, hard for me to realize where I am. It looks like a hospital room, but that can’t be. Where am I?

Do you remember anything about what happened?

What happened? It’s just little pieces of memories floating around trying to fit together into a full puzzle. There was an ambulance and I felt awful. I think you were there.

He stretches himself closer to where I am. This is your second day in the hospital.

Panic hits every part of my body. Oh my God! I have to leave, I have to open the shop. I struggle to get up, but he’s holding me down.

You can’t go anywhere, you’re very sick, Eden.

I’m going to be destitute if I don’t open. Tears spring to my eyes, spilling over easily. You don’t understand, I sob, embarrassed that I can’t control these overwhelming emotions. I’ve kept this to myself for months, and for it to be coming out when I’m my most vulnerable? This shit sucks.

Your shop is being taken care of. His voice is low and assuring, just on this side of amused.

Being taken care of?

He chuckles. Maybe not in the way you would, but Kels, Shelby, and Karsyn are putting their own spin on coffee orders.

He reaches into his pocket, pulling his phone out. I watch as his finger moves along the screen, until he finds what he’s looking for. On my chalkboard that I make beautiful every morning with a drawing, they’ve written something.

Eden is sick. You have a few options. Black coffee, cream, sugar, or pumps of flavor. No substitutions. All the cake you can eat.

They’re posing in front of it, wearing my aprons. Oh shit, I laugh.

Believe it or not, they have the guys outside catching people’s attention and bringing them in for the most basic coffee of their lives. They’re making sure to keep your business afloat while you’re in here.

This time the tears that come are ones of relief and appreciation for a community that’s welcomed me with open arms when they didn’t have to. I’ll need to place an order… I blank on the day. What is today?

He looks at his watch. Thursday.

Today. My mood falls almost as quickly as it rose. There’s no way they’ll be able to keep up with the influx of straight coffee orders without an order.

Never fear. Leighton offered to do it if you want her to. She works with the same vendor for The Café, and knows how to do it. She just needs to know your budget. He holds his phone out to me. All you have to do is answer this text she sent.

My budget is shoe-string and miniscule. Probably one tenth of what she has for The Café, and I’m slightly embarrassed as I grab the phone and text her the information she needs.

Please apologize for me if it doesn’t make sense, I say as I hand him his phone back. I’m still loopy.

Yeah, pain meds will do that to you. You will be for a while. His thumbs move along the screen, before he looks up at me. Your gallbladder is inflamed as fuck. They can’t operate on it just yet, so they’re trying to bring it down. They’re trying to keep you comfortable with pain medication and you’re not allowed food or drink in case they have to take you back emergently.

All of this is a lot to take in. Nothing I ever expected when I thought I had indigestion. How long have you been here? If my fuzzy recollection is right, he’s still wearing the clothes he was wearing when I rode in the ambulance.

Since you got admitted, - he shrugs - I didn’t want to leave you. Stella’s coming at the end of her shift to relieve me though, so I can go home and change.

Emotion clogs my throat as I think about the sacrifices he’s made, and what Stella will be making to make sure I’m not alone. She doesn’t have to; I know she’s got a family to get to.

Funnily enough, - he leans over, grabbing my hand with his - when this group takes you into their fold, they refuse to be told what to do.

I’ve kind of noticed that, but I hate to take time away.

He brings my hand up, kissing the back of it. "Let them take care of you. Let me take care of you. It’s what we do."

Belonging to them is overwhelming and nothing I expected when I moved here. I’d chosen this place on a whim one night, when I was trying to get out of a bad situation I was in.

Witnessing your boyfriend’s boss offering to make him a made man, and then realizing said boyfriend has been embezzling from the mob? It was a lot to take in.

Mario – the man who opened doors for me and paid for every date we went out on – wasn’t who I thought he was. He’d played me, my mom, and every friend I had. Scared of knowing too much, I knew I had to leave.

On the night I fled, I took what I needed from him, and I’d closed my eyes, picking out a place on the map by letting a random