Stephanie’s attention immediately returned to Amber. Blood was still oozing from the cut on her forehead, and there was a wicked bruise forming on her right shoulder. Her blouse was torn, her knuckles scraped.

Was she really okay? Had Alec lied to Royce? And what did Alec know anyway? He wasn’t a doctor.

Okay, so he knew enough to pull Amber from a burning truck.

That was something.

That was huge.

While Stephanie, Stephanie had been stupid enough to march out in front of Amber and cause all this.

Her chest tightened with pain, and a sob escaped from her throat.

Alec turned back. His arm moved from her waist to her shoulders, and he gave her a squeeze. “It’s not your fault,” he rumbled in her ear.

But his words didn’t help.

“Listen to me, Stephanie.” He kept his voice low. “Amber is fine. The chopper will be here in fifteen minutes. But it’s just a precaution.”

“You’re not a doctor,” she snarled.

“No, I’m not.”

“I’m sorry.” Stephanie shook her head. “You pulled her out. She could have-”

“Stop.”

Amber let the cell phone drop to her chest. “Royce is on his way.” Her voice was weak, but just hearing it made Stephanie feel a little better.

“The medical chopper’s going to beat him here,” Alec told Amber, lifting the phone and gently smoothing her hair away from the wound.

“Want to bet?” Amber smiled, and Stephanie could have wept with joy.

Somebody had located a first aid kit, and Alec gently cleaned the blood from around Amber’s head wound and placed a square of gauze to stop the bleeding.

“Are you okay?” Stephanie dared to ask her.

“Did I hit you?” Amber asked back with a worried frown. “Are you hurt?”

Stephanie quickly shook her head. “No. No. Not at all. I’m perfectly fine. Just worried about you.”

“I’m a little stiff,” said Amber. She wiggled her fingers and moved her feet. “But everything’s still working.”