Chapter 51 Beau
BEAU
Our sirens blare as I swerve the fire truck through traffic. Next to me, Coop yells, “You shouldn’t be on this call.”
The fuck I shouldn’t. “Honey needs me.”
If this means I lose my job, so be it. I’ll give up anything for this woman.
As I make a hairpin turn, Coop shouts, “Don’t get us killed.”
“If your girlfriend was on the other end of this call, you’d want me to drive like a bat out of hell too.”
“Maybe, but you can’t help her if we don’t make it there in one piece.”
I might be driving fast, but I’m not taking unnecessary risks. “I missed her texts last night.”
“I know, man. I’m sorry about that. I’m sure Mel feels bad.”
He’s giving Melissa too much credit. She claims she “accidentally” took my phone. Yes, they look identical, but how the hell did it take her nearly an entire day to notice? I flipped the firehouse inside out looking for it.
Thank fuck Melissa isn’t on my team tonight.
When I finally got my phone back this evening and saw Honey’s texts, I almost lost my shit. A minute later, we got a call from the sheriff that he thought the newspaper adviser was the arson suspect, and that he might need us at the high school. I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes.
Because Honey works closely with that fucker every day.
Adrian Rogers must’ve gotten wind that the sheriff was considering him a suspect and taken off. I don’t know how Honey got wrangled up to go with him. Maybe he wanted a hostage.
The thought makes my blood go cold.
We’d just jumped in the fire truck when we got the update that there’d been an accident.
When we reach the stretch of road that leads to the bridge, I say a prayer this is all a mistake.
That Honey’s not in that asshole’s truck.
That she’s not currently dangling over the river.
Police have blocked off the two-lane road. Red lights flash in the dark night sky.
At first, I don’t see anything. Just the squad cars.
And when I do, my heart drops. “What the fuck?”
Adrian either lost control of his truck or deliberately tried to drive it off the bridge into the river below. It looks like the back axle got caught on one of the guardrails.
I throw the fire engine into park and race to the railing. Squinting, I try to look into the passenger window. It’s smashed out, and I can see someone inside. Honey.
She’s not moving. I don’t let myself consider the worst-case scenario here. That won’t help me extract her.
I will myself to calm the fuck down because I have to get her out. Alive. Because there’s no other option.
The cab’s smashed, the side is all scraped up. “Did it flip?”
I don’t recognize the cop on duty, but he nods. “Barely missed another car, flipped, almost went over.”
Jesus Christ.
“Can we secure the truck and drag it back up?” Coop asks.
The underside is pure rust. “I don’t think it’ll hold.” I point to the back. “Looks like there’s a trailer hitch.” We move closer to inspect it. “The damn thing’s rusted, but it’s better than nothing.”
Coop nods. “It’s a receiving end, but maybe we can get a chain through that side part.”
That’s what I was thinking. “Should be bolted to the frame. As long as the frame holds, maybe we can stabilize the truck long enough to get them out.”
Just then, something gives, and the vehicle lurches forward with a groan of twisted metal.
A collective gasp goes through the small crowd that’s gathered. “Careful, brother.” Coop pats my chest, making me realize he’s holding me back. “You looked like you were ready to dive in after her.”
The chief arrives and motions to the bank. “We’re getting a crew assembled below.”
It takes me a second to understand what he means. “You want to wait until the truck lands in the river? Given the angle, it might be upside down.” Which will make extraction even harder.
Assuming they survive the impact.
His expression is grim. “There’s no way we can get it over the concrete barrier. I don’t think we have other options.”
Like hell we don’t. “Let me rappel down. I have experience.”
“Even if you manage to get one of them out, the shift in weight means the truck will likely get dislodged.”
“Let’s secure the hitch. Even if it gives way, that might buy us some time so I can grab Honey. She’s the innocent one in all of this. The team below can try to rescue Rogers.” I point to the truck. “The passenger side window is shattered. If the door doesn’t open, I can still get her.”
He shakes his head. “You’re too close to this, Beau. You’re dating Honey, right? Let me page the team out of Austin.”
“We don’t have time for that. I’ve rappeled before. Let me try.” Because I’ll never fucking forgive myself if anything happens to her. “Someone should call her family, her brothers at least.”
“They’re on their way.”
I don’t wait for him to give orders. I turn to my crew and bark out that we should secure the back hitch.
“It might be rusted, but it’s better than nothing.
” As Loving does that, I grab my gear, hook it up to the engine, and head for the ledge.
Before I strap in to my harness, I yank off my turnout coat.
Because if I have to jump in after her, I want to be as light as possible so we don’t both drown.
I’m hooking up my carabiner when Honey’s brothers arrive with that friend of hers, Cynthia. The cops hold them back, but I wave them off. “I’m gonna get her. Stay out of the way.”
Trig blanches when he sees what I’m dealing with. “What the fuck happened?”
“We think she’s with the guy who’s been setting off those fires at the high school.”
“I hope he makes it out of this alive so I can tear him a new asshole.”
“You and me both.”
Cash pats my shoulder. “If anyone can get her, it’s you.”
“Appreciate the vote of confidence.”
Cynthia is a sobbing mess, and Trig awkwardly hugs her.
Leaning over the edge, I call out to her. When she doesn’t respond, I try again. “Honey! Can you hear me?” I yell over the sound of rushing water. “I’m coming to get you!”
“Beau!” She waves her hand out of the window, and I nearly have a heart attack.
“Baby, don’t move! All I need you to do right now is take deep breaths and stay calm.”
I motion to Coop to lower me, and Loving takes point at the ledge. Before I head down, I grab Loving’s jacket. “You’re my eyes up here. I’m counting on you.” Because Coop can’t see what I’m doing once I go over.
Loving nods. “Let’s do this.”
I lean closer. “If I don’t make it back, tell my brothers I’m sorry.”
His face pales. “Don’t talk like that.”
I’m just being a realist. Because this truck could take me, Honey, and that asshole all at once.
I hop over the railing and rappel down the side of the bridge. The truck lets out a mangled groan, and I hold my breath, praying it doesn’t tumble into the rushing water below.
In my head, I scramble to form a contingency plan. And when it comes to me, a sense of calm washes over me.
If this car goes down before I can get her out, I’m gonna dive in after her. Because whatever happens next, I’ll be with Honey. I won’t let her go through this alone.
Decision made, I lock in to what I’m doing. I’m careful to move alongside the vehicle without touching it. When I reach the smashed window, I let out a relieved breath to find Honey in one piece, but blood drips down her forehead.
“Are you hurt? You’re bleeding.”
“I think it’s from the window, but I’m okay. I’m really glad to see you.”
She starts to cry, and I shake my head. “We’ve gotta be tough right now. Once I get you out of there, I’ll fucking cry with you, but right now, I need you calm.”
Or as calm as she can be as she hangs upside down off the ledge of a bridge. Her chest heaves, and she nods.
Next to her, that asshole moans. He’s alive. Noted.
I try Honey’s door, and miraculously, it opens. But the truck groans again. Fuck.
Honey wipes blood out of her eyes. “Do you want me… want me to undo my seatbelt?”
“Not yet. Let’s get you tethered first.” This is the dangerous part. “I want you to move the top part of your seatbelt down and behind your head and shoulders, leaving the waist strap attached. Then wrap my harness under your arms, but move slowly.”
I open the door enough to hand her the gear, but I keep the door from swinging out and shifting the truck. I could extract her through the window, except I’m worried I won’t have enough room to lift her out when she releases the seatbelt. That part has to be fast because of the shifting weight.
Once I have her secured, I just need the hitch to hold long enough so I can grab her.
It’s a challenge to get the harness over her shoulders since she’s tilted so far forward, but she manages it. Fortunately, she wore her hair in a bun, so it’s one less obstacle. “You’re doing so good, baby.”
“It’s on.” Her worried eyes meet mine.
“This is the tricky part. Now I want you to brace your feet on the dash.” I wait while she does it.
“Like this?”
“Good job.” It’s an awkward position because she’s still stuck to her seat, but I’m hoping that will give her a little leverage. “When you unclip your seatbelt, I’m going to open this door and pull you out. But we need to do it quickly. Just try to keep your legs braced against the dash.”
“What about… what about Adrian?”
My sweet beautiful woman is worried about the asshole who put her in this position. “We’ll worry about him after we get you out. There’s a team assembled below that’s ready for any situation. They can get to him quickly if needed.”
She gets what I’m not saying.
The truck might go over.
“Are you ready?” I’m tempted to shout I love her at the top of my lungs, but I don’t want her to think this is the end.
Because it can’t fucking be the end.
Swallowing, she nods and wipes the blood off her face. “All I have to do is unclick the seatbelt and brace my legs, right?”
“Exactly. On the count of three, you’ll do that, and I’ll open the door and reach for you.
All you have to do is focus on getting that seatbelt off your waist as soon as possible.
Like this.” I mimic what I want her to do so we get that damn thing off her.
“Move it all the way to the right and off you. Understand?”
“Yes.” Tears stream down her face, and she wipes them away. “I need to tell you something, Beau.”
“You can tell me when we’re on the bridge.
” For a moment, I take stock of what’s going on around me.
The crew is on the bank to the right. My guys are above me and ready to pull us up.
And I know Honey has the strength to handle this.
“You got this, princess. Here we go.” I count out loud. “One. Two. Three.”
I pull the door open enough to reach my arm around her chest. Steel groans all around us as she falls forward, but I pull her tight to me and put my hand on her head to protect it before I kick off the ledge of the truck to yank her out seconds before the vehicle breaks free of the chains above with a loud twist of metal.
Dangling there, we watch the truck hit the water.
“Oh my God!” she screams.
“It’s okay, baby. They’ll get to him. They’re already in the water.” I hoist her higher, and she wraps her arms around my neck and legs around my waist. “Hang on just like that. I got you.”
Loving calls out to us. “You’re coming up.”
Using my legs, I keep us from dragging up the side of the bridge. Then I take Loving’s offered hand. “Thanks, man.”
When Honey and I are on solid ground, she presses her forehead against my chest. I rub the back of her head and lean down. “I should’ve told you this sooner, but I love you, Honey. You’re my whole fucking world, and if anything had happened to you today, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Her glassy eyes meet mine. “I love you too, Beau. I’m so sorry I got spooked this week. We’ll figure out things with Melissa. I just… I can’t lose you.”
I hug her close. “Thank you, baby. That means the world to me.”
“I have some stuff going on with my family—”
I kiss her. “I know. I finally got your messages. We’ll figure that out too.
Let’s get you to the hospital and make sure you’re not hurt.
” As I talk, I check her face and head to check for cuts.
She has a little gash just above her hairline, but the bleeding isn’t too bad.
Coop hands me some gauze, and I apply it above her temple.
The cops let her brothers and Cynthia through, and they take turns hugging Honey and patting me on the back.
“Look at you, acting like Spider-Man and shit.” Trig laughs. “Never thought I’d be so happy to have a damn Walker on my team.”
I hold out my hand, and he shakes it. “I never slashed Cash’s tires.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine.”
Cash pats me on the back. “Thanks for saving our sister. I can’t give her a noogie ’cause she’s bleeding all over the place.”
“Let me get her patched up. I want to make sure she gets looked over.”
Cash holds up his phone. “Wait. Take my phone number in case you need to reach us.” I lift a brow, and he chuckles. “Shut up.”
After I get his info, I notice that Honey’s friend Cynthia is quietly crying. I try to reassure her. “She’s going to be okay. I got her in time.”
The chief joins us after I help the EMTs load my girlfriend into the ambulance. “They pulled Rogers out. He’s alive. Honey, I’m sure the sheriff is gonna want to get your statement.”
“He can meet us at the hospital.” I grab Honey’s hand and turn to my boss. “I know this breaks protocol, but I need to go with my girlfriend.” I’m not asking for permission. When he nods, I toss him the keys to the fire engine. “Thanks, Chief.”
When the EMT closes the door, Honey looks up at me. “Are you going to get in trouble for coming with me?”
“Don’t care if I do.” Because the only thing that matters is this woman.