Igniting His Flame (Redwood Bay Fire #1)

1. Lochlan

CHAPTER 1

Lochlan

Most people run away from burning buildings, not into them. But I’m not most people.

Also, I’m kind of a dumbass.

“I don’t like the look of that roof!” Cap yells.

The One-Thirteen dismounts the truck and the engine that just came screaming to a halt. The old warehouse in front us is currently succumbing to roaring flames. I whistle and shield my eyes from the sun, assessing the situation.

It’s not engulfed yet, but it’s getting there. Luckily, we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere, but that doesn’t mean the situation isn’t still urgent. There’s a reason the saying goes ‘spread like wildfire.’ This is California. We don’t fuck around when it comes to this shit.

“Anyone inside?” I ask.

Cap shakes his head. “Dispatch spoke to the owner who called it in. There shouldn’t be, but we don’t know how this started. Could be kids messing around.”

“Worth a look, then,” Lieutenant Rico Flores chips in.

Captain Valentine nods. “Bell,” he shouts at me. “Go with Flores and do a sweep inside. You’ve got three minutes before we open the hoses. Be fast, be safe.”

“Yes, Captain!” Rico and I reply, already hustling towards the gaping open doors.

I think this place might have been used to store ship-building parts back in the day from what our driver, Gene, was telling us in the rig, but I wasn’t really paying attention, if I’m honest. Dispatch would’ve told us if there’s anything in here likely to go ‘BOOM,’ and that’s all that really matters to me.

Tugging my mask over my face, I listen over the comms as the rest of the team coordinate tackling the blaze. However, my mind is already preoccupied with scanning the area as Rico and I start our assessment.

“Fire department!” I bellow at the top of my lungs. “Call out!”

Rico’s doing the same as we move through the area. There’s a ton of old crap. This place obviously hasn’t been operational for a while. As I move through the aisles of boxes and conveyor belts, I’m aware of the flames licking at the walls, especially to my right and overhead. It looks like a section up ahead has collapsed, but whether that was before the fire started or after I really couldn’t tell right now.

There’s creaking and groaning all around as the flames ravage the structure. “I’m not feeling good about this roof, Bell,” Rico tells me over the radio. “You see anything?”

“Nah, man,” I say, despite the fact I’m still moving farther inside the building. That pile of rubble is bothering me for some reason. It’s probably nothing, but until the captain tells us to move out, I’m going to keep doing my job.

Look, I know I’m not book smart. I struggled with all the written crap back in my academy days and was damn lucky to graduate. But once I made probie and was out in the world…damn. It’s like I speak fluent fire or something. There’re ways I can read what that monster is trying to do, and I always manage to sneak in one step ahead of it.

I know this guy around us right now has a few minutes before he gets real ugly.

The trouble with going on my gut, though, is explaining what the fire’s saying to other people. Like my captain.

“Okay, that’s it,” Valentine calls over the radio. “I’m calling it. Flores, Bell, get your asses out of there.”

“Just one more minute, Cap,” I reply. “We’ve barely searched half this place.”

“Bell,” he says in a warning tone.

I shake my head even though no one can see me. “There’s still time,” I assure him. “I want to?—”

That’s when I hear it.

Don’t ask me what ‘it’ is, okay? Just something out of place. Something that’s not roaring or crackling or groaning or snapping. Something…desperate.

“Wait a second, Cap!” I say, already hauling ass closer to that big old pile of debris. It’s all bricks and metal beams and torn boxes stretching several feet in various directions. Is this where the something came from?

“Bell?” Rico says questioningly.

“Bell, that roof is coming down any second,” Valentine snaps. “I’m not telling you again. Get out, now.”

“I know, I know, Cap,” I grumble, starting to pull bricks away from the mini landslide. “Just give me a sec, okay? I swear I heard something.”

“Yeah, you heard the fucking building coming down,” my best friend, Lili, scoffs over the comm from outside. “Beast, move your ass!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I can tell that Rico is making his way over. I wave at him, shooing him off. “Go! I’ll be right behind you!”

“I’m dragging your sorry hide out of here, Bell,” he growls over the comm at me. “Cap says leave, we leave.”

That’s when I hear the something again, though. Except this time, it’s not a something anymore.

It’s a whimper.

“There’s someone here!” I cry, yanking at more of the debris. “Fire department! Call out! I’m coming!”

“Bell?” Valentine says, but I ignore him.

My heart is pounding. We don’t know what started the fire, and Cap was right in what he said before. A kid goofing around could have done something stupid and made a mistake. If there’s a chance someone’s still alive in here, I’m not leaving.

Neither is Rico, despite how he scowls at me when he appears by my side, already shifting a rusty old girder that was pinning down a bunch of crap.

“You swear there’s someone here?” he asks.

“I heard what I heard,” I say, panting as I scramble through the chunks of brickwork as safely but also as fast as I can. “Come on, buddy. Tell me where you are.”

Behind us there’s a terrifying ripping sound as parts of the burning ceiling start to fall. I know we have to go, like, yesterday. But if I run off and save my own skin without knowing for sure there isn’t someone just beyond my reach, I’ll never forgive myself.

That’s not what firefighters do. I’ve always said I’ll give my life trying rather than take the easy way out. I show up to this job day in, day out, because I can be there for someone in the worst moment of their life. I can make a difference.

Today is just another day at the office.

It’s my decision to make, though. No one else has to go down with me.

“Get out of here!” I yell at the lieutenant, flinching as fresh flames burst out to our left.

“Not without you, asshole,” he grinds through his teeth.

“Bell, Flores, I’m giving you a direct order,” Valentine shouts. I hate disobeying orders, but I’m here and he’s not. I know I’ve still got a couple more moments before shit really hits the fan.

“Beast, if you die, I’m going to kill you,” Lili warns over the radio.

“Not helping,” I tell her, wrapping my hands around a sheet of metal, hauling it back with a grunt.

And there he is.

The puppy isn’t much bigger than my damn hand as he trembles against a hunk of wall, his tail tucked all the way under his belly as he cowers from the destruction raining down around him. His ears and paws are so big compared to his tiny body, which I’m sure is supposed to be white when it’s not covered in a thick layer of soot and grime. Although, I think his short fur does have some natural black spots as well…

He’s a fucking Dalmatian.

“I got you, buddy!” I assure him, wrapping my fingers easily around him. “Let’s blow this Popsicle stand.”

“Bell, move!” Rico commands, already sprinting back toward the light blue square of daylight I can still just about make out through the smoke.

“Right behind you, Lieutenant!”

Cradling my charge close to my chest, I run and jump my way through this hellish obstacle course, stumbling back outside just as the hoses let rip and a deluge of water starts tearing through not only the flames but what’s left of the warehouse itself.

Once I’m clear, I fumble to a halt and lift up the little guy to give him a visual inspection. My EMT training didn’t really cover dogs, but I think that aside from being dirty and probably hungry, he looks okay. The sooner I can get some water into and on him, the better, but I think that pile of crap he was hiding under most likely prevented him from inhaling too much smoke.

I use my free hand and yank my helmet and mask off, dropping them on the dry grass. “Hey, there, little man. Are you doing all right?”

His tail gives a feeble little wag, then he stretches forward, his tiny tongue flicking out and licking the very tip of my nose.

My heart melts into a puddle at my feet. I don’t care if Cap fires me or Lili murders me.

I’ve just found myself a new best friend. And you bet your ass I’d run into a hundred burning buildings again for him.