Chapter 6
SIX
Della drove the fire truck and pulled up to an old building in the downtown area.
At least this was one instance she had control.
She was the one behind the wheel. Zoe and Izan sat behind her while Amelia rode up front.
Lights from the other emergency vehicles flashed red and blue in the driving rain and sleet.
Officer Thomas’s car was probably one of them since he couldn’t ride on the truck.
Izan Collins jumped out. “Let’s stop this fire from taking out the whole block. These buildings down here are old.”
“Hey, Izan, you bringing a date to the Christmas party? I heard you got pretty cozy with Olivia Tazwell during that hostage situation at the church.” Zoe plopped her helmet on and grabbed the tank with her number on it.
Della watched for his reaction as she hiked up her own air tank and tightened the shoulder straps. Even with Izan’s tanned skin, a blush crept through.
“What can I say? Being trapped together makes the heart grow fonder. She finally agreed to go out with me.” He tried to play it off, but that grin, the one that had his dimples popping out in full force, was there.
He’d had a thing for Olivia for a long time, but it hadn’t gone anywhere.
But something must’ve changed, since the word was they were now officially a couple.
“So we’ll be there. How about you ladies? ”
Zoe shrugged as she pulled her irons—a Halligan tool and crowbar—out of the truck compartment. “I’ll be at the party with my boys. My husband is still deployed. I hear Kianna is looking for a date.”
Della checked her air tank. “The party is next week. Isn’t she cutting it close?”
“Which means she still has a few days to decide.” Zoe tugged her gloves on and turned toward the building.
Della wasn’t even sure she’d stay long at the Christmas party. For sure she wasn’t going to worry about a date. But the toy drive—now, that was her baby. She wouldn’t miss it for anything. And the sooner they put out this fire, the sooner she could get back to her preparations. “Let’s do this.”
Gray-green smoke poured out of the front windows of a shop, but no sign of flames yet.
Not from the outside. The discolored billows were enough reason for concern.
Something toxic was burning. At one time, the building had been a café, then a thrift store.
Now it was an insurance office with a couple apartments above it.
Della and the others found Lieutenant Patterson talking with Bryce. As captain, he would be the scene commander on this call.
The lieutenant pointed to the building and yelled over the sirens and alarms. “Rescue Squad 5 is going to the back while you fight the fire up front.”
“You got it, boss.” Izan grabbed the hose while Zoe and Della attached one end to the truck. Once they were ready, the trio stepped toward the building, but Officer Thomas approached. “Nixon, make sure to stay between Izan and Zoe. I would go in there if I could, but—”
“Don’t worry. We watch out for each other.” Della pulled her SCBA mask on, then the helmet.
“We got this, Tony. Let her do her job.” Izan’s voice came through the speaker in his mask.
Anthony backed away but didn’t look happy about it. Maybe he was taking the threat more seriously than she thought. He actually seemed pretty concerned about her. But for now, they had a fire to put out.
Izan wedged his Halligan tool into the door frame. “Hit!”
Della aimed the flat axe head and swung.
The one hit was all it took. The door flew open, allowing thick gray clouds to pour out.
Della followed Izan and crawled under the smoke hanging from the ceiling.
Zoe, right behind her, should have the hose head.
They got to work, assessing the fire, finding the main source around the corner of the front room and in an old kitchen.
“Let’s get water on it,” Izan called out. Zoe passed up the nozzle. Once situated, they called to start the water. Izan aimed the hose while Zoe added more slack as needed.
Della blocked out the chatter from the other teams on the comms and called over the radio that they were ready for water. She stumbled on a rug and readjusted her grip on the hose. She shut her eyes a quick second, which only made her dizzy.
“You okay, Nix?”
“Is it just me, or is the smoke getting thicker?” She didn’t need anyone thinking she couldn’t do her job.
She pushed all the discomfort aside and focused once more on the fire.
Her eyes stung, but she could see the indicator lights on her mask.
Green lights. Plenty of air. So why did her eyes burn?
They stepped farther into the kitchen, dragging the heavy hose with them. Della tripped and fell to one knee.
“Hey, you o—” Zoe stopped mid-sentence. She leaned over to help her up. “Della, get out of here. Your mask is filling with smoke!”
“What?”
No wonder her eyes hurt so much. She blinked them, trying to stop the burning as she stumbled out of the building. She ripped off her helmet, and even without loosening the straps, the mask hung off the side. She gulped the fresh air.
Anthony and Bryce ran over, Kianna Russell at their heels with an oxygen tank.
“What happened?” Anthony asked, his voice tight, rain dripping off his coat and hat.
Bryce helped free Della from her air tank.
“Something’s wrong with the SCBA. Her mask had smoke in it.
” He inspected the mask and valves. “Here. Look at the straps. They were cut partway. If they’re hanging on by a few threads, it wouldn’t take much for you to lose the suction you need for a good seal. ”
“Why don’t you take some oxygen? We don’t know how much smoke you inhaled.” Kianna handed her the mask.
Della held it but didn’t put it up to her face. “I inspected the whole thing this morning. Everything was fine.”
Kianna pushed the mask onto Della’s face. “Focus on your breathing.”
Crawford and Officer Thomas shared a look.
“Go back and check the footage. I inspected my unit first thing.” Her voice sounded muffled under the plastic covering the lower half of her face.
“It’s okay, Nixon. We’re on your side. Try to relax.” Kianna looked up from taking her pulse.
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have a serial killer after you.” She stared down Officer Thomas. He still didn’t look convinced. Like she’d sabotaged her own equipment? “You have to believe me though. I don’t skimp out on my inspections.”
“I didn’t say I don’t believe you.” Anthony cocked his head sideways. “I’m trying to understand what happened and why a serial killer would sabotage your equipment.”
“What happened is someone tampered with her mask.” Bryce looked around them, eyes narrowed as he studied the crowd gathering outside the police line. Even in the horrible weather, people gawked. “We shouldn’t be out in the open like this.”
“He’s right.” Officer Thomas moved to block her from the crowd’s view. “Think you can walk?”
“Of course I can. I’m fine.”
“Russell, is she okay to sit in the back of the ambulance?” he asked Kianna, as if Della couldn’t speak for herself.
Her friend nodded. “I can bring the cot.”
“I don’t need a cot.” Della wasn’t going to be rolled anywhere when she had two capable feet.
Bryce carried her damaged mask over to Amelia while Kianna and Anthony walked Della over to the truck.
She kept her head down, the oxygen on. Anthony wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he helped her up the steps of the ambulance.
She couldn’t tell if he was simply standing between her and the crowd or if he was afraid she’d keel over, but for a moment she felt safer. The next deep breath came easier.
She sat on the cot while Kianna took her pulse again and set an O2 meter on her finger. “Your numbers look okay. How are you feeling?”
She could handle a little burning of the eyes. “I was hardly in there that long.”
“I want you to rest here, and I’ll check your numbers again later. If everything is normal, I’ll release you back to duty.” Kianna moved to the front seat and chatted with her partner Trace while she typed on a tablet.
Della tried not to look at Officer Thomas.
He stared out the window, eyes sharp and focused on something intently.
She’d never really seen him like this. Usually it would be in passing, when the fire was out or the dangerous situation averted.
In those moments, he’d flirt and joke around.
Well, with everyone else, at least. He’d approached her once but hadn’t said anything before moving on.
She’d assumed that’s what he was always like, one of those happy-go-lucky types that let others do the heavy lifting while he scoped out a date for Friday night.
But in this moment, he was vigilant. Quiet. Intense. There was nothing lighthearted about him now, from his tense lips to his hands flexed in a fist as he leaned against the door of the ambulance.
“Do you see something?” she asked him.
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Not really. Between the rain and smoke, there’s not much to see.”
Della dropped the mask and sat up. “I should be out there. With my team.”
“You need to stay here.” He glanced over, a soft nod in her direction. “But I know what you mean.”
“You ever been injured on the job? Unable to work?”
With one more glance out the window, Officer Thomas sank into the bench running along the side of the truck. “Not injured. But…I screwed something up on a job, and now, instead of being out there tracking Vaynes and Mackey down with the rest of my team, I’ve been reassigned.”
Ah. The pieces came together. “You’re stuck babysitting me.”
“Aw, come on, Nixon. Don’t say it like that.
It’s not personal. It’s just—” He grunted, snatched his black beanie off, and ran his fingers through his hair.
The combed hairdo now loosened, left his wavy dark locks to fall across his forehead.
She’d never seen him so disheveled. It was almost as if she were seeing the real Officer Thomas. The man without the mask.
“Then what is it?”
His blue eyes locked onto her. “I let someone get away. Now everyone else is fighting the elements, trucking through mud and rain and ice because I botched up. And here I am in a cozy firehouse all day, plenty of hot coffee at my disposal, watching over a beautiful, capable woman who’s already surrounded by a team of fighters, while everyone else tries to clean up my mess. Hardly seems fair.”
Beautiful? Capable? That’s how he saw her?
Usually he seemed to avoid her. There was a lot she didn’t really know about Officer Thomas.
But she’d heard the rumors. “The joke around the station is that you don’t like to get your clothes dirty.
You have a collection of expensive shoes that cost more than I make in a year, and you’re saying that you’d really rather be out in the miserable cold and mud hunting down criminals? ”
“I want to prove that I’m a good cop.” He shrugged. “And I look for deals on quality shoes. Never pay full price.” He winked at her.
Maybe she’d misjudged him.
“Officer Thomas, I—”
“It’s Anthony.”
A beat passed. Her pulse kicked up a notch.
“All right…Anthony. I just wanted to apologize for this morning. I was…a little harsh.”
“A little?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Either that or you did a horrible job trying to flatter me by calling me the precinct’s poster boy. I mean, I like a compliment as much as the next guy, but you really need to work on your delivery.”
She released a rueful chuckle. “Okay, I was a lot harsh. I didn’t think you were taking the threat seriously.”
His lips hitched up into half a smile as he smoothed his hair back. “I might be a little skeptical about who or what the threat is, but I’ll make sure you’re safe. I promise.”
She’d have to watch herself with a handsome smile like that, but she couldn’t deny he did care about doing his job well.
“Okay. And you can call me Della.”