Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
One look at Anthony walking into the firehouse, and Della couldn’t decide between laughing and crying.
His uniform was soaking wet from the waist down.
The handsome smolder was gone and replaced by lips thinned into a scowl.
The guy’d had no clue what he was in for when he was assigned to protect her.
Penny looked like she was trying to hold back a chuckle. “I’m gonna update Bryce. See you guys later.” She winked at Della as she walked past.
“Why is Penny winking at me?” Della asked Anthony.
“Because she likes to torture me? Who knows.” He tugged his hat off and finger-combed his thick, dark hair.
“You must be cold. Want some coffee?”
“Anything hot will do.” He actually smiled at her briefly. “Thanks.”
It only stirred up the crazy sensations swirling around her middle. She hated seeing him so discouraged.
But she liked having him near. Maybe once he warmed up, she could gather enough courage to ask him to the Christmas party. It would be nice to have a date for once.
Zack Stephens and Ridge Foster were chatting with Kianna in the break room when they walked in.
Ridge’s eyes went wide. “Yo! What happened to you, Thomas? Catch the serial killer?”
Anthony conjured up a light chuckle and told them about the teenager he’d tackled in the snow. But the smile he gave everyone didn’t reach his eyes.
She poured him a mug of hot coffee and started a teakettle for herself. She didn’t need any more caffeine at this point. She was already on edge.
How much longer was her life going to be on hold? People were giving up their holidays and being pulled from their jobs to watch over her. At least now she had work to focus on.
The teakettle whistled right as their tones went off on their phones.
“Fire Truck 14, Rescue 5, report to house fire on East Twelfth Street. Unknown number of occupants. Two-story structure.”
Della listened to the rest of the details as they jogged out to the bay. Anthony ran beside her. “Are you sure you’re okay to do—”
“This is my job, Anthony. Remember?” She stepped into her firefighter pants and pulled them up by the suspenders.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
She paused a moment and caught his blue-eyed gaze focused solely on her while everyone else rushed around. The crazy thought of asking him to the party, right now, flitted through her mind. But that was dumb. This was horrible timing. Instead, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I know.”
Before she could catch his reaction, she stepped into her boots and grabbed her coat. Ridge yelled that he was starting the truck. Anthony left, and she pushed away all the distractions.
She couldn’t control Vaynes. Couldn’t do a lot of things, but right now she could do this. She inspected every piece of gear and equipment before she put it on and jumped into the truck behind the wheel. She could navigate these roads and fight this battle. She could do her job.
Amelia sat in the passenger seat and helped call out directions while Della peered through the thick snow coming down.
She drove through one of the more rundown neighborhoods and pulled up to an old two-story home.
The Craftsman sported a sagging porch, neon graffiti on the front door, and narrow dormers on the second story, which currently spewed smoke.
“I’m surprised this place hasn’t burned down before now,” Zoe said as Della parked. “I hope the snow stops it from spreading to the other houses. They’re so close together.”
“I dunno. It might be an improvement.” Izan’s voice carried over from the back seat. “There’s a lot of shady stuff that goes on here. Might be better to burn it all down and start from scratch.” He called in to the radio that they were on site.
As soon as Della was out of the truck, Anthony was there. Snow fell around them. “You’ll stay in the middle again? Between Izan and Zoe?”
His concern was sweet, but she had to stay on task. “I’ll be fine. And yes, I’ll be the communications person and stick close to the others.”
He nodded and squeezed her hand, then stepped back and let her go. So much was happening between them. It was fast.
But it settled deep into her soul. This was a good thing.
So as soon as she was done with this fire, she was asking him out. And she was going to forget about Vaynes and move on with her life. Maybe he really had left town after his failed attempt with the CO2.
She grabbed her air tank and tools and joined Zoe and Izan, who stood with Amelia. “What’s the plan, Lieutenant?” Zoe asked.
“Izan, you take lead with the hose. Nixon, you stay on the radio while Lewis feeds the hose as needed. Neighbors say it’s a rental.
No idea if anyone is in there or not. There’s a car parked in the garage, so Rescue 5 is here and will be on standby.
You stay on the fire and call if you see anyone. They’ll be ready to help evacuate.”
They didn’t waste any more time. After setting up the hose, Izan marched up the crooked steps. Hopefully the porch would hold them. With the rot and missing boards, they’d have to tread lightly.
It didn’t take much to open the front entrance. Izan took the hose and led the way, crawling under the thick smoke through a living area. Della followed, weaving around a dingy couch and scratched-up coffee table.
“Looks like the fire is in the kitchen, off to the right. Stay close to me.” Izan’s voice came through her speaker. He stood and readied the hose. “All right.”
“Start the hose,” Della called into the radio.
The hose went rigid. Izan aimed the water into the heart of the kitchen. Flames engulfed the whole room. “I need more pressure.”
Della relayed his request and looked around. “I’m going to check out the next room and see if we need to call Rescue in.”
Zoe gave her a thumbs-up. Della checked the door of the next room.
Her thermal imaging showed it to be cooler than the other spaces.
Using her Halligan tool, she knocked the door open.
With the thick smoke, she relied completely on the TIC.
No body or heat source registered on the screen.
She moved back to the living room and found another den.
Empty. She glanced up the stairs. A shadowy figure moved through the smoke.
“This is Last Chance County Fire Department. Stay where you are so we can help you.”
No one appeared.
Was she seeing things? Her TIC showed the shape of a person at the top of the stairs. Someone was standing there. Why didn’t they move? Were they scared? Confused? Not surprising if they had smoke inhalation.
“It’s okay. Come on down.” She used the voice speaker in her helmet and readied her radio. She should call in Rescue 5. But before she could say anything, the person moved down a step.
“That’s right. Stay low and follow my voice.” Della climbed the first few stairs. If she could lead the person out the front door, they wouldn’t even need Rescue.
Smoke obscured her vision, but on the TIC screen, she could see the person coming toward her. They were still walking upright.
“Stay below the smoke. It’s better if you crawl down,” she called out through her speaker.
Whoever it was ignored the instruction.
“Seriously, stay low. You shouldn’t breathe in the—”
Out of the smoke, a man appeared on the stairs. A breathing mask covered his face, but she knew those soulless eyes.
Vaynes.
Before she could scream, he knocked her radio out of her hand and grabbed her. A sharp pain in her neck sent a burning throughout her body and then…blackness.