Lourdes’s Sentinel (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha)
1. Lourdes
1
LOURDES
‘Styx’
As we take the corner hard, what I see has my heart beating faster and my breath coming in short gasps. The Zeon Financial Building has smoke pouring out of the higher windows, which have blown inward into the high-rise. They just celebrated their one-year anniversary since the building was built and opened for business. This is going to tear a hole in Jeremiah Zeon’s soul. He’s put everything into getting this building up and running, as it is at the helm of his financial businesses. Not to mention how he made the lofts/condos located on the upper floors available for tenants, which are beautiful and reasonable.
Jeremiah is one of the richest men in the United States, if not the world. Why he’s picked our town to spend most of the last two years getting his hub built here and spending time, except for when he makes his trips to New York, Europe, and Switzerland, is beyond me. Since he’s not a very open or approachable type of guy, everything is hearsay. I wish I didn’t know how much pain he’s going to be in, but I do. That’s because I let my damn guard down one night, and that’s when he managed to sneak past all of my walls and booby traps. It was me who pushed him away, and I haven’t spoken to him since. It’s been one hundred days plus or almost four months. In the beginning, he tried to reach out, then he got pissed off and, finally, he ghosted me. I should have been happy about that. But nope, not me, with my fucked head filled with so many thoughts about that weekend we spent together.
“Yo, Styx, ya with us, woman? Daydreaming again? Move that ass, need you, Crow, and Paco to take the fourteenth and fifteenth floors. Check to make sure no one is trapped up there. If anyone is up there not wanting to leave their fancy homes, drag them out by their hair if necessary. We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s get moving. Keep your eyes open, come back in one piece.”
We all thank our chief as we all go about our job. Our Engine 23 crew is more like my “found family.” We manage, somehow, to not only work together but also socialize and hang out outside of the firehouse. I grab my mask, pulling it over my face, and take in a deep breath. I look over to Crow, who nods, then Paco, who gives me thumbs-up. Making our way into the building is difficult enough between firefighters, police, and equipment, but as we get farther into the thickness of the smoke, it makes seeing anything impossible. I feel Paco before he shakes his hand at my side and touches my shoulder gently. Yeah, my house knows that touching me could go either good or bad, depending on the day, and where my head is at that moment. I hear the crackle first, then Paco’s voice comes across loud and clear in my earbuds.
“Styx, gonna go left, you and Crow go right? We meet back here as quickly as possible, just clear those rooms. We can’t leave anyone behind.”
I nod, giving him a thumbs-up so he knows I heard him and confirming I understand. When I turn, I see Crow leaning against a wall watching the two of us. Looking around first, I nod his way and he pushes off the wall and moves down the hallway opposite of where Paco is heading. I follow behind, not too closely, though within an arm’s reach. Before we open or kick in any door, we feel for heat. This place seems to be burning way too fast for a common accidental “fire.” Something has sped it up, just don’t know what accelerant was used at the moment. Crow looks my way, then touches the door before he hits it with his Halligan. Once the door opens, he enters, so I go to the next office on the other side.
I feel the door and it’s cool, so I also grab the Halligan and with one swing the door flies open. Holy shit! Instead of an empty office, there is a man hanging from the beams up high. I can tell he’s deceased by the way his skin has turned to an ash gray and by the puddle on the floor. His bladder released on the initial hanging, which is pretty normal. Reaching for my mic, I push the button.
“Chief, we have a casualty here in one of the offices. Going to need some assistance as the deceased is hanging from a beam, and I’m unable to reach him. Over.”
Half listening as I make my way into the room, something has the hair on the back of my neck standing up. A shiver runs up my neck and right when I go to turn around, something comes flying my way, hitting me in the side of my head. Immediately I go down to my knees. With my right hand I reach into my side pocket and pull out my roll of quarters, fisting them in my hand. Seeing movement out of my peripheral vision, I cautiously get to my feet with my side facing the attacker. With my ten plus years of martial arts training, my body is ready when whoever the idiot is moves in to attack me again. I lift up the Halligan to protect myself as I swing my hand that is fisted over the roll of quarters. When I turn, there’s a person with a hoodie on and a ski mask covering their face. I can’t tell if it is a male or female, all I know is they wish to do me harm. When my fist hits their nose, it immediately has the person cussing from under the mask. Then I see some blood dripping from the bottom of the mask hitting their T-shirt. Yeah, that’s right, I got ya good, asswipe.
I can hear chief screaming my call name, but I need to keep my wits on what’s right in front of me. When the person looks up, I see the darkest most emotionless eyes I’ve ever seen glaring death rays at me with such hatred, it truly scares me for a second or two. From the hallway, noise is making its way to this room as my company is on the way, rushing to aid and rescue me. The asshole pushes me then turns, running out and down the hall. I see a body take off after the person but now that it’s over, my adrenaline drops and I once again hit my knees. Right before I topple over, I see two firefighters hustling into the room and, holy shit, one civilian behind them with absolutely no gear. What the hell is that dumbass idiot doing? That’s my last thought before I welcome the darkness.
Feeling cool air on my face means someone took my mask off. Not feeling the weight of all of my equipment tells me I’ve been out long enough for someone to remove my oxygen tank and probably also my tool belt. I fight to open my lazy eyes and the first thing I see are the most startling steel-gray eyes I’ve ever seen. No, wait one damn minute, I know those eyes as I’ve seen them in my dreams mostly every night. And those full, long lashes that cover those gorgeous eyes. Son of a bucket, it’s Jeremiah Zeon, business tycoon and owner of this building. Damn, and he’s leaning over me covered in soot. Then I hear the unusual timbre before I even see him, while he’s bellowing in that scratchy voice of his. My chief.
“What in the ever-lovin’ fuck do you think you’re doing, Zeon? I told you to stay the hell outta our way and this building—but, no, not you—had to go in and be a goddamn hero. Thank the good Lord you didn’t get knocked on the head by the burning beams falling all over the goddamn place. Not to mention you probably fucked your lungs up. Tell me whatcha thinkin’, boy?”
I see Jeremiah roll his eyes. Yeah, he literally rolls his eyes at the Chief of Engine 23. I have to smirk because Jeremiah is anything but a “boy.” Those eyes are glued to me and for some reason my body feels safe because of it. Shit, I knew before I even did what I did, I should have never taken that walk all those months ago. Though that one weekend has been burned into my body and brain. That mouth, those fingers, and the rest of him. Holy shit. Nope, need to shut down those thoughts and memories of our time together. When I see the grin appear on Jeremiah’s face, it’s like he can read my mind. Shit, don’t want my company to find out about this indiscretion. They’d razz me forever, for sure. Especially since he’s one of the richest men around this area.
“Don’t worry, Lourdes, my little brat, now that I found you again, if you want, I’ll let you keep me as your little dark secret. Well, that is only if you promise to have dinner with me. The last time we got swept up in the moment, and I’m definitely not complaining, I just…”
“Player, move your ass, we need to check our girl out. Come on, I said out of the way. Those usual lines won’t work on our girl, she’s too smart to go for the ‘pretty rich boys’ like you, bruh.”
Hearing Lil Man barking at Jeremiah brings a small smirk to my face. All the guys in our crew are pretty built men but to have Lil Man, who is probably one of the largest, props me up a bit. Well, until Jeremiah refuses to let me go. Danny comes into the area and since he can read a room like no other, I know he’s going to get between Lil Man and Jeremiah.
“All right, guys, this isn’t the time nor place. Let’s get Styx checked out. Jeremiah, right? Thanks again for what you did, though extremely fucking stupid. We owe you for pulling our girl out.”
“Danny, thanks, and can you do one thing for me? Make sure Lourdes, when she’s feeling up to it, agrees to have dinner with me.”
“Jeremiah, brother, you know it’s always up to the woman. Even as close as I am to Styx over there, I won’t be the one to tell her what to do. Nope, that shit ain’t happening, don’t care how cool you are or how much money is in your bank accounts. She can get vicious when she’s pissed at one of us, we tread lightly, dude.”
“That’s all right, I’ll ask her myself. Thanks for the advice though, I do appreciate it.”
Watching the interaction between my friend and Jeremiah tells me he can win just about anyone over to his side. I mean, he was able to charm me to the point of not only dropping my pants, but also everything else came off with just the velvet lure of his voice and that look in his eyes when he claimed me as his.
“All right, time to get you checked out. Does anything hurt?”
Looking at our newest paramedic, Skippy, I bite my tongue because what hurts and needs attention neither he nor anyone else will be able to help me with. The only one who can is the man I’m trying my damnedest to ignore and stay away from because that weekend has been literally burned into repeat in my brain. And my body has been begging me to seek out Jeremiah again for another round, or maybe four, of unbelievable sex. Though knowing my heart as I do, that isn’t an option. He’s truly too nice of a guy, who really knows how to make a woman’s body purr. So I answer as honestly as possible.
“Just really sore and lungs feel raw, Skippy. Probably just need some rest and oxygen to filter some of the smoke out of my body.”
“’Kay, Styx, let’s get you to the hospital so you can get checked out.”
I close my eyes, and memories of that body and mouth working me like a fine instrument are the last things I remember as I drift off.