Chapter 38
Jasper
Vincent and I were nearly back to Evie’s house after our walk around town, and he was happily snoozing in his stroller when a prickle of awareness rose on my neck.
On instinct, I checked my phone. Nothing.
I sped up, ignoring the way my T-shirt clung to my skin, eager to get my little guy back into the air conditioning. But the strange sensation wouldn’t leave me.
Evie wouldn’t be home until seven, so Vincent and I had plenty of time to relax first. Maybe I’d make dinner, soften her up a little so she’d be willing to talk.
My hackles rose again, and a heartbeat later, sirens blared distantly. My muscles tensed as the sound got louder. I was not on duty, but my body responded automatically, ready to handle a crisis.
There were three distinct sirens. The ladder and the ambulance and what I assumed was a police car. Shit, this was serious.
I broke into a jog past Evie’s neighbor’s house and steered the stroller to my car so I could get my radio.
I fumbled with the door, and as I yanked it open, the device squawked. “Dispatch to engine one. What is your ETA to Sugar Moon?”
“Four minutes. What do you know?”
I pushed the stroller onto the lawn and unlatched Vincent’s bucket, then pressed the button on the side of my radio.
“Lawrence to dispatch. Please report.”
“Dispatch to Lawrence. Structure fire at Sugar Moon Syrup. Heavy smoke reported from the office building.”
My heart dropped, and my knees almost gave out.
Evie.
In a matter of seconds, I had Vincent’s seat latched into my car and was backing out of the driveway. As I headed toward town, I dialed Josh.
“Fire at Sugar Moon,” I blurted as dispatch continued to speak, sending out more units.
Shit. They were sending everything we had. This was no small fire.
“Meet me there,” I practically yelled. “You need to take Vincent.”
“Done,” Josh said. “I’ll be there in five.”
There was a good chance the fire was nowhere near Evie, since the campus was spread out and consisted of several buildings, but I wasn’t going to risk it.
My heart hammered as I maneuvered the country roads, keeping to the speed limit, conscious of my sleeping baby boy in the back seat.
“Two-story corporate office building,” Dispatch explained. “Production facility is separate but attached. High secondary fire risk.”
Shit. The sugar in the production facility was extremely combustible. If the fire spread, this could be catastrophic.
I pulled into the parking lot and parked far from the chaos. The engine was positioned near the hydrant, and Walters was already dragging the attack lines into position. The Birch Hollow ambulance was here, along with ours, meaning they’d already called in reinforcements.
With a deep breath in, I pushed my door open and strode to the trunk, where I pulled out my personal turnout gear. I had the basics on me at all times. Every rural first responder did.
I was still getting dressed when Josh jogged over.
“The employees are gathering on the west side,” he said, ducking into the car to unlatch Vincent’s seat.
“You got him?” I asked, zipping up my turnout coat.
He nodded. “We’ll stay back. I’ll keep him safe.”
With a nod, I plucked my boots out of the trunk. I set them up so I could step in, making a mental note to grab a spare SCBA off the engine.
Gloves and helmet on, flashlight and Halligan tool ready, I slammed my trunk.
“Be careful,” Josh warned.
“You know me.” I backed away, giving him a grin. “I’m never careful.”
Chief, who was already wearing her orange incident commander vest and was barking instructions into the radio, had established a command post. I fixed my own radio to my shoulder and turned it to our channel as I scanned the sea of people, searching for Evie.
“Lawrence,” Chief yelled when I approached. “You’re off shift. Stand down.”
Ignoring her, I headed for the storage compartment on the engine and plucked a SCBA out.
“The interior teams are making a sweep,” she said.
I searched the crowd of people on the west side of the building again. Still no Evie. “Are those all the employees?” I asked.
Chief glared at me. “Yes. The manufacturing plant evacuated to the south parking lot. But those are the office employees. All accounted for except one female.”
Stomach sinking, I strode toward the crowd, studying every face.
“I told you,” Chief called. “Team two is doing a sweep.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t stop until I laid eyes on her. When I caught sight of Gerry, I headed straight for him. He was annoying at work, according to Evie, but he was a decent poker player.
“Where is she?” I asked as I approached.
Shaking, he blinked at me. “Evie? Not sure. After our team meeting, she left. Said she’d be back. But then the smoke alarms went off.”
My brain whirled. She left? To go where? Her car was over by the Birch Hollow ambulance, so I couldn’t imagine she’d left the facility completely.
It hit me then. She was pumping. In the windowless closet with the door that sticks.
Fuck.
Heart in my throat, I broke into a sprint toward the main door. Halfway there, I pressed the button on the side of the mic connected to my radio. “Team four entering the west corridor. Possible trapped victim, copy?”
“Stand down, Lawrence,” the chief responded.
I ignored her. I was breaking every protocol in the book and I’d probably be suspended, but if Evie had gone to pump, there was a real possibility she was trapped.
The heat from the fire would only make the old door swell more, and if the other teams didn’t know where to look, it wasn’t likely they’d find her in time.
Inside, I had zero visibility. With my supplemental oxygen flowing, the mechanical sound of my breathing grounded me. I focused on the rhythm as I navigated the building.
Crouching low, I brought my right hand to the wall, using it to keep myself going the correct way, then headed toward the marketing department.
“Evie,” I shouted. “Call out.”
The radio crackled, the sound nearly ear-piercing. “Primary search—first floor clear.” Martin’s voice was confident and smooth. I’d always been just as levelheaded, focusing on the emergency and tuning out the noise. But knowing there was a good chance Evie was here, I couldn’t access my calm.
The exit signs flickered as I crawled toward the back hallway, past the open-plan offices, dodging falling ceiling tiles, my flashlight keeping me steady.
“Evie,” I shouted again as I passed the maze of cubicles.
She’d looked so damn pretty a few weeks back when Vincent and I had shown up here to surprise her. Her cheeks had flushed when she saw us, making her glow.
“Primary search,” Martin said. “Office side clear.”
“Pull back,” Chief commanded. “Heavy fire overhead.”
Keeping pace, I moved toward the doors lining the back corridor. As I approached each one, I tested the knobs with a gloved hand. The first opened into bathroom. The second was filled with files.
The smoke thickened as I reached the back of the hallway, the air no doubt acrid and full of plastic and insulation fumes. If not for my SCBA, my lungs would be burning. At the last door, I grasped the knob and pushed, but it didn’t budge.
Shit, this had to be it.
“Evie,” I screamed, banging on the door.
A faint cry sounded on the other side.
“Victim located,” I radioed. “Southeast corner. Breaching the door now.”
Halligan in hand, adrenaline pumping through me, I stood.
I used the tool to pop the latch of the door.
once, then twice. With a third blow, I had it.
The door was still stuck, but I put all my weight into it, ramming it with my shoulder.
It was swollen badly, but I wouldn’t give up.
Eventually it groaned and smoke poured out.
Quickly I dropped low and swept the room with my flashlight.
When the beam passed over a figure, my stomach lurched.
There she was. In the corner on the ground, fallen ceiling tiles piled up between us. She was crumpled against the far wall, one arm overhead, her eyes open but glassy.
She didn’t move, as if she couldn’t see me or wasn’t with it enough to register what was happening. As I crawled to her, she coughed and gasped.
The sound made my already racing heart take off even faster. It would take time to get out of the building, so I had to be strategic about my exit plan.
“Hey, I’ve got you.” I removed my glove and pressed two fingers to her neck, searching for her pulse. It was thready, but she was okay. For now.
Her lips moved, like she was speaking to me.
“Don’t talk,” I commanded.
A firefighter should never remove their mask. That was the first rule of the trade. Especially in a structure fire. Because I couldn’t save anyone if I couldn’t breathe.
But this was not a normal fire. Nor was it a normal rescue. And it gutted me, watching her struggle for air.
So I briefly removed my respirator and fit it over her face. Then I thumbed the purge valve so fresh air hissed into her lungs.
Hot smoke clawed at my throat instantly, making my eyes water, and I was hit with the uncontrollable urge to cough. I quickly reined it in, then showed her how to hold her breath, encouraging her to do the same.
Her eyes widened and her muscles tensed. She was terrified, but at least she was coming back to me.
“Lawrence, this is command. Report.”
“With victim. Southeast office area closet,” I coughed out. “Request backup for extraction.”
“Command copies, en route. Clear a path.”
I showed her how to take shallow breaths of the smoky air to minimize coughing, then gestured to the door.
I took another hit from the respirator and had her do the same. Then with it back in place, I crouched low, hooked my arms under her shoulders, and dragged her. Every few feet, I stopped to give her a hit off my respirator, then moved as quickly and safely as I could.
As I slowly headed back the way I came, I kept my attention on her while also reading the fire as best as I could, noting the hisses of air, the pops of the joists, and the screams of the alarms in the distance.
We were about thirty feet from the exit when my teammates found us.
“This is command. Ceiling collapse. South hallway. Get them out now.”
“Got her,” Polanski shouted, taking Evie from me. He continued dragging her toward the doorway while Olsen pulled me along.
“He’s got her,” someone yelled from outside. “Move that line.”
Finally, we exited, and I tore my helmet and mask off, choking, my eyes streaming with tears as cool air slapped me in the face.
The radio crackled. One of the guys on my crew hauled me up. My vision was blurred, my ability to process hampered by all the coughing.
“Victim recovered. Extraction team is out. EMS, take over.”
I was lowered to the asphalt again. On my hands and knees, I coughed, my ribs screaming in pain.
Through the haze, I could see an ambulance. The medics were there. With Evie on a stretcher and an oxygen mask on her face.
Awake. Alive.