Chapter 10
Steel
My little brother thought he was going to handle me.
Over my dead body.
I’d tried to slip away, making it as far as the main road when Axe had pulled his truck in behind me.
Damn the man. Granted, I’d already decided I wasn’t in the mood for his antics, ready to head home.
Now here I was, heading to the neighborhood jumper bar so I could be ridiculed by the entire team.
Because I knew that’s exactly what was about to happen.
What the hell. Maybe a night out would take my mind off the shit I’d been festering over. I even had the satellite radio on, the windows down, and my foot was tapping to the beat of the music.
As soon as I made the turn onto the road where Ziggy’s was located, I noticed a crowd of people on the right.
What the hell were they doing? They were surrounding something in the Circle K parking lot.
With the relatively new rodeo stadium, there was a good chance they were all gawking at some cowboy celebrity.
Well, shit. That brought another round of unwanted memories.
Including the last thing my ex has said while hanging all over another new guy. Apparently, she’d dumped my former friend, moving onto greener pastures. I could not believe Axe thought it was a great idea to be interviewed by some news source because of a ridiculous picture. Not in a million years.
“Well, glad to see you’ve got a hobby. Maybe one day you’ll be good at something.” Her words had been said with a sickeningly sweet smile.
That had been after I’d come in second, which I’d been impressed at since I’d never roped a bull in my entire life.
Yep. She’d managed to knock me down again. Or as my father had said, I’d allowed her to drag me through the dirt. Not my finest hour.
The closer I came, the more I realized several of the people were in a panic. It didn’t take me long to figure out why.
There was a bright red Jeep with flames leaping up from under the hood. What were they doing, taking pictures? I slowed, leaning forward. Whoa. Hold the fuck on. They were trying to open the vehicle’s doors. Was someone trapped inside?
I wasn’t the kind of guy to walk away from an accident or anything else. I whipped my truck into the parking lot and was out on the pavement when I realized where I’d seen the Jeep before.
Parked in front of Violet’s rental house. Ah, shit.
With the flames increasing, there was no time to lose. Had she been knocked unconscious? Why wasn’t she getting out? “What the hell is going on?” I yelled while throwing open the back door of my 4 x 4. Thank God I kept a go-bag including a few hand tools.
One of them being an axe.
“The Jeep has an electrical fire and it shorted the locks. She can’t get out.” The answer was one I hadn’t expected and certainly didn’t want to hear. The man issuing the words was beside himself sweating from trying to get her out.
“I’ll get her out, Marty.” I’d know the aging man my entire life. “Get the crowd back for me. I’ll going to need to break the window.”
“Sure thing.”
Fuck. Fuck…
Right now, I was thankful my asshole of a brother had followed me. He was already out of the cab of his truck by the time I’d grabbed the axe.
“Hey, Steel. She’s got a kid and a dog in the car. She’s trying not to panic, but the fire is spreading fast, including under the chassis.”
Shit. The flames were heading toward the fuel line.
Thick, black smoke billowed toward the sky, the stench ungodly. Several people were extremely anxious, two locals beating on the windows. The dog was going nuts, barking up a storm and from where I stood, I couldn’t see her face.
My heart lurched into my throat, every muscle in my body tense as a drum.
“Get everyone back. Okay?” I didn’t wait for his answer, racing through the crowd toward the Jeep. A woman was blocking my way. “Gina. Get back. Someone call the fire department.” I pulled a couple away, gawkers who had no business hanging around a burning vehicle.
“Get them out, Steel. The fire is getting bigger,” Gina warned.
Tell me something I didn’t know.
There was a flurry of activity, people yelling out what to do. I concentrated on what needed to happen.
“What the hell?” Axe gasped as he joined me.
“We need to get her out. Electrical fire.” I was already leaning over, the window fogged from her heavy breath. She was close to hyperventilating. I did what I could not to look at the flames, but I couldn’t waste any time.
As soon as she saw me, she placed both her hands on the glass. I didn’t need clear reflective glass to tell how terrified she was. Even with the commotion, I concentrated on reading her lips while trying to find a way to calm her.
Help us.
“Don’t worry. We’re going to get you out.”
“Quiet!” Axe yelled to the crowd. “And get further back in case the vehicle blows.”
She heard him, snapping her head to the side.
The dog was already in her lap, clawing at the window. To the little boy’s credit, he was calm as could be, peering at me with the most crystal-clear eyes I’d ever seen. But I could tell he would do anything to protect his mother.
“You need to get back and cover your faces. Okay?” I had to raise my voice to ensure she heard me.
She nodded, blinking a few times. There were no tears in her eyes, just an anger-filled look of determination.
“We need to hurry, bro,” Axe hissed, trying to stay calm as well. The fire was licking flames close to the windshield and crawling under the front wheels.
“Save my mother!” Hearing Damon’s cry disrupted my pattern of thinking.
And breathing.
The kid had managed to crawl over the seat, wrapping his small arms around his mother and his dog.
“On three. One. Two. Three!” While we were careful in how we broke the glass, we could barely get close enough to the vehicle with the flames licking toward us.
Coming dangerously close to the gas tank.
Already sweating, when the glass didn’t break right away, all sound ceased to exist. In my mind, there was nothing but saving them.
I took a deep breath and swung again, cracking the glass. Axe had more success with the back window, shattering it.
One more swing and I smashed the glass.
“Oh, God. Oh…” Violet lifted her head.
“See, Mom. I told you a hero would come.” Damon clapped his hands, completely obvious to how dangerous the situation was.
“Let me take the puppy. Okay?” Axe asked, reaching in through the back.
“He’s a good guy, Damon. That’s my brother.” I kept my eyes locked on her.
“Okay. Go, puppy,” Damon said. The kid was tough like his mother. Thankfully, the puppy didn’t fight Axe’s hold.
“Take Damon,” she insisted, out of breath but more resilient than almost anyone would be.
I didn’t waste any time reaching for him, doing everything I could to avoid the glass.
“Here’s my shirt,” some bystander offered, placing it under me against the broken glass.
“Come on, Damon. Reach over your mom,” I instructed and it felt like everyone was holding their breath while the little boy did exactly as I asked, careful not to trample Violet.
As soon as he was out safe, a collective cheer went up behind me.
“Save my mom.”
“Don’t worry, kiddo.” In the background I heard sirens, horns blasting at the same time as the fire engine approached.
There were people everywhere, cheering and clapping.
The flames were too close to the door. I couldn’t risk opening it. Once the boy had been taken from me, I returned my concentration to Violet, only then noticing she still had her seatbelt on.
“Seatbelt, Violet.” Fuck. The heat was oppressive, sweat forcing hair to cling to her face. Her pants were sharp, shallow, and her face was flushed. But she was listening.
Her hand immediately swept to the mechanism, pushing the button. She looked down, her shoulders heaving. Then she shot me a look, her eyes finally full of fear. “I can’t.”
“Try again.” As soon as she tugged on the belt, I reached in, completely aware the flames were just about ready to catch my jeans on fire.
“Get them out of there!” Marty yelled.
“Come on, brother. We don’t have any time to waste. The fire is about a foot away from the gas tank,” Axe said in as calm a voice as possible.
At this point, all I could do was to remain calm. Anything else and we could both lose our lives. I struggled with the belt, realizing for whatever reason it wasn’t budging. “I need a fucking knife. Does anyone have a knife?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I have one in the truck.” Axe started to run away.
There wasn’t enough time, the entire back of the Jeep smoldering, smoke making seeing anything almost impossible.
The dog was going crazy.
People were shouting.
Sirens were blasting.
And my goddamn heart was slamming inside my chest, echoing in my ears.
Adrenaline surged hot and violent through every vein, every thought centered on saving her life.
“Steel. Here.” Viper appeared, handing me his favorite hunting knife.
“We’re not going to make it,” Violet whispered.
“Bullshit. Keep your eyes on me.” I managed to smile while cutting the thick belt.
“A fire extinguisher. Get a goddamn fire extinguisher.” Whoever was directing had the right idea.
I had no time to worry. With sweat pouring off my brow and my mind one big, fucking blur, I finally managed to cut her free.
“Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight,” I told her, hopeful she heard me through the chaos.
She nodded once, doing what I asked. As soon as I had her, I pulled and of course her legs were tangled.
A fire extinguisher appeared, my brother taking control and spraying the foam on my legs. I tugged a little harder, thanking whatever God above when her body budged.
As soon as I had her free, I dragged her back by several feet just as the fire department rolled into the parking lot, sirens still screaming.
The crowd erupted in applause and whistles while I cupped both sides of her face and eased her feet to the pavement. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, miming thank you. A single tear slipped past her long eyelashes. My God, she was so damn beautiful. “I’m fine. I’m just… Damon. Damon!”
I backed away, smacking my hands on my hips.