Chapter 12 Jackson
My head tilts back in bliss as Cassidy’s lips trail up my neck, her hands resting on my bare chest.
“You’re killing me,” I murmur as my hands move down her back, caressing her beautiful body as she crawls over me.
“Am I?” she whispers near my ear before slipping a hand beneath her to curl her fingers around the base of my erection.
“Fuck,” I groan, my eyes sliding shut as she starts to stroke me. “Cass…”
Cassidy leans down and kisses me deeply, her tongue teasing mine. Her hand starts to move faster, building the pleasure up more and more. “I like doing this. Making you feel good. Driving you crazy.”
“It’s too damn good,” I say as I push my hand into her hair, dragging her down for another heated kiss. “Don’t stop.”
Cassidy smiles against my lips, pumping me from base to tip. “Are you going to come for me, Jax?”
My name sounds so good coming from her.
“Make me,” I tell her.
Cassidy drags her teeth along my bottom lip in a teasing bite, pushing me right to the edge.
“Oh, fuck. Cass—”
An alarm blaring jolts me out of my dream, my heart shooting up into my throat. I get up from the bed in the fire station’s dorm so quickly that I’m dizzy for a few seconds, but I know what that alarm means.
It’s time to go.
“Get moving! Got a call!” Chief Ladner shouts from the apparatus bay.
I suit up with the others on my crew, moving in a daze as the dream lingers in the back of my mind. It has been weeks since I last saw Cassidy, and I still can’t get her out of my head.
I’m not even safe from the thought of her while I’m asleep.
I get on the truck with the others just before it rolls out of the station with its sirens wailing, adrenaline coursing through me.
“House fire on Broadmoor,” Ashton, one of the guys on my crew, reports from the seat next to me. “Two adults. One kid.”
“Probably electrical,” Britney says from the other side of me.
There are plenty of ways for a night to be ruined. Waking up to your house on fire is one of them.
“Where’s the fire coming from? Upstairs? Downstairs?” I ask Ashton.
“Not sure yet,” he reports. “We’ll see in a minute.”
I put my helmet on and adjust my gloves as the truck tears through the streets, entering the neighborhood where I can already see a familiar orange glow in the distance.
“Definitely upstairs,” I mutter once the burning house comes into view.
Fire crawls up the roof from the upstairs windows that are already shattered. Smoke rolls up into the dark sky, the sound of crackling and snapping filling the air. Concerned neighbors line the sidewalk on the other side of the street as they watch the horror unfold.
It could’ve easily been any of their houses.
The truck parks on the street, and our crew hops out to jump into action.
“Please, help! Please!” a woman rushes over to us, tears streaking her cheeks.
A man in a robe closely follows her, eyes wide with worry.
“Are you the owners of the house?” I question them as Ashton and Britney follow me.
They both nod.
“I can’t find Jacob. He’s our son,” the woman tells me, her voice shaking. “His bedroom is upstairs. I tried calling for him, but the fire had already spread into the hallway. I couldn’t get to his room!”
“What side of the house is his bedroom on? Left or right?” I ask as I look over their heads at the house.
The fire continues to spread, eating away at anything that it can reach. It’s spilling through nearly every window that I can see from here.
“Left. All the way to the left,” the man replies, pointing that way.
“There’s a window in his bedroom?” Ashton asks him.
He nods. “It’s the only upstairs window on that side.”
That’s our shot. It’s way better than trying to brave interior stairs that might already be on fire.
“Get the ladder. I’ll go through the window and carry him out through there when I find him,” I tell Ashton and Britney before guiding Jacob’s parents away from the house. “I need you to stay out of the way, okay? I’m going after your son.”
“Please, save him,” the mom begs me.
I pull away from them as my crew grabs the ladder off the truck and carries it toward the left side of the house. Smoke pours out of the bedroom window above me, and I can see the glow of fire from inside.
The fire must’ve not started from there.
I’ve got a real chance to save him if I can find him.
“Let’s go!” I say, motioning for the others to hurry.
They place the ladder against the side of the house, lining up the top with the bedroom window.
I grab hold of the sides and start climbing up, pushing down my fear. My hesitance. My doubt.
If my dad could run into danger where bullets were flying and explosions were going off, I can run into a house on fire.
I reach the window and try to peer through the smoke. “Jacob! Can you hear me?”
All I hear in response is the crackling of the fire.
“Jacob!” I shout even louder, desperation starting to creep in. I only have so much time to safely get him out.
More crackling.
Until there’s another sound.
A faint voice.
“In here!”
I haul myself through the broken window, crawling over broken glass to get inside the bedroom. Smoke fills the air, obscuring my vision, but I can make out enough to make my way around.
“Where are you?” I call out, checking under the bed and beneath the blankets piled on top of the small mattress.
I hear a faint rattle behind me, making me turn around to face a closet door. I stride over and yank it open, revealing a small boy in dinosaur themed pajamas huddled in the back corner.
“Hey, Jacob,” I say as I kneel down in front of him. “I’m Jax. I’m going to help you, okay?”
He sniffles and nods, hugging his legs to his chest. Tears glimmer in his big eyes. “I’m scared.”
“I know you are,” I reply before holding my hand out to him, moving slowly to not spook him. “But I can get you out of here. Just take my hand.”
Jacob stares down at my gloved hand for a few seconds before finally taking it.
I pull him closer and pick him up, holding him close to my chest as cracking and snapping noises sound above us. The damn roof is going to come down on us if we don’t get moving.
“Hold on, buddy,” I tell him before rushing to the window. “Got a package!”
I look down to see Ashton climbing up the ladder toward me. “I’m going to hand you off to my friend, okay? He’ll get you to your parents.”
Jacob clings to me, trembling.
Ashton stops outside of the window and holds his hands out. “Hey, Jacob. Ready to get out of there?”
Jacob looks at me, frowning in fear and uncertainty. He doesn’t know what’s safe or not. He’s just a kid.
“It’s okay,” I say as I pat his back. “All you have to do is let him carry you down.”
Jacob nods after a moment and releases me to wrap his arms around Ashton’s neck.
Ashton pulls Jacob to his chest and nods to me before carefully heading down the ladder.
I follow, my boots hitting the ground just as part of the roof caves in. Sparks shoot up into the sky, the flames continuing to devour what’s left.
Jacob gasps and buries his face in Ashton’s shoulder.
I grab the ladder with the others, pulling it away from the house before it gets lost in the destruction.
“Jacob!” the mom gasps as she and her husband run toward him and Ashton.
“We’ll have the paramedics check him out,” Ashton tells them, guiding them over to the ambulance that just parked nearby.
Another fire truck races down the street toward us with much-needed reinforcements, sirens wailing.
The mom looks around before her eyes land on me. She smiles, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Thank you.”
I smile back and nod to her, my pulse still racing. A job never feels done until the fire is out. We still have some work to do.
After putting up the ladder, I grab the hose with Britney and another fireman, joining forces with the other crew as they hop out of their truck to do the same.
Together, we douse the fire with gallons of water until the house is black and burnt.
There’s probably nothing salvageable, but at least everyone is okay.
They have each other. That’s what matters the most.
“Good job, guys,” Chief Ladner says as we trudge to the truck to go back to the station. He pats me on the back. “Good save.”
“Thank you, Chief,” I reply before getting into the truck, my skin still buzzing with adrenaline.
“You don’t have an ounce of fear in your body, huh?” Britney says.
I smirk and shake my head. “I do. I just don’t let it control me.”
Just like what my dad taught me.
“Badass,” Ashton replies before bumping his fist against mine. “That kid is going to remember you for the rest of his life.”
Nerves hit me whenever I have to save anyone, but I really get a dose of adrenaline when it comes to saving kids. They’re often too scared to move. Some of them don’t trust us and try to pull away.
The situation becomes that much more intense, and I’m just glad this one worked out fine.
I’ve dealt with awful moments while in this line of work. Things I still see in nightmares. But a lot of good things have happened too.
Tonight was a good night. A house was lost, but a family was saved.
I take a much needed shower when we get back to the station, finally calming down from the high. Nothing feels as good as saving people. Being the difference between life and death is the most exhilarating feeling ever.
It’s hard to explain, but I understand why my dad was in the Army for so long. Until he couldn’t be any longer.
I towel off and get dressed, heading back to the dorm to rest before the next call. My phone buzzes on the bed where I left it, Ryan’s name popping up on the screen.
I pause for a moment, guilt hitting me like a punch to the stomach. Every time I think about Ryan, I think about how I betrayed our agreement. He trusted me not to mess with his sister, and I still did it.
Multiple times.
I rub the back of my neck as I grab my phone to check the message.
Looking forward to seeing you guys next week. Welcome dinner is at 6pm!
Not only will I be seeing him again in just a week, I’ll also be seeing Cassidy too.
I’ve had to stop myself from reaching out to her more than once. It’s ridiculous. I should be able to control my desires more than that, but I’m acting like a teenager with a school crush stuck on summer break.
I don’t need to get involved with Cassidy like I did in Las Vegas, and I hope that Tyler and Marcus are smart enough to control themselves too.
Only trouble will come from messing around with her, and we should be focusing more on our best friend getting married than trying to sleep with his sister.
It’s just…wrong.
Will be there. Looking forward to it.
I fire off the message before tossing my phone onto the end table and collapsing on the bed. My arms fold behind my head as I stare up at the ceiling, wishing my dreams were safe from her.
I’m just not that lucky, though.