Chapter 1
The vibration from her elderly, busybody neighbor’s call still tingled against her palm. If her crew saw the tension in her face, they might ask what was wrong. Normal people wouldn’t be thrown by something as simple as running late; they’d wonder why it affected her so much.
Greer slammed the door shut. “Ready?”
“Am I ever not?” Sam tried to find a smile and go back to being their teammate rather than the guardian of a teenage girl.
Right now they had a fire to fight. There was nothing she could do about the fact that Isabella had left for school later than usual.
Harmless, really—what teenager didn’t oversleep on occasion?
But Sam’s pulse spiked anyway. In their world, even small details could draw attention, and attention led to questions—questions she could never answer.
Isabella relied on her to keep her safe, and Sam knew any slip could put them both at risk.
Sam donned her fire helmet, leaving the mask unsecured for now, and shook out her gloves before she jogged around to the hose compartment, grabbed a section, and let the roughly twenty pounds fall onto her shoulder.
This was always when she found her focus. When the weight of this job—and not motherhood—hit her. If she wasn’t all-in, nothing-else-matters with the job of being a firefighter, someone could die.
Sam used her left hand to grab a loop of the hose behind her and maintain control. It would let her know if there was resistance because someone stepped on the line, if it got snagged, or if she’d reached the end. Then she could start dropping line from her shoulder.
She focused on running the line perpendicular to the engine and up to the front of the old commercial building. Was this another arson or just faulty wiring?
Mason Greer followed behind her, making sure the line wouldn’t kink once the water flowed. Then he’d help advance the line into the building.
Captain Cole Bennett and Zachary Holt had already forced entry through the front door, giving her and Greer access to the fire.
She laid the nozzle on the ground long enough to put on her mask. Sweat had already started to form across her brow from the fire’s heat. Once the mask was on, the flow of oxygen replaced the thick smell of smoke. All she needed now was the—
“Water!” Murph yelled over the radio.
Time to put out the flames.
Sam led the attack line through the building, dousing the flames while Greer supported the hose from behind. The fire grew in intensity as they neared the center of the building. As if someone had started the main fire as well as little ones on their way out. Another one for the Renegade arsonist.
If someone had asked her years ago where she would be right now, fighting fires in Renegade, Colorado, with a new identity would not have been her answer.
No. She’d still be Madison Johanson the nurse.
Probably working twelve-hour shifts in a hospital somewhere.
Making sure her little sister had a better life than she’d had—three meals a day, weather-appropriate clothing, shoes that fit and weren’t falling apart.
Things the average person would consider necessities but which had been luxuries for Madison.
No one else was going to do it for Anna—now Isabella.
Samantha shoved thoughts of her neglected childhood from her mind.
No use bringing up the past when it was as dead as Madison.
There was a job to be done—a job that meant saving lives and using her training to stay safe so she could get home, where her real job began.
The one where she raised her sister better than their mother had raised Madison.
She’d done a bang-up job of that, considering they were in WITSEC now. One traumatic childhood traded for a slightly less traumatic childhood. At least Isabella had someone to fight for her.
Her teammates shouted out their progress as they pushed deep into the bowels of the abandoned building until the flames were extinguished.
“Keep the line charged while we do the overhaul. Williams, get ready to hit it if it lights back up,” Captain Bennett ordered before inspecting the largest burn area. “This where it was the heaviest?” He pointed to a heap of debris in the middle of the open space.
“Yes,” she responded.
He held the thermal imaging camera up to the area and then ran it around the room. “Thermal’s clear.”
Sam followed the crew as Captain Bennett thoroughly inspected the rest of the structure.
“Building’s cold. Let’s clean it up.”
They filed out of the structure and started cleanup.
Sweat rolled down her back as she folded the hose. She couldn’t wait to get back to the station and shed her turnout gear.
“Excuse me.” A small voice sounded from behind Sam as she rolled the hose.
Sam turned and found a little girl with blonde pigtails and tear stains on her cheeks. She knelt down. “Are you okay?”
The little girl shook her head, sending her pigtails swinging. “My mommy said if I ever need help, to find a policeman or a fireman.”
“Your mommy is very smart. Are you lost?” Sam looked up as a woman in khaki capris and a green T-shirt jogged up.
“Emily, there you are. Let the firefighters do their jobs.”
“But Mommy, you said if I ever needed help, to find a policeman or fireman.”
“I did, but I meant an emergency. This isn’t an emergency.”
Emily nodded furiously. “It is too.”
“Not the type of emergency that I meant.” The woman turned to Sam. “I’m sorry. Her kitten is stuck in the tree. I was looking for our ladder, and I guess Emily had other plans.”
Sam smiled at Emily. “You came to the right place. Saving kittens from trees is our specialty.”
Emily jumped up and down, clapping. “Yay!”
Emily’s mother shook her head. “You don’t have to. I’m sure the kitten will be okay until my husband gets home and can help dig the ladder out of the storage building.”
“Nonsense. Let me put this hose up, tell my crew, and see what we can do.”
Emily threw her arms around Sam’s leg and squeezed. “Thank you!”
Sam patted the little girl on the back, then made her way toward the engine and ran into Greer. “Hey, there’s a kitten stuck in a tree. I’m going to go see if I can help.”
“That’s so cliché. I’m in.” Greer turned. “Cap, we’re going to go do a citizen assist.”
Captain Bennett looked around, most likely assessing the progress of cleanup, then gave a thumbs-up. He’d never let them go if cleanup wasn’t mostly done, unless it was a medical emergency.
She started back to Emily and her mom and realized Greer was jogging right behind her. “I don’t need your help.”
“Oh, I’m not helping. I’m just coming for the entertainment. Cats are evil on a good day. Trap them in a tree and add in some fear and they become psychos. Once I’m done laughing, I’ll tend to your wounds.” He clapped her on the back.
She rolled her eyes. “Cats aren’t that bad. In fact, some people love them.”
“Talk to me after you’ve contracted cat-scratch fever.” He fell into step next to her, then let out a low whistle as they got closer to Emily and her mother. “Wow.”
Sam shoved him. “Oh no. We are professionals. We’re saving a cat and making a little girl happy. There will be no flirting.”
“I can’t make any promises.” He flicked his hair out of his eyes.
She gave him a side-eye. He may have sounded serious, but the twinkle in his green eyes suggested otherwise. “She’s married.”
“Disappointing.” Greer was a good guy. Definitely a flirt, but it was mostly harmless. The fact that he looked like a young Elvis, minus the pompadour, didn’t make it hard for him to charm the ladies. Rectangular face with full lips and black hair. He even had older ladies fawning over him.
He was the guy you went to shoot pool with after work. But not the guy you invited to help you move house, because it would take hours longer than necessary. And he was never serious about anything except fitness and nutrition.
“Okay, Emily. This is my friend Greer. Let’s go see if we can get your kitten.” Sam made it a point not to introduce him to the mother. And not just because she didn’t know the lady’s name.
They followed the duo.
“You really don’t have to do this. The kitten will be okay until my husband gets home. It’s not the first time he’s done this.” The woman brushed hair back from her face.
“It’s not a problem at all.”
Emily ran up to a tall cottonwood tree full of deep green leaves. “He’s up there!” She pointed past the lower, thinner branches to the thicker, sturdier ones fifteen feet up.
Sam studied the tree. Definitely climbable, but not so much in her turnout pants, which were stiff and didn’t allow the maneuverability she would need.
She shrugged off her jacket, unfastened the waist of her pants, and loosened the suspenders while kicking off her boots so she could strip down to her duty uniform.
“Here we go. You climb that tree like a spider monkey!” Greer laughed.
“You really don’t have to do this,” Emily’s mother said.
“Nonsense. Climbing trees is like riding a bike, right? You never forget how to do it.”
Sam grabbed the lowest branch and tested its sturdiness before starting her ascent. The rough bark cut into her feet through her socks as she climbed. She maneuvered up the branches and made her way to the kitten. It mewed softly as she approached.
“Hey, little guy. Let’s get you down from here. Emily misses you.” She slowly reached forward, trying not to scare the animal any more than he already was.
The fluffy white kitten sniffed her fingers.
Sam had to wonder if this was a tactic she could use with Bella. Would the teen respond to gentleness? Sam didn’t even know where to start with the girl, but she had to figure out something.
“That’s a good boy.” She inched her fingers closer, but the kitten stepped back. “It’s okay. I’m here to help you.”
She reached forward a little more, and the little guy didn’t move. She gave him a small pet on his head, and he immediately purred.