Chapter Forty-Two
Franco and Victor had been at lunch when Victor got a text from a neighbor that a big box had been delivered. “Mind if I stop by and take it upstairs before someone walks off with it? Been waiting for this entertainment center a while.”
“No problem. I’ll help in case it’s heavy.” They’d driven separately to lunch in case one of them received a call.
Twenty minutes later, they turned onto Victor’s street and saw flames shooting from his and Patti’s upstairs apartment in the two-story fourplex. Seeing no fire apparatus in sight, Franco called dispatch to report it, only to find out units were already on their way. He pulled into a parking spot that wouldn’t interfere with emergency vehicles and exited his work truck.
Victor pulled in next to him. A frantic woman, holding a baby of about two or three months in her arms, shouted at them from the front of the burning apartment building, “My babies are in there! The bedroom. I couldn’t get back in to get them out.”
Franco’s heart slammed against his chest. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he opened the cargo door to his truck bed and grabbed his bunker gear, including helmet and his self-contained breathing apparatus. It had been a long while since he’d fought a fire—not since he’d transferred from Leadville, actually.
“Victor, call dispatch again and tell them we’ve got kids trapped inside. Then gear up! Have you heard from Patti?” Not seeing her bodyguard on duty outside her door, he assumed she must have been at work when the fire broke out but couldn’t be sure.
“She’s at work. We need to get those kids out.”
Unsure whether anyone was home in either of the two first-floor apartments, they each banged on one of the doors. “Fire department! Building’s on fire! Get out now!”
Without water on the fire, this would be tricky. Not to mention against protocols, but when children were at risk, all firefighters pushed personal safety limits.
“Both of your other kids upstairs?” Victor asked. The mother nodded. “Where did you last see them?”
“The bedroom. They were napping when I came down to check on the mail, and I ran into Lois.” She pointed to a woman Franco hadn’t noticed before standing beside a vehicle as if ready to flee at any moment. “We were chatting when we smelled smoke.”
Victor turned to Franco. “C-D corner. All these apartments have their bedrooms on the back side of the building.”
Flames shot out the roof on the B-C corner, where Victor and Patti lived. Thank God they hadn’t been home and sleeping.
Now to get these kids out.
The front door of the building had been left open, probably by the mother and baby as they escaped, but that open door was now ventilating the structure and feeding the fire at the worst time. Sirens sounded in the distance but were several blocks away.
“Ready?” Franco asked. Victor nodded as he returned wearing his gear. Hopefully, fire equipment would arrive and the crews would get water on the fire soon to help them out, but these extra minutes could mean the difference between life and death. With no incident commander or battalion chief in charge to tell them they couldn’t go inside, they proceeded.
They entered through the front door, closing it behind them, and ascended the smoky stairway. At the top of the stairs, thick, black smoke poured from the door of Victor’s apartment, filling the vestibule. Pulling back the cuff of his gear to expose bare skin, Victor determined the door to the mother’s apartment wasn’t hot to the touch. It was also unlocked. When he opened it, smoke billowed out above their heads. At least the smoke layer was high. The kids might still be alive if they’d remained low to the ground. Smoke this toxic would choke the life out of them in seconds if it reached them. Of course, he and Victor still didn’t know the situation in their bedroom.
Don’t let us be too late.
They entered the room crawling and Franco closed the door behind them. Victor and Franco did a cursory search of the living room but saw no kids. At the far end, a crib and opened sofa bed took up most of the living room space. Just inside the room, a table and chairs for five made up the dining area of the apartment. The layout was a mirror image of Victor and Patti’s across the hall, which helped them make a beeline to the left in their search path. After a cursory glance in the kitchen and bathroom, they knew their hunch about the bedroom was right and proceeded there.
Victor got to the bedroom door first, testing the doorknob again. With a nod indicating there wasn’t fire on the other side, he opened the door. This room hadn’t filled with smoke yet, so they hurried inside and closed the door behind them to buy more time.
Given the furniture and toys, this definitely was a room for kids. Calling out through his mask, Franco identified himself as being with the fire department here to take them to safety.
No response.
Often, kids hid even though most of them knew the fire department came to help, not harm. Victor crawled over to the closet, slid the door back, and peeked inside while Franco got down on all fours to look under the bed with his flashlight. Two sets of wide eyes stared back at him.
“Found ’em!” Franco yelled out to ensure Victor heard, then reached under the bed to pull the first child out. He looked to be about three. The boy latched on to him tightly, but Franco pried him away to hand him off to Victor before reaching in to grab the girl, who must be five or six.
“No!” she screamed, flailing her arms to fight him off.
Franco didn’t want to scare her but needed to get her under control and out of here. With a gentle but firm hand, he grabbed her and pulled her out, kicking and screaming. “Honey, your mommy is outside waiting for you. She asked us to bring you to her.”
Next time he saw Gina, he would talk with her about fire safety and what to do, God forbid she should ever be in such a situation.
The girl stopped struggling with him long enough to enable him to extract her from her hiding place. Red lights flashed on the walls, signaling that at least one apparatus truck had arrived on the scene.
Please let it be a ladder truck.
Victor radioed the arriving crew to inform them of their location at the rear of the building. They wouldn’t break the window until the ladder was in place.
“We’ll have you out of here in no time,” Franco assured the girl while keeping a firm grip on her hand to prevent her from bolting if spooked by anything.
Franco peered out the window to see the ladder company moving into place below. Adrenaline surged through his body, and he prayed they’d be able to hand the kids out the window momentarily and then get out in time themselves.
The little boy coughed deep in his chest. Franco could now see the smoke making its way under the door and into the room.
Hurry!
Seconds later, Victor announced, “They’re here!” Victor and Franco stepped back, warned the kids so they wouldn’t be startled, and shielded them as the firefighter on the ladder broke the window, shouting to them to bring the kids over once he’d cleared away the broken glass.
“We’ve got two,” Victor told him. “Here’s the youngest.”
Once the boy had been passed through the window, the firefighter started down the ladder and out of sight. Victor turned for the girl, but she wrapped her arms around Franco’s neck, unwilling to let go.
“I’ll take care of you, Baby,” Franco said, patting her back with his gloved hand.
Victor stepped aside, allowing Franco to carry the little girl out the window. Keeping a firm grip on her, he descended the ladder carefully.
Once down the ladder, Franco spotted the ambulance and rushed her over to be checked out. Thankfully, her mother was already inside with the little boy, and seeing her mom, the little girl couldn’t get out of Franco’s arms fast enough. Job done. The mother had been reunited with her kids. Everyone was safe.
Glancing around the chaotic scene to find Victor, he was nowhere to be found.
Fuck no.
While laser focused on the girl, he didn’t remember Victor following him down the ladder. Victor must have stayed inside to make sure Patti wasn’t home.
After two unsuccessful attempts to reach him by radio, Franco sought out the battalion chief. “We have someone else in the building. Victor Holmes never came out. I last saw him where we found the kids, but I think he might have tried to get into the other apartment on the Bravo side. He and his girlfriend live there.” Or used to.
By now, the roof had collapsed into their apartment. If Patti had been inside, there was no way in hell she could have survived. He needed to get Victor out before he became another casualty.
The BC signaled to two nearby firefighters. “We’ve got a fire investigator inside. Need to get him out.” He pointed toward the hose. “Provide Fire Investigator Giardano with cover.”
One of the firefighters grabbed the hose, and the three men went after Victor.
After they knocked down the flames on the stairway, Franco’s heart pounded with dread and effort as he climbed the wet stairs toward the entrance to Victor and Patti’s apartment. Flames were beginning to lick at the upstairs vestibule between the two apartments.
They found Victor on his knees, bent over and rocking himself while holding his midsection. Kneeling beside Victor, Franco urged, “We need to get out of here, man.”
Without a word, as if in shock, he handed his phone to Franco.
PATTI: He’s here. Hiding in bedroom. Come quick.”
The text had been sent half an hour ago. Shit. No way could she have survived. Where was her bodyguard? How could that asshole have gotten past whoever Adam had assigned to guard duty?
“I’m not leaving her in there alone,” Victor said.
The man wasn’t thinking clearly.
“The scene hasn’t been cleared for fire inspectors yet.” Not that Victor had any business going inside.
“I’m going in to find my Patticakes. That bastard torched her.”
Franco drew a deep breath. No way should Victor be the one to find her body. Hauling Victor to his feet, Franco got them moving moving toward the stairs.
“Come on, man. I need you to come downstairs and talk with the officials. Give them information on Hendricks so they can catch the bastard.”
Once outside in the parking lot, Victor’s gaze remained focused on the now-smoldering ruins of his home.
“Why don’t you check in with Adam? Find out what went wrong, Victor.”
That should give him something to do and distract him from going inside.
“I promise you,” Franco vowed, “I’ll find her as soon as I’ve got the all clear to go inside.”
This might be the toughest assignment Franco had ever been given, but he wouldn’t want anyone else to take his place. He owed Victor and Patti that much.
Now that the scene had been cleared and Franco authorized to go back inside to investigate, he headed straight to where Patti’s text said she’d been hiding—the bedroom closet. The door and frame had been burned to a crisp by the flames.
The concrete flooring kept him from worrying about the bottom falling out on him as it might have in a wooden structure, but dread engulfed him as he crossed the room. At least Victor wouldn’t have seen the two firefighters discreetly following Franco with a body bag for Patti’s remains; the incident commander had done a good job of getting him off to the other side of the building once he’d learned of the situation.
Taking a deep breath, he shined his flashlight into the small enclosure that had become a tomb. Burned leather shoes, a charred safe, and the remnants of clothes hanging from the rod attested to how vicious the flames had been in this area.
Had the fire already started when she’d texted Victor, or was she hiding so as not to be found by Hendricks? Thoughts of her last terrifying moments made Franco sick to his stomach.
Searching the entire area for her telltale remains, Franco found a melted smartphone. Steeling himself, he lifted up a fallen shelf, expecting to find Patti underneath.
Nothing.
No way could this fire have destroyed all evidence of her body. A thorough search of the rest of the apartment also turned up nothing.
Patti wasn’t here.
The smell of gasoline permeated Roger’s hands and clothing. Patti wished she had access to fuel; she’d set him on fire herself.
“You should have seen your lover boy,” Roger taunted. “He practically had to be carried out of the building after he realized you must be dead.”
But I’m not.
Patti wrinkled her brow as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Had they told Victor otherwise? Apparently, Roger had set their apartment on fire. Thank goodness Victor had been at work and survived.
“He didn’t even come after you first when he arrived on the scene. He headed straight for the apartment across the hall from you. Shows how little he cares about you.”
Joyce and her three children would have been in that other apartment. Of course, he’d worry more about children in the path of fire than adults who could care for themselves.
But there hadn’t been a fire when she’d been in her closet. Roger had set it later, perhaps to hide evidence or slow down whoever would be searching for her. What had happened to Damián? She hoped Roger hadn’t hurt him—or worse. The man had been her lifesaver more than once, and the thought of leaving Savannah and those two precious children alone…well, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
She wanted to get word to Victor that she was okay, but she’d dropped her phone in the closet when Roger yanked her out by the hair once he’d found her. Everything had gone blank after that. He must have drugged her or used one of the chokeholds he loved to use to make her pass out during his so-called breath-play scenes.
Torture scenes would describe them more accurately.
Patti’s memory remained fuzzy. She couldn’t remember being removed from the apartment and had no clue where she was.
Praying there was no collateral damage to anyone else, she surveyed her surroundings. The room was small and dark. She lay on a bed without a sheet or blanket but didn’t feel cold. Was it nighttime? The last thing she remembered was coming home early from work and going straight to bed with a stomachache that had started after lunch.
Patti wouldn’t put it past Roger to have somehow poisoned her food or drink at the restaurant but hadn’t seen him anywhere nearby. Not that he couldn’t have snuck in or disguised himself somehow.
Don’t get paranoid now.
When it came to Roger, who knew what he was capable of?
“You won’t find a way out of here, even if you weren’t chained to the bed. You’re not getting away from me again, Patricia—not alive, anyway.”
A shudder coursed down her spine. She had no reason to doubt he’d follow through on those ominous words. He’d wanted her dead ever since the day she’d testified against him in court and sent him to prison. Now, he had nothing to lose because he definitely would be returning to prison.
Roger wasn’t delusional enough to think she’d ever go back to living with him willingly, so it would just be a matter of time before he killed her.
I need to get out of here!
Franco couldn’t get out of the apartment fast enough to search out Victor. He found him with his head in his hands, sitting on the steps leading up to the building next door.
“Find her?” he asked without looking up.
“No. Victor, she wasn’t in there.”
His head bolted upright, and he stared at Franco. “Where else would she be?”
“He must have taken her.” Franco wasn’t sure that was much more palatable, but at least there was still a chance of rescuing her. “What did Adam say?”
“He and Damo are in pursuit.”
“I’ll call him.” Stepping out of earshot, Franco called Adam and waited.
He picked up the call, answering in a whisper. “Can’t talk. Let Victor know we have her location, though. Authorities notified. We’re watching the building until they arrive.”
What should he say to Victor? The last thing they needed to do was show up and put Patti in any more danger.
“Thanks.”
He ended the call.
Victor looked up at him expectantly. At this point, there wasn’t much he could say.
“They’ve located her.”
“Where?”
“Didn’t say, but Adam, Damián, and the rest of the team are watching the building where they’re holed up. He can’t escape.”
Franco didn’t expect Hendricks to be the type to meekly surrender, though, so the situation was extremely dangerous for Patti.
Victor jumped up, ready to run after her. “Find out where she is. I need to let her know I’m waiting for her.”
Franco placed a hand on Victor’s arm. “You’ll only get her hurt if he discovers you’re there. Leave this to Adam and the authorities. Let’s go wait at Adam’s headquarters downtown.
“I can’t just sit around and do nothing. He wants to kill Patticakes.”
Franco feared that outcome even more if Victor went anywhere near her. “They know what they’re doing. Now, come with me. We’ll be able to keep up with what’s happening from Adam’s office.”
Not giving Victor another opportunity to argue, Franco headed toward his Yukon. “I’m driving.” No way Victor should be behind the wheel in his current state.
Adam’s security business was abuzz with activity when they walked in fifteen minutes later. Grant sat at a desk surrounded by monitors, pushing various buttons to change screens. How many cameras could they have put in place in such a short time? Several agents he didn’t recognize sat at other desks, busy on their laptops.
When Franco came around behind the desk, he saw that some were communication lines, not video. He read a few lines:
Surrounded. No connection to perp yet.
Adam relayed updates to his team and the police who had yet to arrive at the remote location.
“Franco,” Grant greeted him with a glance toward Victor, who was across the room, shooting rapid-fire questions at one of the agents. “Is he going to be a problem for us today?”
“Hope not. At least I kept him from figuring out where the asshole’s holding Patti. Any word on her condition?”
“No, but there’s been some movement detected, so someone inside is still alive. Just don’t know which—or if it’s both of them.”
“I doubt he’d give her much freedom to move around.” Franco prayed she was alive. And if the dick was moving around, it could mean that at least he wasn’t torturing or tormenting her at the moment.
Hang in there, Patti! They’ll have you out in no time.
Surveilling the house on the outskirts of the city near Golden, Adam did not like the stillness in the air. With his thermal imaging device, he knew which room the two were in. The perp had been pacing around what might be a bed or table where a second person’s heat signature was registering.
The jerk walked closer to her, and Adam heard a bloodcurdling scream. No more time to wait for the police. He aimed a hasty nod at Damián, and together they low crawled closer to the house. With a few hand signals, they communicated that one would go through the front door while the other slipped in the back. Coming at them from both sides might create some element of surprise or confusion for the shithead holding Patti.
Another scream from Patti allowed them to enter with less chance of detection, and Adam made his way toward the room where the individuals had been holed up.
Unable to communicate with Damián now, he had to trust he’d be in place to surprise the dickhead and pull Patti to safety. Damián had unsheathed his blade and would be the one to take down the perp. And if there was any trouble, he’d think nothing of slicing the man’s throat.
From the doorway, Adam could hear the man threatening her.
“Feel the heat of that fire, Patricia? You would have felt a lot more heat if we’d been able to stay in your bedroom longer after I torched the place. Unfortunately, here we are. Should I burn this house down around you?”
“Roger, let me go. If you run now, you’ll have a chance to get away.”
“It’s just a matter of time before they’d catch me and send me back to prison. I’m not going back there.”
“Ow!” She screamed. “You’re burning me!”
“Haven’t we enjoyed our fire-play in the past, Patricia?”
“No. You know I’m afraid of fire.”
“Pity, because the flames turn me on.”
Through the mirror on the wall opposite, Adam watched the man staring mesmerized at the torch he held in front of him. “Remember the time I locked you in a cage and set your apartment on fire?”
“You set that fire?”
“Who else? I was supposed to be the one to rescue you, not your fuck buddy Holmes. I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner.”
Adam wasn’t sure where Damián was until he saw the toe of his boot in a doorway down the hall. Before they could get in place for a coordinated attack, though, Roger lowered the torch toward Patti’s face.
Not today, shithead.
Adam charged into the room and slammed into the man before the flame got close enough to do Patti any harm. They wrestled for the torch, and when Hendricks dropped it, Adam dove after it to extinguish it before the flames had a chance to spread. Just as the shithead started for the door, Damián appeared brandishing his bowie knife.
“Another step, and I’ll slice you ear to ear.” Clearly, he had things under control there.
Adam stomped out the remnants of flames and went to Patti. Tears streaked her face. “You’re safe now, hon. Just need to figure out how to get you out of here.”
“There’s a key on the dresser. I saw him put it there earlier.”
With that, he made quick work of the locks and freed her. He glanced in Damián’s direction to find the perp prone and being hogtied until authorities could arrive.
Too bad the asshole hadn’t tried something. Helping him on his way out of this world would have made it much easier for Patti going forward. He’d caused her a lot of grief over the years already.
Adam communicated the situation to Grant before finally seeing the approaching SWAT team. Grant relayed that Victor and Franco were waiting at the office.
“Patti, did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine. I just need to get to my man. He must be half out of his mind with worry.”
“You can count on me to get you to him, Patti. But first, I’d feel a lot better if we got you checked out by the medics.”
“Typical Dom. You worry too much. I’m stronger than you both think.”
“No doubt about that. You kept your head and made it through something many people wouldn’t have.” Adam smiled. “But I’m still playing the Dom card. Let’s get you to the ambulance.”