Seven
DANIEL
“What’s going on?” Ali asks before she begins chewing on her lip in obvious nerves. I’ve been dreading that question since I got the call and knew I’d have to tell her I needed to go to work for an emergency.
I can’t lie to her, but I know the truth is only going to worry her. I’ve been careful not to mention too many of the hazards of my job since we got back together.
“There’s a five-alarm fire and the Battalion Chief for our district called all hands on deck.” I hold up my phone. “That was Captain calling to tell me he needed me to come in early.”
Stacy is already at the scene with concerns that it could be the arsonist again.
She’s got her team dutifully taking pictures of any bystanders watching the fire since any other evidence she could get from the scene won’t come until we get the fire out.
Our entire district has been put on notice to get to the site.
She wrings her hands together until her fingers turn white. “A five-alarm? That’s the really dangerous kind, isn’t it?”
I stare at her, trying to exude a calm exterior while my gaze memorizes all the lines of her face. “We’re all trained and know what to do. We don’t take unnecessary risks.” This is just another day on the job.
She watches me carefully like she’s searching for a lie in my words—she won’t find one—and the worry in her eyes slashes my stomach like a knife to the gut. “You didn’t answer my question.”
I clear my throat. “Yes, it’s dangerous.
” Technically any fire is dangerous. If you forget one safety step, the result could be catastrophic.
It’s why we regularly train and take safety courses.
It’s why they changed the firefighter schedules so we’d be better rested and more focused on the job—and therefore less likely to miss those small, but critical steps.
She doesn’t say anything else, and after a few more seconds, it’s clear she won’t.
I check my watch—I can’t stay any longer.
Moving toward where she sits frozen on the couch, I lean down and drop a kiss to her lips, then her forehead.
But it’s still not enough. I can’t stop myself from clasping the back of her neck and pulling her mouth to mine.
I will never get enough of her mouth, her body.
Her.
“I love you. I’ll come back as soon as we get the all clear, okay.”
She nods stiffly, her eyes now wider and the fear she’s tried not to voice shining in her eyes.
I brush my lips against hers once more and then reluctantly head to the door, grabbing my keys and wallet on the way.
I’m halfway to my car when she shouts my name.
I spin around to see her standing in the doorway, her arms wrapped protectively around her body, while her eyes gaze at me like she’s memorizing every inch of my face.
“I love you,” she says, her voice clear and strong but tinged with urgency.
Smiling, I blow her a kiss. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Then I get in my car and take off. A ladder truck flies by me as I near the station, sirens wailing, but the engine is still in the garage when I arrive.
That’s my ride, and I haul ass to get my gear on.
To an outsider, our movements would appear chaotic, but it’s all systematic and there’s a method to everything we do.
I throw my gear on, trained to put it on in a hurry, and am joined by two other members of my company.
We nod grimly, unsure exactly what we’re going to, but knowing it’s bad, then get on the truck and drive to the site.
When we arrive, I look at the scene before me with determination and years of training.
There’s a scent of something in the air that has the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
The fire doesn’t smell right, but I can’t put my finger on why it’s different.
Black smoke billows out of the windows of the multistory building, licked by orange-and-yellow flames coming out of several windows in the upper floors of the building.
It doesn’t mean the lower floors are safe.
Without knowing the origin point, it’s hard to know how bad it is, but by the turnout they know something I don’t.
Our captain finds us quickly. “Engine 87 guys are already inside. There were a couple of businesses open on the bottom level with apartments above, but they haven’t been rented out yet. They’re still finishing some of the construction, so folks weren’t due to move in until next week.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yeah, but I don’t feel good about this one.
The construction issues were last minute.
All the residents who’d already rented were supposed to move in three days ago.
The building manager said everything had been on time until suddenly last week it wasn’t.
Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I don’t believe in coincidence.
Be safe in there and stick together. Keep your head on a swivel and be by the book.
Got it? Anything seems suspect, get the hell out of there. ”
“Got it,” we all say in unison.
“McKay,” he says, grabbing my shoulder. I turn around to face him. “I’m not losing any more guys. Don’t take any unnecessary risks in there.”
I nod. I have no intention of putting myself in any more danger than I already am. I have more to live for than I ever have before.
Tommy and I pair up. “Ready for this?” he asks me. This is his first five-alarm since joining our squad. His first ever, but I trust him. We’ve worked together on other fires, and he’s smart and knows how to think clearly under intense pressure.
“Ready as always.”
And then we walk into the burning building.
The heat hits me like a blow to the face.
I’ve gotten used to it over time—you learn to expect it and brace for it, but this one feels more intense.
There’s a weight to it, just on the edge of suffocating, and I look over at Tommy to check in.
His eyes are focused, and his expression seems calm but determined.
Exactly how I need him to be. We pass by another pair of firefighters who I recognize from an engine at a station near ours. In the arms of one is a man covered in black soot.
“We’ve cleared that whole left-hand side. The right still needs a sweep.”
“We’re on it,” I tell them as they take the man out to be evaluated by the EMTs who are waiting near the engines.
Tommy and I make our way along the right side of the building.
We clear two rooms easily, but the farther we get into the building the louder it becomes.
The roar of the fire makes it nearly impossible to hear, and now that we’re deeper in the building, it’s clear the fire isn’t contained to the top floors we saw from outside.
I can feel the heat coming from beneath my feet.
“Is there a subfloor in this building?” I shout into my two-way radio, hoping someone’s outside with access to blueprints. Since this is a newer build, they should, but sometimes it takes too long to get access to the PDFs to be of any use to us.
The radio cracks and I have to hold it close to my ear to hear them. “Yeah, looks like the furnace and some other maintenance rooms are located in the basement.”
I look at Tommy who’s heading for the door to the stairwell, but before he reaches it the door bursts open and another pair of firefighters from a different station come rushing out.
“Get out! Get out now!”
Before any of us have a chance to move, the ground beneath my feet shifts as the building shakes with a deafening roar.
Another boom comes at the same time that I’m thrown backward, a blast of heat pounding into me.
I land painfully on the ground, my head spinning and my ears ringing, but I can’t move.
I stare up at the thick layer of smoke rolling over the ceiling, then glance to my right where I last saw Tommy.
There’s a beam where he was standing, but no sign of a body.
Thick sludge impedes my vision—wait, not sludge…blood.
Fuck.
I have to get out of this building.
I need to get to Alison. I need to hold her one more time. I need to kiss her and tell her I love her—that I’ve only ever loved her.
But I can’t move.
Spots dot my vision, and as my consciousness fades, I hear the loud beep of my PASS device, alerting anyone who might be able to hear that I haven’t moved in thirty seconds.
I struggle to stay conscious, until finally I can’t fight it anymore and the darkness takes me under.