“T-top floor, in the back.”
Jones rushed over with the oxygen tank and secured the mask over the man’s face.
Calder was barking orders at his crew. The building made a groaning sound, and Calder cursed. “Mac? It’s you and me.”
My heart gave a healthy lurch in my chest as flames licked out of an upstairs window. I wanted Calder to give the job to someone else. Anyone else. But that wasn’t the kind of man Calder was. He would never ask someone to face danger instead of him.
His gaze flashed to me quickly, something unreadable in his expression. And then he disappeared into the smoke and ash.
16
Calder
The smoke wasthick as I moved cautiously up the stairs, testing each one before I put my weight on it. The heat of the fire was in the walls themselves, a silent warning that we were running out of time.
Finally, I hit the landing, Mac on my heels. “Let’s move.”
The door to the back bedroom was open, and a moan filtered through the air. I hurried forward towards a small form on the bed. Just as I reached her, an explosion sounded from next door.
“Backdraft,” Mac called. “Let’s get her and go.”
I pulled the comforter around the woman and picked her up in my arms. “You lead the way,” I called to Mac.
“Let’s dance.”
Flames flew out of the room in front of us, and I knew we had no choice but to move as quickly as possible past them. “Go, go, go!”
Mac picked up to a jog, and I followed. Even though the woman in my arms was light compared to some, the combination of her, my gear, and the heat made my muscles burn. I turned my back to the flames, shielding the woman as much as possible.
We made it to the stairs, but they groaned as we rushed down them. Running for the door, we made it through just as another explosion sounded from upstairs. The bedroom we’d just been in, I realized.
Hadley rushed forward with a gurney, and I laid the woman on it. She began to cough as I did, and I knew that was a good sign. Hadley worked swiftly and gently, getting the woman on oxygen and starting an IV. She glanced up at me as I took my helmet off. “You injured?”
“All in one piece.”
“Then stop that damn fire before someone else gets hurt.”
The corner of my mouth kicked up. “Yes, ma’am.”
I groanedas I stepped out of the shower. Everything hurt. I needed a massage, a whiskey, and to sleep for a solid twelve hours. It felt amazing.
This was the kind of hurt that assured you that you were alive, and it came with another high. One that would last for hours. Saving a life. Marty and Abel Griggs would both make a full recovery.
I toweled off and pulled on clothes from the clean pile I kept on hand at the station. Tossing my towel in the hamper, I headed out the door and down the hall. I passed the captain’s closed door just before I walked outside. He hadn’t been at the blaze today. He’d been stuck at some county meeting.
I paused in my walk to my SUV. Was that what I really wanted for my future? Endless meetings, schmoozing, and rarely getting to be on the scene? I thought about today. The rush of getting inside, of getting Marty out. The tears in her husband’s eyes as he thanked me.
I loved that part of my job, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to give it up.
“You look like you’re thinking awfully hard.”
I blinked a few times, bringing Hadley into focus. “I don’t know if I want to be captain.”
“I never understood why you said you wanted that in the first place. You were born to be a lieutenant.”
“Born to be, huh?”
She sighed as if I were an idiot, and the truth was plain as day. “You’re an amazing firefighter. Today was the perfect example of that. But you’re also a great leader. People want to follow you. You’re the perfect go-between for the crew and the brass. You should stay exactly where you are.”