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“You okay big man?” asked Rush. Jethro smirked.
“Funny you calling me big man. We’re the same size.”
“I know. And I’m a big man,” grinned Rush. “You seem a million miles away.”
“One of the firefighters, Aurora, was a woman our team rescued a few years back. She and four other women were taken, beaten, and raped. Two died there, one has taken her own life since. She passed out when she saw me.”
“Is she okay?” frowned Gator.
“She is now. Mentally, I’m not so sure. Her folks refused to allow her to speak of what she went through. I think she needs to talk to someone but she seems reluctant.”
“We could always make it mandatory,” said Ham. “We’ve done it before. Still do. Everyone does mandatory mental health check ins.”
“You could make it mandatory but it doesn’t mean she has to talk to anyone,” said Jethro. “Give me some time. I like this woman. She’s strong, capable, and brave as shit.”
“Of course,” nodded Rush. “Let us know how we can help.”
“The other woman,” said Brunson. “Jocelyn is her name, not sure of the last name. Jethro said that Aurora stays in touch with her because of Tara taking her own life. I’m worried that she might be out there by herself and thinking the same thing.”
“Jocelyn Hyde,” said AJ from the next table. All brows raised, staring at the man with his faithful companion, his laptop. “You asked. Jocelyn Hyde is her name. She lives in a tiny town in Wyoming. No living relatives. No marriages. No boyfriend of record.”
“Maybe I go check on her,” said Brunson. “Can someone take my shift at the station?”
“We’ll find someone,” said Rush. “Kai? Can you take Brunson’s spot at the station?”
“Sure. Not a problem at all,” he said nodding.
“Okay. There’s your answer. Get with AJ and get all her information. You can take a commercial flight out there or if you prefer the long drive, take one of our vehicles,” said Ham.
“I’ll fly out and rent a car,” said Brunson. “I attended to her injuries while Jethro was working on Aurora. She had some pretty nasty injuries, a few looked infected and her ankle break was severe.”
“Damn,” muttered Gator. “Do you want someone with you?”
“No. I think like Aurora, she’s likely to be skittish of strangers.”
“Let me know what you find,” said Jethro. “I’ll tell Aurora tomorrow that we’re checking on her for her.”
“What about the counseling?” asked Ham.
“Give me a few days to try and get her to go voluntarily,” said Jethro. “If she doesn’t agree, we’ll force her hand.”
The twenty-four on, twenty-four off shifts for the fire department were nothing for Jethro, Sonny, and Kai. They were used to twenty-four on and twenty-four on again. Sleep was a luxury and they were masters at power naps and falling asleep anywhere.
On the next shift, Jethro noticed that Aurora made sure to sit away from him, not near him. But he did catch her staring at him several times.
When the late night call came in for an abandoned house fire, everyone was at the top of their game.
A neighbor immediately ran up and said that no one had come out of the house yet. Mike and Jethro entered the house, dragging two adults from the burning building.
Aurora held the firehose steady, Oliver behind her as the men tried to press forward in the old house. Another witness said there were several homeless people staying inside the rundown building, including kids.
“I see them!” yelled Jethro through his mask.
“Jethro don’t go in there!” yelled Aurora. The sounds of crackling, dry wood and timber crumbling echoed through the trees.
“There are kids,” he yelled back at her.
“Shit,” muttered Aurora. “Mike? We need back-up. We got kids in here and Jethro is moving too close to the fire. This whole place is about to fall.”
