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“I’m not letting you be a marshmallow,” I gritted out.
I repositioned my hands, centered myself, and used everything I had to lift. It toppled over. The fire engulfed the wood, sending embers toward the sky.
“Can you sit up?”
Cassano attempted to move. “Ahh.” His cry of pain was consumed by the fire.
If I moved him, I could hurt him worse. There was no time for assessment. If I didn’t move him, he’d die.
I scooped him up bridal style. “Jesus, lay off the cheesecake.”
“Son of a bitch.”
Running on pure adrenaline, I stepped over debris and avoided embers as I retraced our path. When I could see the flashing red lights of the fire truck, I picked up my pace. My foot hit something when I was almost to the door. The curled-up form didn’t move.
“Hollingsworth, what happened in there?” Captain Koker barked as I emerged from the townhouse.
I ignored him and took Cassano to the ambulance that had arrived on scene. The EMTs scrambled to set up a stretcher. I deposited him on it and marched back toward the house.
“Hollingsworth. I asked you a question.”
With determination, I jogged up the short steps, despite the pain in my stomach.
“Hollingsworth! You can’t go back in there.”
Everything turned to white noise as I retraced my path to whatever had blocked it near the door. I barely glanced at the flames that had almost reached the front of the home, focused solely on finding out what I’d almost tripped on.
It could’ve been a pillow, but I couldn’t sleep if I’d left someone behind who could be saved.
In seconds, I found the form in the same spot.Thank God, I came back.
There was no movement, but when I cradled the form against me, I felt a slow up and down of breaths.
“Hollingsworth—”
Captain was still yelling at me when I came out for a second time. Out of the smoke, I finally saw what was in my arms.
A greyhound.
Chapter Four
Teague
“You brokeprotocol going back into that house on your own.”
I winced as I stripped off my shirt.
“Are you listening to me?” Captain asked when I opened the shower door.
“If you want an apology, it’s not coming.”
I dropped my pants and stepped into the stall.
“I want you to follow orders. Cassano nearly died tonight.”
I ducked my head under the cold spray in a desperate attempt to drown him out. He hadn’t seen him pinned under that bed. If anyone knew just how close Cassano had come to death tonight, it was me.
“I want a full report. Though you probably went rogue in there. When Cassano is out of the hospital, I’m going to find out.”
