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She never said a word. She just stood there, huddled in the warmth of her arms, but he saw the answer in her despairing eyes as clearly as if she’d spoken it.
Sean stared at her, then shook his head and gave her a tight smile. He loved her so much. He could tell her that and complicate her life some more, but ultimately Lana had to make her own decision.
“Okay. We don’t sleep together. I accept that, but don’t shut me out, Lana.”
“I’m transferring.”
“What?”
“Sean, it’s for the best this way.”
So this was it. And there wasn’t a damn thing left for him to say.
* * *
After her double shift, Lana knocked on Captain Troy’s office door.
“Come,” he said brusquely. He smiled when he saw it was her. “Dempsey. Come in, and I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Thanks, sir. I’m here to make a request.”
“Shoot.”
“I’d like a transfer to a different station.”
He frowned. “Are you having problems here, Dempsey?”
“No. I feel that it’s time for me to go. With my new promotion and my record, I feel it’s time for a change.”
“All right, but I hate to lose you. Put it in writing…”
“I already have.” With a lump in her throat and her chest tight, she handed it to him.
“When would you want to go?” he asked, glancing down at the request.
“As soon as possible.”
“All right. I’ll call you with the particulars.”
“I do want to say that serving under you has been a pleasure, sir.”
“We’re going to miss you. There’s been a Dempsey at this station for three generations.”
CHAPTER14
When Lana and the seventy-seven pulled up to the fire, a man was waving his arms from a third-story window.
She was out of the engine as soon as it stopped, directing squad members to get a ladder up to the window. Without hesitation, they got to work, and the man was down and away from danger in minutes.
She looked up at the building. It seemed strange to face the foe without Sean at her back, but the transfer was the answer that she needed. She was a leader now. A place she strived for all her life.
She turned on her air pack with one hand, gripped her ax with the other. She could smell the smoke. People were streaming down the stairs. She passed people covering their mouths and coughing. On the second floor, the engine crew turned left, dragging the hose down the hallway. It was filled with a thin gauze of smoke, but there were no visible signs of fire yet. The tension in the air was palpable.
These hotels made Lana nervous. They were old, ramshackle, and shabby, making them dangerous firetraps. Despite the narrow hallways and small boxlike rooms, these hotels were deceptively large. The same brown doors and yellow walls went on forever, confusing and disorienting.
Lana knocked impatiently on each door. If it was locked, she turned her back to it and brought her leg forward. Then she crashed into the door, which gave way easily.
After checking thoroughly inside, Lana couldn’t find anybody, so she went back out into the hallway. She saw the illuminating glow. By now, the engine crew and its hose were out of sight and heading in the wrong direction, and she realized that she had to get another line up here fast. She’d found the fire.
