AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Funny, Lucy was one step in front of both him and Hawkins, her tablet left in the wake of her own surefooted movements. She veered over to Engine Seventeen as Sam and Hawkins headed to the other side of the engine bay where the squad vehicle stood, each of them gearing up in swift, well-practiced movements. Sam jumped into the operator’s seat—which he’d earned six years ago when fellow squad member Dallas Garrity had retired due to an injury—firing up the vehicle and pulling on his headset in order to hear above the chaos.
“Nice of you gentlemen to join us,” Hawkins drawled over his own headset, aiming a look at the back of the vehicle, where Tyler Gates and Ryan Dempsey had just clambered into position.
“Nothing like starting the day with a bang,” Dempsey said with a grin, and Sam couldn’t have said it better himself.
“Just another day in paradise,” he agreed, already pulling the vehicle out of the engine bay. Although the squad vehicle had a large GPS screen built into the dashboard, he mapped the route in his head, turning toward Hawkins as soon as his mental light bulb flashed. “This fire is in North Point, in warehouse alley.”
It wasn’t the technical name for the place, but they all knew the area in question well enough. North Point was the rougher side of Remington, with the pier and docks hemming in overcrowded neighborhoods and city blocks, most of them in disrepair. Warehouse alley was the name they’d given to the stretch of large industrial buildings lining the area just off the river. The warehouses and other commercial structures had been built decades ago, some now abandoned and others not even close to up to code. The whole section headlined the RFD’s “most dangerous” list, and Faurier’s pulse tapped with equal parts unease and adrenaline.
“Affirmative,” Hawkins said, maneuvering through the dashboard computer program with his brows tugged tight. “Dispatch has nine-one-one calls reporting flames showing. The building looks to be abandoned, although we’re waiting on the city to confirm,” he added, the tension in his shoulders easing by just a fraction as he delivered the news. “Either way, the place seems to be burning pretty good. Be ready to earn your paycheck, y’all.”
“Copy that,” Sam said, Dempsey and Gates echoing the words over the headset. Letting the rush of white noise and the muffled sound of the sirens from both his vehicle and Engine Seventeen, which was right behind him, serve as his favorite soundtrack, Sam sharpened his focus and measured out his breaths. His heartbeat kicked harder as soon as they broke away from the clustered buildings and brownstones of downtown Remington and he caught sight of the looming warehouses lining the docks, a thick column of black smoke chugging into the bright-blue sky. The smoke got thicker the closer they got, and by the time Sam pulled the vehicle onto Bridgeford Drive, a veiled haze clung to the air around them.
Although it wasn’t an easy task, Sam knew better than to gawk at anything outside of the vehicle untilhewas outside of the vehicle. As such, he didn’t get a full visual on the fire until he’d parked a half a block up and his boots were on the dirt across the street from the building.
Free-standing structure. Four stories. Brick front, half the windows boarded up. Flames shooting from six of the massive windows on the front, or A, side of the building, two on the B side, with floors two and three both showing fast-moving, bright-orange flames.
Sam was no stranger to fires—in fact, he fucking lived for the rush of knocking them down—but holyshit. This one was a monster.
“Alright, people, listen up,” came a familiar, authoritative voice over the radio strapped to Sam’s turnout gear just below his right shoulder, and damn, Captain Bridges was fast. “City officials have confirmed that this building has been abandoned for eight months. There are no reports of anyone inside, and the adjacent buildings are far enough away for us to keep the fire from jumping. With how fast these flames are moving, it won’t be long before the fourth floor and roof go. We’re going to let this one do its thing, then wash it down when most of it has burned out. Squad, stand down on search and rescue. Engine, prep the lines. Once the roof collapses and the fire loses steam, I want to be ready to hit this thing and put out what’s left.”
“Copy that,” Hawkins said, arching a brow at the disappointment that had to be plastered all over Sam’s face. “Don’t pout, Faurier. We’ll knock down plenty of fires another time.”
It was standard protocol to let some fires burn out on their own, especially in conditions like this, and he knew Captain Bridges had made the call to protect his firefighters. But it was Sam’s job to runintoburning buildings to save lives, and he took that shit capital-S seriously. Standing on the sidelines? Christ, it fucking rankled.
“I know,” Sam grumbled, “But it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“You heard the Captain,” Hawkins said to him, Dempsey, and Gates. “Keep your eyes open and be ready to have Engine’s back once they open up the hoses. With the look of this one, they’re gonna need it.”
Sam listened over the radio as their Engine Lieutenant, Ian Gamble, gave orders to the Engine firefighters to prep the hoses and tap nearby hydrants. Staring at the fire itself was tempting—this one was moving fast as hell, the heat blasting off the building making Sam sweat beneath his turnouts despite the early February chill that should’ve been in the air. But Sam knew that what wasaroundthe burning building was just as important as the fire itself—hidden propane tanks or other hazards, civilians getting too close for their own good, God the list was endless—so he started a full-scale visual sweep of the scene.
His attention was snagged a third of the way through by Lucy’s voice coming over the radio. “de Costa to Gamble. Something’s wrong with this hydrant.” She gave her location, which was barely around the corner from where Squad Six currently stood, and Sam perked up, dying to be useful.
“I can try to help,” he offered to Hawkins, who nodded and leaned toward his radio.
“Gamble, you need an assist?” he asked, and Gamble’s gruff voice came back with an immediate response.
“Affirmative. Walker’s tapping another hydrant, and McCullough and I are all prepping these lines.”
“Copy you. Faurier can back DC up.”
Captain Bridges clipped out his assent, but not before Sam’s boots were already aimed in Lucy’s direction. He caught sight of her as soon as he turned the corner, and damn, this fire was pumping out someseriousheat.
“Hey,” she said, sweat sheening her forehead beneath the brim of her helmet, her expression thoroughly pissed. “The outlet was a little rusty, but not too bad.” She gestured to the wide circle set in the hydrant, where the hose she’d hauled from the engine was perfectly fitted and ready for juice. “But when I open it up, nothing happens.”
Sam took a look at the hydrant and shook his head. “Damn. This thing looks like it was built before either one of us was born. Might’ve been the last time it was inspected, too. Hang on.” Taking the wrench from her, he went through all the motions just to be sure, and yep. Nada. “Looks like the valve is damaged. The hydrant could’ve frozen in that cold snap we had last month.”
It would definitely cause valve failure, especially on a hydrant that was already old to begin with. “Shit,” Lucy said, and Sam nodded.
“There’s no way we can access the water supply with a busted valve in there.”
Lucy radioed back to Gamble, who sounded about as thrilled as she looked. “Copy that,” Gamble said over the line. “Walker’s on another hydrant, so we’ll have to make do. Fall out.”
Lucy turned to reclaim her gear. Sam moved to help her—not that she needed it, but he wanted to dosomething—but then something flashed in the periphery of his vision, making every part of him freeze except for his pulse.
“Did you see that?” he asked, taking a few involuntary steps toward the warehouse, his gaze laser focused on a second-floor window.
“See what?” Lucy asked.
Something moved behind the dirty, smoke-tinged glass, and Sam’s heart vaulted into his throat.
“There’s someone trapped inside that building.”
