Smolder

by Lacey Weatherford

  “We’ve got the last one!” Dylan shouted. “Make sure they get some line in here fast.”

  Bursting through the double doors, we ran to the closest room. There was a loud creaking sound and I glanced up just as the ceiling gave way, fire shooting through the tiles as the debris fell directly on top of me, knocking me to the floor.

  “Russ!” Dylan’s terrified scream reached me at the same time the pain did and I hollered, my leg pinned beneath a beam. I knew right away it was broken from the angle it was at. “Russ!” Dylan screamed again, grabbing a fire extinguisher and spraying the burning tiles around me.

  “Go!” I yelled at him, waving him off. “Get the patient! I’ll be fine!”

  Dylan glanced up through the gaping hole to the flames billowing overhead and then back at me, his eyes wide.

  “Go!” I shouted again. “Save the patient!” I knew the odds of me getting out of here alive weren’t very good, but I needed to get him out of here.

  Dylan stood firm, bending to try and lift the heavy steel beam off my leg, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Go!” I said again, staring into his tear filled eyes as he glanced down at me. “Just go!”

  “I will not leave you behind,” he said, slowly and clearly, as if he were trying to punch his words home. More debris fell from the ceiling, landing right behind Dylan. Suddenly, fire was everywhere.

  Grabbing his hand, I stilled him. “Go! Cami and Piper need you. You have to go!”

  “Shut up, Russ!” he shouted angrily at me. “I’m not leaving you behind. Do you hear me?”

  “Then we’re going to die in this place together! Is that what you want—for Cami to be a widow and Piper to not have a dad? Get your ass out of here. I mean it!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

  Dylan shook his head, clapping his free hand on top of mine. “You go, we go,” he said, quoting our favorite line from the firefighter movie Backdraft.

  “Really? I’m about to die here, and all you’ve got is Backdraft?” I teased, trying to lighten the whole terrible situation.

  More debris fell, this time blocking our exit.

  “Dammit!” I yelled. “Now look what you’ve done. You’re trapped here with me. This is so stupid. Stupid!” I punched my fist against some of the fallen debris. “Dammit, Dylan! Why?”

  I could see the tears streaming down his cheeks through his mask. “You came for me once—put your life on the line for me and my family. I swore, in that moment, I’d do whatever it took to protect you. So, if I die today, I die trying to save you, Russ. You’re my brother and I’m not leaving you behind.”

  I couldn’t respond, my voice too choked up to acknowledge his words. After all those dumb nightmares about Dylan choosing Cami over me, all the trauma and stress I’d put myself through because of it, and now he was making the ultimate sacrifice on my behalf. He could’ve gotten away. He could’ve made it out.

  But he didn’t. He stayed so I wouldn’t die alone.

  I loved him so damn much.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Evie

  Once again, I was glued to the television watching the horror unfold in front of me. I was the worst of Lookie Lou’s or rubberneckers, or whatever they were called—people who tried to see what was happening during dire situations.

  And this situation was definitely dire.

  I knew Russ and Dylan would be at this fire. Everyone was at this fire. Shoot, mass crime could be being committed across the city right now and no one would notice because they were all tuned in to the devastation on television, just like me.

  News crews had cameras everywhere, and I found myself flipping through channels as I tried to find the best coverage.

  “We have new information coming in right now, “ a female reporter was saying from the scene. I stopped on that channel, anxious for any news. “As we said earlier, it appears there has been the loss of several lives in the initial explosion near the Emergency Department here at Community General Hospital. The next wing that was immediately threatened was the ICU. An attack team was sent in to rescue those patients and we are happy to say that triage is stating that all patients from that wing are accounted for. Unfortunately, we are now hearing that two of the firefighters involved in the rescue of those patients are now, themselves, trapped. From what we’ve been able to garner on radio traffic, one of those firefighters is pinned beneath a beam of some sort and he and his coworker are unable to get out. We are trying to get confirmation of this now.”

  “Wow, Jeanine, that’s just terrible.” The news anchor’s voice broke in. “We are definitely sending all our prayers to those brave firefighters who put their lives on the line every day. Do we have the names of the men who are trapped?” he asked, wanting to add even more sensationalism to the drama unfolding.

  “They haven’t released the names, needing to contact the families first. I can tell you that the crew members inside the building responded to the fire on Engine Three, and are part of Company Charlie under the command of Captain Dylan Wilcock.”

  I didn’t hear anything else, a silent scream escaping my mouth as I sank to the floor. It was Russ in there. I knew it. I could feel it in my bones. My hand went to my belly and the life that grew inside there, a life Russ still didn’t know about.

  Hands shaking, I reached for my phone on the coffee table and scrolled for Cami’s phone number.

  “Hello?” she answered, her voice trembling.

  “It’s Evie,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

  “Yes, it’s Dylan and Russ.” She answered before I could even ask. “I just got the call from the chief.”

  “Can I watch your baby or something, so you can go down there? I need to do something. I can’t just sit here.”

  “I already have a sitter. I’ll swing by and pick you up. I need someone with me right now who knows what I’m going through. Text me your address.”

  It was strange, really, knowing she’d never been to my house before. Of course, Russ had only been to my house once, and he was never actually inside. “Okay. I’m ready. I’ll be waiting for you out on the sidewalk.”

  She hung up.

  I turned toward the television, just in time to see them showing some more minor explosions and my heart wrenched painfully inside me. The man I loved was in that mess. I would probably never see him again. Why? Why had I taken so long to go and talk to him? Misty had encouraged me to go visit him before she left. She didn’t know about the baby, though, and I didn’t want him to feel trapped, like he had to marry me or something. I didn’t want him to feel like he was my second choice. He wasn’t.

  “We’re being told that while the gas has been turned off in the building, there are still several explosives in the building, primarily oxygen tanks. These could possibly be what we are hearing with these smaller explosions.” I couldn’t stand to listen to the news any longer. I needed to be there.

  Slipping my shoes on, I raced out the door and down to the sidewalk, even though I knew it would take Cami several minutes to reach me. Pacing back and forth, I couldn’t seem to stop chewing my fingernails.

  Finally, after what seemed like hours, Cami’s car rounded the corner. She paused long enough for me to jump inside and took off again.

  Staring at her, I gave a wry laugh. “You look as bad as I do,” I said, wiping at a stray tear.

  “I’m terrified,” she answered honestly. Glancing at me, she patted me on the knee. “Thanks for coming with me. I know you and Russ aren’t an item anymore, but I know he still has strong feelings for you. I think he would want you there.”

  “I’m pregnant.” I burst out, unable to keep it from her. “It’s Russ’. He has to live, Cami. He has to. I’ve handled things all wrong!” I couldn’t help the sobs that escaped me, racking my frame as I buried my face in my hands.

  Cami continued to pat my leg. “Well, then Russ has to live, doesn’t he? He’d be pissed if he died without knowing he was having a baby.”

  “An
d Dylan, too. Russ would never make it without Dylan. He loves him so much.”

  “Dylan feels the same about him. Neither of them would ever leave the other behind. That gives me some comfort, at least. That neither of them is alone.”

  Still crying, I didn’t reply. Instead, I looked out the window, noting the massive clouds of black smoke filling the air down the road.

  Cami pulled into the lot, identifying us both as spouses of the men trapped inside, and we were immediately redirected to the Command Center. As soon as we parked, we were ushered straight to the chief.

  “Ladies,” he said, acknowledging each of us. “Why don’t you have a seat over here?” He gestured to two folding chairs.

  “Just tell us, please,” I said, not able to take it for one more minute.

  “They’re trapped just inside the doors to the ICU. The ceiling collapsed and Russ was pinned under the falling debris.”

  A whimper escaped me at his words and I covered my mouth, trying to listen intently.

  “We know for sure that Russ has a broken leg and he’s pinned under a steel beam. Dylan hasn’t been able to lift it off him, but he refuses to leave him or try to find a way out for himself. We have hose laid in the building and crews are concentrating on knocking down the fire in their area, but things aren’t looking really great at the moment.”

  “Why were they even in the ICU if all the patients were out?” I asked, demanding answers. I didn’t care if I sounded bitchy. I wanted Russ safe.

  “Apparently there was a miscommunication between the fire department and the nurses about how many patients were still on the floor. They thought there was one more, but there wasn’t.”

  “So they’re alive still?”

  His face was solemn and there were tears in his eyes. “We have a radio set up on a secure channel for you ladies to talk to them.”

  Cami’s face went completely ashen. “You don’t think you can get them out, do you?”

  “We wanted you to get a chance to . . . talk to them.”

  Say goodbye. That’s what he meant to say. They wanted us to be able to tell them goodbye.

  Woodenly, I followed Cami and the chief to the truck, climbing inside as directed.

  “Who goes first?” he asked.

  “Evie,” Cami said. “It’s most important she speak with Russ.”

  I knew how hard this must be for her and I flashed her a grateful look as I accepted the radio. Pushing the button, I spoke timidly. “Hello?”

  “Cami? Goody, baby, is that you?” Dylan’s voice came back.

  “It’s Evie,” I said, my voice shaking terribly. “I need to speak to Russ.”

  There was a moment of silence and I waited, holding my breath. “Evie? Is it really you?”

  Oh my gosh, he sounded so good.

  “I don’t have a lot of time, Russ, because Cami needs to get to talk to Dylan, too; but I just wanted you to know that I love you. I’ve always loved you. I never stopped.” I didn’t care who could hear me professing my love for him. I wanted the whole world to know.

  “I love you, too, Evie. So much. I have no words to explain how much. I’m so sorry—for everything.”

  “Russ.” I hated the finality he had in his voice, as if he’d accepted this was the end. “Russ, you can’t die. I need you. I need you here with me—and our baby.”

  Silence.

  “Come again?”

  “I’m pregnant with your baby. I can’t do this alone.” More tears. “I don’t want to do it alone. Not without you.”

  “What about Kory?” he asked.

  “Kory is gone. His choice. And if you’ll get your ass out of that damn burning building, I’d be happy to fill you in on all the details. But you have to come out!”

  “Evie?”

  “Yes?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  A half-laugh, half-sob escaped me. “Are you serious? Or did you get hit in the head?”

  “I’m serious. I want an answer right now.”

  Could someone get dehydrated from crying too much? “If you will come out of that building I will marry you anywhere, any day, any time you want. Just say the word.”

  “Someone please get that in writing,” his voice came back and everyone laughed.

  “I need to go now,” I said. “Cami needs her turn.”

  “I know. I love you, Evie. I love you! No matter what happens, don’t you ever forget that, okay?”

  More sobbing. “Okay. Don’t you forget either. Now let Dylan talk.”

  Handing the radio to Cami, I absently listened to her and Dylan exchanging their love for each other. That was as far as they got. Suddenly there was a horrible sound coming from both, the radio, and outside. I looked up, just as part of the building collapsed.

  The radio went dead.

  “Dylan?” Cami screamed into the device. “Dylan?” she screamed again, louder. “Dylan!”

  It was the last sound I heard. Everything started to spin and I passed out.

  ***

  “Excuse me?” A voice penetrated the haze around me. “Could you move her gurney closer? I think she’s finally waking up.”

  A slight feeling of dizziness passed through me and I felt myself moving. “What’s going on? Where am I?” I asked, trying to focus on the nurse leaning over me.

  “You’re in our makeshift triage center,” the nurse answered. “You passed out.”

  Immediately I remember the horror that cause me to faint. “Russ,” I said in a panicked voice. “What happened to Russ and Dylan?”

  A rough hand slipped into mine, squeezing tightly. My gaze drifted down, following the arm from my hand to the gurney next to me. “We made it out,” Russ said. “The collapse caused the beam to shift and Dylan was able to pull me to a window.”

  Unimaginable relief poured through me. “Oh, thank God! Thank God! He really does answer prayers!” Sitting up, I got off the gurney and stepped toward him.

  “Ma’am, you need to lay back down,” the nurse scolded, but I ignored her.

  “Where are you hurt?” I asked, looking over his filthy body.

  “I have a broken leg.”

  That was all I needed to know as I threw myself at his chest, wrapping my arms tightly around him as I sobbed. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” Lifting my head, I kissed him lightly on the lips, and he grabbed the back of my neck grimacing as he pulled me back.

  “Kiss me like you mean it,” he said; and I did, allowing his tongue to part my lips and tangle with mine.

  After a few seconds, I pulled away. “Is Dylan okay?” I asked and he nodded.

  “He’s over getting oxygen on one of the trucks. He’s with Cami.”

  “Good,” I replied, kissing him again, not caring who was watching our public display of affection. If I could’ve, I would have crawled inside him. I needed to be closer, so much closer.

  This time he pulled away, searching my eyes. “Now about that proposal. I intend to hold you to your word.”

  Smiling, I stroked his ash-laden hair. “You’d have a hard time getting out of it, Mister. I don’t plan on ever letting you out of my sight again.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he replied, his white grin flashing brightly against the grime. “You know, I bet there’s a chaplain around here somewhere.”

  “No way,” Cami’s voice interrupted. “I know she said she would let you choose the when and where Russ, but I refuse to let you two get married in the middle of a triage zone. You can’t even take her on a proper honeymoon until you get that leg fixed.”

  “There is that,” he agreed with a sigh, not breaking eye contact with me. “I guess we have to wait. Sorry.”

  “As long as I get to be with you, I’ll wait as long as needed.” My heart literally felt like it might burst with joy. Why, oh why, had I ever been so confused over this man? No one had ever made me feel the way he did.

  “I’d do it all again, you know?” he said, smiling.

  “What?” I asked, no
t following.

  “Run into a burning building, break my leg and almost die. I’d do it all again, just to hear you say you’d marry me.” His hand drifted to my stomach. “And this little surprise. Well, I can’t wait to be a dad.”

  Smiling, I kissed him again, and again, and again.

  Epilogue

  Russ

  “Stop fidgeting,” Dylan whispered in my ear.

  “I can’t help it. I’m excited,” I replied back quietly. “What’s taking so long?”

  Dylan laughed. “Everything is running on time. Look, there’s Cami, just inside the doorway to the house. That means they’re getting ready to come out.”

  Music filled the air and I straightened, catching my mom’s eye from where she sat in the front row of the garden with my dad. She blew a little kiss toward me. I smiled back at her, happy that they’d been able to come.

  Cami slowly marched down the aisle and Dylan stirred beside me. “Isn’t she beautiful? I swear I’ll never get my fill of her.”

  “Pipe down, stud muffin. The two of you belong to me at least until the service is over. Then you have my permission to go knock her up with your next kid.”

  Dylan laughed, nudging me slightly. “There’s Evie.”

  Like I could miss her. Damn, she looked hot. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Even with her giant pregnant belly, she still pulled off the stylish white wedding gown. It was gorgeous on her. I couldn’t wait to take it off.

  This day had taken forever to get here. Evie and Cami insisted my leg be healed before we got married. Unfortunately, that had taken a bit longer than planned. Two surgeries and several months later, I was finally given a clean bill of health and allowed to return to work.

  Thankfully, Evie had been with me the entire time. She sold her condo and moved in with me to help with my recovery. Even after all I’d been through with the fire, I never had any nightmares like I’d had from the trauma I’d experienced before. Dylan’s staying with me had apparently taken care of the old nightmares and whatever deep seeded fear I’d hidden within me. And having Evie back in my life—well, that made everything perfect.