The insistent lips sucked at her, pushing her beyond volition. Her body tensed, grew rigid, then crumpled as she shouted sharply in surrender. Gasping, she twitched helplessly as the orgasm ripped through her.
"Bri!"
Thunderous pounding on her door pulled Bri awake, the last remnants of her nocturnal climax still humming through her veins.
"What?" she croaked. She glanced around the room in confusion. The night through her window was pitch-black. She cleared her throat and sat up quickly. "Yeah?"
"Un-ass that bed, Officer," Reese said sharply. "We need to roll."
Still a bit shaky, Bri grabbed the nearest thing she could find, which turned out to be a pair of faded blue jeans, and slid them on. Getting her feet under her finally, she grabbed a corduroy shirt from over the back of a chair and shrugged into it. Buttoning it with one hand, she jerked the door open with the other and stared up at Reese. The sheriff wore jeans as well, with a khaki uniform shirt. Her badge was clipped to the shirt pocket, her automatic holstered on her right hip.
"What's going on?"
"Grab your equipment," Reese ordered. "There's a fire in Truro, and they're asking for help."
*****
Well before they screeched to a halt behind a long row of official vehicles, it was easy to see the flames shooting into the sky from a totally fire-engulfed building. Fire trucks fronted the burning structure, a confusion of hoses spewing water in crisscrossing arcs onto the disintegrating roof. Firefighters, EMTs, and law enforcement officials hurried back and forth in the parking lot in front of what had once been a three story structure.
The Truro police chief spied Reese and waved her over. "Conlon! Good Christ, this place has gone up like a matchbox in less than five minutes. We haven't had time to evacuate the neighboring motels. I've got people working on both sides of the street, but the main priority is that motel right next door. They've got forty-five units, most of them full, and we're not sure everyone's out yet. I don't have enough people for a room-to-room."
"Roger. We're on it."
Bri followed Reese as they ran toward the adjacent motel. People streamed past them carrying suitcases and belongings in a mad exodus. A cluster of cars inched along bumper-to-bumper trying to get out of the narrow parking lot, creating a logjam at the exit to Route 6.
"Bri!" a familiar voice called.
Bri looked to her right and saw three other officers rushing toward her, one of whom she knew well. "Allie!"
"What's the plan?" Allie asked breathlessly, falling into step along side Bri. “Were with you, my chief said.
Just at that moment, Reese stopped suddenly and started issuing orders. "You two," she pointed to the two officers in Wellfleet uniforms, "start on the far end of the ground floor and check every unit. Every unit. Break the doors down if you have to. Tell anyone still in there not to bother with their cars, but to proceed on foot to the highway." She looked at Bri and Allie. "You two take the upper floors," she indicated with a nod of her head toward the outdoor hallway running the length of the second floor of the motel. "Make it fast. The winds picking up, and there are already sparks on the roof."
Within minutes, men, women, and children in various stages of undress began pouring from the last of the occupied motel units as officers pounded on doors and shouted instructions. In the distance, approaching sirens signaled that more fire trucks and emergency personnel were enroute.
"Bri, look at the roof," Allie cried as they jogged down the corridor from the unit theyd just checked toward the next.
Glancing up, Bri was shocked to see almost the entire cedar-shingled surface dancing with flames. "Jesus, it's moving so fast. Hurry up!"
Smoke poured from the units where doors stood open, but there were at least a dozen rooms which were still closed and presumably occupied.
"Why aren't they coming out?" Bri shouted as her eyes began to burn with the thickening clouds of smoke that roiled around them.
Coughing, Allie replied, "Maybe some of them partied too much tonight and didn't hear the sirens. Or maybe there's more smoke in those rooms than we think. Maybe they cant get out."
"There's just a couple more," Bri gasped. "Let's get them open."
From the ground, coordinating the evacuation efforts, Reese watched Bri and Allie race toward the last four units on the end of the building which was most heavily involved by fire. She turned to the motel owner who had been pacing anxiously by her side. "Are those units occupied?"
"Just the one on the far end," he said, his voice high-pitched with tension. "I can't remember who's in there."
Even as they spoke, part of the roof fell in.
Reese grabbed a megaphone from a nearby fire captain and raced toward the stairs that led up to the second floor exterior hallway about fifty feet from where she had last seen Bri and Allie.
"Parker," she yelled into the megaphone. "Parker, clear the area ASAP. Parker, do you copy?"
By the time she reached the second floor, her lungs were burning and her eyes were streaming with tears. The smoke was so thick she couldn't see through it, so she ran in the direction she had last seen the trainees.
From the ground, the fire captain couldn't see anyone at all on the second floor when the rest of the roof collapsed in a plume of sparks and flying ash.
*****
Tory was on her way to her Jeep when the cruiser pulled into her driveway. Reese had only been gone ten or fifteen minutes when Tory had decided that if the fire were serious enough for them to call out reinforcements, they might need her as well.
"Nelson," Tory called as he stepped from the car and walked toward her. "I was just getting ready to go."
The security lights had come on under the eaves of the house when he had pulled into the driveway, and she could see his face clearly in the falsely bright illumination. His expression caused a cold hand to close around her heart.
"What is it?" Tory cried, trying and failing to keep her voice level. She braced her hand against the side of her vehicle, her legs shaking nearly uncontrollably. This can't be happening. Not again. I cant do this again.
"There are four buildings involved already." Nelson's voice was flat, his eyes eerily empty. "A lot of minor injuries. The motel next to where it started is almost gone."
"Nelson," Tory said harshly, recognizing that he was very nearly in shock. She wanted to scream, feared that she might. "What's happened?"
"Bri..."
"Oh no," Tory gasped, sagging slightly against the Jeep. We cant lose Bri.
"Bri and another girl...another cadet...they were trying to evacuate the upper floors...when it collapsed."
Forcing herself to act, to think despite the panic eclipsing her reason, Tory went to him and put her hand on his forearm. "Nelson, is she hurt?"
"Missing," he rasped. His hands were trembling as he rubbed them over his face. “Shedidnt come out.
"Let's go," she said urgently, but before she could move, the rest of it hit her. Nelson had come for her. She drew a sharp breath as pain lanced through her. If Bri is missing, then where is...but you know, don't you? Reese would go after her. She would never leave her injured in the field. Especially not Bri. Reese would never leave Bri.
"Oh god, Nelsonnot both of them!"
He could only nod, his terror boundless.
Chapter Thirty-three
As Nelson rocketed the cruiser east on Route 6, covering the few miles between Tory's home and the scene of the conflagration, Tory stared straight ahead through the windshield, one hand on the door handle, the other beneath her sweatshirt, resting against her abdomen. Beneath her fingers, hope swelled even as an agony of despair hammered at the edges of her consciousness. She could see the fire now and the dozens of rescue vehicles and great clouds of dark smoke billowing into the night sky.
Don't leave me, sweetheart. I can't do this without you. Please, darling, please.
Nelson slammed to a halt, and Tory was out of the vehicle almost before it had stopped. Then, she faltered, realizing
she had nowhere to go. The scene was one of barely-controlled pandemonium. Frantically, she searched for someone recognizable and finally saw Jeff Lyons, one of the officers from the Provincetown force.
"Jeff!" She rushed toward him as quickly as her unfamiliarly heavy body and her cumbersome leg brace would allow. "Have you seen Reese or Bri?"
He shook his head, his expression dazed. "Not since they went off to evacuate the Gull Crest Motel. What does the chief say?"
"He doesn't know anything either. Impatiently, she turned away. Panic threatened to choke her. “God, isn't anyone in charge around here?"
As if by instinct, she made her way through the masses of milling people and ended up near the EMT transport vehicles. Where are you, Reese? Where in God's name are you?
After five fruitless minutes of searching, her hair was drenched with sweat, her face was covered with soot from the ash-filled air, and her control was in tatters. A horrific surge of desolation swept through her and tears overflowed her stinging lids without her even being aware of them. I can't do this. I can't, I can't.
From close by, a man shouted, "Somebody get a gurney. We've got walking-wounded coming."
Tory jerked around at the sound of his voice and frantically searched the edges of the beach forest that bordered one side of the access road where most of the rescue vehicles had parked. It was difficult to see through the haze created by the combination of emergency lights and swirling smoke, but eventually she could discern a lone figure emerging from the artificial mists, carrying some kind of bundle. She blinked the tears and smoke from her eyes and was able to make out that the bundle was a person, and the grime-covered apparition carrying the victim was Reese.
The relief was so acute that Tory couldn't breathe. Even seeing her lover more clearly with each step wasn't enough to banish the terrible ache that had seized her heart. She started to run.
The EMTs reached Reese well before Tory did and relieved her of her burden. Still, she had barely relinquished the frail, elderly man to the care of the rescue team before Tory flung herself into her arms.
"I thought you were dead," Tory gasped. Her hands were all over Reese, stroking her chest and her back and up and down her arms, searching for injury. "Are you hurt? Are you hurt?"
"Tory, I'm all right. Reese grabbed Tory's hands, stilling her frenzied motion, and then gathered her close. Torys heart was beating wildly against her chest, and with her lips close to her lovers ear, Reese said gently, “Tory, listen to me. Stop, love. Stop. I'm all right."
The sound of Reese's voice, low and steady and calm, brought instant surcease to Tory's terror. Suddenly, she regained control and, after taking a long slow breath, was able to separate herself enough from Reese to look into her face. "Where's Bri?"
"Back in the forest. She's with an injured officer. Bri wouldn't leave her, and I had to get this fellow to the EMTs." Reese framed Tory's face with both hands and kissed her swiftly. "Tory, I need to go back for Bri."
With every second, Tory was feeling stronger, more in control. Reese was safe. And there was still much work to be done. Her work. “I'm going back to the ambulances to see if I can help out."
"You shouldn't even be here. You sure shouldn't be working." Reese grabbed for her hand. “Go home, Tor. Please. Its crazy out here.
Finally, Tory smiled. "Youre a fine one to talk, Sheriff. Go do what you have to do and come back as soon as you can." She rested her palm for an instant against Reese's cheek. "Please don't be gone long. I can't stand it right now."
*****
Forty-five minutes later, Allie sat with her back against the tire of an EMT van while Bri crouched beside her, holding a cup of coffee.
“ Are you sure youre not cold? Bri asked worriedly.
Allie shook her head and smiled wanly. “Not really. You dont have to stay with me, you know.
"That's okay."
“ Boy, Im never going to live this down," Allie said in disgust. "My first big assignment and I end up falling on my ass.
“ I dont think anyone is going to put you down for twisting your ankle while jumping from a burning building. Bri swiped sweat from her face and grimaced as she brushed against the burned spot on her neck. “Besides, it could happen to anybody.
“ Sure." A second passed, then Allie said, "You havent called me. I kind of thought it might be because of that girlfriend you mentioned.
“ Yeah.
“ Because, you know, I thought things were pretty hot between us.
Flushing, Bri thought about waking up with Allie naked beside her. She remembered it almost as a dream, and the memory was exciting. Her eyes moved slowly over Allies face, appreciating how attractive she was. Even scratched and sweat-streaked, she was sexy. “Yeah, it was hot. Youre hot. Totally."
"But?"
"But Im in love with someone.
“ It wouldnt have to be anything real serious, you know. Allie brushed Bris hand with her fingertips. “Just a little fun. I think about you...a lot.
“ I cant, Bri said. And it didnt feel like a sacrifice at all.
*****
“ Tory, a male voice said from behind her.
Tory turned, frowning, and then exclaimed, “Dan! What are you doing here?
The solidly built, dark-haired man shrugged, grinning a bit shyly. “Reese called me and said that you might need relief about now.
“ Oh, she did, did she? Tory raised an eyebrow, uncertain whether she was actually angry or not. She was tired, and she had a headache. It must be after five in the morning, and she was working on very little sleep.
Dan Riley frowned as he took in his new employer. She was clearly exhausted and the fingers that brushed absently at the strands of damp hair clinging to her cheeks trembled faintly. “Well, he said briskly, “let me finish triaging the remaining patients. You should go home.
Before Tory could respond, another voice interjected, “A very good suggestion, Dr. Riley.
Reese stepped closer to Tory and kissed her cheek. “Hello, love.
Smiling despite herself, Tory touched her fingertips to Reeses chin, brushing at a trickle of dried blood. “Youve cut yourself, Sheriff.
“ Nothing major." Reese turned to Dan Riley and murmured something before adding, “As soon as I collect Bri, check in with the chief, and make sure that the rest of my people know what theyre supposed to be doing, we can get out of here.
As Tory watched Reese hurry off yet again, Dan said, “Let me take your pressure, Tory.
“ What? Tory asked in surprise.
“ Let me check your BP. His eyes were kind as they met hers. “Youve been on your feet all night.
“ Did she ask you to do that?
“ I know how she feels, he said, avoiding the answer. He pulled a blood pressure cuff from inside the truck and wrapped it around Torys left upper arm. “When my wife was pregnant the first time, I had morning sickness every day for five months. I felt completely helpless and equal parts ecstatic and terrified. You cant blame her for worrying.
A minute later, he took the cuff off and regarded her steadily. “One-forty over ninety-two. Is that unusual?
Tory drew a shaky breath, and then shook her head. “It hasnt been consistent, but for the last few days its been in that range. Listen, dont say anything to Reese, all right, Dan?"
“ Of course. Like I said, its not my business.
At that moment, Reese and Bri returned.
“ Everything okay? Reese asked, looking from Tory to Dan.
Tory took Reeses hand. “Everything is fine. Lets take Allie back to the clinic, and after that, maybe we can all get some breakfast.
The four of them trudged through the water-soaked, litter-strewn fire site toward the highway where Reese had left her Blazer, Allie supported between Reese and Bri. Halfway there, Reese noticed someone on the outskirts of the crowd and said quickly, “Ill be right back.
Tory watched Reese approach a woman and speak to her briefly. “Who is that?
“ Thats As
hley Walker, Bri said.
“ The private investigator?
“ Yes.
After a minute, Reese and the redhead turned and walked back to where the others were waiting.
“ Officer Parker, Ashley said with a slow smile when she recognized Bri.
“ Ms. Walker, Bri said with a small tilt of her chin.
“ Hello, Allie said, extending her hand to the newcomer. “Allie Tremont.
“ Ashley Walker, the redhead replied languorously, her throaty tenor slightly raspy from the smoke, her green eyes flickering downward once before returning to Allies face. “Are you all right?
“ I will be, Allie replied, never taking her eyes from Ashleys.
Tory watched the exchange which, although completely innocent, held a note of intimacy that almost made her feel like a voyeur. “If were all done with the introductions, she interjected dryly, “perhaps we can get back to the clinic so I can decide how Officer Tremont is doing.
“ Ill follow you in my car, Ashley said.
“ Dont get lost, Reese advised.
“ I wouldnt think of it.
Chapter Thirty-four
"You can use my office," Tory said to Reese as the small group proceeded down the central hallway of her clinic toward the X-ray room at the rear. "Just help me get Allie up onto the table so I can get these films."
Reese, Bri, and Ashley Walker left the small radiology room and crossed the hall diagonally to Tory's office.
"Sit down, please, Ms. Walker," Reese instructed while pointing to one of the two chairs in front of Tory's large wood desk. She leaned her hips against it, but remained standing. Bri stood a few feet away also, off to Ashley's right. "I want to know exactly what you're investigating."
After a moment's deliberation, Ashley Walker nodded slightly. "I'm looking for a man named Stanley Morris. He was a claims investigator for the company which hired me."
"The insurance company?"
"Yes," she said. "Six months ago he was forced into leaving, ostensibly due to downsizing. Shortly thereafter, the first of what would turn out to be a series of fires occurred in buildings that are insured by the company."
Radclyffe - Safe Harbor 02 - Beyond The Breakwater Page 16
