Behind the Flame: An Everyday Heroes World Book (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Renee Harless

  Preston had shown up as they had managed to control the fire and he began assessing the situation. From what Ridge could tell, it looked like a smoldering cigarette had ignited the entire thing. It wasn’t the first time he had seen it happen.

  “Sorry for calling you out so late, Sheriff,” Ridge told him as they began to pack up their equipment after fully extinguishing the fire.

  “No sweat. I needed a little excitement tonight anyway.”

  Checking his surroundings, Ridge moved a step closer to Preston, the smoke from the burnt trash lingering around them, secluding them from the view of others.

  “Any luck with locating Penny? I was hoping you’d have some tips or something since we haven’t had anything new.”

  “Nothing, man. The closest thing we’ve found is a grain video at a gas station two counties over.”

  “What about the boyfriend? The one in California?”

  “Nothing other than a few drug charges and one for domestic violence. He was seen in California two weeks ago.”

  “Damn.”

  “I know, man. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. I just can’t figure out the reason for the letters. At this point, I’m thinking it’s nothing more than a game.”

  “It could be. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a case like that. But I can tell by your expression that you’re worried.”

  “I am. Penny wasn’t always the most stable.”

  “Well, all I can suggest is to continue keeping your eyes peeled. She’s bound to slip up at some point.”

  Just as Ridge was going to agree, the alarm on his personal phone went off.

  “What is it?” Preston asked as Ridge opened the security app on his phone. It wasn’t uncommon for the alarm to go off for the most random reasons: a moth flying too close to the lens, a small animal running through the yard, a leaf floating through the air.

  “Oh, shit!” Ridge shouted as he stared at the image on the screen.

  Somewhere beyond the ringing in Ridge’s ear, Preston asked him what was going on, but Ridge’s eyes were glued to the man throwing a brick through the back window of his house, followed by a small item flickering with a flame at the end. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was in the grainy image, but his instinct was on high alert.

  Rushing from Preston, Ridge turned to the rest of his crew and yelled, “We need to go. Now!”

  ***

  She had been sleeping so peacefully with one of the best dreams she’d had in a while that involved Ridge, a stage, and his turnout pants. The baby monitor resting on the nightstand crackled with static, bringing River fully out of sleep. With a renewed sense of urgency, River swung her legs over the side of the bed and quickly walked toward Delilah’s room. It was rare that the little girl woke during the night. She had only remembered one instance previously and Delilah had been suffering from an ear infection.

  The room was lit up with a small pink nightlight and Delilah sat up in her crib, rubbing her eyes with one hand and gripping her teddy bear with the other.

  In a hushed voice, River approached the girl and said, “Hey, little one. What are you doing awake? It’s still sleepy time.”

  “Mama,” Delilah replied and River’s heart locked up. She knew there was a chance the toddler could confuse her for her mother after a certain amount of time had passed, but she hadn’t expected it so soon. Maybe after a way of watching the little girl grow, but not in just a couple of months. And she absolutely hadn’t anticipated it happening in the middle of the night.

  “No, sweetie. I’m your friend River.”

  “Mama,” she repeated as she held her arms out for River to lift her out of the crib.

  “Alright. I guess you’re awake. Let’s see if we can find something to watch on TV.”

  As they were making their way down the hall, River heard a strange noise that had her stopping in place. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she clutched Delilah closer. Something wasn’t right.

  She held her breath to listen more intently for anything amiss, but Delilah chose that moment to say, “Mama,” over and over again.

  “Shhh, sweetie. I need to-,” River started to say until a crash sounded in the living room. The shattering of glass echoed in the house and River immediately jumped into protective mode. She knew she had already lost the element of surprise by the babbling little girl, so River reached around the corner and flipped on the main lights of the living room and kitchen. River ran into the kitchen with Delilah in her arms, grabbed the large knife in the rack by the fridge, and then dove for the keys sitting on the counter. If she could make it outside, they could get to safety.

  River didn’t have time to think or regret that her mobile phone was still charging in Ridge’s room. Taking a second to breathe, River tried to decide if it was safer to stay in the house and wait for the police, but as she peered around the corner into the living room, she saw an object the size of a milk jug fly through the broken window. The small flash of a flame on the end made the decision for her.

  Clutching a now crying Delilah tighter against her body, River decided to leave. She ran for the front door, tripping over her own feet in the process, before gripping the knob and yanking it open.

  Quickly she glanced to her left and her right, then ran down the porch stairs and across the yard. One of the first things she admired about the properties was the spacious lots, but now she hated the distance to get to the road and safety.

  Just as she made it to the large oak tree in the center of Ridge’s yard, a figure came from the shadows. River tried to dart around the person, but with the added weight of Delilah and the knife she gripped in her palm, she couldn’t outmaneuver them.

  The person dove toward her like a wide receiver at the same time River plunged her arm forward with the knife. She wasn’t sure if she even made contact as the man, which she determined when he grunted, tackled her and Delilah to the ground. River did her best to protect the child’s small, fragile frame with her arms and body as they fell to the cold solid earth.

  Tucking her body into a ball, gripping Delilah in the center, River braced her body for what she knew was coming. A swift kick to her back tore the agonizing scream from her lungs.

  “Delilah!” she shouted as loud as she possibly could, leaving her eardrums ringing, as the man reached down and tried to pry the child from River’s arms. There was no way in hell she would let the man take this child.

  River kicked the man in the shins repeatedly until he released his hold on Delilah, falling back with his hand clutching the pink teddy bear Ridge’s daughter loved so much.

  In the night sky, River couldn’t make out his face, but she could see the anger still swirling in his black eyes. He stomped toward them with the teddy bear tucked into the belt he wore at his waist and kicked her again with all his might trying to collide with her head, but coming in contact with her back again as she curled into the tightest ball she could with Delilah in the center.

  The pain was unbearable and as he added a second kick, the blackness began to close in around her. She had to hold on. She had to protect Delilah. She had to keep them safe. But the pull of the darkness was too strong and as River closed her eyes, the wail of Delilah’s cries and the sound of a siren was all she heard.

  Prying her eyes open, River couldn’t tell how long she had been out of consciousness. All she knew was that Delilah was still crying safe in her grasp and that the sounds of the sirens were growing louder. Turning her head, River noticed a woman standing three houses down, barely visible if not for the home's post light casting a glow on her. The sound of a rumbling engine drew River’s attention away from the woman and in the other direction where a car with a busted tail light sped away. It was parked too far away for River to get the license plate number.

  “Delilah,” her voice squeaked as she tried to calm the scared child.

  River’s back was in agonizing pain, but she needed to focus on the little girl and to get her
to safety. Biting her lip, River used one arm to push up from the ground, crying out in pain as she moved. It felt as if each vertebra of her spine were shattered as she sat up.

  The lights of the fire engine and police car lit up the neighborhood. Porch lights began to flicker on as residents made their way outside to see what was going on.

  The Sheriff of Carson’s car stopped in front of the house first and she recognized Preston as he stepped out of the car. She could see him sniff the air and River suddenly realized the heavy smell of smoke lingering around her. Ridge’s house was on fire.

  She turned her head, wincing with the motion, and saw that flames licked up the back of the home.

  “Oh, no,” she wallowed, knowing that Ridge was going to be devastated to learn he was losing his house and all of his things.

  “River!”

  Above the noise of the sirens, he shouted her name. It was loud enough that people the next town over could hear. It was a call of anguish and misery and devastation.

  “River!” her name was called again and she turned to find Ridge darting from the cab of the fire truck. He ran with purpose and River waited to see his reaction to his home caught in a blaze, but she was stunned when he headed directly toward them.

  “River,” he repeated. The agony was evident as he slid to his knees in front of her, cradling her face with his hands.

  “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  “I’m. . .okay,” she replied as she loosened her hold on his daughter. He looked down at the little girl who was bathed in the headlights of the fire truck and she didn’t appear to have a single scratch on her, to River’s relief.

  “Your house is on fire,” she said bluntly, wondering why he wasn’t assisting the crew that were preparing to put out the blaze.

  “I don’t care about the house. I care that the woman I love is safe. You’re more important than the house.”

  River insisted that she lost her hearing during her fall to the ground; she couldn’t have heard him correctly.

  “Wait, you what?”

  “I love you, River. The moment the security alarm went off, I knew without a doubt that I loved you. And now that I see you here protecting Delilah, I know that I’m head over heels in love with you.”

  “Ridge, I. . .” she whispered.

  “You don’t have to say it back. But I do love you,” he repeated as he pressed his lips against hers before pulling back and looking at the flames. “I want to stay with you right now.”

  “But they need you. Go, Ridge. We’ll be here when you’re done.” And she realized that it was the truth; she would be there for him. She would wait for him to save the world and help him fasten his cape along the way because she loved him too. “Go!” she insisted as Preston approached. She could wait to tell him, but the fire needed his attention.

  He nodded at Preston as the cop reached out to help River and Delilah up from the ground as Ridge made his way toward the back of the house where the crew was setting up.

  River thanked Preston for his help then began describing the car that drove off after the attack. He radioed the information to dispatch as the sound of glass breaking pounded in the distance.

  In a split second, the back of the house exploded and engulfed the property in flames, but River’s attention was on the man lying on the ground while smoke billowed around him.

  “Ridge!” she cried out as the man lay unmoving. Preston held her back as he radioed for EMS assistance. River thought her heart had cracked earlier when she thought the man was going to take Delilah, but watching Ridge lay unmoving in a cloud of ash and smoke while his crew tried to extinguish the house fire, shattered the muscle into hundreds of pieces.

  “I need to help him. Please!”

  “And he would kill me if I let you anywhere near that fire. So, I’m begging you to stay here.”

  “I have to do something.”

  “And you are. You’re staying at a safe distance until EMS arrives to look you over and to transport Ridge. You need to keep Delilah calm.”

  The little girl recognized her name and looked up from where she had buried herself in River’s neck.

  “Mama,” she screeched joyfully.

  River pulled her gaze away from Ridge as he was delicately moved onto a stretcher kept strapped to the fire engine and found Delilah staring at something over her shoulder. Not something, someone River acknowledged as she followed the child’s gaze. A woman with dark shaggy hair and pursed lips.

  Penny.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ridge pried his eyes open, the lids feeling as if they were stuck together with the superglue he used to play with as a kid. The sound of sirens and shouts were muffled around him. He had no idea where he was.

  “Son?” a familiar voice called out to him through a tunnel. It took a moment, but he recognized it as his uncle’s voice. He hadn’t seen his uncle in years.

  What was he doing in California?

  “Uncle Joe?” he managed to mumble. Where ever he was, the smell of smoke was nauseating.

  “Well, now, you haven’t called me Uncle Joe since you were a wild teenager.”

  Since?

  “What’s going on?”

  “Well, son, you hit your head pretty bad when you fell from the explosion. I’m getting you set up to go to the hospital.”

  “Oh, okay,” Ridge complied. He didn’t understand what his uncle was talking about. He couldn’t remember any explosion, though he and his cousins did like to set off mortar shells.

  The haze that had sucked Ridge in earlier started to return and his body grew heavier and heavier with each passing second. He felt like he was drowning in his own skin.

  “Delilah,” he mumbled as he closed his eyes and gave into the fall.

  He was choking. Whatever tether was wrapped around his throat, it was suffocating him.

  “Ridge?” Hold on, let me get a nurse.” A voice, like the sweet melody of an angel, spoke to him. Something inside him recognized the siren’s call.

  A stern voice bellowed from his other side. “Mr. Connelly, I’m going to remove your intubation tube.” A second later, it felt like a wire bristle brush was being pulled out of his throat.

  “Water,” he coughed out once the agonizing process was done.

  “Small sips,” the angel said from his other side, pressing a tube to his lips. He took three small sips then she pulled the refreshing water from his mouth. “Rest now. I’ll be here when you wake up.” The softest of touches brushed against his forehead and it calmed every ache and pain in his body. “I love you, Ridge. You’re going to be okay.”

  “Ugh,” he moaned as the bright lights assaulted his eyes even behind the lids. It burned as he forced them open and the dull pounding of his headache intensified as he took in the monitors beside the hospital bed.

  With what little strength he had remaining, Ridge turned his head in the other direction, surprised to find a small woman curled up in a vinyl recliner.

  River.

  She was here, and she was safe.

  The fire.

  The break-in.

  The explosion.

  It all came rushing back to him in waves.

  “Delilah,” he croaked, his visitor instantly straightening and rushing toward him.

  “She’s safe and sound. I swear to you. She’s staying with your aunt and uncle for the time being.”

  “Good. . .that’s good. You?”

  “I’m fine. A few bruises, but better than expected.”

  “What happened?” he asked her, slowly sliding his hand over to grasp hers. He needed her touch like a lifeline.

  “Well. . . that’s a long story,” she began; then a nurse popped her head into the room and enthusiastically exclaimed that he was awake.

  “Welcome back, Mr. Connelly. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

  “Or in a fire explosion?” she joked.

  “That too. How long have I been in h
ere?”

  “Three days. But you needed that time to heal. Everything looks good. I’ll be back in a little bit with something for you to eat.”

  River had remained silent as the nurse checked his vitals, but he wanted nothing more than to hear her speak. Her voice was his own personal serenade.

  Visions of River lying on the ground as he drove the fire engine into the neighborhood would forever haunt him. At that moment, he thought his entire world had ended. But she had sat up. She had unfurled her body from the protective cocoon around Delilah. He remembered rushing from the vehicle before it had stopped entirely and ran to her side, his lungs squeezing tightly as her face tried to mask its pain.

  Ridge didn’t know what he would have done if he had lost her or his daughter. Unmitigated fury swarmed through him and he unknowingly tightened his grip on River’s hand.

  “Are you in pain?” she asked quickly, her eyes assessing him from head to toe. “Let me call the nurse back.”

  “No. no, I’m fine. I was just remembering something.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay. Well, I called Preston, who is on his way, and your uncle should be here shortly. He’s been coming every morning with a change of clothes for me.”

  His eyes widened in surprise at her revelation. “Wait, you haven’t left?”

  She needed rest. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, her hair a bit mussed, and her neck and face were covered in bruises, though she was still breathtakingly beautiful to him.

  “You need to rest, River.”

  He was so completely lost, staring into her pain-filled eyes that neither of them heard the door to his room open.

  “She hasn’t left your side since they brought you in. She even made them complete her assessments in here. She’s lucky her injuries weren’t any worse.”