Monday afternoon and we’re gearing up on the run as we hurry to a house-fire call, one of multiple engines responding.
Not knowing how big the fire is or how long it could take to get under control, I shoot Renee a quick text before we get too close to our destined address.
Marco – Hope you’re having a good day, princess. Knowing you, you’re kicking ass and taking names. Love you, always.
“Still in the dog box?” Luca asks, glancing sideways at me as I put my phone away.
“Nope. We’re all good. I’m heading there in the morning.”
He nods. “You guys have got a good thing. And even if you did screw up, you’re one hell of an upgrade from the ex.”
I don’t say anything because he’s not wrong.
Ten blocks away from our destination, I can already see smoke billowing up into the sky.
“It’s a doozy,” Scotty calls out, leaning in the gap between the front seats to get a better look.
“He’s right. Game faces on, boys. It’s go time as soon as we arrive,” I say, just as I hear it called over the radio that Firehouse 22 is first on-scene, which means Lieutenant Pierce will be in charge until a superior officer arrives. I groan. Luca and I share a knowing look. After Saturday night, this is going to go one of two ways, and past experience with Pierce has taught me not to let my guard down—especially after what happened at the ball two nights ago. But he’s in charge of running the fire, so in the end, I’ll still have to follow orders.
We pull to a stop and all hop out, Rhodes and I heading over to where Nick and his second-in-command, Alex, are standing in full gear as if they’re ready to head inside at a moment’s notice if needed.
“Lieutenant,” I say when we reach them.
Nick looks over at me and I catch a flash of annoyance crossing his features before he schools his expression and switches into professional mode. The guy may have a god complex, but he’s still a good firefighter.
“Rossi. My guys are around the back getting ready to vent. I need you and your guys going in the front to check there’s no one inside. Reports indicate it’s abandoned, but there could be squatters like there was in that last warehouse fire, and you’d hate to have that on your conscience, right? You know, since you’re such an upstanding guy and all.”
There it is. Asshole Pierce is back in business.
Rhodes growls under this breath next to me, taking my back the same way I’d take his in the same situation. I put my arm out to stop Rhodes’ advance. Pierce and his minion just look between us and smirk.
“Yeah, Rossi. Call your dog back and get your heads in the game. Time’s a-wasting,” Nick says. I can tell he’s itching for a fight, but he’s shit out of luck if he thinks he’s getting another one from me.
“Right. We’ll clear the first floor,” I reply.”
“Alex and I will join you as soon as a captain arrives. Ours is caught up so it’ll likely be yours that takes over command.”
Good. At least then I can trust standard operating procedure, or SOP, will be followed to the letter.
Without giving the asshole another word, I turn and together, Rhodes and I move quickly to the guys, relaying our orders. We all jump into action,
“Scotty, Max, you’re out here watching our backs and reporting in to command until Cap gets here to take over. Rhodes and Zach, you’re together, as are Luca and myself. We’re all heading in to clear the first and second floor.”
I don’t wait for them to agree because I’ve always had the respect of my crew. It’s why we’ve stuck together for so long.
As instructed, we climb the stairs and move inside, masks, helmets, SCBA and PASS devices all on, my brother next to me, Rhodes and Zach behind us. We take a side each, working our way from room to room, calling out for anyone who might be there and looking for any sign someone could be hurt, injured, or trapped inside.
We meet halfway down the hallway. “Clear at our end,” I shout to the guys.
“Same here so far. Just need to check the back,” Rhodes yells over the roar of the fire.
I jerk my head. “We’ll start upstairs. Call out over the radio when the bottom is clear.”
Rhodes and Zach nod and disappear. Luca and I move back toward the front of the house and the staircase.
A muffled message comes over the radio. The smoke is thicker now, my visibility limited to my hand in front of me and nothing more. The radio sounds again.
“Lieutenant Rossi, it’s Cap here. Do you copy?”
“Yeah, Cap,” I reply, tilting my head to bring my mouth to the radio clipped to my jacket.
“Luca’s out. Pierce has said he’ll take your back until Luca can return. Lieutenant Pierce reports the vent is done so clear the second floor then get out so we can fight this thing with all we’ve got.”
“Roger that,” I say, locking eyes with my brother. He moves closer, his expression telling me he’s not pleased, but we have to follow orders—especially from the Captain. We’ve got no choice. Pierce may be the biggest asshole I know, but he’s still a firefighter. He’s bound by the same principles and oath we all are. When we’re putting our lives on the line, we have to be able to trust each other.
A moment later, Pierce appears at my side, a nod between us serving as our silent and muted greeting.
I follow him up the stairs, stopping by his side when we reach the top.
“Split up and we can clear it quickly between the two of us. If anyone was here, we’d know about it by now anyway. The vent is done. As long as we don’t cause a backdraft, we’ll be fine. Okay?” he yells, leaning in close as the house creaks and groans.
“Together, Pierce. Never leave another man alone, remember?” I say.
He nods and I can tell it’s a conciliatory gesture, but I take it as an affirmative nonetheless. I don’t miss him grinding his jaw though.
Pierce sweeps his arm ahead. “Behind you, Lieutenant.”
We clear the first room together, finding no one. I focus on the job at hand, keeping my wits about me in the face of danger.
Pushing on, we move to the next room near the front of the house, but as soon as I step inside, something is wrong. There’s a change in the air, and Pierce is nowhere to be seen.
That’s a second before my entire world implodes as the window in front of me shatters. Something is thrown from behind me.
I’m stuck relying on my training to save myself. The door behind me slams shut but it’s too late. It blasts back open, and all I can do is drop to the ground and hope for the best. Halfway down, I’m thrown against the wall with a deafening thud before falling down face-first, the lip of my helmet hitting catching before it’s knocked free. My mask digs into my skin as I hit the deck, my forehead colliding with the floor.
Then everything goes black.
An alarm blares in the distance. It’s muted, almost dull, but it’s continuous and doesn’t stop. My head wants me to ignore it, throbbing pain taking up most of my brainpower. My PASS device keeps sounding, droning on and on, just like the shouting voices coming from the radio which is wedged between the floor and my chest. Probably why it hurts like a bitch too.
I open my eyes, trying to get my bearings and work out what the hell happened and where I am.
My ears are ringing and my head kills. My SCBA feels like a dead weight on my back, and my mask is suffocating me. My helmet is gone, obviously knocked away when I fell.
There’s a constant drone coming from my PASS device since I’m not moving, the long drone getting louder then softer, over and over again. “Marco? Motherfucking answer me, Lieutenant?”
I hear shouting coming from the radio but my head is still fuzzy and it’s muffled beneath my chest. It takes everything I’ve got to shrug off the straps on one shoulder. I grunt and use all the energy I have to roll onto my side so I can reach the belt at my waist and jerk that off too, then it’s back to my front, one more shoulder strap off, and my tank is gone, my mask soon following.
The yelling continues, but now that I can lie flat on my back, I can focus a little better. Losing the mask was against SOP, but without air in the tank, the mask was useless anyway.
I focus on the radio, recognizing the voice. It’s familiar, like mine. Maybe my brother?
“Lieutenant Rossi, copy?” I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Rhodes.
“Rhodes.” Cough. “Rossi copy?”
“Marco? Thank fuck,” he replies. “You alright?”
“Head hurts. Air gone too. Was that . . .” Cough. “. . . a backdraft? Came right at me before I could do anything. Need . . .” I cough, my chest getting tighter and tighter. Fuck, it’s hard to breathe. The air is so thick. Smoke fills the room, making it too dark to see much of anything. “Need . . . help,” I croak.
“Where are you?”
“Second floor. End room.”
“Yeah. Pierce called it in just before it happened. Is he with you?”
“Not . . . here,” I say between hacking my lungs out.
“Stairs are out. Stay put, Lieutenant. Cap?” Rhodes says into the radio.
“Copy. What do you need, Rhodes?” our Captain replies.
“Ladder to the window. Send Scotty and Luc up quickly. The vent wasn’t done right the first time.”
“On it,” Luca replies, not waiting for the Captain to confirm the orders. “Coming for you, brother. Stay put and don’t do anything stupid. Mama will kill us otherwise.”
I chuckle but it just makes me cough again.
“I’ll just . . . stay here . . . and . . . wait,” I grind out, trying not to breathe in like my body desperately wants me to do.
“Where’s Pierce?” Rhodes asks. “Is he out?”
I frown as it all comes back to me. “He’s . . . the one . . . who shut the door on me . . .” I rasp. “He . . . screwed me . . . didn’t he?” God. I forgot how much breathing smoke fucking sucks.
“Motherfucker. I’m gonna kill the son of a—” Rhodes shouts down the radio before being cut off—probably by the Captain. He’s not a stickler for proper radio use all the time, but if there’s likely disciplinary action on the horizon, he’ll do what he has to do to make sure our asses are covered.
“Lieutenant, it’s Cap. Standard protocol. Sit tight. Cover your mouth if possible. If not, face down on the ground. Can you move?”
“Yeah, I can . . . a bit . . .” I try to survey my injuries. Working my way through my body, I brace myself up on my elbows and try to lift up into a sitting position, succeeding on the second try.
I pat around the ground. My fingers finding purchase on my discarded mask. I summon everything I’ve got left in me to push myself up so I’m slumped back against a wall. I think it’s near the window, ‘cause there’s a thin sliver of light coming through the dark, smoky haze. I try to use my legs to stand, maybe get air from the window, but my body won’t cooperate. There’s just nothing left in me and my head is so fucking foggy, I’m struggling to think straight.
“Where are you?” Cap asks.
“By the window, I think. I’m not . . . sure,” I croak.
“Sit tight, Rossi. Ladder’s up and we’re almost there,” he replies.
I wrack my brain trying to work out what the hell happened. “Where’s . . . Pierce?”
“He’s just been pulled out by his crew. He got thrown when the stairs went but he’s walking.”
“He’s okay then?”
“He’s masked up. Looks like a gash on his cheek but nothing bad.”
“Call it in, Cap.” Anger and pain course through me in equal measure.
“You saying something happened?” he growls.
“Standard ops not followed . . .” I wheeze. Talking is making it worse, but the more clarity I get as my foggy brain clears, the more obvious the situation is. “Expected him to have my back. Should’ve known.”
“They vented just as the window blew out at your side of the house.”
“He screwed me. Something broke the window, then the door was closed but it blew back open . . .”
“Definitely a backdraft,” Cap says. His tone is so low and menacing it scares me. That says a lot, considering I’m stuck in a room filled with smoke and can’t even pull myself up to my feet.
My throat burns. Every time I swallow it feels like acid is being poured down it. “He wouldn’t . . . listen to fucking reason and wait for the all-clear to go,” I wheeze, the weight on my chest so fucking heavy, talking is impossible.
Then suddenly, the sliver of light turns into a billowing curtain of fresh air as my brother pushes through the window. His head turns my way. I reach up and grunt. His hand grabs my forearm, his eyes locking with mine.
“Got you, brother. Now if Scotty can find his balls and pull us back, we can get you out of here.”
“Hey, I heard that, Luc,” Scotty yells from outside.
Luca smirks at me. “Meant you to.”
I use the last of my energy to roll my eyes. “Can we give him shit . . . after he’s helped saved me?”
Luca grins. “Fine.”
“Then Mama won’t have to kick your ass,” Rhodes says down the radio.
“Cut the crap and get the hell out of there you two,” Cap bellows, silencing the chatter.
I chuckle and start hacking my lungs out again, making Luca’s grin turn into a frown. “Yeah, Cap . . .”
“See you down here, Lieutenant,” Cap replies, signing off.
“Yeah . . . he’ll get right on that, Cap. When he stops trying to win an Oscar,” Luca says, leaning down and hooking his arms under my shoulders. Then I’m being jerked up, Luca taking my weight.
“Fuck. . .you” I whisper roughly.
“You act like you’re dying or something,” Luca says. “Since I know Mama and Renee would ride my ass if that happened, quit trying to get me in trouble like you always fucking do.”
I force out a laugh but it just makes me cough again. “Sure thing, little brother.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Then he’s all business and within moments, I’m out of the window and sucking in mouthfuls of glorious fresh air like my life depends on it.
And there’s only one thing—one person—on my mind. Renee.
Minutes later, Skye and Co hover over me. Skye’s eyes are wet and she’s muttering under her breath about stupid brothers and stupid fires. Cohen is all focus, taking my vitals and hooking up monitors before shoving an oxygen mask over my face.
“Luc?” I say, lifting myself on an elbow and jerking the mask away, locking eyes with my brother. Luca throws his hand out to stop Cohen shutting the bus’s back door.
“Yeah?”
“Call Renee,” I whisper.
He lifts his chin. “Already on it. Gio’s gone to pick her up. We’ll meet you at the hospital.”
My eyes drift from Luca to a frowning Rhodes and a concerned Zach, finishing with an angry Captain whose responding nod gives me more reassurance than anyone else.
My body slumps back onto the gurney, any leftover tension leaches out of my body.
I wave my hand in the air half-heartedly and turn my head, giving my baby sister a gentle grin as she jerks the mask back over my face. Skye’s narrowed eyes would make me laugh if it was any other time.
She points a finger at me. “Behave, Lieutenant. Otherwise, I’ll sic Mama on you.”
I close my eyes, the events of the last thirty minutes and what might’ve been finally weighing on me. “Not sure who’s scarier—you, Mama, or Renee.”
“My pick is your woman.”
I snort but groan when pain shoots through my chest. “I think that’s a pretty safe bet.”