Break the Rules (The Flanagan Sisters Book 1) (20 page)

As
she walked back to her office Bridget’s guilt began to grow. Who would people
like Joe turn to if she wasn’t around? If she took the job Graham offered her,
would they have anyone to hear their concerns?
Anyone to care
whether they got home at night?

She
didn’t know. But it was something she was going to have to consider.

The
first thing she did was call the other shift supervisors to check if Dirk had
been telling them the project was a waste of time. When she had enough
information she went and told Jack. She felt a little sorry for him as he made
a note in his journal.

“I’ll
speak with them next week,” she said.

“No,”
Jack replied. “Let me. I need to establish a relationship with these guys. I
want them to feel they can come to me as well as you if there are any problems.
They need to know I’ll listen to their concerns.”

It
warmed Bridget’s heart to hear him say that. He
understood
what was needed
and was willing to make the time to fix it. That’s what she needed from him.
“Great.”

“Aside
from this glitch, the project’s back on track, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Good
work. I’ve got a few more things to finish up here. I’ll see you when I get
home.”

He
looked so tired Bridget was tempted to give him a hug. She stepped forward to
do just that when someone knocked on the door. She whirled around to see Kevin.
Heat rushed to her cheeks. What the hell had she been thinking? She couldn’t
show any affection to Jack here. Damn it, if she hadn’t hesitated she would
have been caught by the general manager.

Nodding
at Kevin, she said to Jack, “I’ll talk to you later.” Then she fled the office.

* * *

By
the end of the week, Graham still hadn’t sent through the position description.
Bridget did a quick search on the relevant job websites to see if it had gone
up yet, but she couldn’t find anything. She wondered if she should call him and
ask, or if that would seem too pushy.

There
was no point worrying about it. She wasn’t sure whether she would take the job
anyway. But she was glad she hadn’t mentioned it to Jack.

Arriving
home first, she started making dinner. Jack had worked late every night this
week. Now he’d learned how the site was run and was comfortable in his
position, he seemed almost more determined than Bridget to fix things. He’d had
a few heated conversations with the production manager and the maintenance
manager. Part of her reveled in having someone share her passion, and the
workload, but the other part worried he was working too hard.

She
whipped up a marinade and poured it over the steaks, setting them aside. Then
she checked the pantry and decided to make a sheet cake. She hadn’t done any
baking in months and the chocolaty goodness was sure to cheer Jack up.

Turning
on the radio, Bridget bopped around the kitchen as she measured and stirred the
mixture before popping it into the oven. Finally she turned her attention to
the salad. By the time she was finished it was starting to get dark.

She
hadn’t asked Jack what time to expect him home. She was debating whether she
should call him when the front door opened. She heard his footsteps go into his
room and then come down the hall toward her. He looked tired and worse yet, he
looked sad.

“Is
everything all right?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

He
exhaled and squeezed her. “It is now.” He rested his cheek against hers and she
breathed in his musky scent.

“Do
you want to talk about it?”

He released
her. “No. Let’s leave it for Monday. It’s the weekend and I want to forget
about work.” He sniffed. “What are you cooking?”

“Sheet cake.”

He
grinned.
“Smells great.”

She
was glad she’d decided to make it, pleased she could cheer him up. “You’ve got
time for a shower before dinner.”

“Want
to join me?”

The
look he gave her made her stomach flutter. “I’d love to.”

* * *

It
was Wednesday afternoon before Bridget finally received an email from Graham.
He apologized for the wait, blaming HR for taking their time approving the
position description. She closed the door to her office to give herself five
minutes of peace while she read through it. By the time she finished she was
grinning and all her muscles were tingling with excitement.

It
was her ideal job. Every aspect of it spoke to her passion for safety and her
desire to improve work practices. She had all the qualifications they asked for
and more, and the company had a flexible policy which meant she could choose
her own work hours.

Her
inbox pinged and it was another email from Graham, this one sent from his
personal email address. It contained a rough salary range for the role, which
was over ten thousand dollars more than she was earning now. Part of her wanted
to respond immediately with “where do I sign?” but she needed to think about it
rationally.

She
opened her notebook and drew a line down the middle. In the pro column she put
Jack, job satisfaction, money, support and making a difference. In the con
column she wrote “abandoning her colleagues”.

She
sighed. She did feel like she was abandoning them, that without her they would
have no one to stand up to management on their behalf. Perhaps it was arrogant
of her. Jack was definitely making inroads in that direction.

At a
knock on the door she quickly closed the file on her computer and called, “Come
in.” Jack entered, looking slightly harassed.

“What’s
up?”

He
stepped in to the room. “I need you out in the plant. The shutdown’s finished
and they’re restarting the plant. I don’t want
them
taking shortcuts.” He glanced at her desk and frowned. “What’s that?”

Bridget
turned and noticed her notebook open at the pro/con column. Jack’s name was at
the top of the list.

“Nothing,”
she said and shut the book.

He
stepped back, worry crossing his face. She debated for a second and then had to
tell him. She hated to add further stress.

“I’ve
been offered a job.” She waved a hand toward the notebook. “I was writing up a
pro/con list as to whether I should take it. You were top of the pro side.”

“Oh.”
There was real hurt on his face. “I wouldn’t have thought it was a hard
decision. Not if you want to tell people we’re dating.”

“That’s
not the only thing I need to consider,” she said. “There’s whether I’ll like
the job, how much it pays, whether it’s fair of me to leave the technicians
without a champion.”

The
hurt changed to disbelief. “You’d put the technicians feelings over our
relationship?”

“It’s
not that simple, Jack. If the guys bring their problems to Dirk, they get
ignored. They
know
if they come to me, the issues will be
addressed. It’s something I have to factor in to my decision.”

“Really?
You’d let Dirk’s behavior control our relationship?”

“No.”
He didn’t understand.

“So
is the job different from what you’re doing now?”

“Completely.”
Relieved to be on a safer ground, she said, “It’s amazing. It’s for a
safety projects coordinator, which means I get to spend all of my day
implementing improvements to the refinery.”

“Sounds
like your perfect role.”

“It is!
And it’s a significant pay rise.” The excitement bubbled up in her.

“So
tell me again exactly
why
you’re even hesitating to apply?” There was an
edge to his tone.

The
bubble popped. “The technicians need an advocate.”

“More
than we need to be open about our relationship?”

“What
relationship?”

Bridget
whirled around at Kevin’s voice. She wanted to swear. She glanced at Jack. He
was watching her, waiting for her to say something.

Holy hell.

She
turned back to Kevin. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell the truth when
she saw the judgment already forming on his face. No. She couldn’t do this
again. She wasn’t
ready,
it was too much of a risk.
She didn’t have a new job yet.

“He
was referring to our working relationship,” she said finally.

Jack
pushed past her and she flinched. “Excuse me, Kevin. I’ve got to get back to
the plant. Bridget I expect you out there as soon as you’re finished here.”

He
didn’t look at her or wait for her response.

Chapter 20

Bridget’s heart cracked, but she couldn’t go
after him, not with Kevin standing right there.

“I
hope that’s all it is,” he said. “We took a chance hiring you, especially after
that unfortunate incident at Premium Oil. I’d hate for you to make the same
mistake and put this plant at risk.”

Her
cheeks warmed and anger simmered. “Of course not,” she managed to say. “Was
there something you wanted from me?”

“Yes.
Your project has had a cost blow-out that is unacceptable.”

She
stared at him. “Everything’s on track. Jack hired a few contractors to get
things moving but aside from that we’re on budget.”

“That’s
not good enough,” Kevin said.

Bridget
opened her mouth to respond when a loud rumble like a freight train split the
air. What the hell was that? Her stomach plummeted. It sounded suspiciously
like one of the big relief valves – the ones that vented to the atmosphere, the
ones she was working on replacing.

Kaboom
!

The
noise was so loud her ears rang and the whole administration building shook.
Fuck.

“What
the hell was that?” Kevin yelled.

Bridget’s
pulse raced. She grabbed her two-way radio and tuned to the emergency channel.
The fire alarm sounded. Jeremy was away, so she was in charge.

“Get
everyone to the assembly point,” she barked into the radio and seconds later
another alarm sounded.

Whatever
had happened was bad enough to make the building shake. She needed a head
count. Her blood went cold. Jack was out in the plant.

Kevin
grabbed her hand. “Shouldn’t you find out the problem first?”

She glared
at him. “That explosion is the problem. Get to an assembly point.”

Out
in the hall she caught hold of Ken. “Jack was in the plant. Check the
gatehouse. If he’s not there, I need you to stay there and oversee. Get me a
head count, stat. I’m going out.”

Ken
nodded,
his face pale.

Bridget
ran for the exit nearest the plant, and then across to the fire station. A huge
plume of black smoke billowed out of the crude unit and flames created a wall
of heat. The acrid stench of burning oil filled her nostrils. The technicians
were already suiting up and she did the same, making sure her radio was
attached and working. “What have we got?” she yelled.

“Don’t
know exactly but it’s the crude unit. Control tech hit the emergency shutdown,”
one of the fire team leaders said.

Around
her the fire tender were being readied. “Everyone swiped on?” Everyone on the
plant carried a swipe card so their movements could be tracked. The fire
station counted as an assembly point and all the technicians had to swipe in to
get an accurate head count. As she looked around they all nodded.
“Any casualties?”

“Don’t
know yet.”

She
radioed the gatehouse. “Prep the ambulance.” She hoped they didn’t need to use
it.

Jumping
into one fire tender, her team headed into the smoke and flame.

The
heat was hideous, coming toward them in waves, and the smell of burning oil
came through her breathing apparatus. They pulled up as close as they dared and
unhitched the hoses.

Bridget
left them to it as she scanned the area, checking for other hazards and for
people. “We got a head count yet?” she barked into the radio.

“Ten
missing, Bridge,” Ken said.

Her
stomach was lead. She turned to the nearest man. “Go fetch the ambulance.” If
there were people missing they were most likely injured. To Ken she
said,
“Call the nearest medics. Inform them we may need
transport to the hospital.” He knew the drill.

“Bridget,
one of the missing is Jack.”

Her
body froze for a split second. No. She couldn’t bear that. She had to find him,
had to find all of them. “Give me the names.”

Ken
read out the list. She peered into the destruction but the smoke and flame made
it so hard to see.

“Roger
that,” she said, numb. “Which unit were they tagged on to?” she called over the
radio.

“Four
were swiped on to the cat reformer, two in the cracker and the other four were
working in the crude unit.”

Bridget
relayed the information to her team and sent guys to each unit to search. She
desperately wanted to ask which unit Jack had been tagged on to but it didn’t
matter. Everyone needed to be found. What had he been doing out in the plant?
What would he have been checking?

“Set
up a five-man fog attack,” she ordered. “We’ve got to get the fire under
control.” They’d need all the fire tenders to do so.

Movement
caught her eye and Joe, the shift supervisor, stumbled toward them through the
smoke. She grabbed her nearest team member and ran over. He coughed as Bridget
reached him.

“I’ve
got you,” she said. “Was anyone else with you?” Was Jack?

He
nodded, trying to speak. It came out as a croak.

“How many more?
Hold up your fingers.”

He
held up two fingers.

“Where?”

He
pointed. “Tower,” he rasped.

Together
Bridget and her team mate carried him out of the smoke and into the safe zone.
The ambulance was just pulling up. She left the driver to give Joe oxygen and
turned to the other man. “Take a couple of guys, go up wind and find them.”

He
nodded, grabbed the guys and they moved around the flames into the plant. Bridget
wanted to go with them but she couldn’t. She had to stay in control, to direct
the response. She radioed the team she’d sent to the cracking unit.

“We’ve
got Mike,” someone said. “He’s unconscious but breathing. Looks like the damn
fire ball made it this far.”

“I’ll
send the ambulance.”

“Great.
We’re still searching for the other guy.”

Bridget
jogged to the ambulance. Joe was sitting inside wearing an oxygen mask. “Go
around to the cracker. We’ve got one unconscious,” she ordered the driver.

He
nodded and after making sure Joe was secure, he drove off.

“Bridget,
we’ve found three here.” It was the other team at the catalytic reformer.
“Two conscious but with head wounds and burns, one unconscious.
I think he’s broken his leg.”

“Do
you need a stretcher?”

“Yeah, and an ambulance.
I’ll keep the guys under the safety showers until it gets here.”

“All right.
There should be one more guy in that unit. Do you need more men to help
search?”

“Yeah,
send a couple.”

She
sent three more guys out. “Ken I need three ambulances,” she said into her
radio. “We’ve got concussion, burns, smoke inhalation, and broken bones.”

There
were three still unaccounted for, including Jack. Where the hell was he? She
couldn’t let her fear for him take
control,
she had to
lead the response.

Four
people emerged from the smoke. She frantically scanned them, looking for the
familiar face. Her heart fell. They were the responders she’d sent with the men
who had been with Joe. They were disoriented but unhurt. There was a truck
nearby and Bridget checked there were keys in it.

“Take
them to the gatehouse for first aid.” The gatehouse was also the medical center
and the security guards were all trained medics. The injured were loaded into
the truck and sped to the plant entrance.

Still no Jack.

Her
heart raced but her mind was clear, focused on the task at hand. She had to
find the remaining men and get them to safety, and she had to protect her team.

“We’re
going to need some more fire tenders,” she radioed to Ken. The men she had on
the hoses were not making much progress. “Put a call out to our neighbors.”

There
were other oil refineries in Houston and they had a mutual aid agreement to
help each other out in an emergency. They were going to be needed.

Her
radio barked to life. “Bridget, what the hell is going on out there?” It was
Kevin.

“We’ve
got the mother of all fires,” she said. “We can’t get close enough to determine
the cause yet. I’ve got men hosing it down to stop the spread and others
searching for our three remaining missing people. Anyone know what work they
were doing?”

She
rattled off the names of the missing. Only silence in reply. She swore.

“Bridget,
Jack might be at the sleeping hut.” Anthony came on the radio. “I told him he
had to close it today.”

“What
sleeping hut?” There wasn’t such a thing as far as she knew.

There
was a pause before one of her team said, “I know it. I’ll check.”

Bridget
didn’t have time to hope. She continued monitoring the fire, checking in with
her team members and praying like mad.

The
ambulance arrived back with Joe and Mike on board. She sent them straight to
the gatehouse. Mike was now conscious and could be checked there before going
on to the hospital. She was still waiting for the other ambulances. “Ken, where
are my ambulances?”

“Two
offsite ambulances have arrived.”

“Send
both straight to the catalytic reformer and order another two. We’ve got three
missing still. Get the guys in the truck to show them where to go.”

Her biggest
concern was the unconscious man and her three missing people. “Found anyone
else at the cracker?” she called through the radio.

“No,
Bridge. Area’s all clear. No one else is here.”

“Hell.”
She needed to set up a bigger search. If the man had been foolish enough to cut
through the alkylate unit he could be in serious trouble. The unit was full of
hydrofluoric acid and no one was supposed to enter it without a hazmat suit.

Bridget
grabbed five team members she knew worked in the alkylate unit. “Get in full
hazmat suits. I need you to search the alky unit.”

They
nodded and jogged away.

She
turned to check her remaining numbers. “We’ve got three missing men. We’ve got
to do a methodical search, starting from the cat reformer and working back to
the crude unit.” It was too hot and dangerous to start near the fire and there
was still one operator unaccounted for in that unit.

“Yes,
ma’am,” they said and headed out.

Bridget
turned her attention to the fire. It was not abating.

“Bridget,
the fire trucks have arrived.”

“Direct
them my way,” she said.

“Bridget,
we found one. He’s in a bad way, major burns. Need an ambulance to the north
side of the alky unit.”

“Who
is it?” Bridget’s heart stood still.

“Chris.
We’ve got him under the safety shower. He’s unconscious and his breathing is
weak. He must have been walking back to the control room when it happened. He’s
been knocked into the alky unit but I can’t see any signs of acid burns.”

Hydrofluoric
acid would eat through skin and bone quickly and if the man had fire burns, the
acid burns might be hidden. He needed to get to the hospital immediately.

“Ken,
you got that?” Bridget called.

“Yeah.
Another ambulance just arrived.
Directing it now.”

She
breathed out deeply. She couldn’t worry about one person. There were still two
more. Two more people to find and one of them was Jack. He had to be
unconscious, because he knew to get on to the closest emergency channel to let
her know his position.

Her
skin tightened and for a moment the fear threatened to overwhelm her. She
fought it back. Jack would be fine. He knew how to protect himself. He had to
be all right. She wouldn’t consider the alternative.

The
fire trucks pulled up and Bridget directed them to where they were needed. Then
she stood back and scanned the unit, searching, trying to find some sign of
Jack and the other missing man. He’d said he wanted her to monitor the startup
but he hadn’t said what he was doing. It was her fault. She’d not had a chance
to ask him, not after he’d been so angry at her denial of their relationship.

She
shaded her eyes, looking up, and radioed her team. “What’s your status?”

“Chris
is in the ambulance. We’re making our way closer to the flames.”

“Was
there no one at the sleeping hut?”

“I’m
here, Bridge. A piece of steel is blocking the door,” one of the guys said. “I
think I can hear someone inside.”

She
didn’t let the hope take over. She needed to focus. “What do you need to move
it?” Bridget asked.

“We
might need a crane. Give me a minute, I’ll let you know.”

“Get
confirmation someone’s in there.”