Everything Bared (Six-Alarm Sexy) (30 page)

“Right away, LJ,” she said, snapping to attention.

“Bring Coco. The building has been evacuated. But there was a tour going on, and now one person is missing.”

“Who?” Will asked, sounding anxious, and Dani couldn’t blame him. This party was turning into a clusterfuck.

“Some kid. Name’s Matt,” Jamie said.

Dani’s knees grew weak. Will steadied her with a hand on her elbow. “Walker?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Oh God.” She wrenched her arm out of Will’s hold and ran with Coco to Ladder 27. When she opened the door, all her gear was lying on the floor, waiting for her. Jamie wasn’t going to take her resignation lying down.

Her outfit would be ruined, but there was nothing to be done about it. Hiking up her skirt, she jumped into her boots and pulled up her bunker pants, slipping the suspenders over her jacket. After shrugging on her turnout coat, she hefted the SCBA onto her shoulders and shoved her mask in place.

“Gabe, you’re on search and rescue with Dani. Start with the manufacturing rooms. That’s where the tour was when Dani hit the alarm. Drew, man the truck; everyone else, up the ladder. We need to get this baby ventilated.”

Dani and Gabe entered through the loading dock door. Because of the health-and-safety inspection she’d done with Will, she had a good sense of the layout and was able to get to the manufacturing section through a series of long hallways without any false starts. Smoke was beginning to seep into the hallways. If it got much thicker, she’d have to send Coco back out.

Over the two-way, Jamie said, “Dispatch, this is Lieutenant Caldwell, Rescue 21. We need to balance this to a full response. Do you copy?”

“Roger that, Lieutenant.” Based on Jamie’s request, CFF would soon be swarming with an additional forty or so firefighters and staff, including the ever-formidable Deputy Chief Wright.

As in all emergency situations, Dani’s head was clear, her pulse even. But that didn’t stop the thread of fear that she’d be too late to save Matt. When they reached the door to the first manufacturing room, where frames for the famous Caldwell beds were assembled, Dani checked in with Jamie. “LJ, what’s the status on ventilation?” Until that was done, it wasn’t safe to open doors where there was smoke. If the room was on fire, the air currents would pull the flames toward her.

“Started. Clear on your end.”

“Copy that,” she said. Gabe tried to shove the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. Dani pointed to an electronic keypad. “It’s locked.” The radio embedded in her mask transmitted her words to the rest of the platoon.

“Drew, get someone from security to unlock the damn doors in the manufacturing section. And let William know. Those doors are supposed to unlock automatically,” Jamie said.

While they waited, Dani walked up and down the corridor with Coco, letting her sniff at all the doors. But she kept returning to the first one.

Boots clomping on the cement floor drew their attention. Will arrived with one of the security guards. He slid his ID card through the slider and punched in a code. The light turned green. “It’s unlocked now.”

“Any word on Matt?” she asked Will and the security guard.

Will’s mouth straightened, becoming bloodless. She had her answer. As Gabe prepared to push open the door, Dani stood to the side with Coco. She turned to Will. “Go back. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Be careful.” He squeezed her arm, then stepped back.

With a mighty heave, Gabe shoved the door open. Smoke billowed out. Dani leaned in to scan the room, but from her vantage point, she couldn’t see any flames. Behind her, she heard someone coughing. She turned to see Will bent over, his hands on his knees.
Men.
Rolling her eyes, she went and put her mask on his face, giving him a shot of oxygen. “Better?” He gave her a sheepish look and nodded. “Good. Now get out of here.”

Still coughing, he hurried down the hallway. Along with Gabe, she and Coco entered the manufacturing room. Luckily, once the first wave of smoke escaped through the door, what was left filled the top half of the room. The space ten feet above the floor was relatively clear.

Crouching, she unhooked Coco’s leash. “Find it. Find Matt.”

Coco barked and began sniffing the air. Then she ran to the left side of the big room, sniffing around boxes, rising up on her hindquarters to sniff along piles of lumber.

“K9,” Jamie said over the two-way. “Fire’s in the northwest corner of the inventory room.” From her prior visit, Dani knew the inventory room, filled with highly flammable lumber, was on the back side of the manufacturing room. A door connected the two.

She’d keep Coco away from that area. “Copy that.”

“Exit doors are chained,” Gabe said over the two-way.

“Damn.” The saboteur had returned and kicked things up a notch. “Are you thinking what I‘m thinking, LJ?”

“Yep. Already radioed it in. Arson is on their way,” Jamie said.

“Gabe, keep your eyes open, okay? Matt’s only six, and he doesn’t talk much.” Even if he heard them calling his name, he might not be able to respond. Beads of sweat rolled down her face along her hairline, and it had nothing to do with the heat. She was terrified of finding Matt’s small body lying still, of seeing his cheerful face devoid of life, his eyes empty.

“Coco, find it,” she repeated, letting the dog know the urgency. The smoke was thickening, and soon she’d have to send Coco out. “Matt,” she called. “It’s Dani. Can you hear me?” He might not speak, but maybe he’d move and make some noise. With her heightened hearing, Coco would be alerted.

Coco’s head jerked up. She barked and raced toward the northwest end of the room. “Coco, slow,” Dani called, not wanting the dog too close to the fire. Suddenly, Coco disappeared under a pile of oak boards. The strapping had broken and the planks had fallen to the side. “Coco!”

A series of sharp barks indicated Coco had found something. “Gabe, get over here.”

“Did she find the kid?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. Help me move these boards.”

Together, they started tossing aside planks, careful not to dislodge the already unstable pile. Her dog and an unknown victim were trapped underneath. Coco’s barks continued, directing them. Soon, a small sneakered foot appeared in a gap between two boards. “We’ve got him, Gabe. Careful now.”

They worked to free the child from the lumber, removing one plank at a time. If he was badly injured, any jostling could be fatal. Coco slid out the way she’d gone in and paced by Dani’s feet, whining and whimpering. Dani knew in her heart the child was Matt. Coco knew it too.

Please, God. Let him be okay.

Thirty seconds later, the child’s face came into view. It was Matt. She let out a breath, glad they’d found him, but scared by his lack of awareness.

“We’ve got him, LJ. We’ve got Matt.”

“Thank fuck,” Jamie said. “Get him out of there, K9.”

“Working on it.” Dani and Gabe lifted the last piece of wood hemming Matt in. Yanking off her gloves, Dani knelt beside the boy, and pressed her fingers to the side of his neck. The steady beat of his heart echoed inside her like a rock anthem. She pulled her mask off and briefly pressed a kiss to Matt’s dirt-smudged forehead before placing her mask over his face. The clean air would help revive him.

Quickly, she checked his body for cuts and broken bones. Other than a gash on his belly and bruises along his arms and legs, she found a knot on his head. He’d probably been knocked out when the pile of wood collapsed on him. A concussion was likely.

The arm she was examining quivered. Immediately, she lifted the mask from his small face to see if he was coming around. Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw his eyes open. Bloodshot though they were, she’d never seen anything more beautiful. “You’re okay, sweetie. Coco found you.”

He smiled and his eyes drifted shut. Per protocol, she replaced the mask over her own face, and carefully hefted him into her arms. “Good job, Coco.”

“Need help?” Gabe asked.

“I’m good.” She glanced down at Coco. “Let’s go, girl.”

“Relax, dude. They know what they’re doing.”

Chad clapped William on the back before turning to talk quietly with Liam. They’d already pulled out a stretcher and were prepared to treat any potential victim. When they’d moved the ambulance to the back of the building, the crowd had followed. Now, like everyone else, William waited.

Not far away, his parents stood with Gordon and his wife. Matt’s father seemed ready to charge into the building. It was only the quiet reassurances of William’s mother that kept the man in place.

William should be with them. He should be shoring up the poor man’s confidence. But what use would he be when he was falling apart himself? Holding Chloe in her arms, Erica appeared next to him. She nudged him gently with her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Jamie’s girls, comforting them as they comforted him. Chloe’s pale face and trembling lips showed how frightened she was. Erica leaned into him and whispered, “It’s always worse when we see it.”

He nodded, too shaken up to speak. If Danielle quit the fire service, he could be with her and never have to experience something like this ever again.

“Mommy!” Chloe’s face lit up as she pointed to a door beside the loading dock.

Like a proud warrior, a figure strode out, confident and strong. The full bunker gear and mask hid the firefighter’s identity until he spotted Coco yipping happily. Danielle carried a child in her arms. The crowd parted as she made her way to Chad and Liam, who raced forward with a stretcher. As soon as they reached her, she gently laid Matt on the stretcher and lifted her mask onto her helmet. Matt’s parents rushed over and touched his arms, his legs, whether to reassure themselves that their son was alive or to search for injuries, he wasn’t certain. Matt smiled and raised his gaze to Danielle’s face. Despite his obvious pain, admiration shone in his eyes. William made out the words, “Thank you.”

Danielle took his small hand and pressed his fingers to her mouth, then laid his hand across his stomach. “You’re such a brave boy. Chad and Liam are going to take great care of you.”

His eyes flicked over to Chad. “R-ride i-in the a-a-ambulance?” William saw a hopeful gleam in the boy’s gaze and had to smile. The kid was a trouper.

“You bet, tiger,” Chad said, smiling.

They hustled the boy and his parents into the ambulance and left for Harborview Medical Center, sirens blaring. As Danielle spoke to William’s parents and the gathered crowd, she seemed so comfortable in her role of protector, savior. Hero. How could she give this up?

How could he want her to?

A stirring in the crowd drew his attention. Jamie’s platoon was climbing down the ladder from the roof of the building, while members of the engine companies continued to spray foam on the building. One figure disengaged from the others. Chloe scrambled out of Erica’s arms and limped as fast as her cast and short legs allowed. “Daddy!” she yelled.

Hearing her, Jamie lifted off his mask and opened his arms. She flew into them and squealed as Jamie crushed her against his chest and lifted her into the air. Beside William, Erica sniffed. He looked at her questioningly. She shrugged. “What? I can’t help it. He’s perfect, and I’m so damn proud of him.”

William’s gaze found Danielle, completely in her element. Smiling and happy. Yes, she was perfect, and his heart was bursting with pride that this amazing woman wanted
him
. With only that thought in mind, he paced over to her, caught her around the waist and twirled her in circles. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’d better put me down before you break your back. With all this gear, I weigh a ton.”

“I’m never putting you down again, Firefighter Harris.”

He lowered her boots to the ground while she stared at him, shock and surprise in her brown eyes. “Never?”

Cupping her cheeks, he sealed their lips in a searing kiss. God, he loved the taste of her, soot and all. He was only peripherally aware of the whistles and clapping around them.

“But I thought…” she stammered. “My job.”

“It’s who you are, Dani. I don’t want you to be like Kathleen. We’ll work out the details later,” he said, paraphrasing her words from the lunch they’d had with his family.

She grinned and kissed him back. “Can we go now?”

“Only if you promise to bring your bunker gear. You look so fucking sexy in it. I’m hard as a battering ram.”

In a way no one could see, she rubbed her thigh against his aching cock. His lids fluttered shut and he had to bite back a moan. Fuck, the whole company was here, watching them. Somehow that made him even hotter.

Laughing, she took his hand. “Heel,” she said, and he didn’t know if she was speaking to him or Coco. Either way, he followed.