The Fire Inside (25 page)

Instead of answering her, he grabbed her hand
and put it to his groin. “A lot. And this is from simply seeing
you.”

He was hard and heavy in her hand. “We’re on
the same page, Doc.” She stepped back and unzipped the sweatshirt
she wore. Some lacy thing, white and delicate, greeted him. He
swallowed hard. Then she sidled down the pants.

“Christ Almighty, Tess. Where the hell did
you get that?”

She snapped the clasp of the garter belt
attached to white stockings. “This little thing? The girls took me
shopping earlier to buy something to wear with you the next time we
were together.”

He went to reach for her then stopped. “You
didn’t tell them that I wouldn’t…because the kids were here…”

“What do you think? It was just us
girls.”

Startling her with his quickness, he pulled
her to him. “Tease.” He took her mouth in a savage kiss. She bit
his lip. He grabbed her ass. She hiked up and wrapped her legs
around him. Blindly he backed her into a wall, and pressed her
against it. “Don’t wait,” she whispered harshly. “I’m ready.”

Freeing himself from his clothes, he plunged
into her. That was the last thing he remembered.

o0o

An hour later they were in bed and making
love again. His caresses were tender and slow. His kisses whisper
soft everywhere on her body: the inside of her knee, her waist, the
little mole she had under her jaw. Lost in a wash of sensation, she
drifted along, enjoying each precious brush of his hands and lips.
He entered her with the same gentleness, slipping inside, moving
slowly until she crested and fell off the edge of the waterfall of
pleasure.

They cuddled afterward. She relished in the
feel of his hard muscles and the male scent of his skin after sex.
Neither spoke. For minutes. Then Tess asked, “How could making love
be so different each time?”

He kissed her hair. “The first was
passion.”

Easing herself up, she braced her arms on his
chest. “Don’t say what the second was.”

“Why?”

“Saying it aloud will give it more power.
It’s too soon.” Panic started to rise from her stomach to her
heart, then worked its way into her voice. “I’ve only been in town
six weeks.”

“It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been
here.” His tone never changed. It was sure and certain. “How long
we’ve been together. Something clicked between us in Rockland and
never went away. What’s between us has only intensified since you
came to town.”

“It’s too soon,” she repeated. “Don’t say
anything more.”

“Just this.” He eased her onto her back, then
angled himself over her, watching her intently. “The intimacy of
what happened here in bed,
and
out there in the living room,
is real, Tess. We’ve crossed a line. You’ll have to face that.”

“I know. I just think we should take it
slower. I’m scared.”

His frown was deep. “Okay, I’ll agree to take
it slow. Nothing’s going to change, though.”

She laid her head on his chest. “I hope
not.”

o0o

“We’ll be at the smokehouse this morning,”
Captain Hennessey told the recruits on the Monday of the fourth
week. After all the book learning and more to go before the
practical maneuvers, they needed some hands-on things to do. Danny
was bored to death.

“You’ll dress in your gear here at the
Academy, and we’ll hike to the smokehouse out back. Once there,
you’ll be sent inside alone. The building will be filled with mist,
simulating smoke, so you won’t be able to see anything.”

“You said firefighters never worked alone.”
This from one female recruit who’d just begun to speak up.

“We don’t. Ever. But you might get separated,
or your partner may get hurt. We want to test your ingenuity if you
have to act solo.”

“If it’s dark in there, how will we get out?”
Johnson asked. Like Hanley, he’d had trouble with the maze.

“You memorize what you did on the way in,
then reverse it. And when there’s something blocking your exit like
what could be a fallen beam, there are ways out. Just don’t
panic.”

Righetti, in the back, added, “There are
Mayday alarms on your coats if you need them. We’ll set them for
seven minutes. If they go off, you come out regardless of whether
or not you finished your task.”

Danny mumbled under his breath, “As if.”

“What was that, Recruit Mauro?” Righetti
again. Damn her, she must be watching him like a hawk.

“Nothing, ma’am.” She was going to get on him
again today; he just knew it. Well, he’d show her. His dad had
brought him to the smokehouse on weekends when there was no
training and let him go inside—more than once. He remembered the
layout.

Following his fellow recruits to the locker
room, Danny pulled out his gear and suited up faster than anyone
else. While they were still wrestling with their air packs, he
exited the Academy and walked at a clip over to the training area
by himself. It was stinking hot in all this clothing; even at a
slow pace, he was sweating beneath it. After a few minutes,
somebody caught up to him.

“In a hurry, Mauro?”

Shit. “The chief told us to head on
over.”

“Yeah, she did.”

They walked side-by-side. Her long strides
kept up easily with his. “I suppose you’ve been in a smokehouse,
too.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, stay on your toes, recruit. There
might be some surprises.”

He stopped and she went ahead of him.
“Captain?”


She turned.

“Why are you always riding my ass?”

“Why are you always being such a
know-it-all?”

Because I don’t want to be here,
Danny
thought. But no, he chided himself.
She
was the problem.

“None of the other instructors have issues
with me.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

She jogged the rest of the way, leaving him
open mouthed. Nobody liked him here?

His conscience came front and center.
Why
would they? You haven’t been yourself, once.

“Shut up,” he said aloud and kept
walking.

The gray, concrete building in the far back
of the Academy complex rose up three stories high, with several
openings for windows and a set of metal fire escapes on the
southern corner. Mist resembling white smoke billowed out of
them.

Danny arrived first, but gave Righetti the
Bitch wide berth. The rest of the recruits and teachers came along
shortly. Chief Hennessey looked from him to Righetti, who said,
“Mauro was in a hurry. I kept him company.”

Hennessey frowned but didn’t speak to him.
Instead, she focused on another recruit.

“Murphy, since you always raise your hand
when I ask for a volunteer, we’ll spare you the effort. You go in
first.” She held up a card. “Your task is on the third floor. In
one of the bedrooms is a box of books. Bring it back down. And keep
us apprised of your progress through the radio. Everybody is
wearing a mic so we’ll all learn about recovery calls from each
other’s experience.”

“Right on it, Chief.” The guy was always so
excited about everything they did. He had a friendly grin and easy
way. And he really wanted to be a firefighter. Danny envied
him.

Murphy hustled inside. “I’m going up the
steps… Ouch, I hit something so there’s an impediment on the second
landing. On the third floor now…found the box. Hell, it’s
heavy.”

“So are bodies, Murphy.” Hennessey’s tone was
dry.

“Yeah.” Silence. “I’m retracing my steps…am
at the staircase…going down. Holy shit…” Static and noise over his
radio mic.

Silence. For too long. Righetti and Hennessey
bolted inside. Even Danny was concerned. Then, finally, from the
mic, “He’s right here… You okay, Liam?” Hennessey asked.

“I fell flat on my ass and slid down on it
the rest of the way.”

Both women laughed. “Are you hurt?” This time
it was Righetti.

“Only my pride. The books spilled all over,
though.”

“That’s okay. Get on out of here.”

The three of them exited. When they reached
the group, Hennessey put a hand on Murphy’s shoulder. Obviously,
they liked him. “He’s all right. Make sure you give him some grief
for embarrassing himself.”

Good-naturedly, Murphy laughed.

Cruz went in next. Same drill, but she had to
retrieve a suitcase on the roof. They could hear her breathing
heavily as she climbed the last flight of stairs. Something inside
of Danny shifted. He hoped she didn’t wash out. She was trying
hard.

“I’m on the roof… Got the suitcase. It’s
heavy but I can manage it. Oh, no, I’m back at the door I came in,
but it won’t open.”

Danny realized there must be another teacher
inside to set up the roadblocks.

“What are you going to do?” Hennessey asked
calmly.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t panic, Anita.” Even Righetti used a
first name. “Think hard what the building looked like from the
outside.”

“The fire escape!” Silence. “I’m there. It’s
open. I’m coming down.”

“Right choice, Cruz,” Hennessey said with a
big grin on her face. “We can see you. Good job.”

Cruz came out, lugging the suitcase, looking
as if she’d won a war. Her smile was huge and made him like
her.

Four more recruits took their turns inside,
had some troubles but got out fine with their booty.

Righetti turned to him. “I hope seven’s your
lucky number, Mauro. You’re next. In a corner of the third floor is
a body in the closet. Bring her back.”

Hmm, that sounded exciting at least. He put
on his face mask and went inside. It was hotter in here. He hurried
up the three flights of steps easily because he kept in good shape.
Feeling his way down the hall was a snap, but the inability to see
anything
spooked him. His heart raced.

“You there, Mauro? You’re supposed to be
narrating your progress.” Hennessey sounded ticked off.

“Yeah…almost there. I’m at the room… Here’s
the closet… The door won’t open.”

No response.

“I don’t have a ram to spring it. Can
somebody bring one in?”

“Nope.” Righetti’s voice. “You’re on your
own.”

“Seriously?”

“Think on your feet, recruit.”

What to do? Taking off his glove, he fished
in his pocket for the screwdriver he’d carried inside. Felt for the
hinges on the door. Jimmied the sharp edge under the top one, but
it slipped, gouging his unprotected hand. Wetness covered his palm.
“Fuck.”

“What was that Mauro?” The bitch again.

Determined to show her he could do this, he
wedged the tip in the hinge again, and the metal fastener snapped
off. The bottom one did the same. The door fell inward but he
managed to move it out.

“Okay, I’m inside.”

“Good job, Mauro.” A compliment from
Righetti?

Squatting, he felt for the body. Hardness.
Stuffing. Here it was. He yanked on it. Damn, somebody’d tied it
down. “Dummy’s rigged. But I got my wire cutters.” He’d snipped a
couple of ties around her chest when an ear-shattering noise
reverberated in the building, almost making him fall back. It took
him a minute to realize the sound was his Mayday alarm.

Hennessey said, “Come out, Mauro.”

“In a few minutes.”

“Now!” Hennessey gave him a direct order. He
knew insubordination on the fire ground was not tolerated. “If this
was a real fire, the alarm would mean you’re out of air.”

“I’m not.”

“Get out, Mauro.” Righetti sounded mad.

“I’m coming… Just one more. There I got
it.”

Silence from the other end. Fuck them, he
needed more time and he took it. They should be happy he showed
initiative. He exited the stairwell on the first floor carrying the
dummy.

Outside, Chief Hennessey greeted him, hands
on hips, a deep scowl on her face. “You disobeyed orders.”

“I saved the dummy.”


“You were told to come out. You’ll get a zero
for your performance this week on RTE. You know the rule. If you
get less than fifty on your total score, you won’t graduate and
become a firefighter.”

Anger rose inside him, fast and fiery. She
had to be kidding. He’d done his job. He started to speak, but
Hennessey moved in close. “You’re already in trouble, Danny. Don’t
say anything else.”

He held her gaze, bit the inside of his jaw,
then circled around her and strode away. Heading toward the
Academy, he felt the weight of the accusing stares from the other
recruits. Who gave a shit?


Captain Righetti grabbed his arm as he passed
her. “I tried to warn you, Mauro.”

She’d probably set him up.

He flung off the captain.

“What the hell?” She stumbled backward, but
he kept going, not waiting to see if she was okay. He had to get
out of here.

His mic still connected, he heard the other
recruits shouting. “She’s down… Hell, what just happened…? Oh my
God…”

Then Captain Hennessey. “Somebody go get Ms.
James in the EMS office. Tess, you okay?”

Silence.

Then, “Yeah, I wrenched my shoulder. And got
some scratches is all.”

Whipping off his mic, Danny threw it to the
ground and kept walking. He reached his car, yanked off his helmet,
tank and turnout coat, flung them to the pavement. He got inside
with his boots, bunker pants and suspenders still on. The engine
roared to life as if it was angry, too, and he tore out of the
parking lot, but he got only about forty yards down the road before
he had to turn into a gas station. Off to the side of the parking
lot, he put his head on the steering wheel.

o0o

Jack flew into the EMS office, located at one
end of the gym. An assistant in the outer area raised her brows.
“Jack? What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Tess Righetti?”


“Inside with Larissa.”

His heart beating fast, Jack rushed to the
main office door, yanked it open.

Larissa was listening to Tess’s heartbeat but
stopped and looked up. “Jack? What’s going on?”