Page 6 of His Fiery Mate

Tanner was first up the ladder, followed swiftly by Jimmy. Peering inside the room, Tanner could see the smoke was thick and the visibility was low. There were, however, no active flames on the walls, floor or ceiling. Using his axe to break the window, Tanner ducked down in case there was any backdraft. Once inside, he crawled on his hands and knees, feeling his way through the burning house.

“Fire department! Call out if you can hear me!”

A faint cry led him to the back bedroom, where he found a woman shielding two small boys under a blanket.

“We’re getting you out of here,” he assured them, his voice muffled by his breathing apparatus. He lifted the larger of the two boys into his arms before passing off the woman and the smaller boy to Jimmy. “Stay low and get them out of here,” Tanner said to Jimmy through their comm unit. He turned to the mother and shouted over the roar of the fire. “You go with Jimmy. Stay on your hands and knees. He’s got your boy. We’ll get you out of here.”

Jimmy nodded and took the other little boy. Crouched over so he could carry the child, Jimmy led the woman back the way they’d come. With the larger boy in his arms, Tanner followed them back to the window. It could be a strain to carry anyone—even a child—any distance while he was crouched over, but there was nothing to do for it. To stand upright would reduce his visibility to nearly zero. Mike had angled the truck and its ladder so they could escape using it. Billy was waiting, ready to help them descend to safety.

Back on the ground, the air around them felt colder than the North Pole. Because they’d been so hot and sweating inside the house, the temperature on the outside felt far colder than it was. A second team of paramedics had arrived and were providing immediate care to the rescued family. Tanner regrouped with Mike and watched Jimmy as he joined his teammates and worked, with the aid of a second fire engine, to contain the blaze enough to prevent it from spreading to neighboring homes.

After what felt like hours but was actually less than half an hour, the fire was under control. Tanner assumed the lead, and he and his team, working seamlessly with the others, managed to extinguish the remaining hot spots and secure the scene. Even though it had been less than an hour from the original call, he could feel exhaustion settling over his people. Despite that, there was a sense of accomplishment and relief. They’d saved lives today, and that’s what mattered.

“Fireman Smoke?” called the mayor before correcting herself with a self-deprecating laugh, “I’m so sorry, Fireman North, could you join us?” she asked.

As usual the mayor had managed to garner a gaggle of press around her. The woman lived for notoriety. That wasn’t true. She lived to get herself re-elected. He knew he couldn’t ignore her. He’d tried that and been reprimanded by the chief—not officially, but still told he couldn’t dismiss the woman. He turned to look back at the fire as he headed in the mayor’s direction. There was just something about this string of fires that had him questioning their origin. He made a mental note to speak to the chief about it in the next day or two.

“Yo, Smoke, can you tell us what happened?” called a reporter from one of the regional newspapers.

Tanner shrugged. “House caught fire; we put it out. That’s about all we know at this point.”

“Don’t be so modest, Tanner. Everyone saw you break in that window to save that woman and her two boys. As a mother myself, I can tell you, she will never forget that you saved her life and more importantly, the lives of her children.”

“Yes ma’am, but it was a team effort. Jimmy was right behind me, and Billy was waiting to help get them down the ladder when we got back to the window.”

“You’re so right, Tanner,” said the mayor. “The collaboration between our various firehouses, dispatch, the police, and even my office is part of what makes Kodiak such an extraordinary place to live.”

One of the reporters, ignoring the mayor, asked, “Can you explain the uptick in the number of fires we’ve seen recently?”

“Most have been really old buildings which were not built to the safety standards we have today.”

“Do you think the mayor or the city council should force the owners of these buildings into compliance?” asked the reporter.

Tanner could feel the mayor’s body stiffen beside him. This had been an ongoing argument between the chief and the city’s government officials for some time now.

He shrugged again and gave the press his best little boy smile. “I’m not saying that at all. Everybody—the chief, the department, the mayor, the city council, even the building owners are trying their best to do what’s right. At least we haven’t lost anyone…”

Before he could say more, the mayor had regained control of the press and Tanner was just about to slip away, intending to rejoin his team until the chief beckoned. “Tanner.”

“That’s the boss. I gotta go,” said Tanner with a cheeky grin before sprinting away to join the chief. “Thanks.”

The chief smiled. “You handle them better than I would, but they have a point.”

Tanner nodded and was overcome by feelings of nausea and dizziness. He bent over, grasping his muscular thighs, fighting back the disorienting feeling.

“You all right, Tanner?” asked the chief.

“Sure. Just a little soot in my nostrils and maybe my lungs.” There was no way the chief could know that hellhounds could breathe smoke all day with no ill-effect. “Nothing a week in Hawaii at the department’s expense couldn’t fix.” That was a long-standing joke between Tanner and the chief.

“I’ll get right on that,” chuckled the chief.

Tanner barely had time to register what the chief was saying when he saw a gorgeous brunette dressed in faded and distressed jeans, tucked into cowboy boots with a sweater that tried to hide her luscious figure but failed to do so. Tanner had never become sexually aroused at a fire, but something about the dark-haired female turned him on in a way nothing ever had. The moment he saw her, he was almost overcome by a feeling of disorientation. She was exquisite.

Tanner cursed under his breath.

She was also his fated mate.

CHAPTER 3

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