Page 30 of Sparks Fly

But the smile fades as quickly as it had appeared as Kaia registers the caller ID. It’s not Hallie, it’s the station. Frowning, Kaia swipes to answer, her stomach already twisting with unease.

“Montgomery,” she says, her voice coming out clipped and tense.

“Kaia, it’s Captain Hewitt. We have a major emergency—all personnel are being called in. Get to the station as soon as you can.”

Kaia feels the blood drain from her face, her heart stuttering to a halt in her chest. What could be so extreme that everyone off duty was being called in to help? The memory of the burning resort tower flickers behind her eyelids, making her wince. They haven’t faced any major emergencies since, and Kaia hadn’t realized until now how much that horrifying experience had stuck with her.

“I’ll be right there,” Kaia manages to choke out, already reaching for her discarded uniform. But even as Kaia tries to rationalize away the icy fear gripping her lungs, she can’t shake the sinking feeling that something is very, very wrong.

With fumbling fingers, she dials Hallie’s number as she rushes out the door, praying with every fiber of her being that the lieutenant will pick up. She could use some strong words of encouragement right now.

But the call goes straight to voicemail, Hallie’s crisp tone echoing in Kaia’s ear like a cruel taunt. Kaia fights to calm her racing heart as she sprints down the stairs of her building, her mind spinning with worst-case scenarios.

This is what you’re trained for, Kaia. Calm the fuck down.

By the time Kaia screeches into the fire station’s parking lot, her heart is pounding so hard she feels like it might burst from her ribcage. Hallie still hasn’t answered her phone.

She leaps from her car and races inside, drinking in the controlled chaos erupting around her as her fellow firefighters rush to gear up and head out.

In the briefing room, Captain Hewitt stands at the front, his face grim as he details the situation.

“Listen up, everyone. We have a big job on our hands. Two passenger trains have collided head-on just outside the city limits. Initial reports indicate a signaling malfunction is to blame. We’re looking at massive casualties and a highly unstable scene. Squads from Stations 1, 2, 5 and 7 are already on site.”

Kaia suddenly feels like the floor has dropped out from under her, her vision swimming as the captain’s words wash over her in a dull roar.

Train collision. Massive casualties.

Hallie was on a train. Hallie isn’t answering her phone.

Kaia barely hears the rest of the short briefing, her mind stuck in a loop of paralyzing terror. She tries to focus on the rescue logistics, on the adrenaline-fueled energy of her crewmates as they prepare to head into the fray. But all she can think about is Hallie.

Hallie, who should be here with them all, barking orders and radiating that unwavering confidence that always makes Kaia feel like they can conquer anything as a team.

Hallie, who could be bleeding out in the twisted wreckage of a train car right now, alone and afraid and slipping away with every passing second.

As everyone starts to move out, Kaia grabs Art by the elbow. “Have you heard from Hallie? She was on a train this afternoon. She texted me earlier, but now she’s not answering and I’m?—”

Kaia’s voice cracks, the words sticking in her throat like shards of glass. Art’s eyes widen with dawning realization, his brow furrowing as he shakes his head.

“I haven’t heard from her. Shit, Kaia... You don’t think...?”

He doesn’t finish the question, but he doesn’t need to. The same icy dread is written all over his face.

Kaia swallows hard, steeling herself against the wave of emotion threatening to drown her. She can’t fall apart right now. Hallie needs her to be strong, to be the firefighter she’s trained her to be.

“We have to get out there,” Kaia says, her voice low and fierce. “Maybe she’s not there. Maybe her phone just died.”

Art nods grimly, his jaw tight with resolve. Together, they rush to join their crew, the weight of their shared fear hanging heavy in the air between them.

The scene at the crash site is like something out of a nightmare. Crumpled carriages lie along the tracks, the acrid smell of smoke and spilled diesel fuel burning Kaia’s nostrils. Everywhere she looks, she sees injured passengers stumbling from the wreckage, their faces streaked with blood and soot.

But as Kaia surveys the devastation, her blood pounding in her ears, there’s only one face she’s desperate to find. The same face she’s also praying she doesn’t see.

Where are you, Hallie?

Kaia forces herself to take a deep breath, to slip into the focused headspace she’s been trained to adopt. She can’t afford to let her panic consume her, not when there are lives at stake. With a herculean effort, she pushes thoughts of Hallie to the back of her mind and springs into action alongside her squad.

The next few hours pass in a blur of adrenaline and sweat as seemingly every emergency responder in the city works tirelessly to extract victims from the mangled train cars. Kaia crawls through jagged openings and climbs over upturned seats, her heart in her throat with every new survivor she discovers.

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