Page 101 of Burn With Me

Walking back to the middle of the main aisle, I think about what I would have done. With the fire being the worst in the front, she wouldn’t be able to go to her office, and with how the door was jammed, I don’t think she could have gotten out that way.

Come on, sweetness, give me a sign.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a piece of wood sticking up out of one of the tanks in here. Hope blooms in my chest as I get closer and see what looks like red hair.

“Amelia!” I yell at a half jog, but I trip when my boot hits something solid.

I drop to my knees and feel something solid, with a slight up-and-down movement. I move my face closer to make sure it isn’t Amelia.

Brian.

A wave of relief flows through me when I see it isn’t my girl.

Making a decision, I grab my radio. “Cap, we’re gonna need two guys in here. I found Brian, and I think he’s still alive. Through the door, straight up the middle, to the left. He’s on the floor. I see Am, so I’m going to get her.”

“10-4.”

I crawl the rest of the way to the tank. Standing, I see her body. “Sweetness, can you hear me?”

I start to panic because, at first glance, I don’t think she’s breathing, but as I pull the hoodie away from her face, her chest rattles with a cough.

I reach for the wood to move it out of the way, but it’s attached to her wrist—which looks twice the size it should be—with a pair of cuffs.

“I’m so sorry, baby” is all I can say.

I pull the chunk of wood out of the tank and angle it so I can pick her up without it twisting her wrist and doing more damage. The weight of her in my arms is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes, but it’s hearing her whimper that causes the tears to slip down my face. Holding her close, I turn and run toward the door.

As I walk outside, Sam runs back toward me. “I was just about to come back in there. The bus is toward the front. Let’s go.”

We run toward the front, and I’m bombarded with questions from the medics as I lay her down.

“Where did you find her?” The medic asks.

“In a tank mostly filled with water. She was propped up with this piece of wood handcuffed to her. However, she’s been unconscious since I found her, and I don’t know how long she’s been out,” I tell him.

“Does she have any allergies?” He looks at me.

He doesn’t know we’re together; this ambulance is from the next town over, but I feel like a failure as I just stare at him, not knowing what to say.

“No known allergies as of right now. She has sensitive skin, but she can bitch about the rash later,” Pam says, coming up next to us with tears running down her face.

“We have it from here,” the medic says and turns his back to me like the love of my life isn’t lying on that gurney.

They talk about the hospital they’re going to as they take her vitals and slip an oxygen mask on her. I climb in the back of the ambulance with them, fully geared up.

“Sir, we need to head out,” the medic working in the back says to me as the other jumps out, waiting to close the doors.

“I’m coming with you. That’s my fiancée,” I say.

“Do you have your medic certification?” he asks.

I nod. “Yeah. Whatever you need me to do, just let me know.”

I turn when Sam yells my name. “We’ll meet you there after dropping Penny off.”

“Penny can come. I know the ER nurses. They won’t say anything,” Pam says, turning on her heels to go back to her car with Sam following her.

I just nod and look down at Am. I bring her hand to my lips, letting them linger.

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