Page 122 of Burn It Down

No, she won’t. Our house is twelve minutes away, hitting all the lights right and with absolutely zero traffic. And while that may not seem terribly far, it might just prove to be a death sentence today.

“Cass, I need to call Jake.”

“If you already called 9-1-1, then you already called Jake. He’s at the fire station, remember? He’s probably already on his way to you. Just hold on. We’re coming.”

The rag only buys me a minute or two because all bets are off when a burning beam falls from our twenty-foot ceiling and lands on a work station laden with shop towels and paint thinner, spreading the fire faster. I keep the sink running and try splashing as much water as I can around me while trying to stay low to the ground with my face buried in the wet rag.

The last thought I have before I black out from smoke inhalation is that I hope I at least get to see my mom.

Chapter 33

Jake

The sirens go off at the station and I can’t tell if I’m happy for the distraction or annoyed because I need to be left alone with my thoughts so I can work this shit out about Martin and the businesses.

But emergencies don’t care what else you have going on and right now, whoever made that call needs me to be at the top of my game, so I shove my own drama aside, jump into my fire suit, throw on my hat, and shrug into my jacket as I climb into my seat on the truck. I’m in back tonight.

Dispatch rings through the truck loud and clear.

“Fire reported at 3-3-6 South Hampton Drive. Repeat. Fire reported at 3-3-6 South Hampton Drive. Industrial fire reported with occupant trapped inside the building, all units please respond.”

All the breath leaves my lungs.

“Dylan.”

“What?” the guy next to me asks.

“That’s Dylan’s shop,” I say a little louder before yelling, “Phoe! That’s Dylan’s shop!”

He doesn’t look in the rearview mirror, but keeps his eyes on the road, although I feel him accelerate a tiny bit more.

The guy in the front passenger seat pulls the radio down to respond.

“Engine one-six responding.”

Through the buzzing in my ears, I hear another voice come over the radio. “Engine two-nine en route as well.”

“Breathe, Jakey,” Phoenix calls from the driver’s seat. He’s always so fucking calm under pressure.

“What’s the big deal?” The guy next to me asks. Phoenix finds his voice before I do.

“That’s his boyfriend’s auto body shop.”

“Boyfriend liiike…” Pete trails off and I’m hit with a wave of fury. As ifthissituation is the time and place to let your homophobic flag fly.

“Like lover, partner, best friend. Don’t worry, you piece of shit, you’re not my type.”

Pete claps me on the shoulder with a gloved hand. “Hey, I’m gonna give you a pass because shit just got real, but don’t come at me like I’m judging you, Ellington. Who you fuck is your business, but if the person in that building means something to one of us, we all know it changes the game.”

It does. Obviously, we try to save everyoneandthe structure as quickly and completely as we can. It’s not like we pick and choose, but when it’s personal, we’re more likely to take risks we otherwise might not. Like right now, I can’t say our current speed would be deemed “safe” for traveling through these streets, but Phoenix is willing to risk it for me. For Dylan. For Cassie. For Charlie.

I nod, not wanting to waste more time on this conversation with Pete. I’ll apologize later when Dylan’s in my arms. “Phoe, we need to get therenow.Dispatch said someone’s trapped inside. I can’t fucking lose him.” I’m almost sobbing. How the fuck am I going to do this?

“Jake, we’re gonna get there in time. We haven’t lost anyone yet and we sure as shit aren’t starting with DylanorCassie.”

I can see the smoke from two blocks away and it clicks something into place in my brain. Immediately, I start filling the guys in.

“A few months ago, I had the windows replaced with bullet resistant polycarbonate, the doors are also fire-resistant stainless steel. The fastest way in will be to take the doors off their hinges. I don’t know why the bay doors won’t open. The office is small. Inside there’s a breakroom and a bathroom. The second door leads out to the garage. We’re looking at eight hundred square feet of internal floor space, max, for the office and eighteen-hundred to two-thousand square feet of shop space.”

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