Page 42 of Four Firemen For Christmas

“I-I’m not sure.” Derek sounded reluctant. Which meant Alex might be experiencing phantom cries. It happened sometimes. Mostly to guys who’d been in a few too many fires, firefighters who’d lost someone in a blaze. They heard those cries and followed them regardless of everyone telling them it was all in their head.

“Fuck all of you. There’s someone here.” Alex was breathless and agitated through the comms, but I recognized his deep passion for making certain no one got left inside. The last thing any of us needed on our conscience was finding out the woman was wrong about her daughter.

I motioned Samuel to move ahead of me. “We’re coming your way. Heads down. Watch out for each other.”

Beams groaned and popped overhead. The fire crawled up the walls all around us, but the main source of smoke seemed to be coming from the kitchen. Where my men might be hunting a phantom cry.

“You can go back, Captain. I got this. No one needs to get hurt if I’m wrong.” The determination in his voice fueled us all, and he received a round offuck you’sfrom the entire group.

Ducking into the kitchen beneath a flaming crossbeam, I spotted their yellow suits a foot in front of me. “We’re right behind you. And you have five seconds to prove someone’s here before I toss you over my shoulder and drag you out myself.”

He knew I’d do it.

“Listen.” He dropped to a knee and strained forward. “There it is again.”

I listened with all my might. Just when I was about to give up and haul Alex out by the back of his coat, I heard it. A gentle sob.

“Is anyone here?” Alex crawled forward a few steps. “I’m with the fire department. I’m here to get you out. Can you tell me where you are?”

“Here,” a tiny voice squeaked. “Under the table.”

Well fuck me and call me an asshole. The kid was right. Regret and relief mingled together in a toxic brew that rolled acid up the back of my throat. “Alright, Alex. Get the girl and let’s get out of here.”

The place wouldn’t last much longer. Ash fell from the roof, landing on Derek’s helmet and covering his suit in a fine layer of gray.

“Captain, you need to get out of there.” The strange voice broke into our channel with a sense of urgency. “Roof is starting to sag on the north corner. The whole thing’s going to come down.”

“Hear that, Alex? Get your ass in gear.” I edged off to the side. “Everyone search, keep low. The table can’t be that hard to find.”

The ceiling groaned again and the structure began to buckle.

“Got her.” Alex let out a breathless whoop. “Let’s get out of here.”

He ran past me with a bundle cradled in his arms. Samuel charged ahead, keeping the way clear. A crash sounded behind me. I didn’t bother looking, but the sudden whoosh of flames and water raining in told me the roof was giving in. And we were in the northern part of the house. No exit except the one we’d come in through.

I gripped the back of Derek’s coat and propelled him forward as debris fell on every side. They were getting out. I’d make sure of it.

We burst out of the house and into the yard, each of us gasping for air. Alex never stopped, never even slowed. He carried the girl not only out of danger but toward the woman who’d miss her most.

The house collapsed in a heap of fire and fury. Sparks danced through the air and drifted in the cold breeze that stirred the bare trees all around us and between the neighboring houses. I turned once to look before focusing on my team. We’d barely made it out. A few more seconds and we’d all be extinct. No more Emma. The thought lodged like a boulder in my throat. For the first time in my career, I wondered if it was time to quit. Fear gripped me by the balls and strangled my breath.

The woman who’d been pointed out as the homeowner gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “Ellie? Oh my God. What were you doing in there?” She faced the police officer. “She wasn’t supposed to be in there. She was visiting her friend next door.”

Alex deposited the girl on a gurney at the nearest ambulance, where a female EMT got to work listening to the girl’s lungs and slipping an oxygen mask into place.

The girl—Ellie—coughed and wiped her face with her sleeves. “I came home early. I wanted to surprise you with hot chocolate, but when I turned on the stove, it started burning.”

Mother and daughter threw their arms around each other and sobbed. The sight of it unraveled the tight knot of anger but didn’t dispel it altogether.

“Thank you.” The mom hugged Alex, then each of us, though we’d done nothing but try and get Alex to leave.

Alex patted the distraught woman’s back, then turned away. He headed back to the hose he’d abandoned and got to work adding the stream of water to the others. The house was a lost cause, but that didn’t stop us from doing all we could, including keeping it contained to this one lot.

Houses on either side were in danger. The slightest missed spark could light this whole neighborhood up if we didn’t do our jobs.

I followed Alex and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him away from the scene where we wouldn’t be spotted. “What the fuck do you think you were doing? What gives you the right to break protocol?”

“I heard someone, Cap.” Alex was relentless when he wanted to be, and right now, he felt justified.

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