All I can see in my mind is Sera’s face, that smart mouth, those damn eyes and everything I swore I’d stay away from.
“Door’s locked.” Bear shouts.
“Force it!”
He drives the Halligan bar into the frame, the wood splintering under his weight. The door gives way, smokebillowing out, thick and black. Heat sears my cheeks even through the mask.
Bear hesitates, glancing at the roofline. “Chief… that structure’s already compromised. Look at the glow through the attic vents.”
He’s right. The roof’s breathing—sucking in air, exhaling heat and smoke like a living thing. The trusses are going. But I can’t stand here while she’s in there.
“Secure the hydrant,” I call. “I’m going in for primary search.”
Drake’s voice crackles back, tight with alarm. “Chief, we’ve got flames in the attic. That roof’s gonna drop.”
I don’t respond. No time as I run into her home, heat roaring in my ears, flames glowing through the dark, licking the hallway walls.
I duck low and push inside the living room.
“Sera!” I shout through the smoke. “Sera, call out if you can hear me!”
Nothing but the crackle of fire and the splintering groan of timber.
The radio hisses. “Chief, roof integrity’s gone. Pull out.”
I ignore it. I can’t stop now. Not if she’s in here. Not if this is my fault for pushing her away. I should have been around to check a faulty plug or help her change a fuse and take care of her.
I shoulder open the door to her room, the bed charred at the corner, flames dancing up the curtain. My flashlight beam cuts through the haze.
Visibility down to inches, my gloved hand sweeping along the floorboards. Heat prickles the back of my neck through the turnout coat.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I rasp into the smoke. “Where are you?”
Something pops above me. Bear’s voice cuts through the static. “Chief, the roof!”
I look up, but it’s too late. A sound like thunder rumbles above me.
Chapter Nine
SERA
“Thanks for tonight,” I say to Jo.
“No problem. You needed to get out of that bungalow and stop moping around.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. “Even if it was only for a couple of hours to watch Jake Gyllenhaal.”
A smile curves my lips. “He was kinda giving Chief Sparks, don’t you think?”
“Girl, you have that man on the brain. I didn’t see it, but he’s probably just as old.”
The car heater hums softly, fogging the windows. I’ve laughed for the first time in days.
A flurry of white catches in the headlights.
Jo flicks on the wipers. “That’s weird. It didn’t forecast snow.”
More flakes drift down, swirling through the beams.
My stomach dips. “That’s not snow,” I whisper, leaning forward as the wipers smear a grey streak across the glass. I point through the windshield, voice trembling.
