“No . . . No, no, no, no.”
She sinks, and I follow her down to the sidewalk.
Every set of eyes swings between us and Sandy carrying Davey toward us.
If Cap wasn’t aware of London and me before, he is now.
But that’s the least of my worries.
My focus is on the woman in my arms, who I know is going to blame herself for this. She just will, even though it wasn’t her decision. It wasn’t her place to argue.
I know I made her promise me, but there was no way she could have disputed both Schmidt and Barratt’s orders. Neither could the rest of my crew. The only person who could have changed this outcome was Schmidt.
He could have sent a probie and an old hand. Someone who would have had a better idea of what that roof was going to do by the signs it no doubt was giving.
Sandy releases Davey to the ambulance, and they undo his helmet and mask before peeling the tank and jacket from his back.
It’s damn hard to watch, and he wasn’t my friend. I wasn’t forged through fire with the guy the way London was. She doesn’t look as they lay him on the gurney and slide him into the ambulance to wait for the coroner.
The fucking coroner.
This should have gone a whole lot different.
My crew shouldn’t be down a firefighter.
I settle London on the sidewalk, and Owens reads my mind before I even stand, moving to take my place as she wraps an arm around London.
I stalk for Schmiddy and Barratt.
Barratt holds his hand up, tilting his head like he’s about to argue.
I smash my fist into Schmiddy’s face.
He falls to the sidewalk like the sack of goddamn shit he is.
Yelling starts around me, and arms hold me back. I shrug them off and walk away, moving as far as I can without putting too much distance between London and me.
Fuck.
“FUCK!” I rip my jacket from my body and throw it to the ground. Cap is right behind me. I turn on him, and I’m in his face.
“I told you this would happen. Ifuckingtold you, and you were more worried about the damn department than the lives?—”
My throat closes over.
“This is not the place, Hammond. You’re all in my office the second we’re back at the station.”
Fucking oath we are.
Chapter 28
MILES
The captain slams the door shut, rattling the windows and blinds as he pulls the cords to flick them closed. Owens, Sandy, Schmidt, and I stand on the other side of Cap’s desk.
After getting checked out for smoke inhalation and whatever else could have gone wrong for her, the medics let London come home with us. She’s currently upstairs with the department shrink. She shouldn’t need one in the first place.
She’s gone through enough for a probie.
