“They’re opening another access point. Stay here!” he said then hurried off to join the other firefighters.
Her breathing turned shallow and uneven while exhaustion, fear, and adrenaline blurred everything around her.
Then movement erupted near the side of the house.
Firefighters shouted through the smoke while another crew emerged from the haze carrying equipment and forcing their way toward the ambulances.
Johanna's heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
Please.
Ryan appeared moments later, his turnout gear blackened with soot and rainwater. Several firefighters followed behind him.
But Blaze wasn't among them.
The realization hit hard enough to steal her breath.
Her eyes searched frantically through the smoke, jumping from one firefighter to the next.
Nothing.
No Blaze.
Then she saw the stretcher. It emerged slowly through the haze beneath flashing red lights.
Johanna went completely still.
"No." The word barely made it past her lips.
The stretcher rolled closer. Paramedics moved quickly around it while firefighters surrounded it tightly enough that she still couldn't see who was lying there.
"No," she whispered again.
Every horrible possibility crashed through her at once.
Blaze unconscious.
Blaze burned.
Blaze—
A medic shouted for more oxygen. And Johanna's knees nearly buckled.
Ryan saw her then. Their eyes met across the rain and flashing lights. For one terrible second, she couldn't read hisexpression. Then something shifted across his face.
Relief.
Pure relief.
"Move!" one of the paramedics barked.
The firefighters parted slightly.
And Johanna finally saw him.
Blaze.
Covered in soot. His turnout coat hung torn nearly down one side. Blood streaked across his forehead while smoke blackened parts of his jaw. Exhaustion and pain tightened visibly around his face.
