Page 34

Also by Fiona Black

The air was thick with smoke as the flames roared from the refinery, casting an orange glow over the night sky.

The sound of crackling fire and distant sirens made everything feel like it was happening in slow motion.

I stood in the back of the ambulance, preparing for what I knew would be a chaotic night.

But nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

The fire was still raging, and I could feel the heat even from where I stood at the edge of the scene.

Then, I saw him merging from the smoke like some kind of warrior from another world.

His broad shoulders were draped in soot and ash, his tan skin streaked with the grime of his battle with the fire.

His blonde hair was damp with sweat, clinging to his forehead as he moved with purpose.

He was a firefighter, one of the first responders on the scene, and he wasn’t alone.

On his broad shoulders, he carried an unconscious man with a grace and strength that didn’t match the urgency of the situation.

“Help!” His voice rang out, deep and commanding, but there was something raw, desperate beneath it. My heart picked up pace as I motioned toward the nearest gurney.

“Over here!” I called, rushing to meet him, the sounds of the world fading into the background as he approached.

Every step he took was powerful and assured, each stride bringing him closer.

When he reached me, he lowered the unconscious man onto the gurney with careful precision, but there was a sense of urgency in his every movement.

His intense blue eyes met mine with such force, I felt it deep within my chest.

“His name is Aidan Hale he was trapped,” he said, his voice shaking just slightly, betraying the effort he’d put into the rescue. “I got him out, but he wasn’t breathing, I did rescue breathing until he started breathing again, but barely.”

I nodded, trying to steady my breathing as I assessed Aidan’s vitals.

“And what’s your name?”

“Finn … Finn Harper” he answered.

“It’s strange that despite the fire Mr. Hale doesn’t have a single scratch though his clothes are torn but no burns on him…” I muttered.

But even with all the chaos swirling around us, I couldn’t shake the feeling of Finn’s gaze on me. It was intense, unyielding, like he could see straight through me. My heart raced, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the adrenaline of the fire or from the electricity pulsing between us.

“You’re hurt,” I said, finally noticing the gash on his forearm, the blood mixing with the grime on his skin.

“It’s nothing,” he dismissed with a wave of his hand, his jaw tight. His focus was still entirely on Aidan, but I could see the way his body tensed, his hands shaking from the adrenaline still rushing through him. His blue eyes, stormy and deep, stayed fixed on mine for just a moment longer.

“You saved his life,” I murmured, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

A flicker of something passed through his gaze—gratitude, maybe relief—and then he took a step closer, his presence overwhelming, as if the entire world had shrunk to just the two of us. His voice dropped, hushed but firm, “I didn’t save him to lose him now.”

The weight of his words pressed down on me, sending a shiver down my spine. I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “We’ll do everything we can.” The doctor and another nurse started attending Aidan and tried to make him regain consciousness.

For the briefest moment, I saw Finn’s shoulders relax, just a fraction, as if he’d been holding his breath this whole time. But then he seemed to remember his surroundings, the chaos and urgency of the situation. He turned away, taking a step back, but his gaze never left me.

“Let me take care of that cut,” I offered, my voice soft as I noticed the injury on his arm.

“I’m fine,” he said, but there was something in his tone that faltered when I gently grasped his wrist.

“You’re not,” I insisted quietly, the words almost a whisper.

I gently pressed the cloth to Finn’s arm, cleaning the wound as my hand brushed against his skin for just a moment. I saw his breath hitch, and in that brief second, everything else around us seemed to disappear.

"Thank you," Finn said, his voice low, almost a whisper, but there was something in it that sent warmth flooding through me.

“You’re welcome” I whispered as I drowned in the depth of his gaze.

As the nurses rolled Aidan into the ambulance, I couldn’t resist stealing a glance over my shoulder. Finn was still watching me, his eyes never leaving mine, and I couldn’t help but wonder what this unspoken connection between us meant.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” Aidan growled at the nurse as he immediately came down from the ambulance.

“What do you think you are doing sir?” I immediately rushed to him.

“Alma?” Aidan said looking at me intently and confused.

“Sorry?”

“How’s this possible?” he whispered.

“What are you talking about sir?”

Aidan gently touched my face and at that moment I felt something I couldn’t explain. For a split second we were both consumed by each other’s gaze.

Aidan’s hand lingered on my face for just a moment too long, and I felt a rush of warmth flood through me.

“No, this has to be a dream… how…” Aidan murmured, his voice barely a whisper, full of disbelief. “You… You’re Alma.”

“I… I’m not Alma,” I said quickly, my heart racing. “I’m Amelia Thompson. You seem to be mistaking me for someone else sir”

Aidan blinked rapidly, as if trying to focus, trying to make sense of what I had just said. His face went pale, his breathing shallow, and his hands were shaking. He stroked his short dark hair in an almost absent-minded way, as if searching for something, something to anchor him.

“I’m so sorry,” Aidan said quietly, his voice full of regret, realizing his mistake. “I—”

Before I could respond, a man rushed toward him from the chaos. He was tall, his features sharp, and he moved quickly, his face tight with concern.

“Sir!” the man called out; his voice full of urgency. “Sir, are you okay?”

Aidan’s eyes, still filled with confusion, flickered to the man. “I’m fine Julian. Just… just get me out of here. I want to go home.” His voice was firm now, resolute.

Julian, who had to be some sort of assistant, looked between Aidan and me, his gaze narrowing as he took in the scene. He turned toward me, and his eyes widened with recognition.

“Miss Alma? How’s this possible? You are…” Julian asked, his voice full of uncertainty.

“No,” Aidan interrupted, his voice sharp. “She’s not Alma. I thought she was too. Please… I need to go home.”

Julian hesitated, clearly unsure of what was going on, but nodded, stepping back to help Aidan. My heart pounded in my chest, but I knew I had to focus. The scene was chaotic, and there were still so many others who needed attention.

I turned, trying to push the strange interaction with Aidan out of my mind, and looked around for other victims from the fire. People were injured, their faces twisted in pain, and there was no time to waste.

I worked quickly, doing my best to assess and treat the wounded, but as I moved through the crowd, my eyes kept searching. There was no sign of Finn.

Where is he? I thought.

I took a deep breath and climbed into the back of the ambulance with one of the rescued patients, trying to shake the unsettling feeling in my chest. As we sped off toward the hospital, the weight of everything pressed down on me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had just happened with Aidan—and why it felt like there was something much deeper between us than a simple mistake.

The ambulance came to a screeching halt at the hospital entrance, the sound of the tires skidding on the pavement cutting through the haze of my thoughts. I quickly slid open the doors, moving to assist the team that rushed out to meet us.

The burn team took over almost immediately, transferring the patient onto a hospital stretcher with practiced precision.

I stepped aside, my hands still trembling from the night's chaos, feeling the heat of the fire cling to my skin.

As the patient was rushed inside, I glanced back, half-expecting to see Finn.

“Amelia!”

I froze at the sound of my name, familiar and warm.

I turned to see Sienna striding towards me with her usual energetic pace.

My best friend and flat mate, Sienna was wearing her doctor’s scrubs, her blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail as usual, a few strands escaping as she jogged toward me.

“There you are! You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” she said, concern lining her features as she looked me up and down. “What happened?”

I chuckled softly, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Just another day at the hospital,” I said, attempting to brush off the tension. “You know how it is—fire, chaos, injuries. The usual.”

“You look like you’re about to collapse. You sure you’re, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, though my voice was less certain than I’d intended. I was still shaken from the fire, from everything that had happened. But now that Sienna was here, I felt a little lighter. “Just a lot to process tonight.”

“Well, lucky for you, I’ve got a shift that just started, so I’m all yours,” Sienna grinned, her voice playful, but there was a glint of concern in her eyes. “Tell me everything.”

I shook my head, offering her a tired smile. “It’s been a weird one. There was this guy, Aidan... He—” I paused, trying to find the right words. “He mistook me for someone else, some woman named Alma.”

Sienna’s eyes widened in confusion. “Alma? What do you mean? How could he confuse you for someone else?”

“I don’t know…” I muttered, the confusion of the moment still swirling in my chest. “But when he touched my face—” I stopped myself, realizing I was rambling. “It was just... odd.”

“Sounds like he might be in shock or something,” Sienna suggested, her tone thoughtful. “Maybe he’s mixing up memories, or it could be trauma from the fire. Who knows? We get a lot of weird reactions to that kind of thing.”

I nodded, still unsettled by the whole encounter. “Maybe. But something felt off. And then Julian—Aidan’s assistant, I think—came running over and called me Alma too.” I sighed.

Sienna gave me a sympathetic look and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Maybe you just have a striking resemblance with someone they know”

“I guess you’re right”

“I get it. Sometimes these things don’t make sense. But hey, I’m here now. Let’s get you some coffee, yeah?”

Before I could answer, my pager buzzed in my pocket, a soft reminder that there was no time to rest. I looked down at it and sighed. “Duty calls. But we’ll talk later. I promise.”

“Of course,” Sienna smiled.

As I moved through the halls of the hospital, my mind kept drifting back to the scene at the refinery. The sounds, the smoke, the chaos of it swirling in my head. But something else had been nagging me, something I couldn’t shake.

I stopped in my tracks, my heart skipping a beat as a realization hit me like a cold wave.

“Aidan never had any injury not even a scratch despite being brought out from a raging fire… his clothes were torn but his body was untouched. That’s strange” I whispered.