Page 1 of Forged By Fire (Danger in Destiny #9)

Chapter One

F irefighter Leslie Granger cast a longing look at the chocolate cream pie sitting on the counter at the fire department.

She’d been ready to make the first cut when the alert went out calling both crews of Company B to respond to a fire.

She could almost taste the sweet chocolate and whipped cream confection, but it would have to wait.

She slapped the cover back on the pie and slid it into the fridge before taking off at a jog.

Her friend and fellow firefighter, Danny Bracken, laughed at her. “It’ll still be here when we get back.”

The whole station knew of her love for all things chocolate, but it was Danny who claimed that, if she didn’t get her fix each day, she’d turn into some kind of monster. One he doubted any of them would want to cross.

Leslie wasn’t necessarily addicted to it, but she did eat something with chocolate most days.

Still, ever since Danny’s comment, she’d made sure to bring a package of M&Ms or something similar to work each day.

Whenever someone annoyed her, she’d make a show of pulling them out and popping a few in her mouth as though they truly were the miracle cure when it came to calming her down.

“It’d better be.”

She and the rest of Company B quickly donned their gear as Chief Menendez raised his voice to be heard over the noise.

“All right, people. We’ve got a fire alarm sounding at a warehouse in the industrial district.

Flames are visible. There’s also a report that someone may be trapped inside.

” He turned to look at Curtis Whitman, their resident paramedic. “Whitman, you’ll be joining Company B.”

“Yes, sir.” He sprang to action, getting ready in record speed.

Leslie glanced at the clock on the wall. It was after six on a Monday evening. Hopefully, no one was in the warehouse, but there was certainly no guarantee of that. Especially considering many of the businesses in the area kept the warehouses running twenty-four hours a day over multiple shifts.

She sent up a silent prayer that everyone was safe.

The size of the building and the fact that a fire had been verified were why both the engine and ladder were being sent.

There were a lot of warehouses out there, and the contents could vary greatly.

It was crucial they got the fire under control as quickly as possible before something toxic caught fire or it had a chance to spread.

Lieutenant Chet Holden, the ladder company officer she reported directly to, jabbed a thumb at the truck behind him. “You heard the chief. Let’s go, people.”

They used to only have two engine companies at Station #2.

But two months ago, they’d expanded and added a brand-new station and the ladder truck.

Leslie considered it an honor to be part of the new ladder company.

It also meant they were closer to the southern part of town.

Right now, if that weren’t the case, it would take an extra ten minutes or more for a ladder truck from another station to get to the burning warehouse.

Engineer Bryce Keyes was the first to get the rest of his equipment on and swung into the driver’s seat.

Within seconds, Leslie, Danny, Curtis, and firefighter Jin Cho were seated and ready to go. They led the way down the street, the engine and its company not far behind them.

Sirens broke the silence, announcing their approach to any vehicles up ahead. Bryce expertly steered them through the maze of roads that led them to the industrial part of town. Even before they reached the warehouses, she could see a plume of dark smoke rising into the dimming evening sky.

The chief’s voice came over the radio. “The warehouse primarily stores paper that’s manufactured in a plant nearby. The good news is, there isn’t much in the way of hazardous material to deal with. The bad news is, the entire building is basically filled with fuel to keep this monster going.”

They traveled through a parking lot and into another that bordered the warehouse. A group of people stood to the side, many of them filming the fire on their cell phones or talking into them.

One end of the gigantic structure was fully involved all the way to the roof. It was impossible to tell how much of the inside was consumed by fire.

Bryce stopped the truck, and everyone disembarked as two men ran up to them.

“Oh, thank goodness.” The taller, older man waved at the warehouse. “We thought everyone was out, but two people are unaccounted for. Chris, one of our security guards, and Sarah, who was updating the inventory lists. They may still be inside.”

The other man, his thin hair pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck, held up his cell phone. “Should I try to reach their families? See if they went home early?”

Chet stepped forward. “Please do. We’re going to send teams in to clear the area just in case they’re still in there. But if we can confirm they aren’t, then we can put more focus on putting out the fire. See if we can keep this from being a total loss.”

The rest of Company B left the fire engine and joined them. Lieutenant Robby Warren, the engine company officer, gave Chet a nod. “We’ll lay hose lines and get a water supply established.”

“I’m going to send in two teams to look for people who may not have made it out.

” Chet pointed to Leslie and Danny. “Granger and Bracken, you’ll be team one.

Whitman, you’re with Cho and Keyes. Once we know the situation inside, we can adjust our plans.

” Chet pointed to the entrance. “Keep your heads on a swivel.”

Leslie hoped and prayed that the missing individuals would be located quickly.

The four firefighters put on the rest of their gear, including helmets and their self-contained breathing apparatuses.

Once ready, they entered at the end of the warehouse opposite the visible fire.

As a safety measure, the electricity had been shut off as soon as they’d arrived.

Thanks to the expansiveness of the building, headlamps on their helmets were necessary .

The beams of light illuminated the darkness around them. There wasn’t much smoke at their level at first, but Leslie knew it could change quickly.

The two teams branched off, and Leslie and Danny started calling out.

“Chris! Sarah! Can you hear us?”

Leslie felt like her voice was being swallowed between her mask and the dark vastness of the warehouse.

She listened intently, hoping one of the people they were looking for might call out for help.

Instead, they were met with an eerie quietness that seemed strange given the fire raging on the other end of the warehouse.

They systematically made their way through their side of the warehouse in the direction of the flames, going through it as quickly and as efficiently as they could.

The smoke grew thicker, and the engine crew reported that one end of the warehouse was already fully involved and that the room there was not structurally sound.

“Keyes and Granger, I need your teams to finish and get out of there as fast as possible.”

“Yes, sir.” Bryce’s response was clipped. “We may have something here. Stand by.”

Leslie and Danny exchanged a glance. She prayed Bryce’s team had found the missing individuals. She couldn’t explain why, but a sense of dread had settled into the pit of her stomach, like a ball that refused to budge.

An orange glow flickered in the distance.

Bryce’s voice came back over the radio. “We’ve located Chris. Working our way back to the exit now.”

Leslie released a sigh of relief. Now, if they could just find Sarah.

“Hey!” Danny nudged her arm and pointed. Ahead of them, a hallway led further on, choked by smoke. A firefighter approached, his arms crossing in the air above his head as he tried to get their attention.

Because of the distance, the smoke, and the headlamp shining light at them, it was impossible to tell who it was.

The firefighter motioned for them to follow him and turned around again.

“What’s going on?” Leslie spoke into the radio, hoping to get a heads-up on the situation. Did Bryce and Jin need help getting Chris out of the building?

“Granger? Can you repeat that?” Chet’s voice pierced the silence.

Danny led the way down the hallway, and Leslie followed close behind him. If there was one thing that’d been drilled into her since the beginning of her training, it was that you never took your eyes off your partner.

“It looks like Keyes and his team need some assistance. We’re working our way there now.”

They got to the end of the hallway and turned right.

Bryce’s voice came over the radio. “Granger. Cho, Whitman, and I already made it out with Chris. You and Bracken are clear to leave.”

If they weren’t in the building anymore, then who were they following? Had one of the other teams come in from the other side of the warehouse?

They rounded the corner, and Danny stopped so quickly that Leslie nearly ran right into his back. “What is it?”

The firefighter they were following stood in the center of the room, a gun in his now-bare hand.

Thanks to the smoke and the headlamps, it was impossible to see through the mask to make out the face on the other side.

Her gaze flicked to where the name tag should’ve been, but it was missing completely .

“Hey, let’s just calm down here.” Danny slid to his left, effectively putting himself between Leslie and the gun. “What’s your name?”

“Report!” Chet’s voice held an equal measure of command and concern.

Leslie lowered her voice. “We’ve got a situation here. We’re being held at gunpoint.”

“Acknowledged. I’m contacting DPD right now.”

That was little comfort when the building was literally burning down around them, and her partner was facing a gunman they knew nothing about.

“Come on, man.” Danny took a step forward. “Let’s get out of here and have a conversation.”

The firefighter’s helmet slowly moved back and forth.

The headlamp illuminated walls, water bottles stacked on the floor nearby, and finally focused on Danny.

“No. It’s too late for that.” He fired the gun, the sound piercing the air and making Leslie jump.

Immediately, he turned and strode out of the room.

“Danny?” Leslie sidestepped around her partner just as he slumped to the ground.

“No!” A furtive glance at the doorway assured her the shooter wasn’t there.

She fell to her knees beside her partner.

“Shots fired. Danny’s been hit.” She leaned over him to peer into his mask.

His eyes were closed. She shook him gently, alarmed by the pool of blood that was beginning to form beneath his body. He didn’t respond.

With all his gear, there was no way she could stop the flow. She needed to get him out. Now.

“Danny isn’t responding. I’m going to bring him out. I’m not sure where the shooter went. He looked just like one of us wearing full firefighter gear, but there’s no name on the jacket.”

Danny’s PASS device started to sound the pre-alarm.

If he didn’t move soon, the full alarm would go off.

It was a safety device that helped others find a fallen firefighter when visibility was low.

The sound itself was a reminder of her partner’s unknown condition.

Leslie moved the device to keep it from going off fully.

“Got it. Granger, Whitman and I are on the way back to you guys.” Bryce’s voice was tight. No doubt the alarm had been heard over the radio as well.

“Understood. I’m bringing him out.” She was trained to be able to carry a man out of a burning building if it were ever necessary.

She tried to push the fact that it was Danny out of her mind and focused on the task at hand.

With a groan, she managed to roll his body and get him onto her shoulders.

His lack of response worried her even further as she summoned every ounce of strength she had to carry him out of the room.

Smoke billowed around her, and the light from her headlamp barely penetrated it enough to see where she was going.

With each labored step Leslie took, she half expected the killer to come out of the shadows.

Her priority had to be getting Danny out of the warehouse.

There was no way to know how long he had before he bled out.

“God, help me get him out of here in time. Please help him to keep breathing.” Her prayer was whispered in desperation as her partner’s weight made it a challenge to maneuver through the warehouse with any kind of speed.

She stumbled into an open area and stopped suddenly when two bouncing lights appeared before her, nearly losing her footing.

Two firefighters materialized as the lights drew closer, but it wasn’t until Leslie could read their names on the jackets that she started moving again. “Thank God. ”

Bryce didn’t hesitate to reach for Danny.

He easily took the man’s weight onto his shoulders and led the way.

Whitman gave Leslie’s back a hard pat and brought up the rear.

Together, they continued through the thick smoke for the exit, and Leslie prayed they wouldn’t come face-to-face with the shooter before they found it.