America's Bravest (4 page)

“Oh, thank you so much, God. I thought we
were going to die.”

“Hallelujah!” he shouted enthusiastically,
hugging her to him.

Then they both drew back.

Reality dawned.

She said, “Uh-oh.”

A pause. Then, “Yeah, uh-the-fucking-oh!”

“I still think you two should go to the
hospital. You might need a hyperbaric chamber to restore oxygen in
your system.” Zach Malvaso, Gabe’s cousin, was working the night
shift and took Gabe’s pulse for the third time. He and Rachel had
been given oxygen from a portable tank. His nausea and
light-headedness receded quickly. The consensus when they were
pulled out was that some air had to be seeping into their cocoon.
Thank God, or they’d be dead.

“I don’t need to rest,” he said shortly. “And
I don’t need an oxygen chamber. I feel good.” He nodded to the
other cot. “How about her?”

Casey, Zach’s dark-haired wife, took Rachel’s
pulse again. “I think she’s fine. More than fine. I’m shocked you
two could be in such carbon-filled air for so long and still be in
good condition.” She smiled at Rachel. “What’d you down there?
Sleep to ignore the stress of almost buying it?”

Damn. Rachel felt herself blush. And Gabe’s
guilty glance didn’t help. “No, we’re seasoned firefighters
accustomed to crisis situations.”

The other four members of Rescue 7, Group 3,
hovered outside the truck, pacing, looking inside, scowling. They’d
been at the fire ground all day, even after their shift ended,
waiting to see if their captain and colleague survived. It was nine
p.m. and night had fallen.

Ramirez shook his head, his eyes bleak.
“Querido Dios, usted dos podrían han muerto.”

Leaning against the rig next to him, Sydney
touched his arm. “But they didn’t die. Be happy about that.” She
shrugged and called into the truck, “Though if you hadn’t gotten
out, Princess, I might not have had to transfer.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Kid-ding.” Sydney had bounced back first
from the day-long worry and was the most upbeat among the other
four members of their crew.

Rachel breathed in the warm air sneaking into
the Midi. “That feels so good.”

That feels so good, Gabe. So, so good. I
can’t believe you’re touching me like this.

If Gabe remembered her words, and similar
ones of his own, he wasn’t showing it. Instead, he was ornery and
bossy—unlike the fireman’s firefighter he was. Normally, he was so
even-keeled, everybody loved him.

Zach hopped out of the Midi. “Okay, if you’re
not going to get checked out, at least go home. Your shift ended
hours ago. I’ll drive you, cuz.”

“No.” He climbed out of the truck right
behind Zach. “I’m going back to the fire station with the
group.”

Thankfully, it had taken the specialty crew a
half hour to break through the last layers of rock and sludge to
open up the basement. Once Gabe and Rachel had realized what was
happening, they’d had time to dress. Now, back in the real world of
their jobs, she couldn’t believe the impulse they’d acted on.

Tony helped Rachel down from the truck and
she leaned into his hug. Then she saw a black Mercedes pull into
the parking lot.
This
was all she needed. Slamming the
door, her father exited the car, and even though their daughter
could have died a few hours ago, her mother waited for him to open
the passenger side. Both tall and slim, they were dressed in
country club casual. Their strides were purposeful as they
approached her.

The equipment was loaded onto the rigs, and
other crews were beginning salvage and overhaul to clean up the
building, but Henry Wellington was oblivious to the commotion. “I
cannot
believe
this! Are you satisfied now, Rachel Anne?
You’ve ruined our vacation and almost got yourself killed.”

Rachel was stupefied by his outburst. The
adrenaline rush of being saved was wearing off, and her knees went
weak. “Please, Father, not now.” And not in front of her squad.

Catherine moved in close and put her hand on
Rachel’s arm. “Are you really all right, dear? You gave me quite a
fright.”

“I’m fine, Mother. I’m going back to the
firehouse to get my car and go home.”

“Nonsense.” Her father again. “We called
Madison. He’s meeting us at our house to check you out.” Madison
King was a doctor friend they socialized with. Her parents knew not
only medical personnel, but lawyers, judges, TV personalities, who
were at their beck and call.

“No, thanks. I want to go home.”

“I won’t have this!” her father stated. Some
of the huge lights set up suddenly went out, casting him into
partial darkness.

Gabe stepped to up her side. “Mr. & Mrs.
Wellington. I’m Captain Malvaso, Rachel’s supervising officer. I
assure you our paramedics have checked us both out, and we’re fine.
All Firefighter Wellington needs is some rest. Now, if you’ll
excuse us, she’s required to come back on the truck to debrief.”
Turning, he took Rachel by the elbow and led her to the rescue rig,
leaving Henry Wellington sputtering behind them.

Bending his head, he spoke into her ear.
“Don’t look back; they’ll go away.”

“Th-thanks, Gabe. I don’t stand up to them
well.”

“So I saw.”

Before they reached the rig, she stopped and
touched his shoulder. “We have to talk, Gabe.”

He stepped away immediately, so different
from the man who’d touched her, sank his body into hers and
relished her response to him. His face was set in hard planes and
angles. Gone was the tenderness and care with which he’d made love
to her. “Oh, God, no. Let’s forget what happened.”

Though his curt comment cut her to the quick,
she’d be damned if she let it show. Firefighters were good at
blocking. They had to be. “I see. Like, what happened in the
basement stays in the basement?”

“Um, yeah, I guess.”

Unaware of what she was interrupting, Felicia
approached them and slipped her arm through Rachel’s. “Come on
girlfriend, let’s go home.”

Brody looped his arm around Gabe’s neck.
“We’re gonna take you out to celebrate.”

They all piled into the rig and took up their
assigned positions—Gabe in front with Sydney, who was driving,
Rachel in the middle seat between Tony and Brody, Felicia in the
back with Syd. After a minute, Tony put his hand over hers, where
it rested on the seat. Brody did the same on the other side.

“Jesus, we were afraid…” Brody began.

“I know, buddy. So were we.”

Which was why she’d acted so inappropriately,
she thought. Now that she’d calmed down, she realized the last
thing females in the department needed was to confirm the false
reputation that they slept around.

Who knew, though, how she and Gabe were going
to deal with what they’d done.

oOo

Outside of Badges, the firefighter and police
bar of choice, hence the name, the night was warm, and Gabe was
glad to be alive. He’d taken a long shower, dressed in jeans and a
red shirt rolled up at the sleeves, and had O’Malley doctor him up
again. All told, he came out of the incident with a cut on his
forehead, which needed only a bandage, and a few scrapes on his
cheek and neck. But he knew in his heart he wasn’t the same man who
had rushed headlong into that burning building. In one short
afternoon, he’d compromised his principals and slept with a
firefighter under his command. Not only that, all those months of
keeping himself in check around Rachel Wellington were lost in a
dark room that he’d thought they’d never get out of. Which
explained why he’d bought a pack of cigarettes and wandered out
here with a beer.

“Jesus, give yourself a break, asshole,” he
muttered, disgusted with his self-recriminations. “You thought you
were gonna die.”

“Talkin’ to yourself?” His cousin Mitch had
joined him on the patio. “Did you get hit on the head harder than
we thought?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Mitch dropped down across from him in a chair
at the wrought iron table, then nodded to his hand. “Thought you
gave that up years ago.”

“I did.” Gabe smiled at the guy who’d been
not only a relative but a close friend all his life. He took a drag
then held up the butt. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why
so many firefighters smoke. We breathe in enough shit as it is
every day.”

“There’s a psychology behind it, I’m sure.”
Nonchalantly, Mitch leaned back, crossed his ankle over his knee
and linked his hands behind his head. “So, are you really
okay?”

“Yeah, I am. Shaken some. That’s
natural.”

“How’s Wellington doing?”

“As good as me, I’d guess.” He didn’t want to
look at his cousin, so he rubbed his hand on the steel of the
curlicues in the tabletop. “Why do you ask?”

“She lit out of the house in a flash.” Mitch
shrugged. “Maybe she had a date.”

Shit. Gabe took another drag.

Staring over his shoulder, Mitch got a
faraway look in his eyes. “I remember when me, Zach and Jenn got
trapped in that warehouse three years ago. It put everything in
perspective for us. I ended up with Meg, Jenn and Grady got
together and Zach found Casey.”

Hell, could his cousin read his mind? “Lucky
you.”

“So, Gabriel, what are you gonna change about
your life?”

“Not much. I’m happy as I am, Mitello.” Their
mothers had given all their Italian names then shortened them.

“Your divorce was five years ago. You need a
woman.”

I just had one. And it was some of the
best damn sex of my life.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

Mitch watched him for a minute, then checked
out their surroundings. Some bluesy jazz drifted out of the bar,
but no one else was on the patio. “I can tell you’re holding back.
I always knew when you were keeping something from me. And I’m a
pretty good sounding board.”

“It’s bad, Mitch. Professionally. And you’re
a BC in the department.”

“Fuck it. I’m your friend and cousin first. I
won’t tell anybody. Whatever you say stays here.”

What happened in the basement stays in
the basement.

“I didn’t think I was gonna get out.” His
voice sounded heavy, somber.

Mitch waited.

“Something else is goin’ on with me.” A
pause. “I’ve had…feelings. Hell. No, I don’t know, maybe…”

“Spit it out. Gabe.”

“I’ve been attracted to Wellington for
months. Kept a lid on it good enough so nothing happened, nothing
even showed. Apparently, she’d been doin’ the same thing.” He took
another drag then butted out the cigarette. “The lid blew today.
For both of us.”

Mitch’s brows hiked up and he sat forward.
“Holy shit, I didn’t expect that.”

“Neither did we. I can’t believe I breached
professional ethics like that.”

Mitch’s eyes narrowed. “You can look at it
that way. Or you can see it as two desperate people finding solace
with each other when they thought they were gonna buy it. My guess
is anybody would pick the latter.”

“Maybe. But I went against my values, my
beliefs.”

“You’re only human, Gabe. Like you said, give
yourself a break.”

He nodded.

Bracing his arms on the table, Mitch leaned
forward. “The question is what are you gonna do now?”

“Forget about it. I told her as much when we
got a minute alone after we were rescued.”

“How’d she take it?”

The image of Rachel’s distraught expression
and the trembling of her lips when he reacted badly assaulted him.
He might as well admit everything. “I think she was hurt. Probably
more with my delivery than the actual meaning. Hell, Mitch, she’s
one of the top female firefighters in our department. Other women
like Sands look up to her. She can’t be glad we were
so…indiscreet.”

“Again, circumstances. Are you gonna be able
to go back to what it was before between you?”

“I hope to God we can. I don’t know what I’ll
do otherwise.”

oOo

Rachel let herself into her condo on Hidden
Lake, a twenty-minute drive from the firehouse. The first time
she’d invited the guys out here, Gabe included, they’d teased her
mercilessly about her trust fund digs on the water. Her place was
expensive because she had part of the beach, too. The interior was
huge, and the back of the house sported a screened-in porch with
furniture groupings and a wall of windows opening to a patio and
deck.

From back there, a light shone, and her
sister called out, “I’m here. Don’t get scared.”

Sighing, Rachel trudged to the rear of the
house; she found Alexis on one of the couches. Her eyes welled at
seeing the person she loved more than anyone in the world. “Thanks
for letting me know. I’d say I’ve been scared enough today.”

A pediatric surgeon, Alexis still wore her
hospital-blue scrubs. She rose from the sofa, set down her
BlackBerry and crossed to Rachel. Her hug was strong and safe, and
for a moment, Rachel clung to her. “Thank God you’re all right. I
don’t know…” Strong and competent Dr. Wellington had a soft spot
for her younger sister, too. All their lives, they’d only had each
other to deal with their self-centered parents.

“Sit. I’ll make you tea.”

“I’d rather have whiskey.”

“I can do that.”

After Alexis fetched both of them drinks,
they sat on the wide-cushioned couch, face-to-face, mirroring each
other’s cross-legged position. “Was it awful?” her sister
asked.

“Some of it. Did you know what was going on
while you were at the hospital?”

“Yeah, they brought in hurt firefighters all
day from the explosion. There were six vagrants in the building,
but only a few needed treatment. The rescue personnel got
whacked.”

“Oh, Lexie, I’m so sorry. That must have been
terrible for you.”

“Bad enough. Plus our parents called a
million times to tell me I had to talk some sense into you when you
were rescued.” Alexis had the same hazel eyes and steel-blond hair
as Rachel, only her sister was more feminine, with a slighter
build. “Tell me all of it, sis.”