“Why don’t you get out of those wet clothes? After you change, I’m going to check you out, since you didn’t go to the hospital,” Eve scolded.
“Don’t worry about m—” Whatever else Zack had been about to say was interrupted by three loud tones over the new intercom system. Everyone went silent, straining to hear the call over the roll of thunder and pops of lightning rattling the windows.
As the computerized female voice relayed the emergency, the ball of dread resting in his gut since the storm began morphed into real fear. A driver had swerved out of control and plowed through a guardrail in the storm.
The SUV was hanging off the Sugarland Bridge, a hairbreadth from plunging into the rising river.
A-shift had worked some tough scenes over the years, had walked the razor’s edge in some gut-wrenching situations. But as Zack drove the quint past the police barricade and neared the bridge’s summit, Tanner let loose a few creative curses while Zack gaped in silence. God Almighty, this one was a real bitch.
Tanner directed the situation from his seat in the front next to Zack. At the moment, the captain was all business, their earlier unpleasantness on hold. “We’ll wrap the chain around something solid, like the opposite guardrail or bridge support, then hook it to the rear axle of the SUV, try to stabilize the vehicle. Extract the driver through the back hatch.”
“Yes, sir.” Zack frowned as the teetering Explorer came into view. Recognition dawned, hitting his gut like a fist. “Sonofabitch.”
Tanner snapped his sharp gaze to his FAO’s face. “What?”
“That’s her. The lady I hit on the way to work.”
“Keep your head in the game, kid. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
Zack’s thoughts mirrored Tanner’s. The woman might’ve been more injured than Zack previously believed. She could have passed out. Or perhaps she was rattled from being hit, and a moment of inattention resulted in her current predicament. Either way, the idea he might be responsible for a woman’s life literally hanging in the balance, even inadvertently, filled him with dread.
If what happened to Cori Shannon was his fault, Tanner wouldn’t have to fire him. He’d be finished.
Pulling the hat low over his eyes, Zack threw open the door and swung down from the quint, wincing at the pain in his stiffening muscles. The wind howled with frightening strength, the forceful gusts threatening to sweep man and machine right off the structure and into hell. Rain pummeled his body in icy sheets, soaking him to the skin once more and chilling him to the bone despite the thick coat, pants, and hat.
And in spite of the rising fever he hadn’t told anyone about. Zack trembled so hard there was no way Tanner hadn’t noticed, but the stubborn jerk never acknowledged it. He was hot and cold by turns, limbs weighing a ton. Once Ms. Shannon was safe and the situation put behind them, he’d collapse on his bunk at the station. He doubted he’d be able to drive to his crappy apartment even if he wanted to.
Opening a side compartment on the quint, he and Tanner wrestled out a thick, industrial-strength chain while Eve and Tommy Skyler ran over to the Explorer. Six-Pack and Julian Salvatore hopped out of the ambulance and jogged toward Zack and Tanner.
“Get this wrapped around the guardrail over there,” Tanner shouted at Salvatore above the thunder and lightning. “Hurry!”
After shooting the captain a grim look that spoke volumes, Salvatore nodded. Handling metal, being surrounded by the stuff in a storm, exposed on an open bridge, was a necessary risk with potentially deadly consequences. Of all the dangerous battles they waged upon occasion, Mother Nature was the most formidable opponent. Some guys didn’t face her and go home to tell the story.
As Skyler helped Salvatore, Zack hurried to the side of the Explorer, watching his footing. The driver’s door was positioned over open space, muddy water swirling only feet below them. To see Cori, he had to lean forward carefully without touching the vehicle and upsetting it, or losing his balance in the wind and falling off the bridge. With the added weight of his gear, he’d sink like a stone.
He knocked on the window as hard as he dared. “Ma’am? Ms. Shannon?” Slowly, she turned her head to peer at him through the rain-splattered glass. “Sugarland Fire Department. Are you hurt?”
“Hit my head,” she called back, voice barely audible above the storm’s racket. “Nothing’s broken.”
Thank God for that. A concussion, most likely, but she might also have some internal injuries. He tried to sound encouraging. “All right, that’s good. Listen, I promise we’re gonna get you out of there. Sit tight while we secure the back end, and then we’ll bring you out through the rear. Okay?”
After a pause, she nodded.
“That’s my girl. I’m going around to the back and—”
“No! Don’t leave me!” she wailed, shaking her head.
“I’m not leaving you, Cori. You have my word.” He put a thread of steel into his voice, using her first name on purpose. The calm assurance, the familiarity—firefighters employed these to keep a victim from wigging out. “I’m not going anywhere except through the back to meet you.”
“Promise?” Cori pushed a wet strand of brown hair from her eyes. Even through the sleet, he could see the tension and fear etched on her white face.
Cori was terrified. Depending on him. In that moment, Zack’s problems, the sickness threatening to topple him, vanished. His whole world shrank to a laser point of purpose. Nothing mattered except keeping his promise, getting her to safety.
“Absolutely. Just give me a few seconds.”
“O-okay.”
As Zack hurried to the back end of the vehicle, he wondered if she’d recognized him. Probably not, with the storm obscuring her vision and the hat shielding his face. If she was in shock, she might not even consider how he knew her name.
Skyler and Salvatore had secured the chain to the rear axle by the large hook on one end. The other end, they’d wrapped several times around the guardrail on the opposite side of the bridge to take out as much slack as possible.
Salvatore waved a hand at the makeshift support. “I don’t like this,” he said in his clipped Spanish accent, which always grew more pronounced under stress. “The guardrail can’t take the deadweight if she shifts.”
“It’s what we’ve got to work with.” The captain jabbed a finger at Howard. “Six-Pack, you’re the heaviest. Your weight will help hold it steady while you take her—”
“No.” That single, sharp command from Zack got the attention of the entire team. Including Tanner, who gaped at him. “I promised Ms. Shannon I’d go in and get her, and I’m not about to break my word. She’s hanging by a thread, and we need her calm.”
Tanner’s face darkened with anger violent enough to rival the storm. “Knight, did you hear what I—”
“I heard, Cap, and I’m still going in. Ms. Shannon doesn’t have time for us to stand around arguing about it.” Dismissing Tanner, he turned to Skyler, the youngest team member. “Tommy, get the hatch.”
Skyler stared at him, pale eyes wide, jaw slack. To his credit, he turned and twisted the knob, opening the rear entry without argument. The door gave easily, despite being bent from the earlier wreck. Had to be done anyway, so Zack hoped Skyler wouldn’t catch hell later. His own job, however, was probably toast.
“What’s this? Look!” Crouched by the right rear tire, which was suspended a couple of feet off the ground, Eve pointed to the tread.
“Tire blew,” Six-Pack observed. “That’s what sent her into the skid.”
“Not just a blown tire. A bullet hole.” Crouching by Eve, Salvatore poked a finger at the rubber about an inch from the rim. “Where I come from, I ought to know.
Madre de Dios.
Skyler, get a police officer to come take a look.”
Skyler jogged down the bridge, toward the barricade. Another wave of heat and cold swamped Zack, and he had to concentrate hard not to let his weakness show. A bullet. Jesus Christ, someone shot out her tire! Who would do such a malicious thing?
“Let’s push the vehicle down, get the back tires on the ground,” Tanner said. He positioned himself on the right corner of the vehicle, leaning just inside the hatch, Six-Pack on the left. The two men braced their hands on the lip, above the bumper. “Slow and easy.”
When the rear tires met pavement, the captain nodded at Zack. Carefully, Zack popped a latch on Tanner’s side and let down the rear bench seat to clear the path somewhat. Cori moving from the driver’s spot and climbing over the console would be the tricky part.
Pushing his hat back, he crawled inside. On his hands and knees, inch by inch. “Cori? You still with me up there?”
“Hurry!” Long gone was the cocky attitude of their earlier meeting.
His heart lurched in response to her terror. “I’m here, but you’re going to have to meet me halfway.”
“Nooo! If I move, we’ll fall!”
“If you don’t, we’ll fall anyway. You want me to get you out, right?”
“Yes, but I can’t—”
“You
can
. Listen to me. Unbuckle your seat belt. Do it now.”
She did, taking the strap off her shoulder. “Okay. Now what?”
“Good. Turn your body to your right, nice and slow, so you can see me.” Leather squeaked as she followed his direction, scooting around in the seat. Bracing a trembling hand on the console, she got her first good look at him. Instantly, her eyes widened in recognition.
“You!”
He tried a reassuring smile. “Must be kismet, huh? Don’t worry. In spite of earlier evidence to the contrary, you’re in good hands.”
She let out a shaky laugh that didn’t quite hide her fear. “So you’re not a
complete
dipstick. Nice to know, Zack.”
He grinned at her, glad she had some sass left, even if the barb was directed at his head. That meant she was thinking clearly and would help him get her out of this mess.
A groan of metal reached his ears from somewhere behind him, and a ripe curse from Salvatore.
“Move it, amigo! She’s not gonna hold for long!”
Amigo? Since when? Salvatore couldn’t stand him, so he and Cori must be in deep shit. A trickle of sweat streaked down Zack’s fevered cheek as he inched forward. Reached out a hand. “Cori, climb over the console.”
“Zack—”
“If you don’t, we’re both going to die, because I’m not leaving without you. I promised.”
She glanced at his outstretched hand. Read the truth on his face. He’d willingly give his life for hers. His resolve seemed to fortify her own, and she heaved a deep breath.
“All right. Here I come.” Wiggling a bit, she crept forward, squeezing between the seats. One hand over the other.
“Easy does it. Just a little more.”
The truck gave a sudden lurch, nose dipping downward. Cori shrieked, grabbed for him, and missed. Metal squealed, the noise deafening as the truck slid, tearing the undercarriage. He didn’t have to look to know the guardrail was giving way. Or that Sean and Howard were no longer holding down the tailgate. The SUV tilted toward the swollen river at a crazy angle.
With nothing to stop him, the momentum sent him into the back of the seats. Sweet Jesus. If he went over, he’d crash into Cori and send them both toppling through the shattered front windshield.
The vehicle shuddered and stopped.
“Zack, get out of there, dammit!” the captain bellowed. “Grab her and go!”
Leaning over the row of seats, he reached for Cori once more. “Now or never.”
Bracing her booted feet against the back of the driver’s seat, Cori pushed herself toward him in one last-ditch effort, beautiful face totally focused. Determined. When she grabbed for his hand this time, she didn’t miss.
Zack pulled Cori over the seat, practically threw her toward the open hatch. Bracing himself underneath her, he cupped her ass and shoved her hard toward his team. Toward freedom.
Several pairs of hands hauled her to safety, and he exhaled in relief. Cori was out. Following behind, he scrambled toward the opening. His fingers wrapped around the lip and he hauled himself up—
Just as the guardrail holding the chain gave way.
A terrible rending of metal filled the air. Lightning split the sky and thunder rolled as the rail snapped. The chain whipped, the backlash popping like a gunshot. A blow slammed into his head with the force of a shotgun blast, and he flew backward from the impact.
“Zack,
nooo
!”
Shouts, screaming. Drowned by the storm as the truck slid free of its perch. He tumbled with it, falling, falling. Saw the bridge disappear.
The rear door banged shut as the SUV hit the river, hard, and rolled. He crashed around in the interior, along for the ride, and thought,
Well, shit. There goes my brand-new glasses. Will insurance cover a new pair?
Ice-cold water rushed in, filling the cabin. Dragging at the heavy protective clothing that would serve as his shroud if he didn’t get out. Before the water closed over his head, he managed to suck in a deep breath.