Mia Zachary - 9 1 2 Days (Harlequin Blaze)

His boots sank into the plush carpeting as he strode past the paler darkness of the hotel-room doors. Danny shifted the weight of the toolbox in his other hand, wishing he could reach up to wipe the sweat from under his helmet. At least he wasnt in full turnout gear, wearing the heavy Nomex coat and pants. It was hot enough without the hotels cooling ventilation.

Beside him, firefighter Mike Cornwall huffed out a breath. Phew. Weatherman said its one hundred five degrees with the heat index. You cant tell me theres nothing to this global-warming thing.

Danny chuckled. Dont blame me, I stopped using aerosol years ago. The problem is all those satellites cluttering the skies.

Uh-huh. Seems to me you were right there enjoying my digital TV dish last Super Bowl Sunday.

Yeah, and you still owe me twenty bucks, Stonewall. He called him by the nickname Mikes six-foot-four-frame and dedication to weight lifting had earned him. I told you not to bet against the Ravens running game.

Shame its too dark to get a look at all those underwear models downstairs. Ill bet Id leave with a pocketful of phone numbers.

Danny snickered. Ill take odds against that bet. They reached the bank of elevators and set down their equipment. He rolled his shoulders.

Which one is she in, Lieutenant?

I dont know, Mike. Well have to open all three.

Danny pulled out a large ring of keys while Mike shone the flashlight on the call panel to find the manufacturers brand. Its an Otis Geared Elevonic model.

Okay. Lets start on the left. As he turned the skeleton key to disengage the locks on the outer doors, he heard a high-pitched shriek coming from the middle elevator.

Hellllp!

Hang on, maam! Were coming to get you out.

Grabbing a Halligan, Danny pried open the outer doors and then Mike held them apart with a length of rebar in case the power suddenly came back on. A quick sweep with the flashlight revealed the concrete wall and thick cables inside the open shaft. The elevator itself was closer to the seventh floor than the eighth. Only the top two and a half feet of the car were visible.

Looks like youll have to slide in and get her, L.T.

Danny carefully controlled his reaction, refusing to let it show on his face. Me? Im the senior here.

Yeah, but since L.T. stands for Lady Target as well as lieutenant, youre the man for the job.

Hed always wanted to be a fireman. Always. But hed never consider himself a hero, despite the media calling him one. He was just a guy who cared about doing his job. Right now, though, it required heroic effort to control the chill of dread seeping into his limbs.

All right. Lets get it done.

Danny took off his helmet then helped Mike get the inner doors open and propped. He grabbed the flashlight, got down to floor level and leaned his head over the edge. He shone the light around inside the elevator car and saw the red clad figure huddled in the corner.

Oh, thank God.

The womans voice quavered as she choked out the words. The gleam of the flashlight revealed a tear-streaked face beneath the hand she used to shield her eyes. Her lush scarlet mouth tilted in a little smile of embarrassed relief. I wasnt panicking, though.

Danny noticed that her voice still sounded weak and smiled a little himself. Im sure you werent, maam. Are you injured? Did you hit your head or anything?

No. Im just a bit s-scared.

Its going to be all right. The heats caused a rolling blackout. But Im going to get you out. He started to turn away when she called to him.

Dont leave!

Im not leaving, maam. I was just talking to my partner. Ill be right down to get you.

Oh, okay. Not that I panicked.

No, maam, of course not. Danny had dealt with a lot of hysterics in his nine years on the job. People were often so relieved and grateful to be rescued that they simply broke down. He wasnt about to make fun of her, since he didnt feel that comfortable himself.

He looked up at Mike. Ill go down and give her a lift. You help her the rest of the way. She says shes not hurt, but Ill check her out just the same.

Im sure you will, L.T. Mikes voice had an undercurrent of innuendo as he took the flashlight to hold.

Danny ignored him as he swung his legs into the elevator car, bearing his weight on his forearms. Since this wasnt a life or death situation, he stole a second to get himself under control. None of the guys at Station 24 knew, not even Mike. A year had passed as if it were only a moment, but that moment was all too fresh in his mind.

Just as he was about to lower himself down, an elderly woman hurried out of one of the hotel rooms down the hall. My husband! Please help us. He collapsed! He has chest pains and says it feels like another heart attack.

L.T.?

Mike was training to become an FF4, a firefighter paramedic. He was already grabbing his first-aid kit while he waited for Dannys response. With many of the city fire trucks assisting Baltimore Oil & Power, generators and manpower were spread thin.

Go. Ill handle this. Call for the nearest ambulance and wait for them to take over.

Ill be back as soon as I can.

Mike rushed off with the only flashlight, leaving Danny hanging. Literally. The idea of being stuck in the dark, cramped space for even a few minutes wasnt doing much to alleviate his sweating. But a possible heart attack was more urgent than his problem. Inhaling quietly, he ducked his head to keep from banging it on the elevator ceiling and let himself drop. His stomach lurched as he fell.

Six feet might as well have been a sixty in the darkness

After hitting the floor, Danny turned his head from side to side, straining his eyes and willing something to come into focus. Suddenly he heard a rustle of movement and the woman collided into him. Without the flashlight, he couldnt see her. Or anything else.

Her disjointed sobs echoed in the small, hot space, further confusing senses that were denied the capacity of sight. His lungs clenched, struggling to drag breath into their shallow depths. The scar tissue on his back tightened. His pulse accelerated and he fought to steady his pounding heart

Someone was crying. He could hear muffled weeping, but was too disoriented to identify where it came from. It was pitch-black and impossibly hot. He couldnt breathe. Dense smoke and the acrid smell of burning fuel choked what little air was left.

He crawled through puddles of water, over jagged metal and broken concrete. The darkness seemed to cave in on him. Then more explosions rocked the floor beneath him, trapping him in what already resembled the lowest level of hell

Im so glad youre here.

The womans mumbled words brought him back to the present. As she clung to him, Danny welcomed the contact with another living being and instinctively offered the comfort of his arms. Her soft lips nuzzled the side of his neck where shed buried her face in the crook of his shoulder. He held her tightly, breathing in the floral scent of her hair.

He couldnt have let her go if he wanted to.

He didnt know how long they stood holding each other, his sense of time as confused as everything else. But slowly his attention sharpened and he became aware of her. He felt the warmth of her body seeping into him and driving away the chill of anxiety. Her full breasts were flattened against his chest, the hardened peaks jutting through his cotton T-shirt. Beneath his hands, he recognized the coarse texture of lace as he soothed his palms down her back.