by Remi Grey
Blazing for Her
REMI GREY
Copyright © 2019 Remi Grey – All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Cover Created By Embrace the Pace Designs
The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers.
Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
EPILOGUE
MORE BOOKS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Join my mailing list and grab a free book!
Updates on free books, hot deals, and giveaways.
Zero spam.
You can also click here to join!
About the Book
An Alpha Hero Steamy Romance
Washington:
I’ve seen my fair share of fire and the aftermath of what it leaves behind.
Doing what I do takes courage, but without heart, what does the word courage really mean?
I know what I'm supposed to do, and that's to lead people out of the fire.
That is until I saved Elena Alverez, and my whole world changed for the better.
I had to run in the building, I had to save her.
Maybe she’s the answer to my silent prayer for the one sent to save me from myself?
Could she be the one that calms my fears of loving someone, even with the possibility of losing them?
Elena:
Dancing has been my life and talent since I was a little girl. It's allowed me to take care of family and travel all over the world, but that's not what I really had in mind for my life.
Captain Washington Drake was the man who would change my life in such a way that I’m forever bound by life and love.
Two people, two totally different worlds, different backgrounds… would this ever work?
He literally held my life in his hands and chose to fight through the flames to save me, a total stranger alive while risking his own life.
Can he be the guardian angel I’ve been praying for?
Or am I the one he’s been praying for?
Blazing for Her is part of the Rescue Me series but can be read as a standalone steamy alpha romance. No cliffhanger. It's the perfect little quickie read when you're on the go or just need a bit of heat to satisfy your romantic appetite. If you love a broken man who falls for a broken woman, a hero to the rescue contemporary romance, this is the amazon kindle read for you.
Chapter 1
Washington
Most people run from fire, but I run to it. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not a firebug or anything. I just love the thrill of saving someone who otherwise couldn’t save themselves.
My job is to be the brave one, the smart one, and the level-headed one. The one that keeps everyone in line and keeps my boys safe. If I fall apart, everyone who depends on me will crumble slowly one by one, and I can't have that not now, not ever.
Being a Fire Captain was my dream, and as soon as I became old enough to volunteer with my local fire department, I took to it like a fish to water. My youngest brother Franky was my inspiration after we almost lost him in the fire that changed my life forever.
Even though it happened years ago, it feels like it all happened yesterday. Whenever I close my eyes, I can still see the tremendous blaze that once was our family home. I remember my father running out of the burning mess that once was our front porch holding Franky's lifeless little body in his arms, thinking he was dead. I still get chills when I think about it. When you see something like that at such a young age, it scars you a little bit.
That one event started something in me that was much more than a simple force of nature. It became my everything, my way of life, and my reason for living. In that one single fire, we lost everything. We lost our home, our normal, and we almost lost a family member, not to mention our dog. It was my home for the past fifteen years of my life.
I'm the oldest out of the three boys, and I was five at the time when Roosevelt was born, and about three years later, Franklin came along. We always joke that my mom must have had a thing for presidents because she named us all after dead presidents. It was a running joke with everyone for years, so we gave each other nicknames to ease the teasing. It's funny because I was the only one who never adopted a nickname. Everyone still called me Washington back then and still do today only, but now there's a Captain attached to it.
I don't know who I would have become if that fire never happened. This job isn't for everyone, it takes a certain dedication, but with that dedication, you also have to give a little of yourself, and I've delivered more than my fair share.
“Sorry to interrupt. Captain. Is everything alright?" one of my guys says, interrupting my thoughts of the past. Good thing he did. I could feel myself going down a dark road that I don't want to revisit.
“Sure McBride,” I say with the hugest fake smile on my face that I could muster up in such a short amount of time. “Everything’s good, what can I do for you, kid?”
"I was wondering if I could talk with you for a moment?" Scott McBride is a bright kid, eager, and he learns fast, but I just don't know if he has what it takes to see this type of career through to the end.
"What's on your mind?" I ask, sitting back in my chair behind my desk, waiting to hear what he has to say.
"Well, Captain, I hate to ask you this, but I've noticed how good you are with the ladies. Hell, we all have, and I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on how to approach a certain woman that I'm interested in?" I didn't expect that one.
"Honestly, kid, I'm just as lost with the ladies as you are. I'm probably not the one you want to ask advice from since my dating skills are a bit primitive compared to today's youth and your dating apps."
"Captain, you're not that much older than me. Besides, the woman I'm interested in is a bit older than me," he said with a slight flush of embarrassment playing on his cheeks.
"Oh, so you like them mature, huh?" joking with him, standing up to meet his glare. "What's a young man like you going to do with a woman my age if she actually accepts your invitation for a date?"
“Don't give me a hard time, Captain, come on." He laughed, probably thinking to himself what a foolish idea it was to ask his boss dating advice. "I can take a hint; I'll just figure it out on my own."
“Now that sounds like a plan,” I walk from around my desk towards him to usher him back out of the door he just came in with a smile. “Good talk, McBride.”
After that rather awkward talk with McBride, I felt something stirring deep down inside me. It was a question that I never dared to answer for myself. Why was it that someone so good with the ladies, as McBride said, all alone?
Like I've said many times over, you have to give a little of yourself every time you go into the fire, and it takes away a bit of your soul. I could never bring myself to love a woman enough to put her through loving a man like me. I think my heart died a little the night of the fire that took my house and almost claimed my brother's life.
I don't have any room for love in my burnt and mangled heart. I think all of the women that I've been with could feel my fear and resistance to falling in love. If I love, then I can lose, and t
hat's something I'm just not willing to endure, not again. My heart can’t take it.
Suddenly the sound of alarms fills my ears, my boys are on the move, and it's time to go to work.
~~~
“This one sure is a scorcher,” McBride yells through blinding smoke and flames. “Should I take the offices on the left?” he questions, hesitating for what seems like an eternity.
No matter how many times I do this, risk my life to save another knowing that one day I might not ever come back out of it, I still want to save. I have to save.
Time never seems to pass when I go into the flames, I get a rush, and I'm completely in the zone. I always manage to keep a level head even though I can hear my heart pounding loudly in my ears.
I decided that the boys have covered the left and center of the office building we've been called into. I go to the right to make sure we've found everyone that was reported in the building.
The call came as a three-alarm in a high rise, so we knew it would be a possibility of having several non-reported individuals inside of the building. I search carefully, sounding out for possible individuals that may not have exited due to debris or plain fear. Fire is a startling sight, and some people react as if they're deer in headlights, especially when you're not appropriately trained on what to do when things like this happen.
I get a tap on my back, and I stop moving further in. It’s one of my guys letting me know that he still thinks there’s someone in this section of the building and that his area is covered. I signal that I’m going in just a little bit further just to make sure all my area is covered. Something inside of me is telling me to keep going.
As soon as I move in a few more feet into a small office area with the door closed, I find someone passed out on the floor; rushing to him, I check as best as I can for signs of life. The flames are starting to close in all around us. I know I have to act fast before it consumes the both of us.
Picking him up, I rush us both out towards the hall that I just came down meeting McBride and some of my other guys at the end, handing him over to them and making my way out of the inferno. Before we can take another step, he coughs and waves his practically lifeless hand catching our attention as we move.
“Wait, wait,” he belts out as loudly as he can. “Wait, she’s still in there, inside, she’s… inside.” And then he passes out.
Fuck, I think to myself, there's someone else still inside, inside that burning room that I almost didn't make it out of, fuck, I can't just leave without making sure that everyone is out alive. Without another thought I turn around and run in towards the hall I just came down, behind me, I can hear faint calls from McBride and Hanson. Still, all I think about is how terrified this woman must be. How she must think everyone has deserted her and that she's going to die surrounded by fire. I can't bear it; I have to find her, and I don’t have much time to do it before we both end up victims of the heat.
Chapter 2
Elena
How did I get here? I never thought I would be here in an office discussing things with an agent that is more like a total stranger than someone I trust to help me make decisions with about my future.
He's a leech, and he must think that I'm a complete idiot not to know so. I've been in this business for a long time, and I can spot a shark from a mile away. He's lucky I didn't fire his ass a long time ago, but I was too busy on tour to handle it the way I should have a year ago. Today is the day I finally cut him loose with no hard feelings on my part whatsoever. I'm finally parting ways with Daniel Thomas, and now is the time.
"Elena, are you even listening?" Daniel says, interrupting my thoughts abruptly. "I think you should be listening to this, Elena, we are discussing your next tour if that means anything to you at all," he snarks, giving me that damn awful smug look that I hate.
“I thought I told you before we even came over here that I need a break.” This is why I’m firing this asshole. “I'm not doing another tour this year, and when you have a moment, we need to talk."
All of a sudden, the loud sound of the fire alarms rang in my ears like bells on steroids. It was deafening, and my heart sank with fear.
"It's probably a drill, you guys," My PA said, opening the door to the private conference room we were in and checking with others walking by. "See, everyone seems calm. I wouldn't sweat it right now."
I watched as my PA, the producer of the new show Daniel wants me to do, and Daniel starts to leave the room.
“Hold on Daniel, we need to talk,” I stop Daniel mid-walk.
“What’s this all about, Elena? Don't you think you've embarrassed me enough?" he says, rolling his eyes like the jerk he is.
"Embarrassed, I should be the one that's embarrassed. You invited the producer to our meeting without even giving me a heads up. I clearly told you over the phone that I didn't want another tour until I thought some things through."
"Please, stop acting like you're so important that you can't be replaced. I'm saving your ass, and you know it."
"Excuse me, what the hell is that supposed to mean, saving my ass?" I walked towards him, staring him down as best as I could since I'm about a foot shorter than him even with my highest heels on. "I can't believe I even felt bad for what I'm about to say to you right now."
“You feel bad about saying what? Elena, what do you have to say to me?” he asks, looking hurt when I know he really isn’t.
"I think we should part ways, Daniel. I've been thinking about this for some time now. More than ever, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I'm making the right decision by letting you go."
“Fine, I was ready to move on anyway, you just gave me a quick out without having to go through the trouble of writing a formal resignation.”
"Well, at least we're on the same page."
And with that, I started to regret everything I just said. Was I really doing the right thing? He did help me to get where I am today. I just think that over the past four years, we've grown apart, and we both want two different things for my future. I want to settle down a bit, I'm so damn tired of traveling. I've seen the world, and now I want to feel like I have a home again, a family, maybe even love.
Just at that moment, before Daniel storm to the door full of anger, I notice that the fire alarm was still going off, and the strong scent of smoke and burning plastic filled the room.
As soon as he opens the door, smoke fills the room and takes over my lungs and eyes, causing me to cough and gasp for air.
"Fuck, the fire was real. We have to get out of here," Daniel says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out into the dry smoke and fire filled the hallway. "Hold my hand and stay close."
I love that even though I just fired Daniel and we both spoke to each other most horrible way, he still cares enough for me to put that shit behind us and try to help me to safety. The sounds of things burning, falling, and cracking all around me is enough to scare the hell out of me. Just then, one thought crosses my mind: what if Daniel is the last person on this earth that I get to see before I die?
I mouth to him how sorry I am, but the smoke is so thick that he most likely can't see. In the middle of pulling me down the hall and turning the corner to try to find a way to let someone know that we're here and we need help, I lose Daniel.
I wouldn’t believe this myself if it wasn’t happening to me right now. Shit, what am I going to do now? The flames and the smoke are unbearable, and I'm coughing profusely, lungs filling up with carbon in every breath. I have to drop low and cover my mouth with something, at least that's what people tell you to do in the movies and stuff. Is this the way I'm going to go out after everything I've achieved? My legs are insured for God's sake; how can I die in an office fire? I wonder how much my legs will be worth if they burn up with the rest of me. Probably not even enough to give me a proper burial, how ironic.
Crawling on the floor of an office building and barely being able to breathe gives a person perspective in a way that you can't explain. Being on the brink of
life or death makes you think of the little things, like why I never got that dog I wanted. Why have I never been in love? Why haven't I followed my real dreams instead of what was expected of me by others?
“Daniel," I cough, losing a tiny bit of consciousness. I wonder where Daniel went, and if he's okay, I pray at least one of us will make it out of this alive. I manage to crawl my way into an office. I shut the door behind me with my foot now that I've lost my pretty expensive heels during the crawl. I push part of my shirt that I've removed under the door to try to stop the smoke from getting in. I'm so glad I wore the oversized flannel today. Even though it's not long enough to block up the entire door, it's at least helping with the smoke and maybe buying me a little more time before I pass out. I start to make out a mental will; what would I want to go where; who would I want to have what. I realize that I really have no one in my life to give anything to. The only people that have been steady in my life are my mother and my best friend Angel. Giving everything to them would only be a constant reminder of what my life used to be before I was gone.