Ablaze (Dallas Fire & Rescue Book 2)

by Paige Tyler

  “Yeah,” she said in answer to Trent’s question. “Dane and I went over to Jax’s ranch yesterday and didn’t get home until almost midnight.”

  Trent checked his side mirrors as he merged onto I-635. Traffic was still crazy even at eight o’clock at night. Around them, drivers jockeyed for lane position as they approached the insanely confusing High Five Interchange that connected 635 to I-75 as well as several other surface roads. Five stacked levels of bridges, underpasses, and overpasses could get a bit tricky, and the rain didn’t help.

  “Sounds like things are working out well with you and Dane,” he said as he switched on his indicator and changed lanes.

  Lexi smiled. “They are.”

  Actually, saying things were going well with Dane was an understatement. Things were going awesome. Then again, maybe she was a little biased considering Dane had completely worn her out last night. The guy was absolutely amazing in bed. And on the floor, too, now that she thought about it. She’d never had a night like it. Hell, if you combined the last three or four times she’d slept with a man, they still wouldn’t add up to what she’d experienced with Dane last night.

  “What about you?” she asked Trent. “Was Tish in town?”

  Tish was a flight attendant Trent had met a while back. She was based out of DFW but was gone a lot more than she was home, so getting together was difficult, especially with Trent’s work schedule.

  He shook his head. “Nah. She texted me on Sunday saying she got transferred to LAX. Neither of us was interested in making the long distance thing work.”

  Lexi frowned. “Dang. I’m sorry. I know you were starting to get serious about her.”

  Trent shrugged as he took the overpass. “Don’t be. I get the feeling Tish requested the transfer so she wouldn’t have to actually break up with me.”

  “Well that sucks,” Lexi said.

  She was wondering if she should mention Melinda was interested in him when Trent jerked the wheel to the side, almost sliding the rescue truck right off the overpass.

  “What the…?”

  Lexi’s words trailed off as three cars zipped around them, one of them nearly spinning out of control as the driver clipped the front left bumper of the rescue truck.

  “Shit!” Trent swore as he fought for control of the wheel on the wet, slippery pavement.

  Lexi grabbed the dash, muttering a curse as the three cars darted in and around the traffic ahead of them. It was those damn street racers. Apparently, they didn’t give a crap that there was no place for the other drivers to go on the overpass as they jammed themselves through the congestion.

  Trent had gotten their vehicle going straight again when one of the racers tried to force his way between two cars, sideswiping a small sedan driving in the right lane. The impact sent the sedan sliding out of control on the wet pavement and spinning in a slow circle. All Lexi could do was watch as the sedan slammed into the concrete and metal railing on the side of the overpass and kept right on going.

  Lexi’s breath caught in her throat. If the car went over the retaining wall, it would be a hundred and twenty foot drop to the traffic on I-75. Even if the people in the car made it through the fall, they wouldn’t survive getting rammed by the traffic flying along the road beneath them. But somehow the car stopped, partially wedged in the debris of the broken wall.

  Trent floored the engine, trying to get to the car as fast as he could even as the back of the sedan tilted up and down as the rear wheels came off the road.

  The street racers were long gone by the time she and Trent reached the sedan, but Lexi no longer cared about them. She was focused entirely on the small car teetering on the brink of the overpass railing. It looked like the thing was going to go over any second.

  Trent slammed to stop less than ten feet from the car, sliding sideways to block the rightmost lane of traffic and hitting the switch for the flashing lights.

  “I’ll call this in then get a tow strap and try to keep the car from going any farther while you check on the people inside it,” he said.

  Lexi didn’t even slow down to grab her gear but simply shoved open the door and ran for the car in the pounding rain. In the distance, she could hear police sirens as well as the distinct tones of a fire engine.

  There was only one person in the car—a middle-aged woman with platinum blond hair and cuts all over her face.

  “It’s okay,” Lexi told the woman through the open window on the driver’s side. “My name is Lexi and I’m a paramedic. My partner and I are going to get you out of here. Don’t move, okay?”

  The woman turned tearful, terrified eyes on her. She nodded. “Hurry, please. I’m scared.”

  “We will,” Lexi promised.

  Lexi did a quick assessment of the car. The front of the vehicle was badly smashed up, and the steering column and part of the engine were shoved into the woman’s lap. That would make getting her out quickly a problem.

  Lexi’s first instinct was to open the driver’s door but she stopped herself. With the vehicle hanging over the edge of the wall, it was too dangerous. She surveyed the vehicle, checking for a better entrance while at the same time assessing how easy it would be to get the woman out another way. The back door on the driver’s side was too crushed to function, and the front door on the passenger side was nearly as far out over empty space as the driver side door. If all that wasn’t bad enough, the rear door on the passenger side was wedged against what remained of the concrete railing. It wasn’t going to be easy to open.

  That left only the sunroof.

  The woman in the car turned her head slightly to look at Lexi, tears streaming down her face to mix with the raindrops. “You said you’d hurry!”

  “We will,” Lexi assured her gently. “Sit still, okay?”

  The woman shoved open her door as if Lexi hadn’t spoken. The steering wheel and remains of the airbag weren’t going to let her go anywhere, however, something she quickly figured out. Panic filled her eyes, and she immediately began to struggle.

  The front of the car tipped downward, sliding a little farther over the edge. That only freaked the poor woman out even more.

  The vehicle was going over for sure. Crap.

  “Don’t move!” Lexi ordered over the woman’s screams, putting a hand on her arm. “I’m going to help you, but you have to do as I say.”

  Lexi didn’t wait for a reply, but instead raced to the back of the car and climbed up on the trunk, praying her weight would be enough to push the car back down.

  It wasn’t. The back of the car kept going up anyway.

  Where the hell was Trent with that tow strap?

  Out of nowhere, a big, burly white guy in a John Deere cap jumped on the back of the car beside her, quickly followed by a skinny black teenaged boy who probably weighed less than Lexi. She almost cried as their combined weight shoved the back of the car onto the road.

  Then Trent was there with the big, heavy yellow tow strap, diving under the vehicle to wrap the strong material around the rear axle. He was out in a flash, racing back to the rescue truck and jumping behind the wheel. Shoving the ambulance in reverse, he started backing up.

  The slack disappeared out of the two strap and from her position on the trunk, Lexi felt the back of the sedan twist down and away from the edge of the wall and the railing it was balanced on.

  Suddenly, the woman screamed in pain. Lexi looked through the rain-spattered back window to see one of the woman’s legs being crushed by a piece of metal sticking up from the floorboard of the car. Crap. It was a piece of rebar from the overpass retaining wall.

  “Stop!” Lexi shouted over her shoulder, holding up a closed fist in Trent’s direction.

  He immediately hit the brake and leaned out the window of the truck. “What’s wrong?”

  “A piece of rebar from the concrete railing has punctured the bottom of the car and is pressing against the woman’s leg,” Lexi said, her wet ponytail swinging around to smack her in the back as she turned
to look at him. “If you keep pulling, it’s going to crush her.”

  “Shit!” he muttered.

  Lexi carefully climbed off the trunk of the car along with her two volunteers. At least the recovery strap would keep the car from going over—for now.

  Trent got out of the truck and ran over to them. “I didn’t get the vehicle far enough back to keep it stable. If it starts to tip forward again, I don’t think the strap is going to hold it. We have to get her out of there.”

  He was right. Dammit.

  “We’re not getting her out through any of the doors,” Lexi said. “I’ll climb in through the sunroof and get her out that way.”

  All three men looked at her like she was insane.

  “I’ll go,” Trent said.

  Lexi shook her head. “I’m lighter than you are. Your weight would push the car over the edge.”

  Trent cursed. He opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it again. “You’re right. Hang on while I grab some rope.”

  As Lexi waited for him to get it from the truck, she caught sight of the bystanders watching with a mix of trepidation and concern on their faces. She knew how they felt. But if she didn’t get that poor woman out of there, she was going to die. And Lexi would be damned if she was going to let that happen.

  “Tie this around your waist,” Trent said, handing her the rope. “And be careful, okay?”

  She nodded. “I will.”

  Lexi gave the knot she’d tied in the rope a tug. If the car went over, the rope might save her. Then again, if it caught on the vehicle as it fell, it could also kill her.

  Taking a deep breath, she cautiously climbed onto the slippery trunk of the wet car and over the top until she reached the sunroof. The woman craned her neck to look up at her.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice trembling.

  “I’m going to get you out of there, like I promised,” Lexi said, hoping her voice wasn’t shaking as much as the rest of her. “Close your eyes, duck down, and put your hands over your head to protect yourself. I’m going to break the glass in the sunroof.”

  Taking the small glass breaking tool she always carried on her belt, she put the tip of it on the sunroof and pushed, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. Hooking the tool on her belt, she slithered through the roof and into the front seat of the car, avoiding the piece of rebar sticking up through the floorboard. The moment she did, the car started to slide forward again.

  “Lexi, we have trouble out here,” Trent shouted. “The car’s weight is dragging the rescue truck across the wet pavement. You need to work fast.”

  The woman’s eyes went wide, her tears coming faster. “Please don’t let me die in here.”

  “I won’t,” Lexi said. “I promise.”

  She took the small tool off her belt again. In addition to breaking glass, it also cut through seatbelts. As she worked, she asked the woman her name.

  “Debra Wallace.”

  Lexi smiled. “Another minute and I’m going to have you out of here, Debra.”

  Or she would have if the seatbelt had been the only thing standing between her and getting Debra to safety. Unfortunately, the steering wheel was wedged against Debra’s legs, pinning her to the seat.

  “Hang on, okay?”

  Debra nodded.

  Lexi reached under the seat for the latch to adjust it. Putting one foot against the dash and her shoulder against the driver’s seat, she shoved at the same time she lifted the latch. It moved a few inches, but not quite enough.

  Crap.

  Releasing the latch, she turned around so that she was sitting on the console facing the front of the car. Then she put both feet on the steering wheel, shoving and kicking with everything she had. It moved, but so did the car.

  “Lexi!” Trent shouted. “Hurry the hell up in there. We’re losing the car!”

  Lexi didn’t waste time with a reply. She simply slid her arms under Debra’s and dragged her out of the seat. Debra cried out in pain but shoved against the floorboard with her good leg, fighting to get herself out of there.

  Since she couldn’t get both Debra and herself out at the same time, Lexi climbed through the sunroof first then reach in to grab the woman’s arms. The car creaked, tipping forward again.

  Tightening her hold on Debra, Lexi scampered backward, hauling her through the sunroof. It wasn’t until Lexi reached the back of the car that she saw at least a dozen civilians doing everything they could from dragging on her safety rope to holding onto the bumper of the sedan to shoving against the front of the rescue truck at the same time to keep the car from going over the edge. But even with all of that and Trent putting the rescue truck in reverse, the weight of the car was too much for all of it. The sedan was going over, and there wasn’t anything anyone could do to stop it.

  Gritting her teeth, Lexi dragged the woman off the trunk, slamming onto the hard concrete of the road as the vehicle toppled. Lexi had enough time to realize she hadn’t saved anyone yet. The car was taking the rescue truck and group of civilians with it.

  Lexi shoved Debra to the side and jumped to her feet, praying the woman wouldn’t get run over by the sliding rescue vehicle, when a loud voice broke through the insanity around her.

  “Move!” a deep voice ordered.

  A split second later, a huge fire axe came down and sliced through the towing strap in a single sweep of its razor sharp blade.

  Lexi jerked her head up to see Dane standing there with axe in hand as the car fell from the overpass to the freeway below. She cringed, expecting to hear the horrific sound of other vehicles smashing into it, but all she heard was her pounding heart and the sound of the rain hitting the pavement. The police must have been able to clear the roadway in time. Thank God.

  Only then did she wonder how the hell Dane had gotten up there since the whole overpass was jammed and jellied up with stopped traffic. He must have run all the way from the base of the overpass in full turnout gear.

  She opened her mouth to ask him, but the words were drowned out as cheers went up in the crowd of onlookers around them. As the rain pelted her face, Lexi smiled up at Dane, having a crazy urge to drag him down for a kiss.

  But that was going to have to wait until later. She still had to treat Debra’s injuries and get her to the hospital.

  Besides, Dane seemed little too dazed at the moment for a kiss.

  Chapter Ten

  FORTUNATELY, BESIDES A broken left leg and a multitude of cuts and bruises, Debra Wallace was going to be fine. Though she had some pain in the chest, a look at her electrocardiogram told Lexi she didn’t have any heart issues. The pain was almost certainly due to taking an airbag and a crushed steering wheel to the chest. Debra thanked Lexi so many times for saving her, she started to get embarrassed.

  Right after that, the police showed up to talk to Lexi and Trent so another rescue truck transported Debra to the hospital. Lexi expected uniformed officers to take their statements and was surprised when a detective named Logan Maxwell introduced himself. Tall with dark hair and brown eyes, he was interested in anything they could tell him about the street racers.

  “Honestly, I didn’t get a good look at them,” Lexi admitted. “All I saw was a flash of color speed by us.”

  Detective Maxwell looked at Trent. “What about you?”

  Trent thought a moment. “I think one was a Mustang and I’m pretty sure I saw a tricked out Nissan. I didn’t get any license plates, though.”

  The detective nodded. “Okay, thanks.” He handed her and Trent his business card. “If you think of anything else, give me a call.”

  After Detective Maxwell left, Lexi looked around for Dane to see if he was still there, but he was nowhere in sight.

  “You ready to head back to the station?” Trent asked.

  She nodded. Besides wanting to see Dane, she needed to change into dry clothes. Even though the rain had stopped, they were still soaked.

  After sitting in those wet clothes all the way b
ack to the station, Lexi immediately headed upstairs to the women’s locker room to change before she went in search of Dane. She’d reached the locker room when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Dane striding toward her.

  She opened her mouth to thank him for getting to that overpass at exactly the right time, but then she caught the look on his face and realized something was off. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was angry.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing out there?” he demanded.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Dane scowled. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. That insane stunt you pulled on the overpass. Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

  She blinked. Crap. He was angry. And now, so was she. “What kind of question is that? I was trying to save a woman’s life. You, more than anyone, should recognize that.”

  “I never would have done anything that reckless,” he snapped.

  Lexi felt like he’d slapped her. Telling her she was reckless was the same as saying she wasn’t good at her job. “It might have been risky, but it wasn’t reckless, and it was the only choice we had. That car was about to go over the edge. What was I supposed to do? Let her die?”

  “What you should have done was let Trent get her out.”

  She gaped at Dane. Thinking he’d been questioning her skill at her job had been bad enough. Questioning how she did that job because she was a woman instead of a man was even worse.

  Lexi folded her arms and glared at him. “I see. So Trent gets to risk his life to save people because he’s a man, but I can’t because I’m a woman?”

  “That’s not what I said,” he insisted.

  “Really?” she countered. “Then what is going on here? You run into burning buildings nearly every day to save people, and I never call you on it. Yet, the first time you see me do something dangerous to save someone’s life, you say I’m reckless. Tell me how I’m supposed to take that?”