Melting Her Dom's Heart [Dark Desires 3] (Siren Publishing Sensations)

by Suzy Shearer

  “Sorry, but the whole mountain is on fire. No one can get through. Look she’s probably got out. We put out evacuation bulletins as soon as the fire began spreading. All the residents have left.”

  Alex pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. He looked up through the windscreen at the mountain in front of him. It was like a scene from Dante’s Inferno. He could see the fires leaping from tree to tree. Heavy palls of smoke hung everywhere with the demon-red flames piercing through.

  Alex dialled Kallie’s number again. Once more it went unanswered. He rang Stacy.

  “Stacy, is Kallie with you?”

  “Kallie? No. I haven’t heard from her since yesterday. Why?”

  “The mountain’s on fire and it’s spreading. Has she contacted you?”

  “No, but—”

  “If she rings you, can you ring me back and let me know she’s safe?”

  “Yes. Where are you, Alex?”

  “At the bottom of the mountain, they won’t let me through. Stacy, it’s bad. I can even see the flames from here. The whole fucking mountain is burning!”

  “Oh God, no!”

  “Just let me know if she contacts you. I’m hoping she got out when the bulletins were posted. If she did she’d probably come to your house.” His phone beeped. “I’ll ring you back. Just got a message. It’s probably Dan or hopefully Kall.”

  He hung up and then opened the message. He had a missed call from Kallie and a voice mail message. Relieved he played it.

  In shock, Alex listened to Kallie’s voice telling him she loved him. When the message cut out midword Alex screamed. He raced over to the roadblock. The air had grown thick with smoke, and he started coughing. “She’s there!” He tried to stop coughing. “I just got a message. She’s up there still, in the fucking middle of all that!” He pointed up the mountain, the smoke, the flames—the hell!

  “Sir, you need to get back in your car and drive away. It’s too dangerous here. The smoke is getting thicker. If the wind changes directions, the fire will come over us.”

  “Don’t you fucking understand? She’s in the middle of that fucking fire!” He screamed at the man between coughing. His eyes were stinging from the smoke.

  “I do. We’ve got crews up there.” Patiently the man asked, “Tell me where is she exactly?”

  Alex tried to explain as best he could, but he couldn’t think straight. The fireman gave him a wet cloth.

  “Tie this around your mouth and nose. It helps with breathing.”

  “Thanks.”

  The man pulled out a walkie-talkie and stepped away from Alex. Alex waited, pacing back and forth. He’d been a fool. Kallie did love him. Now he’d lost her. He should have showed her how he felt. He should have married her, should have collared her. Instead, he’d tried to be the coldhearted bastard and hold her at arm’s length, too fucking scared to take the chance that she loved him in return. He never gave either of them a chance.

  The man returned. “Okay. If it’s the same woman—Kallista Robins?”

  “Yes, Kallie! That’s her.”

  “We got a call from her. She’s trapped but was going to lock herself downstairs. She was told how to wet towels to hold back the smoke and how to keep the room as safe as possible. The fire’s gone through there now, and there’s a crew on its way to her. They will get through and rescue her.”

  “How long ’til we know she’s safe with them?”

  “Not sure, but they’ll come down this way once they have her in the truck.”

  “Well, I’m not leaving!”

  “Okay, I understand, but look—it’s best to wait in your car with all this smoke. Keep the windows up and turn the car around. That way, if we have to bug out in a hurry, you’re facing the right way. Also there’s a storm on its way, not sure how long it will be ’til it gets here. They’re getting a lot of heavy rain farther along the mountain, and it’s heading this way fairly fast, so fingers crossed, mate. It will help us get this fucker under control.”

  “Thanks.” Reluctantly Alex got back into the Jeep. He started it up and drove across the road, parking on the other side. Then he rang Dan. He filled him in on what he knew. By the time he’d finished, tears were streaming down his face. “I’ve been a fool. You were right and now… Dan, she can’t die!” he wailed. “She can’t be dead!”

  “Calm down, Alex. She’s a smart woman. You said the firies told her how to protect herself. She’s going to be fine.”

  “She better be.”

  He hung up and waited. He prayed Kallie would be alive. He didn’t want to consider the possibility that she was dead. Alex sat with his head in his hands. It had been over thirty minutes since he parked the car. The waiting was intolerable. A tap on his window made him look up. The fireman he’d spoke to earlier looked distressed. Alex got out the car.

  “Just heard they’ve reached her house. I’m sorry, but it’s gone.”

  “What’s gone?”

  “The house. There’s only burned rubble.”

  “No!” Alex screamed. He grabbed the man on his arms. “No! Tell me she’s safe.”

  Alex dropped his hands and stared at the man in horror.

  “I don't know, doesn't look good. They just said there’s nothing there at all just rubble and smoke. They’re sifting through it now till they find her. I’m so sorry.” He put his hand on Alex’s shoulder, his face filled with compassion, as he continued quietly. “They’ll keep searching until they find her body.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “No!”

  Alex felt numb. She just couldn’t be dead!

  He shook off the man’s hand. He started to walk away from the fireman but only managed a few steps before collapsing to his knees on the road. A gut-wrenching roar tore from his throat. The only woman he would ever love and now she was dead. He began sobbing. Alex lost all reason. This was all his fault. For some bizarre reason he blamed himself. If he hadn’t been trying to protect his heart, she wouldn’t have left. If she hadn’t left, she’d be working down at Sonic Max.

  He knew the officer was watching and subconsciously knew the man felt his own heartache in sympathy, but Alex had just lost everything. It felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest as he let his grief overwhelmed him. Alex lifted his face upward to the sky. He bellowed his pain to the wind.

  His screams rent the air. They echoed across the plain. They were primal, painful, but they didn’t help. Nothing eased the agony as it ripped into him.

  Alex had no idea how long he knelt pouring out his grief, howling his heartbreak. He finally stopped when he felt a few spots of rain.

  “Too late!” he screamed infuriated. “Too fucking late!”

  Why couldn’t it have rained an hour ago? He felt betrayed by the weather. Why couldn’t it have saved her?

  His phone rang. It was Stacy.

  “Alex, have you heard anything?”

  Those few words started him crying again. He tried to tell her what happened. “The house, it’s gone. There’s nothing left, Stace…” His voice broke on each word. “They’re…the ruins…they’re sifting through the ruins trying to find her body.”

  He heard Stacy burst into tears.

  “No,” she screamed in agony. “No. Not Kallie! She can’t be dead!”

  They cried together on the phone until Stacy said, “Come here, Alex. You can’t be alone. Come here to us. Come to me.”

  “No. I’m going to stay here until they”—his voice broke—“until they find her.”

  “I understand. Come here after.”

  Alex couldn’t answer.

  “Alex. I’m sorry. She loved you. You have to know. She really loved you.”

  She started crying again and Alex hung up.

  The rain was falling heavier, making it hard to see. But Alex stayed kneeling on the road, his head bowed as his tears mingled with the rain. It felt as if the world was crying with him. Finally completely drained he crawled to his feet.

&nb
sp; Turning, he stood in the rain, looking up at the mountain. The fireman had pulled on wet-weather gear and walked over to him.

  “You okay?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. They stood looking at the mountain that had taken her. Both heard the squawk of the walkie-talkie. Alex staggered blindly toward his car as the fireman answered it. The rain felt good on his face. When he looked at the mountain he could see the smoke slowly clearing as the rain drenched the fire. As much as he could see through the smoke, the whole mountain looked a desolate ruin, so black. Like a vision from hell. The smell almost overpowering.

  The fireman raced back to him, he had the biggest grin on his face. He grabbed Alex by both arms, shaking him.

  “They found her. She’s still alive!”

  Holding his breath, Alex stared at him. “Are you sure? Are you sure it’s her?”

  He nodded. “She was sheltering in a room like a glass booth. The place collapsed around her.” Soberly he looked at Alex and touched his arm. “She’s not good. They’ve been doing CPR. She’s got smoke inhalation, and they’re going to intubate her. She’s been burned and has a few cuts. But she was smart, covered herself and her dog in wet towels. Anyway, they’re working on her. Once they get her stabilised they take her down to the hospital.”

  “Oh thank you, thank you! Where is she now?” Alex felt more tears but this time of exhilaration.

  “Still on the scene. The ambulance had just got there.” He looked at Alex seriously. “Look you have to understand she’s not out of the woods yet. She may not make it. She’d stopped breathing when they found her. She’s critical, but she’s alive at the moment.”

  Alex nodded. “But she is alive now?”

  “Yes, and as I said, they’re working on her, trying to get her stabilised enough to get her to the hospital. Then they’ll bring her down.”

  Alex couldn’t believe it. She was alive! Then he remembered the fireman had mentioned a dog. “What about Zeus?”

  “That the dog?”

  Alex nodded.

  “They’re going to take him to the local vet for observation. He’s fared better than her. It seems like she protected him with her body as well as the towels. Listen, mate, if I were you I’d go straight to the hospital. No use hanging around here. The ambulance certainly won’t stop.”

  “I understand. I’ll go to the hospital now.”

  “Best place, mate. Be a waste of time to go up the mountain.”

  Alex hugged him in joy and went back to the car. He was drenched, but he didn’t care. He started the car. The hospital was about ten minutes’ drive passed his home. He needed to get into some dry clothes. It wouldn’t take him long. As he drove, he called Stacy.

  “Hello,” she answered with a teary voice.

  “She’s alive!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. They’re taking her to hospital. I don’t know much. All I know is she’s alive.”

  He heard Stacy passing on the message. “Dan’s here. Are you at the hospital?”

  “No, on my way.”

  “Okay. We’ll see you there.”

  “Good.”

  He hung up and continued home. When he walked inside Marie looked beside herself.

  “Please, Mister Alex. Charlie said Miss Kallie’s house is in the fires.”

  “The house is gone, Marie. She was in it but she’s alive. She’s not good. She’s critical, she stopped breathing. They’re taking her to the hospital. I don’t know any more than that. They’re working on her up on the mountain, and then they’ll transport her to the hospital. I need to get into some dry clothes before I go to meet the ambulance there.”

  Marie started to cry. Alex knew she liked Kallie and had been disappointed when they broke up. Alex pulled her close and hugged her.

  “You tell her to get better for me, won’t you, Mister Alex?” She sobbed against his chest.

  “I will, Marie. Can you tell Charles to drive me to the hospital? I’ll be there a while and I don’t know how the parking is.”

  “Certainly.”

  He went to his room to change, and when he came back Charles was waiting for him with Marie. Marie took his hand.

  “You should have married her, Mister Alex. She loves you so much.”

  Alex looked at her in surprise. In all the years she’d been with him she never once commented on the women in his life until now. He just hoped he hadn’t lost his chance.

  He and Charles drove to the hospital. Charles dropped him at the main emergency entrance.

  “I’ll ring you when I need a lift back, but I’ll be here a while, Charlie.”

  “Keep us posted. Take care of her, Alex. She’s special.”

  Again his words stunned Alex. Like his wife, Charles had never voiced an opinion on any of the women Alex went out with. He never commented on his “playroom” or the fact he had to drive Alex’s subs home. He also rarely called him Alex. He realised that he and Marie really did care more than he would have ever known. They were almost like the parents he wished he’d had.

  “I intend to, Charlie. I’m not letting her go again.”

  Charles nodded as Alex climbed out and closed the door. He went inside and to the front counter. He decided to lie.

  “Excuse me. My fiancée is being brought here. She got trapped in the bushfires. Do you know if this is where they’ll bring her?”

  “She’ll go directly into Emergency. What’s her name?”

  “Kallie, Kallista Robins.”

  She pulled up a screen on her computer and read it. “Okay, we’ve got a report about her. She’s in critical condition, been intubated and the ambulance should be here in about ten minutes. The staff are waiting for her.”

  “I need to be with her. Where can I go?”

  “You’ll need to wait here until she’s been assessed and stabilised.”

  “I’m sorry, but I intend to be with her.”

  “You’ll need to speak to the doctors about that.”

  “Okay, who?”

  She shook her head and pointed to a doorway. “Speak to the emergency triage nurse.”

  Alex walked through the doorway to the emergency department and immediately saw a sign saying “Triage.” He saw a woman writing on a huge white board attached to the wall. Alex realised he needed her on his side if he had any chance of being with Kallie. Politely he explained who and why he was there.

  “I’m sorry, sir, we usually only allow next of kin in with critical patients in the emergency section.”

  “I know, but I’m her fiancé. She doesn’t have anyone else.”

  “Oh I see. Okay. Just wait here until she arrives, and we see what state she’s in.”

  Alex thanked her and pushed himself against the wall, impatiently waiting. It must have been ten minutes later when a sudden flurry of activity heralded the arrival of a patient. As Alex watched they bustled Kallie past him. The quick glance he got showed her unconscious with a tube breathing for her. The parts of her body he glimpsed were black with soot and smears of dirt mixed with blood. She looked terrible, and Alex felt his heart plummet in sudden fear.

  He followed as they rushed passed and shrank against the wall in the cubicle, trying to look inconspicuous. It felt like every nurse and doctor in the hospital were pouring over Kallie, poking and prodding her. He lost track of how long he stood there while they connected her to various monitors and injected drugs into the line on her hand and another in her elbow. The paramedics were reporting to the doctors, and as he watched they removed what little clothing she had left and examined an enormous burn on her leg. Finally he noticed the amount of people around her thin out to just three. He stepped close and spoke to a woman close to him.

  “I’m Kallie’s fiancé, Alex Harrison. Is she going to be all right?” He had his fingers crossed as she answered.

  “Mr. Harrison.” She looked him up and down and gave him a compassionate smile. “The report we have is she stopped breathing at the scene due, it’s believed
, to smoke inhalation. The paramedics intubated her when they arrived after the fire service performed CPR. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical for her. I’m sorry, but I can’t promise anything at this stage. We don’t know if she’s burned her airways at this point in time. Very soon we’ll be doing a bronchoscopy, and if it looks okay then things will be more hopeful for her.”

  “I need to know what could happen to her. Please, honestly is there a chance she could die?”

  “Truthfully, yes. At this moment I really don’t know. Her airways are our real worry. Then infection is our next biggest concern if she has no other damage to her lungs. We also need to watch in case her throat begins to swell. We’ve got her stabilised now, and once we’ve made a full examination we’ll move her upstairs to the critical unit ward.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You can sit here until we do the scope. Then you’ll need to wait outside until it’s finished.”

  “Okay.”

  She left him and he pulled out a chair and sat. One other staff member finished whatever he was doing and left. The remaining woman was writing things up on a clipboard. Alex moved to her bed, lifted the hand without a drip line, and looked at her. On her pale face he could see where she’d covered her mouth with the towel. She had a long, bloody cut on her temple, and she was covered in grime or dust maybe from when the ceiling came down. He couldn’t quite believe she was alive. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go.

  “Mr. Harrison, we’ve got to do the scope now. Can you give us fifteen minutes? Get yourself a coffee.”

  “Of course. Thanks.”

  He carefully kissed Kallie’s forehead and left the ward. When he got into the main waiting area Dan and Stacy were waiting for him. Stacy raced to him and threw her arms around him, sobbing. Dan looked at him soberly as Stacy moved back under the shelter of his arm.

  “Is she going to survive, Alex?”

  “I think so.” He felt so lost as he rubbed his face with his hand. Confused he added, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  He stared off into space for a few seconds and took a huge breath. “She stopped breathing at the scene.”