Hearts on Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

hazard.”
    At the end of the hallway they opened the stairwell door to darkness and more smoke. Kyle again flicked on his flashlight to reveal no landing on the other side of the door.
    “Jesus Christ.”
    Jess closed her eyes briefly. Any one of them could have stepped blindly through the door, only to plunge two stories below.
    “Help me with these ropes. We need to find something to secure them to.”
    “Doorknobs is all I see. Jess, you’re the lightest. Let’s lower you down to three.”
    “Oh sure, send the girl.” Her lips tugged into a feeble smile then began tying the rope to her harness, and Danny and Kyle helped.
    Five minutes later Jess’s legs dangled beneath her and she held tight to the rope with one hand as she dropped foot by foot. Her free hand shone her flashlight around as she dropped, vainly shining it down to where the waiting men should have been. The smoke was too thick to see that far down.
    Keying up her radio, she said, “Stop lowering. I’m at three now. Gonna swing a little. Hold on tight.”
    She pushed off the wall with her legs and used one hand to maneuver onto the stair’s landing. Peering down, she could see the flames below, the heat of it causing rivulets of sweat to run down between her breasts.
    “I’m standing. Give me more slack, I want to check things out. And drop that rope down for the other guys.”
    The rope slacked as another two lengths of rope snaked down to hang beside her, and Jess tentatively stepped through the open stairwell door.
    Only the hazy orange glow of fire lit the hallway. Smoke hung thick and lazy in the air, waiting for an escape route. As she stepped into the hall, she dragged the ropes in with her.
    “Fire department. Call out if you can hear me.”
    “Here!” Two figures loomed out of the smoke toward her. “Give me a hand with Mike. We’ll send him up first.”
    Jess’s stomach pitched as she recognized Cort’s voice. What was he doing here? Her insides spun up a little tighter with worry, with the need to get them out.
    “Jess? What the hell are you doing here? It’s not your shift.” Cort’s voice was edgy given the dangerous situation they were in.
    “I got called in. Just help me get Mike hooked up.”
    They tied the extra rope to Mike’s harness with the efficiency and speed of a well-trained team, despite having spent the last year apart, and lead him to the stairwell.
    Jess queued up her radio. “Ready here. Start pulling.”
    Slowly Mike ascended, pulled by Danny and Kyle, and Jess turned to Cort as they waited. They stared at each other through their masks, and she could see the angst in his eyes mirroring her own.
    “The structure won’t hold much longer. You’re going next.” Cort’s stern voice barked the order but Jess never cared much for being bossed around. Nor did she want him left down here by himself while they pulled her out.
    “No, Cort. My rescue, my way.” She smirked a little inside her mask, knowing Cort couldn’t see.
    But he could hear it in her voice and he swore softly. “Still as stubborn as always, I see. Did you get the chocolates I sent?”
    “Got them. Ate them. I suppose I should thank you but my hips are cursing you even as we speak.”
    “Ropes are on the way,” Kyle crackled over her radio, and Jess grabbed them as soon as she could reach them.
    “Okay Cort. Let’s tie you up.” A glint of humor twinkled in her eye, and she wasn’t sure but she thought she saw one of his eyebrows raise in mock shock.
    “Mmm, I like the sound of that.” His fingers deftly tied the rope into his harness on one side as Jess tied the other.
    “You next, Jess.”
    “I’m afraid not.”
    “It’s not up for debate.” A danger flashed in his eyes that warned it wasn’t negotiable.
    An earsplitting crack above their heads had Jess’s head snapping up to look at the ceiling above as it groaned like an old arthritic dog, and then it began to bow downward.
    Directly over Cort’s head.
    Without