Who I Am With You Read Online Free PDF

focus the hose on the westernmost window. We just pissed this bitch off.”
    He took a moment to gather himself, disguising it as rechecking the oxygen levels in his tank. It wasn’t often a fire managed to rattle him, but whenever it took him by surprise, his heart galloped a little faster and mortality breathed down his neck.
    “You okay?” Frank asked.
    “Damn oxygen tank is fluctuating. Old equipment,” he lied. These days, the only time he lost his cool was when he went into a blaze sober, like today. There’d been no time to sneak a pill.
    “Good?” Frank watched him closely.
    “Yeah, let’s see if we can navigate the fifth floor.”
    They climbed into hell itself, a nightmare of intense heat, charred framework, and groaning, cracking wood. Orange flames consumed the walls and ceiling, hungry for fresh sustenance or clean air to fuel its growth. Duncan felt the roar of it in his bones and the sound threatened to shatter his eardrums. It’d be easy to get confused, disorientation often led to injury or death for firefighters, and he thanked whatever science or almighty being blessed him with an uncanny sense of direction.
    He and Frank found what they were looking for in the first apartment. Two small children were huddled under a coffee table and Duncan’s gut plummeted to his feet. Part of the adjacent wall had already collapsed on the flimsy piece of furniture, pinning one of the kids and allowing the fire to engulf the leg of another. Both victims were under the age of five and unconscious. He hoped like hell their lack of movement was from smoke inhalation and nothing else.
    Duncan rushed forward, moving the debris as carefully and quickly as he could while Frank patted out the little boy’s burning leg. Recovering from serious burns was the worst agony imaginable, months and months of skin grafts and debridement, physical therapy. He hated that this little guy would suffer. Frank slipped off his mask, already preparing for CPR, and Duncan followed suit, immediately coughing on the thick air. The familiar scent of singed flesh soured Duncan’s stomach, becoming trapped in his nostrils along with the soot and smoke.
    The flames edged closer, nipping at his heels and hissing, telling him to hurry. His jaw clenched with tension and his entire body vibrated with focus, drowning the roar.
    The two of them worked silently, a well-choreographed team, and as Duncan removed the last board, a pile of smoldering sheetrock rained down and slammed him into the floor. Frank was there in an instant, knocking it off, but an ache spread through Duncan’s upper back and he tasted blood on his tongue. Frank extracted the now whimpering boy, and Duncan reached for a tiny girl. Her neck lay at an odd angle, chest motionless. The chaos faded and he muttered a curse, lifting her in his trembling hands, cradling her.
    The little boy spoke, his voice filled with pain. “Did I save my sister? I told her to hide.”
    Duncan flicked his gaze to Frank and gave the slightest shake of his head, hacking like he was about to cough up a lung.
    Frank paused, grief clouding his face, before answering, “You did great, son.” He slipped his oxygen mask over the child’s small face and pushed to his feet, the kid in his arms. “Let’s get out of here.”
    The remaining wall buckled, spurring them into action. Conditions deteriorated fast as they sprinted down the stairs. Duncan felt the fire stalking them from all sides, a ruthless predator in the jungle. He kept his attention front and center, positive that if he took the time to look back, it would be the last thing he ever did.
    They barely made it to the lobby of the building when Captain Blankard’s frantic voice erupted over his radio. “Frank, Duncan, you better be on your goddamn way! Roof’s coming down!”
    A mound of flaming debris landed next to him, sending up a shower of sparks and he danced out of the way, struggling to keep hold of the lifeless child. The center of