Page 5 of Backdraft
"Where did you find the cat?"
“What are you going to do with the cat?"
The questions kept coming and they were all about the cat, nothing about the victims. I was glad too, because the last thing I wanted to do was discuss the deceased. Not only was it upsetting to me, the crew and family members, it wasn’t something to talk about to the media. You had to be careful with them around. They had boom mics and could hear the slightest whisper. I never said anything of significance until I was in a secure environment.
I gave interviews if necessary, but I was always cautious on the info I provided. Never more than necessary, just enough to ease the questions, and nothing to compromise the case.
Not today though. I wasn't prepared to answer them and pushed my way through the crowd.
A house had caught fire, and three victims died inside, a mother and her children. It was tragic and all these reporters cared about was a cat? Some of the firefighters stepped between me and the reporters so I could escape the crush behind the closest rig.
Chief Gregory was putting his radio on the fender of the truck. "What you got there?"
"I heard something in the walls. It was this sad little guy. You don't have a box or anything that I can put him in, do you?" I asked as I checked the cat over.
Chief Gregory gave him a stroke and shook his head. "No, I got nothing. Sorry about that. Why don't we give him a bit of a cleanup?"
Over the next few minutes, the two of us cleaned up the cat so it wasn't such a filthy ball of fur. He let us handle him like he knew we were helping.
This gave me a new insight to the Chief. He had a soft side and wasn’t all ragey like his nick name suggested. I didn’t know why they called him Rage, but his size, presence, and no-nonsense appearance suited perfectly. He was probably in his forties and a good-looking guy.
Not that I was interested...well, perhaps in the future once I was settled here, but not now. The last thing I needed were complications that went with a budding relationship.
Once done, I left the captain and went to my truck. We were still waiting for the coroner and Shannon. I glanced around, and there was no sign of her yet. Once she got here, we had to recover the bodies for transport to the morgue.
I wrapped Kitty in a space blanket which he wasn't overly excited about it thanks to the crinkly noise it made.
In the back of my truck I made a nest with some shirts and a blanket, opened the windows a bit and grateful the truck was in the shade. It had clouded over, and rain threatened so he should be fine. Plus, there really wasn't anything else I could do right now.
Finally, I could shed my PPE. If it was going to rain, I wanted to let it wash over me. It would cool me down and help to rinse away some of the grunge.
I wish Shannon would hurry up.
Just as I was shimmying out of my Tyvek, a male voice from behind made me pause. My arms stuck in the sleeves.
"Hey, what you got there?"
I turned to see who it was. A jolt of recognition made me lose my balance and he reached out to help steady me.
I knew him.
"Pardon?" I croaked, my mind racing. Where had I seen him before? My body reacted in a way that told me it remembered quite well.
But… who… how?
Oh my God! Denver!
From that conference trip a few years ago.
We'd scorched the sheets at that hotel. He was there for a medical conference, and I was there for a bomb and explosives seminar.
I kept my cool and did my best to remain professional. He did the same. But, the smile that curved his lips was exactly how he’d looked at me in Denver. One side of his oh, so kissable mouth turned up in a sexy grin and his eyes, those deep, sea blue eyes had cast me adrift years ago, almost did the same now.
He remembered too.
"Ah, there was a cat in the wall." I looked at him and realized I was still standing with my arms trapped in the suit. He must have noticed too. He raised his eyebrows. Was he remembering how he’d used his silk tie to bind me while…
Nope, I couldn't let my mind run to the erotic, but damn, it would be so easy to. I quickly shed the suit, kicked my feet out and reached down to ball it up. I always wore a tank top and shorts under the suit to help keep my temperature down, but under that was some very sexy lingerie.
