Page 4 of One Little Memory
He ignored the chief. “You’re going to have to move quickly,” he said to the woman, capturing her gaze. Her brown eyes were huge. She bit her lip but then nodded.
“Okay then, on the count of three. One. Two. Three!” She used the steering wheel to push herself out. Phoenix closed his arms around her just as the tree collapsed, dislodging the vehicle. He threw them to the ground and covered her as best he could.
When the car’s front wheels hit the ground, it started down the embankment, gathering speed as it went. It bounced off another tree and flipped over. A loud crash sounded when it hit the bottom and landed on its roof.
Phoenix’s radio went off, but he ignored it. He lifted his head and captured the woman’s gaze again. “Are you okay?”
She stared at him for a moment and then promptly passed out.
CHAPTER 2
“What the hellwere you thinking going down there?” Jory Kincaid demanded as he pulled off his fire helmet.
Phoenix took a deep breath. He appreciated his friend’s concern, but it was over and done with. He’d gone down to check out the car, and it was a damn good thing he did. “I had to see if there was anyone in the car.”
“You should have waited for us.” Jory shook his head. “You don’t always have to be the hero.”
“Says the man who is always first through the door.” Phoenix shrugged. He knew Jory had a point. “You’re probably right, but in my defense, until I got down to the car, I didn’t know it wasn’t stable.”
Jory opened his mouth to say something else, but his best friend and fellow firefighter, Aiden Wolfe, cut him off. “Give the guy a break. He just saved that woman’s life.” He turned to Phoenix. “You got her out just in time.”
“Yeah.” Phoenix didn’t like to think about how flippin’ close it had been.
The ambulance siren wailed as the driver sped away. They were taking her to the hospital now. She hadn’t regainedconsciousness yet. His gut tightened. If he’d gone through all that only to lose her now, well, it didn’t bear thinking about.
“Detective Halston,” the fire chief barked.
Jory glanced over at his chief and then back at Phoenix. “He’s got his cranky face on. You’re in trouble now.”
“Shit,” Phoenix mumbled.
Jory grinned. “It’s like being called into the principal’s office.”
“Or in your case,” Aiden added, “the vice principal’s office. Your chief is going to chew you up and spit you out over this, too, because you just know Chief Vickers is going to call him and tell him all about it.”
“Yeah. Chief Bowers is going to have my ass.” Phoenix let out a sigh as he said, “See you guys later,” and walked over to the fire chief.
“Detective Halston, what possessed you to go down that embankment with no equipment and no backup?”
Technically, Vickers wasn’t his boss, and he didn’t really have to put up with the fire chief calling him on the carpet, but Cherry Valley, Pennsylvania was a small town. The fire chief and Police Chief Bowers not only worked closely together, but they were also in the same bowling league and played poker together every second Saturday night. There was no way Phoenix was getting out of this unscathed.
“Chief Vickers, I know going down there on my own wasn’t the smartest move, but from the top it looked like the car was stationary and had all four wheels on the ground. I didn’t realize until I was down there how precarious the situation was.”
Vickers was wearing his full firefighting gear. The white helmet that signified him as chief covered his salt and pepper hair. He stood an inch or two shorter than Phoenix, but he was broad and getting broader still around the middle. He was as strong as an ox and didn’t suffer fools gladly.
His blue eyes studied Phoenix. “Son, I know you were doing what you thought was necessary, but I have to tell you, this is the third time this month that I’ve found you in a situation where a more prudent man would have waited for help. So, I have to ask; Do you have a death wish?”
“That’s a damn good question,” asked a male voice at Phoenix’s elbow.
His shoulders slumped and he turned to find Bowers glaring at him. “Chief.” He dipped his head, acknowledging the man’s authority.
“Ruben, give us a minute, will you?”
Vickers nodded and walked off. Bowers folded his arms over his chest. He had on civilian clothes, a maroon sweater and a pair of jeans. His hair was graying at the temples but his middle wasn’t thickening the same way as Vickers, even though they were the same age. His brown eyes were just as piercing, however.
“Well, Phoenix?
“Sir?”
