Sinful Pleasures by Ashley Shay Read Free Book Online

pity. “We’ll do all we can, ma’am.”
    Through the fire, smoke, flashing lights, and water, the scene turned surreal. Jude felt as if she had stumbled into some foreign war zone. She realized she had crossed into a level of grief and tension that her mind couldn’t bear. She felt numb as she watched, like she had stepped outside of her body and couldn’t remember how to get back.
    Suddenly, the crowd began screaming. Jude’s heart leapt into her throat. Bursting from a service door on the west side of the building, two firemen stumbled out. The taller man carried a small bundle in his arms, wrapped protectively in a bunker coat. The second fireman wasn’t wearing his coat. He was covered in soot, but no one had ever looked so good to Jude. She recognized Dallas and Morgan.
    The firemen headed to the medical personnel in a run.
Dallas
gently laid his small burden on the waiting gurney. Paramedics immediately strapped an oxygen mask over the woman’s face, but not before Jude caught a glimpse of her beloved grandmother.
    One of the paramedics caught Morgan’s arm when he tried to leave. She moved him to the side, forcing him to sit down on the wide bumper of the ambulance. After carefully examining his arms, she applied antiseptic ointment. Ignoring his protests, she wrapped the burned skin with soft gauze bandages.
    Dallas
looked over the crowd, then headed straight for Jude. A series of flashes went off as reporters snagged pictures of the man who had risked his life for the last patient. He snarled at them to get out of his way, effectively backing them up, at least momentarily.
    “I don’t know what to say.” Jude put her hand out to touch
Dallas
. “I can’t thank you and Morgan enough. You know that, don’t you?”
    Dallas
looked serious. “She’s pretty bad, Jude. I’m not going to lie to you. She inhaled a lot of smoke.”
    “You did everything you could. She’s made it this far. She’s going to make it.” Jude looked past
Dallas
at Morgan. “Is he okay?”
    Dallas
tossed a glance over his shoulder. “Yeah, he’s going to get disciplinary action for taking his coat off, but he’ll be fine. He got some burns, but nothing deep enough to be more than a nuisance for a couple of days.”
    “Disciplinary action?” Tracey had walked up to join them. “Why would he get that?”
    “Because we don’t take our gear off for anything,”
Dallas
explained. “The theory being that if we go down we can’t possibly save a victim’s life.”
    Tracey looked at her grandmother lying still and white on the gurney. “He won’t face any disciplinary action. I promise you that.”
    Dallas
looked skeptical, and then he shrugged. “We made a judgment call. Your grandmother’s skin is too thin and fragile to have made it through the heat. We were trapped and couldn’t get out the window, so we had to come back down the stairs. There wasn’t really a choice in the matter.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “I gotta go now. They’ll be taking your grandmother to
Valley
View
Hospital
.”
    The two sisters watched him walk away. “I’m going to call the governor’s office from the hospital,” Tracey said. “Heroes don’t deserve to get beat up for doing the right thing, even if it is against rules.”
    Jude looked over at Tracey’s determined face. Her sister’s resilience never failed to surprise her. “The governor’s office?”
    Tracey winked. “I know his campaign manager. Rhonda can give the governor a heads-up on a wonderful promo opportunity. He should come down here for the fireman’s ball and shake the two heroes’ hands. He could do a little song and dance campaigning at the same time. You know it will get him a lot of local votes to honor a couple of hometown boys. The election isn’t that far away.”
    “You are devious, little sister.” Jude laughed, grabbing Tracey in a hug. “Let’s go to the hospital so we can be there when they bring Grandma in.”
     
    * * *