AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sophie sighed. “He has burns to the face and airway, six broken ribs and a fractured scapula. We will know the real severity once he makes it through the hyperbaric treatment.”
As Sophie left them to wait, Luke approached, bringing more information about Jackson's heroic efforts during the fire. He hugged Martha, then held her hand. “Jackson saved eleven people.”
“Thank you for being here, Luke,” Martha said graciously.
Luke looked at Olivia. “Detective, could I speak with you privately?”
Olivia nodded. “Mom,” she said, “please take care of Martha for me. I need to focus. I have a job to do.”
Her mother's eyes softened. “Of course, sweetheart,” she replied. “I'll be here for Martha. You focus on what you need to do. Turk and I will take care of things here.” She looked toward the tall firefighter.
With a grateful smile, Olivia squeezed her mother's hand. She grabbed her coat and led Luke from the room. Together they walked toward the hospital exit. As they stepped into the pouring rain, she remembered she came to the hospital with Jackson in the ambulance.
“I have Jackson’s truck. I can get you wherever you need to go.” Luke clicked the key fob.
Olivia cocked her head. “How did you get Jackson’s truck?”
Luke chuckled. “Monica and I were at the consumer club. We were just leaving as the front doors blew.”
Olivia's eyebrows furrowed in surprise at Luke's revelation. “You were at the consumer club?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Luke nodded, a rueful smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, Monica and I were just grabbing some detergent and breakfast food for the firehouse,” he explained, his tone laced with a hint of surprise.
A small sigh escaped Olivia's lips as she processed the information. While she was grateful that Luke and Monica were safe, the circumstances surrounding their presence at the scene of the fire raised questions she would have to confront.
She chewed her lip, her mind racing with a flurry of thoughts and emotions. But for now, she decided to let it go, choosing instead to focus on the big picture. “Alright,” she conceded with a nod. “Let's go. I have work to do.”
As Luke guided the emergency vehicle through the city streets, Olivia sat by his side, her knuckles white against the edge of her seat. Her eyes were fixed on the road ahead, but her thoughts were consumed by her feelings for Jackson.
“Detective,” Luke's voice broke through the tense silence. “Jackson found what he thought were pieces of an explosive device,” he began. “That's what trapped him. He was fifteen feet behind us as we evacuated. The wall came down between him and the rest of the company. We couldn’t free his passage.
“I'm sorry we left him, but he ordered us to,” Luke continued, his voice thick with anguish as he swiped at his eyes.
Olivia's breath caught in her throat as Luke's words sank in. “He found pieces of a device,” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, her mind reeling at the revelation. The idea of Jackson being trapped, alone and in danger, hit her again.
As Luke continued, his voice thick with emotion, Olivia's hands vibrated slightly as she reached out to grasp his arm in a gesture of support. “Luke,” she said softly, “you did everything you could. Jackson knew the risks, and he made the decision to stay behind. You followed his orders, and that's what mattered in that moment.
“What made him think to look for an explosive?” she asked.
Luke took a steadying breath, his gaze distant as he recounted the sequence of events that unfolded in the warehouse. “It was... surreal,” he began. “As we made our way through the canned vegetable aisle, a case of corn seemed to explode and then extinguish. Jackson... he just... he knew something wasn't right.”
Olivia listened intently and took notes as Luke described Jackson's swift actions. “He found part of a plastic bottle, some wires, phone pieces—you know, like the circuit board—and some putty,” he continued, his voice trailing off. “He grabbed an empty super-size can of tomatoes, put what he found inside and stomped it closed. We got the abandon order and started to make our way out. And then... he told me to get it to you.”
A sense of dread settled over Olivia as she pieced together the fragments of information, her mind racing with the implications of Jackson's discovery. “That was what was in the tomato can?” she asked. “A possible explosive?”
Jackson had unwittingly uncovered the threat. Olivia scrawled some more notes. Multiple devices—large fire.
Olivia’s phone rang. It was Michael. “Liv, how’s the captain?”
“Mike, he’s bad,” Olivia replied, her voice tinged with sorrow. “He is critical. It's a waiting game. What do you have?” She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the information she knew couldn’t be good. She’d seen the body bags.
As Michael filled in some of the gaps, Olivia's heart clenched with each devastating detail. “Fourteen civilians... didn't make it?” she repeated, her mind reeling at the sheer magnitude of the loss.
“Twenty-three critical, forty-eight survivable injuries... And twenty-seven firefighters injured.”
She struggled to find the words. “The firefighter who had the heart attack...” she began, her voice catching in her throat, “he didn't make it.”
A heavy silence hung in the air as Michael processed the grim news. “Damn, I'm sorry,” he muttered, his voice thick with regret. He paused. “Jackson… he found components of a small explosive device and managed to preserve them. Witnesses reported pops of flames. Our arsonist must have placed them throughout the warehouse. We found another body with a phoenix vial.”
