Page 74 of Fighting For You

I turned for the door.

Travis was in the hallway, masked up, moving toward me through the smoke.

"Let's go," Travis said. "Move."

We went down together. Third floor to second, second to ground. Travis stayed behind me the whole way, calling the route, keeping us moving. The dog pressed against my chest, claws digging through my coat.

I came through the front entrance into daylight. The dog squirmed free and hit the ground running, straight for the boy at the perimeter tape.

The boy fell to his knees as the dog jumped into his arms. His father knelt beside him with one hand on the boy's back.

I turned around. Travis was three steps behind me, coming through the entrance when the front of the building came down.

The sound was massive. A wall of debris collapsed through the entrance, bringing the overhang, the fascia, and a section of the second floor down on top of him. I saw him throw his arms up. Then he was gone.

"Travis!"

I was back at the entrance before anyone reached me. Wyatt was right behind me. We pulled debris off him piece by piece, burning our gloves through, until we found him. His left arm was pinned under a beam. Burns ran up the side of his neck and across his jaw. He was conscious, his eyes open, his face white.

I pulled the beam off his arm. Wyatt got under his good side. We carried him clear.

The medics took over. They cut his coat off, stabilized the arm, dressed the burns on his neck. Travis kept his eyes on the sky the whole time, breathing through his teeth.

I stood there with my gloves melted through and my hands shaking and watched them work on a man who was only on that gurney because I went back inside.

Across the street, Thompson was standing at the command post. He looked at me. He shook his head once, slow, and turned away.

The ambulance backed into the bay at CCMC. I was out of the truck before Wyatt cut the engine.

The rear doors swung open and the medics pulled Travis out on the gurney. He was awake, his jaw clenched, his left arm strapped to a board. The burns on his neck and jaw were dressed but the gauze was already spotting through.

Gracelyn was at the bay doors. Nora and Lori were right behind her. Harlan came through from the floor, gloves already on.

The medics started the handoff as they rolled. "Thirty-one-year-old male, structural collapse. Second-degree burns to the left lateral neck and jaw. Suspected fracture of the left ulna, splinted in the field. Vitals stable in transport, pain managed with fentanyl on scene."

The doors closed. I was standing on the other side of them with nothing to do and nowhere to go. I could run into a burning building. I could pull a beam off a man's arm. I could carry someone down three flights of stairs in full gear. But I couldn't walk through those doors, and I couldn't take back what put him behind them.

Half an hour later, Nora came through.

"Knox, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. How's Travis?"

"Second-degree burns. Harlan cleaned and dressed them. His left ulna is fractured. We're casting it now." She looked at me. "He's stable. He's going to be fine."

I pushed my hand through my hair and gripped the back of my neck. "This is my fault. He wouldn't have been in there if I hadn't⁠—"

"Stop." Her voice was firm. "This happens, Knox. It's the job. And Travis is alright. He's going to recover."

"He's still on a gurney, Nora. That should have been me."

"Don't say that." She stepped forward and took my face in both hands. Her palms were warm against my jaw. "I'm glad you're safe. Travis is tough, and everything he has is treatable. We're doing everything we can for him, but he's going to be okay. You need to hear that."

I looked at her.

"Go back to the station. Get cleaned up. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded. I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes. My chest was still tight, my hands still shaking, but her breath was steady and close, and the noise in my head went quiet. I kissed her. She kissed me back softly, her thumbs tracing my cheekbones. I let myself stay there until my heartbeat steadied and my hands stopped shaking.