Rescued Hearts (Hero Series) Read online

  Rescued Hearts

  By Gina Austin

  © 2012 Gina Austin

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Printed in the United States of America

  For firefighters around the world.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Once Nick Gates heard there was a child still trapped in that inferno, he immediately turned around and gave the order to his rookie firefighting partner.

  “Forget about the ladder and don’t follow me in! If I don’t get in there now, that kid is going to die.”

  Nick’s younger brother, Mike recognized the look his brother had given him. That look that said, “Don’t try to stop me.”

  Meanwhile all Mike could do was think how crazy it was for his brother to be taking yet another gamble with his life. Nick was 33 years old and had been fighting Chicago fires for 10 years. Mike was 28 and had only been with Engine Company 43 for 6 months. Regardless Mike was the new rookie at the fire station; he knew his older brother was making a bad decision. Captain Miller wasn't going to be happy when he found out Nick broke department rules again.

  Nick quickly put his air mask back on and charged back into the old prewar six story building. He was only going to the third-floor after all. Nick’s concern was that several of the ceilings in the 6th and 5th floor apartments were beginning to cave in due to the intense blaze. He had to eliminate that thought from his mind since he had a kid to save and couldn’t imagine a young child being burned alive.

  Rapidly heading up the old buildings staircase, Nick had to feel his way up towards the 3rd floor due to the fact that everything he can see through his mask was black with smoke. Confident that he wouldn’t fall thru one of the staircase steps because these older buildings had stone steps with wrought iron stair railings. He would’ve gone up the fire escape except none of the guys from his ladder company came down that way and the 2nd floor apartment fire escape ladder was still hooked.

  Arriving at the third floor, Nick began his rapid search for five year old Maria from Apartment 3C. Only reason Nick knew she was there was because a neighbor mentioned that Maria’s mother would leave the little girl alone many times throughout the day. Kid should’ve been in summer day camp. Suppressing the judgmental thought, he refocused on making sure he found Maria. Regardless of the little girl’s circumstances, he still wanted her to have a chance at life.

  “Maria, Maria where are you? Maria… Maria” yelled Nick.

  Nick continued to feel his way through every part of the apartment. He checked every closet, every room, and every bed except the last room at the end of the hallway.

  “She’s got to be in there,” he hoped.

  The scorching flames had blown out the windows in this room. Since it was facing the street, this gave Nick some sunlight to work with, which cleared his vision considerably. Thankfully the windows also led to the fire escape.

  “That’s my exit” Nick thought.

  “Maria are you here? Maria?” Still no answer.

  Please be in here little one. Holding his breath in anticipation, he opened up the last closet door in the apartment.

  “Thank God I found you.” Thrilled for a second, Nick began to worry.

  Maria was unconscious but hadn’t suffered any burns from what Nick could see. As soon as Nick stepped out into the fire escape one of his teammates was already there waiting for him with the fire trucks aerial ladder. Nick handed Maria over to his fellow firefighter, Troy and he laid Maria down in the basket so he can operate the aerial ladders controls to lower them both to safety. Not having enough room in the basket, Nick made his way down the fire escape. Emergency medical service techs were already checking Maria’s vitals by the time Nick got down to street level. Rushing over to the ambulance he asked, “Is she alive?”

  Watching the ambulance techs eyes hoping he’ll give him the answer he wants to hear.

  “She’s alive. Severe smoke inhalation but she’s got a stable pulse. Taking her over to St. Joseph’s Hospital ASAP,” replied the EMS Tech.

  Nick’s heart jumped for joy at the sound of that news. He looked down at Maria and thought, I’m glad I found you little one.

  Once Nick turned around, the happiness his face expressed faded to concern. The captain, standing about 12 feet away, stared at Nick. The captain didn’t move a muscle.

  “I’m in for it. He’s pissed!” Nick said to himself as he walked over to Captain Miller.

  The captain reminded Nick of Lieutenant Horatio Caine from the CBS series hit CSI: Miami. Now in front of Captain Miller and choosing his next words carefully said, “She’s going to make it captain,” referring to Maria.

  Captain Miller nodded in acknowledgment but continued staring at Nick for a few more seconds before responding, “Glad to hear it. When we get back to the fire house, we’ll talk privately.”

  Nick translated the captain’s statement meaning “you and I are going to have a serious conversation and you’re not going to like it”. Captain Miller walked away from Nick.

  “I pushed it too far for the captain this time. Yeah, I’m in trouble.”

  Chapter 2

  “Susan, do you plan on turning that thing off at any point tonight? Between dinner and now you must’ve looked at your iPhone about 30 times!” said Liz with an annoyed look on her face.”

  “As soon as the first movie trailer comes on I’ll promise to turn it off,” replied Susan. “I also promise not to run out in the middle of the movie unless I have to go to the bathroom. It’s not often that we have girl’s night out like we used to.”

  After six weeks, Susan and I finally agreed it was too long since we spent any quality time together. We had just finished having a fabulous Italian dinner at Santino’s and we were now waiting to see the film Safe House.

  Susan and Liz have been childhood friends since elementary school and even though they didn’t look anything alike, everyone thought they were sisters because they hardly left each other’s side and valued their strong relationship. Missing the frequency of their get-togethers, the always made the best of the time they spent together, especially since they both worked for the same TV network Chicago news 7.

  Susan was an investigative reporter and Liz worke
d in human resources. With Susan constantly on the go chasing stories for the news room including her hectic deadline schedules and the fact that Liz was married about five months ago, it’s no wonder why they didn’t see very much of one other these days.

  Liz did notice a considerable change in Susan’s work performance over the past year. She became more competitive and aggressive but thankfully maintained her friendliness. Susan’s looks didn’t hurt her either. She was 31 years old and received her light golden brown hair, full lips, and long legs from her mother. She was also blessed with hazel eyes from her father. As Susan became a more seasoned reporter in the past year, it meant fewer coffee breaks together, no more lunch dates or Friday after work drinks; just work, work, work. Except for this night, which both ladies were incredibly grateful for.

  “I really enjoyed that movie but you know what? I’m not ready to call it a night. Are you up for a few drinks at O’Malley’s?” Susan asked Liz as they were leaving the theater. Liz was actually excited to hear those words come from Susan’s mouth because O’Malley’s was a family sports bar and restaurant they grew to enjoy since they both reached drinking age.

  “Sounds great, I love it! I’ll buy the first round.” Liz said.

  Excitedly Susan said, “O’Malley’s here we come!”

  O’Malley’s always drew a crowd not only with the locals but with businesses as well. Loaded with multiple flat screens that could be viewed from any seating location, it was an excellent choice for a sports fan dining experience. As far as Susan was concerned it was the only place in town that made the perfect Angus beef cheeseburger. However those burger days, were few and far between ever since she met Tom, her fiancé. Tom was a business consultant for the Millennium Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm who advised clients on business strategy.

  “Now you know I love Tom but Ryan Reynolds is so freaking HOT!” Susan confessed. “Susan when was the last time you had a beer? I think it’s effecting you.” Liz said jokingly.

  Quickly changing her demeanor, Liz answered in the most ironic tone she could muster, “I’m a happily married woman now and don’t look at other men in that manner anymore.” But then quickly blurting out in her normal voice, she said “Except this one time. Yes Ryan Reynolds is so freaking hot!”

  They both laughed uncontrollably.

  After gaining their composure Susan asked, “How’s Joe doing?”

  “He’s good. Decided to take advantage of our girl’s night out and have a boy’s night out for himself. So he took his dad and his younger brother over to Tavern Ale House to watch mixed martial arts fighting,” replied Liz.

  Susan gave a disgusted expression, “UGH, what do men see in that sport anyway. It could be really brutal sometimes.”

  “I completely agree with you. I’m just grateful he’s not fanatical about it. What was Tom doing?”

  “From what he told me he was just staying in and going over some spreadsheets and put the finishing touches on his powerpoint presentation before he has to fly out next week.”

  “My gosh! Does that fiancé of yours ever take a break and actually go out with friends?” Liz stressed the word friends.

  “How about round two! That rounds on me,” completely avoiding Liz’ question about Tom. Liz tried again with more compassion in her voice, “Susan seriously. Does Tom have any strong friendships like the one you and I share?”

  Susan responded hesitantly, “No. He socializes with a few guys from his office from time to time but it’s usually tied to some business function. He’s just really focused on the goals that he wants to accomplish so we can have a strong future together.”

  Liz asked, “Have you discussed a wedding date yet?”

  “We’ve talked about it but I’m just not in a rush,” and Liz knew for sure that was a lie. Of course Susan was Liz’s maid of honor in her wedding and remembered how genuinely happy she was for Liz. She knew what Susan wanted and more than anything she looked forward for her turn to walk down the aisle of matrimony.

  “Susan, I love you, I just want to know that you’re with somebody that loves and accepts you for who you are and I don’t know Tom all that well.”

  “I know Liz, I love you too and I want you and Joe to get to know Tom better. I’ll tell you what. Let’s have dinner over at my place when Tom comes back from his trip.”

  Liz was delighted. “I would love that.”

  Susan said, “I’ll give you a call with a couple of dates, let me know which one works for you and Joe and we’ll set it up. How’s that sound?”

  “Fantastic!”

  “Ok then. Let’s get round two started shall we?” said Susan.

  “Let’s do it.” Liz answered. “I’m so thirsty I was wondering when you were going to stop talking.”

  They both broke out in laughter.

  Chapter 3

  Now that all the fire trucks were backed up into the station house, everyone was getting out to put their gear away and get cleaned up. Nick rode back in a different truck from his younger brother so when Mike saw him he said, “Great job bro on finding that kid. I saw she was unconscious when you brought her out, how’d she make out?”

  “She’s going to make it.” Nick said.

  Captain Miller turned the corner from the front of the fire truck walking towards the two brothers and interrupting them, said to Nick in his calm but commanding manner, “Get showered up. When you’re done come meet me in my office.”

  “Yes sir.” Nick answered unconcerned.

  Just before the captain walked away, he gave Mike a quick glance. Mike took the look as a message saying, this is serious, so learn from your brothers mistakes. Looking at Nick with worry on his face, “That can’t be good.”

  Nick responded sarcastically “You think.”

  While Nick was showering all he could think about was his stunning wife Amy. He was having memories of when they used to go on hiking trails together at Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, the ballroom and salsa dance lessons they signed up for at a Solao Dance studio, playing volleyball in the summer with their friends in the Meetup club, and the first kiss they shared that night on the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, which shortly after led to their wedding day. Their marriage had been the highlight of his life. He had never felt such immense happiness as he did on his wedding day. That happiness continued for 5 years.

  Then that dark evening popped into his thoughts to remind him about life’s cold reality. Amy and Nick had just finished having dinner and they were clearing the table when Amy mentioned that a splitting headache just came over her from nowhere. Nick went over to the bathroom medicine cabinet to get Amy two extra strength Excedrin tablets. Amy swallowed them and told Nick about an hour later that she was starting to feel better but was exhausted and was heading for bed. Nick thought that was strange as she usually goes to bed around 10 o’clock and it was barely 8:30 but maybe she had a rough day at work today. He kissed her goodnight, told her he loved her and would join her after seeing his favorite show 24.

  Amy was always the first to wake up at 6 am but the alarm kept ringing. Nick, who has never been a morning person, finally woke and realized that Amy wasn’t moving. He called out to her without looking at her but she didn’t respond or move. He turned his head and saw her face was off color and when he touched her, she was so cold. No no no no no… he checked for a pulse, nothing. He attempted CPR, nothing.

  Troy, a fellow fireman, called out “Nick.” But Nick was still lost in thought about that dreadful morning.

  He took Amy to the closest emergency room.

  Troy called again, “Nick.”

  The ER doctor pronounced her dead on arrival.

  Troy called louder still, “Hey Nick!”

  I’m sorry Mr. Gates; the doctor said compassionately, report shows that your wife suffered a brain aneurysm.

  This time Troy yelled, “YO NICK!!!” Startled and realizing he was still in the shower, Nick snapped out of the memory of that dreadful morning. I
nto the cold reality of knowing that his precious Amy was gone forever and the empty void in his heart could never be whole again.

  Nick looked at Troy, “What’s up?”

  Troy spoke strongly, “Captain wants to see you! Man, what’s wrong with you? I called you like four times!”

  Ignoring Troy’s question, Nick answered, “I’ll be right there.”

  ***

  “Took you long enough. Take a seat,” demanded Captain Miller.