A Beautiful Funeral (The Maddox Brothers #5) - Jamie McGuire Page 0,11
said.
Porter and I returned to the platform, and I radioed for the operator to lower us down. Just as we reached the halfway point, the roof popped with a crack so loud it was like the building was snapping in two. A puff of thick, black smoke and some embers exploded from the opening we’d just created.
Taylor came over the radio again. “Back off, everyone. We’ve got … yep, it’s spalling! Get the hell out of there!”
With more than six feet left to go, I jumped from the platform, running away from the crumbling warehouse toward my brother. I yelled into the radio. “Move! It’s coming down!”
Jubal and Sugar burst from the main entry just before the brick’s mortar joints began to give way. A large part of the front wall collapsed, pushing out a plume of dust, smoke, and debris.
I grabbed Taylor by the jacket. “You don’t have time for this. Take my truck.”
“You sure?” he asked.
I patted the side of his helmet. “Get outta here. We got this.”
I scanned his face, watching Taylor war between staying to protect his little brother or save his family.
After several seconds, he ran to my truck, peeling off his gear and throwing it in the back before sliding behind the steering wheel. I’d left the keys in the ignition, knowing he’d be bailing early.
My focus alternated between Taylor leaving and the burning rubble. I pointed at different areas, barking orders to my men and talking into the radio. The fire was burning hotter, the smoke getting darker. We weren’t anywhere close to having it under control. I could see Taylor sitting conflicted in the driver’s seat. I knew he felt it was wrong to leave me alone, but just before he grabbed the door handle to rejoin us, I pointed at him, and he paused. “Get the fuck outta here! Now!”
TAYLOR
SWEAT DRIPPED FROM MY FOREHEAD, and I wiped it away with my wrist. I could still feel the heat from the fire on my face and the heaviness in my lungs from the smoke. I made a fist and coughed into my hand once before reaching down to twist the keys in the ignition. It took everything I had to pull the gear into reverse and back away from my brother, but he was right. Falyn and the kids came first.
Driving the commander’s truck proved advantageous as I passed two police cruisers exceeding the speed limit by at least fifteen miles per hour. When I finally reached the station, I ran in long enough to drop Tyler’s keys on his desk and to grab my truck keys, wallet, and phone before getting back on the road for Colorado Springs. The plume of smoke from the warehouse loomed in my rearview mirror as I left Estes Park. I dialed Tyler’s number, but it rang four times before the voice mail picked up. I couldn’t shake the same ominous feeling I’d had while watching my brother leave for the warehouse fire without me. We’d fought fires separately before, but this felt different. That feeling had made me jump in the truck with Tyler before, and the farther away I drove, the more wrong it felt.
I concentrated on Falyn and the kids. The thought of Hollis and Hadley’s excited reaction was an easy distraction. The combination of thinking about having my family back together and my gut feeling about the fire put the night Falyn left in the forefront of my mind.
We almost didn’t go. Fuck, I wish we hadn’t gone. The babysitter had backed out, and if Ellie hadn’t called Falyn last minute, we would have just stayed home. What we thought was a stroke of good luck ended up being the worst night of my life. It had been over a year since we’d even gone on a date; it had been even longer since I’d seen Falyn interact with any other men besides my shift partners. My jealousy had never really been under control, so when a younger man approached my wife, swaying from a day of drinking and smiling at her like he knew he was taking her home, there was no thought process. Falyn tried to talk some sense into me, which only made me angrier. By the time he stumbled over and grabbed her ass, I was already beyond reason. I attacked. I beat the hell out of him. He went to the ER, and I went to jail.
The mayor made sure I spent all weekend in a cell.