and the man standing in front of her. Wanting to keep him talking but terrified of setting him off, she asked, “You were a firefighter?”
She breathed a sigh of relief as his features calmed, and a slight smile crossed his lips.
“I was a firefighter for years. It was my life. It was the reason I got up in the morning and the reason I barely slept at night in case I got a call.” He slowly sat back down in the chair facing her. “Oh, Harper, it’s a high that most people can only dream of. The flames call you forward, beckoning you to them. You have to be careful, though. The smoke is a killer, the dangerous fumes that swirl around the beautiful flames.”
Harper’s mouth opened as though to speak, but no words came forth. He’s not shouting like in the movies. Daniel was calm as though they were discussing what pizza they might order to share for dinner.
Shaking his head, his mouth pinched into a tight line. “Even Mary couldn’t understand. She knew I was a firefighter when she married me, but she couldn’t adjust to the needs of the fires.” He snorted in derision. “She left me. Me! The hero.” Another calm fa?ade spread over his features as he held her gaze and said, “But like the Phoenix, I always rise again.”
Phoenix? Oh, my God... this is who Sean is after. Harper remained quiet, now knowing that Daniel had a story to release from deep inside, and not wanting to say anything that might perturb him, she simply continued to focus her attention on him, praying that an escape plan would come to her.
“Then they took away my reason for living.” He stood and walked slowly toward the kitchen counter, standing with his fist on the surface as his gaze stared into the distance, his mind somewhere else. Suddenly, he whirled around. “They said I was drunk. They said I was drinking at work. They said I was impaired.” Barking out a laugh, he stalked back into the living room, now looming over her. “They should have known. They were like me… drawn to the flames. But they didn’t. They let me go… retirement.” With another growl, he clarified, “Forced retirement.”
Deflating, he sat down again, his hands clasped in front of him as his gaze came back to rest upon her face. “It was never supposed to end in this way, Harper. You were never going to be involved.”
She had no idea what he meant, but the fear she felt earlier increased and her body shook. She tried to speak, but her words came out more like a croak. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Daniel, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. We can talk. We can get help. We can—”
He shifted his gaze away from her, his eyes roving about her apartment. “We had a lot of fun here, didn’t we, Harper?”
Nodding, she licked her dry lips. “Yeah, we did. We’re friends. You and me, Sandy and Bill… we’d share pizza and laughs and old movies.” She observed his shoulders relaxing and pressed onward. “And Sean. You liked getting to know Sean.”
At Sean’s name, Daniel jumped back to his feet, his jaw tight. “Sean. No, no. He’s smart, that one. He’s already looking around. He’ll figure it out. He’ll know it’s me.”
“Daniel, we can help you—”
“Help me? I don’t need help, Harper. I’m the one who’s helping, don’t you understand? Back when we were fighting for all the funds, I showed the city what we could do. How important we were. How we could save people. They gave me a name... a title… Phoenix. The Mayor and City Council finally started giving the Fire Department more funds. I did that. Me. It was hard, and it was stressful, and they kicked me out because of how I coped. After all I did for them they kicked me out.” He closed his eyes as he shook his head slowly back and forth and muttered, “Me. It was all me.”
He inhaled deeply before letting the air slowly ease from his lungs. His eyes gradually opened. “I can’t be put away, Harper. I can’t let them do that to me. If I can’t have the fire, I can’t live.” He sighed as though the weight of the world were resting on his shoulders and added, “It was never going to be this building. Close, but now I have no choice.” His eyes held sadness. “Phoenix