The Other Man (The Other Man Series Book 1) (9 page)

Voices drifted through my earpiece, letting everyone know that two women had been rescued from the upstairs bathroom.

“Do we have reports on anyone left in here?” I screamed into the mic.

“Conflicting reports, Boss. Witnesses say the owner was still inside but the receptionist said he wasn’t supposed to be in. We have people searching, get yourself out of there now, the place isn’t secure.”

“I’ll take the top floor for the search. Get everyone else out,” I replied, still moving around the edges of the floor.

“Boss, we have this covered, get out!”

Ignoring the voices, I carried on. My gut was burning with fear but that annoying voice in my head kept telling me I had to do this. I
had
to find Zach. I had something to prove to myself, to others. I needed to know, in my heart, that I was still capable of doing the job.  My throat was starting to ache from calling Zach’s name but I doubted he could hear me over the roaring of the fire.

The smoke was too thick, the heat too strong, no one could survive it without the proper equipment.

“Blake, get out of there,
now!
”

Again, I ignored their warnings.

“You stubborn, stupid, asshole. We need to retreat. It’s not fucking
safe!
”

“Do we have everyone out?” I growled, refusing to give in until I knew the building was clear. It might have been about Zach for me, but they didn’t know that. It was my job for god sake. No matter who or what was inside, I wouldn’t have given up until I knew we wouldn’t be losing lives. I lived and breathed for it.

“Matt, Dave, status?”

“Bottom floor is clear, I’m coming out,” Dave replied, then, “I’ve circled the top floor, anywhere accessible is clear. I’m already out.” Matt.

It gave me a moment's reprieve, knowing at least, that my team was out. In one last ditch attempt to find Zach, I ripped off my oxygen mask and screamed his name. My voice gave out under the strain and morphed into a gut-clenched cough, my entire upper body heaved with each breath.

It’s in those moments, that split second, when you realise that you’ve gone from being in danger, to being in
imminent
danger.

Trust me, there’s a monumental difference.

The instant pain in my lungs told me I’d be laid up for a while at minimum. Not good. The creaking of the foundations around me told me I’d be lucky to even make it that long.
Really
not good.

“I’m coming out,” I croaked through the mic. Putting my mask back over my face, for all the good it was going to do at that point, I took one last lingering look around the devastated building. I knew in my gut that I’d done all I could, it still didn’t seem enough.

I made my way down the stairs, the flames licking at my back, the rumble of falling debris filling my ears. My lungs burned with every intake of breathe and my head started to spin. Legs almost giving way, I couldn’t have been more relieved to see the rage-filled face of my colleague, Matt, at the bottom.

“Crazy, stupid motherfucker. Let’s move before this whole fucking place goes down!”

He grabbed my arm and swung it around his shoulders, supporting my weight. It took seconds to reach the back door, most of the lower level already saturated, just black smoke and the horror of the damage remained.

The feeling of the fresh air outside hitting my lungs should have helped, should have allowed me to breathe easier. It didn’t. I could barely focus by the time we reached the engine and the pissed off, worried, confused words of my team weren’t registering.

As the last of the flames died out and the hose was wound in, I leaned back against the engine, concentrating on pulling in air through the oxygen mask over my face. My final thought before the lack of air reaching my brain made everything go black…

I’d failed.

I’d heard about it, read about it and seen it on the TV, but I’d never actually
felt
it.

That feeling when you’re floating somewhere outside of the realm of consciousness, but you can hear and feel the world around you. I felt the warmth of a soft hand holding mine and heard the sounds of people bustling around.

But I wasn’t there. Only in body, not in mind.

I could smell Carlie’s perfume and feel her presence, I wanted to open my eyes but my limbs wouldn’t respond. I mentally sighed, too exhausted and weak to care. What felt like ten minutes, but could have been ten hours later, I blinked into the harsh lights of the hospital ward and shook my head, or I attempted to. Everything ached. I remembered everything.

Every stupid thought and every reckless decision.

The elastic from my oxygen mask was irritating my face so I removed it and looked around. There were three other beds in the ward. One empty, two had elderly men in them, both were staring at me. Awkwardly, I shuffled out of the bed and walked on trembling legs to the edge of my section, pulling the curtain closed. I wouldn’t be leaving any time soon and there was no way I wanted to share my space with anyone else.

Carlie shuffled in as I slid back into bed and she yelped when she saw me, “What were you doing up? Lie down, lie down,” she fussed.

I scoffed, “Don’t fret, Carlie. I’m fine.”

“Fine?
You’re fine?
You’re not fine! You’ve been out for hours. Nearly an entire day actually. You have a collapsed lung, Blake! The doctor said they had to give you a...a…” she looked confused.

“A Bronchoscopy?” I prompted

“Yes, yes, a Bronchoscopy. Through one of those um…”

“Endotracheal tube?” I provided.

The woman had probably been checking her nails while the doctor was speaking to her but the way I felt, I didn’t need her to fill in the details because I was trained for it. I knew the details, the processes and the recovery times.

And yes, I was already pissed off about it.

“Yes! That’s the one. They had to sedate you, Blake! And the doctor said even a few seconds more could have been so much more serious. You could have died! You’re not fine,” she cried.

I fought the eye roll that threatened to escape. I was the one injured and she was the one fretting. I understood it, but I didn’t agree with it.

“Babe, come here,” I held out my arm and she climbed underneath. “I know, I’m not fine. But isn’t that the point, it could have been worse, at least I’m alive.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “You’ll probably have to quit work though.”

She threw out the statement like she hadn’t just sliced me with a verbal blade. The agony of her words hurt more than any lung damage ever could. She was right, if the lung didn’t heal properly, the long-term effects could end my career completely. I wouldn’t allow that to happen. Whatever the doctors told me to do, I’d damn well do it. Resting, sleeping upright, using an oxygen machine...hell, even if they told me to hang upside-down and bark like a dog. I’d be out of the hospital first thing and buying the damn collar. If it was going to help me recover quicker, I’d do it.

“I’m so glad you’re ok. What happened though, Blake? The guys weren’t here when I arrived but Ian was and he said he couldn’t tell me anything.”

“He couldn’t tell you because he wasn’t there. He’s retired, remember. What do you want me to say, Carlie? It’s a hazard of the job, you know that,” I explained, leaving out the details.

The details.

I wheezed in a breath that had me coughing so hard, I thought my ribs were going to break. I screamed in agony, which caused another cough. A nurse came rushing into the ward, took one look at me in a state and forced the oxygen mask back over my mouth.

She stroked my back as she spoke, “Breath in,” I did. “Breathe out,” I did that too.

After a few seconds, the stabbing pains softened into an ache and the cough subsided. Admittedly, it was a little worse than I thought. I had never felt pain like it.

As my thoughts returned to the details of the fire, Zach filled my mind. Was he actually there? Was he hurt? Worse? I needed answers and I needed them that instant, “Carlie, where’s my stuff?”

She frowned up at me, “Your stuff?”

“Yes, my clothes, my stuff from my locker, my phone. I know Ian would have brought them with him if he came.”

“Your phone. Your fucking phone? Christ, Blake, you just nearly coughed up your lungs, you still have an oxygen mask over your damn face and you look like shit but your only thought is where your damn phone is? What is wrong with you?” She cried in annoyance.

“Keep your voice down,” I hissed. “You’re exaggerating and overreacting
again
. Don’t you think I should be letting people know that I’m ok?”

With a huff, she turned and lifted a sports bag off the floor, “Here. I’m going for a walk.”

Well, at least with being injured, I managed a few minutes of normality. I sifted through the few texts I had from people asking if I was ok, replied that I was fine and lifted the phone to me ear.

“Midway Fire & Rescue,” Harry answered.

“Harry…” I didn’t get to speak further.

“Blake, holy shit! Blake! We’ve been waiting on an update,” his voice drifted away from the phone and he shouted for the rest of the guys. “Are you good? Heard you had a collapsed lung. That sucks, man. Here, wait, I’m going to put you on speaker.”

“What, you’re too lazy to work now, thought you’d take some bed rest for a while, is that it Bossman?” Marc joked. “Seriously though, how are you feeling?”

“Are there any hot nurses on your ward?” Matt called and I laughed, then coughed.

Their silence was telling. My breathing didn’t sound good at all.

“It’s all good, lads. Four weeks rest and I’ll be back to light activity,” I guessed. “Listen, anyway, I rang because I wanted to get the facts from yesterday. Do we know what happened yet?”

My phone bleeped with an incoming call, but I didn’t recognise the number so I sent it to answer phone and went back to the guys.

“Ha! Typical, Blake. Workaholic,” they all shared a laugh before I prompted them for an answer. “Electrical fire, apparently. The place was an accident waiting to happen. I’ve been there myself before. Looked great at first glance, they’ve got the best equipment available and it’s done up and shit. Safety wise though, it’s bad. The fire escape was broken, the smoke detectors were always faulty and there were loose wires all over the place. Surprised this didn’t happen sooner. I’m surprised the place ever passed its fire safety inspection.”

“What about people? Everyone manage to get out ok? Many injured?” I asked, with my heart in my throat.

“No, actually. They were damn lucky. Couple of ladies got checked over but they were ok, just shook up I guess. The owner of the place turned up just as the ambulances did,” he paused and I almost fainted. Zach was fine, not dead, not injured. I was the one laid up in the hospital for no fucking reason. “It was weird actually, the guy seems like a bit of a prick if you ask me. Jumped out of his car and started shouting his mouth off at everyone, but I get that, it’s his business at the end of the day. But then he saw you go down, and I don’t know…”

He trailed off.

“You don’t know what? He saw me go down and what?”

“Well I don’t know! Maybe he felt guilty or some shit, but he like, freaked the fuck out. He actually
punched
Dave in the shoulder when he tried to hold him back. He kicked out at the engine and called us all cunts. Told you, he was just a prick. Then he just vanished! Like, one second he’s losing his mind about shit, we made sure you were safe in the ambulance, turned around and bam! The guy has disappeared. Personally, I told Dave to report him. We don’t do this job to get attacked by idiots who can’t handle their shit, but he reckons it was just heat of the moment and it isn’t worth it.”

I found it hard to believe the words he was saying, but he wouldn’t make that up, he had no reason to. Realising I hadn’t spoken, I hummed into the phone. It made no sense for Zach to react like that. It was
him
who was messing with
my
head, not the other way round. The urge to find a way to contact him roared to the surface of my mind.

“God knows. You’re right, it was probably some misplaced sense of guilt or something. Anyway, I’m going to try let everyone know that I’m all good. Stay safe guys, see you sooner than you lot probably want me to!”

I hung up and stared at the phone.

The muscles around my ribs were starting to throb and I silently hoped the nurse would be back soon with something stronger than paracetamol to help with the pain. I flicked the phone over in my hand a few times, I needed to find a way to talk to Zach. It would drive me insane if I didn’t get my answers, and quickly.

Remembering the call I received while I was already on the phone, I wasn’t surprised to find the voicemail icon flashing, I pressed play.

“Blake, hi it’s Zach. I just...I thought,” the line went quiet for a minute, only the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Hope you’re ok.”

The line went dead. Without hesitation, I pressed ‘call back’. The phone rang and rang, then clicked off.

“Oh that’s right, it’s fine when you want to talk, but you can ignore me just as easily. Prick,” I muttered, to no one.

“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? Although, I have been called worse,” my head snapped up to the curtain, to where Zach stood, arms crossed over his chest. He had a bag dangling from his index finger and he looked...well, he looked
good.
“You look a lot better than you did yesterday. Is everything ok?”

Incapable of speech, which was becoming a very nasty habit any time that Zach was in the vicinity, I nodded. He stepped closer, closed the curtain behind him and threw the bag on the bed.

“I know flowers and grapes are what you’re supposed to bring when someone is in hospital, but you don’t strike me as the sort of person who would appreciate that. There’s a few magazines in there, some junk food and whisky,” he shrugged, looking almost shy. “I’m not sure you should be drinking if you’re on meds, but honestly, the whisky was mainly for me anyway!”

He grabbed the bottle from the bag, untwisted the cap and took a long gulp. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as his throat moved. Since when was swallowing, sexy?

No, I take that back, swallowing has always been sexy, just not in the same context.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, noticing that his usual aura of confidence was missing.

He chuckled without humour, “What’s wrong with
me
? You’re the one who’s breathing like an eighty-a-day smoker who just ran the London Marathon. Fuck, Blake! You didn’t see you! It was bad enough seeing my gym destroyed, but then you just...you just...
went down!
I thought you were dead.”

It surprised me that he seemed so traumatised.

“I had a collapsed lung. I’ll feel shit for a while and it hurts like a motherfucker, but I’ll be fine. It’s a hazard of the job. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and this is one of those times. I’m sorry about the gym.”

“Fuck the gym!” He exploded. “It’s shit thing that happened and it’ll take forever to sort everything out but it’s insured, so it’s good. You could have died! I heard what those guys said, the ones you work with. You shouldn’t have been in there by yourself and you took your mask off. Do you have death wish? I don’t know
shit
about this stuff, but I do know you guys aren’t supposed to take the mask off!”

“Zach…”

“No! No, I know, ok. You have to do your job and that’s all good, it’s an amazing job. But why? I think, I mean, you need to tell me why you took such a risk. It’s stupid! You’re not stupid, if you did that all the time, you wouldn’t have been in the service for so long so I know it’s not that,” he started to pace the small space. “It doesn’t make any sense, this shouldn’t have happened…”

“I thought you were inside,” I growled, interrupting his tirade. “What was I supposed to do, Zach? How could I have ever faced myself in the mirror again if I’d have let something happen to you? It wasn’t like I made the decision to do it anyway, I just...I
had to
.”