Sinful Pleasures Read Online Free Page B

snarling in terror as he ran from the flames. Morgan heard the stairway door open behind him, and
Dallas
stepped inside. He held the door open long enough for the tabby to streak downstairs.
    “Any sign of the kid?”
    Morgan shook his head no, not bothering to hide his tears.
    Dallas
gave him an understanding slap on the shoulder before walking down the smoke-filled hallway. Morgan stayed abreast of him on the opposite side of the hall.
    The thick smoke obscured visibility. Both men trailed their hands down the wall to keep their bearings. Morgan knew it wouldn’t be long till they had to evacuate to protect themselves. His stomach cramped, and he felt like he might be sick at the thought of leaving a kid in this inferno.
    “Morgan?”
Dallas
shouted through the breathing apparatus.
    “Not yet.” Morgan held on stubbornly. He couldn’t give up. Not till he found the kid. “He’s gotta be here somewhere.”
    At the far end of the hall a wall came down, throwing sparks and flame in their direction.
    “We’ve gotta go,”
Dallas
yelled. “It’s too late, Morgan. There’s too much smoke. C’mon, buddy.”
    “Go, I’ll be right behind you.”
    “You sure?”
    “Yeah, go on,” Morgan urged. “We don’t have much time. Get out of here.”
    Morgan caught the sound of Dallas’s tanks hitting the wall when he turned. He nodded his head, although no one could see him.
Dallas
would get out. He’d be safe, but Morgan couldn’t leave until…
    He stumbled hard, falling over something in his path.
    Whatever he tripped over didn’t move. The smoke was less dense on the floor, but still heavy enough Morgan couldn’t make out more than a vague shape. A small lump curled up in a tight ball.
      He whirled around and settled himself on his knees. His hands trembled as he gathered up a small boy of no more than five or six years old. The kid stirred when Morgan shook him, coughing violently as his body tried to suck in clean air.
    Tearing off his face plate, Morgan put the breathing apparatus over the child’s face, letting him suck in a few breaths of filtered air.
    He saw a pair of boots come into view.
Dallas
had come back for him. Morgan wondered how far down the stairs
Dallas
had made it before noticing he wasn’t following. Morgan looked up through the smoke, barely able to see
Dallas
’s head and shoulders through the gloom.
    “What the fuck are you doin’ man? C’mon, get your face plate back on.”
Dallas
’s angry shouts could be heard above the increasing roar of the fire. “Pick up the kid and let’s go.”
      “Got him.” Morgan scooped the child up into his arms, running for the stairs with
Dallas
covering his back.
    A roar went up from the crowd when Morgan burst through the door and carried the child straight to a waiting team of paramedics. Morgan knew he’d gotten lucky this time. It had been close up there, much too close. His hands began to shake with the aftermath of adrenaline. He’d won this time. It made the job worthwhile.
     
    * * * *
     
    “Is the kid gonna be okay?”
Dallas
asked. He picked up the end of a heavy ladder, helping Morgan carry it back to the idling truck. With a thrust of his powerful shoulders, he hefted his end of the ladder on to specially designed brackets.
    “Paramedics think so.”
    “That’s good. No fatalities this fire. It’s a miracle.”
    “Just luck,” Morgan said. “It could have been hell. The building wasn’t up to code. These people have nowhere to go, and they’ve lost everything they owned. It’s not right.”
    Dallas
looked up from securing the ladder. “You did all you could, buddy. You saved a kid’s life. We can’t police every landlord in town.”
    Morgan looked like he wanted to argue the point, but he kept quiet and only shrugged his shoulders.
    Always a champion for the underdog,
Dallas
thought affectionately.
    His best friend really hadn’t changed much over the years since they first met.
    Firefighters filtered past them,