The Fire Inside Read Online Free

foot
needs attention, like a splint or something. Giving it a few days
could make it worse.”
    He drew out his cell phone, entered in
numbers, and Tess shut up. Actually, her foot was throbbing, so he
was probably right. The last thing she needed was to be foolish
again and do more damage.
    Because no matter what anybody thought, she was going to get back on the line, regardless of how long it
took or how many setbacks she had.
    o0o
    “Where’s Captain Righetti?” Jill asked.
    “Her EMS buddies took her to the hospital.
The fire department doctor ordered her there—for X-rays and further
treatment. She’s in a lot of pain.”
    Jill frowned. “She going to be all
right?”
    “Yes. She may require some time off,
though.”
    “Who’ll take her place?” Jordan wanted to
know.
    “Me.” A man spoke from behind them. A tall,
redheaded guy had approached them. “I’m Captain O’Leary. I’ll be
taking Captain Righetti’s place until she comes back.” He scanned
the recruits. “Now, what’s this about ropes?”
    Jack sighed. He was going to have to climb
the damn thing after all.
    Later, he showered, then left the gym, his
thoughts whirling in a million different directions. He’d gotten
only two-thirds of the way up the rope—Hanley had aced this one—but
Jack had learned something vital. Rope climbing was going to be a
stumbling block for recruits, and best he know that before
April.
    He bumped into the fire chief in the
corridor. “Hey, Chief.”
    Bob Lincoln was a big black man with a shaved
head and an easy smile. He carried an air of command. “Hey, Mason.
You still giving Righetti trouble?”
    “No.” He recounted what he’d done for her. “I
was hoping you could tell me how she is after her fall.”
    “Let me make a call.” Pulling out his phone,
he spoke with whoever answered. “Yeah, uh-huh. Yep. Okay.” Then to
Jack he said, “She’s been admitted to the hospital. Since this is a
workplace accident, and she previously injured that ankle, the
doctor here didn’t want to take any chances.” He checked his watch.
“I wish I could go see her, but I’ve got a shindig with the mayor
to attend.”
    “I could visit her.”
    “We don’t want to upset her even more, Mason.
Besides, you’re supposed to be a recruit.”
    “I know. But I’m older and have a different
relationship with her. I’ll just check in.”
    “Hard to believe you can pass for a recruit.
You just take charge.”
    “I’m not doing such a good job of passing.
I’ll have to reconsider my options.”
    “Mitch Malvaso said you were a great guy. I
wish all of my people were so dedicated that they’d go undercover,
so to speak, to be better at their jobs.”
    “You’ve got a good one there in Righetti. She
goes the extra mile.” Despite his reservations about her, he didn’t
want to share his concerns with the fire chief. Yet, anyway.
    “Yeah, I know.” He glanced at his watch.
“Would you call and leave a message on how she is? When she’s going
home?”
    “Of course.”
    As he drove to the hospital, Jack thought
about what he was doing. He didn’t even know if he liked Tess, at
least he didn’t like how she treated the kids. Their professional
philosophies were diametrically opposed. But she seemed different
when she wasn’t on stage with them. Vulnerable. Reasonable—taking
the blame on herself for being careless with her foot, using it as
a teachable moment for the recruits. He’d had clients who were
injured in a fire and the hardest thing to deal with was the threat
of losing their position on the line.
    Twenty minutes later, he knocked on the door
of Room 215 and heard a cranky “Come in.”
    Tess lay in the bed, her foot elevated and
bound by what looked like one of those removable casts. She was
pale and appeared listless. When she saw him, though, instead of
annoyance, her expression lightened. “Hi.”
    “Hi.”
    “You didn’t have to come.” She frowned. “You
shouldn’t have.”
    “I