TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1) by Kallypso Masters (the false prince TXT) 📕

outer shell, he repositioned the tips underneath the hard metal of the hood and tried again. The metal groaned until there was a nice bowed opening, and seconds later the latch popped. I’m in. After quickly locating the battery, he pulled wire cutters from his pocket and cut the negative wires in multiple places, then severed the positive cable.

Tony propped the hood open with a thick branch he found nearby, then let the others know they were good to go and set the spreader on a tarp close by. Moving around to the driver’s side, he helped Marc place a blanket over the woman’s head and shoulders to protect her, and Marc held her head steady to keep the activity around them from jostling her or causing any harm.

The crew quickly stabilized the vehicle using step chocks as the woman spoke reassuringly to her child. Tony still hadn’t had the courage to look in the back seat but hadn’t heard a peep from the kid.

Jeremy, a firefighter from the blue shift who’d joined in on this call, wedged the hydraulic spreader into the door frame and turned on the motor, drowning out the woman’s words. The steel door creaked and groaned in protest. After a few moments, the door popped open. Tony wrenched the door fully open so that Marc and his partner could examine the woman for any life-threatening injuries.

The ambulance crew evaluated the mother and quickly cleared her of having c-spine or other major injuries. The paramedic instructed Marc to extricate the mother from the car with Tony’s help and to assist her into the ambulance.

At Lieutenant Anderson’s command, Ryan returned to the rear door on the passenger side of the vehicle. The paramedic followed.

As Marc and Tony assisted her up the embankment, the mother looked back at the wrecked car and asked, “Is my baby going to be okay?” Marc assured her the paramedic and firefighter would take excellent care of her. Was he concerned too that there’d been no sounds from the child?

After Marc had the woman in the back of the ambulance for further evaluation and to gather information for the hospital, Tony returned to the vehicle to see if he could assist with the second extrication. But by the time he arrived, the little girl of about four years was alert, though possibly in shock, and being evaluated by the paramedic. She soon joined her mother in the back of the ambulance.

Everything was under control. Nobody died.

No thanks to me.

“What happened back there?” Tony looked up to find his lieutenant glaring at him.

“I…saw a ghost.” Tony had frozen on the job. This scenario could have gone a lot worse if Lieutenant Anderson hadn’t forced him to snap out of it as quickly as he had. Lives could have been lost due to Tony’s inability to function in those first crucial moments of the rescue. He’d almost screwed up—to tragic results.

“What ghost?”

Lieutenant probably knew, but Tony said the words anyway. “Two actually. A woman in an orange Broncos shirt and a baby in pink.”

He nodded curtly but with understanding in his eyes. “You’re still talking to a counselor about that, right?”

“Yeah. Twice a week for the past few weeks.”

Lieutenant Anderson nodded. “Keep working on it. Healing takes time.”

“Thanks, Lieutenant.” He wanted to promise he wouldn’t let the man down again but couldn’t. Not yet.

It wasn’t until they were back at the station and he was preparing to end his shift that the battalion chief called him into his office. His lieutenant waited in there for him too. This couldn’t be good.

“Tony,” the BC began, “Lieutenant Anderson tells me you had a problem at the ditch rescue this morning.”

He knew his superior officer would have to report what happened to the BC, but Tony wished he could put this behind him quickly. “Yes, sir. Had a flashback. But it won’t happen again.”

“You can’t predict flashbacks, Tony. Most of us have had them. All we can do is work on minimizing them. I’m glad to hear you’re seeing a professional to talk to about the drowning incident.”

“Thanks. It’s helping.” I think.

“Good. But I see you haven’t taken any time off since then.” He pointed down to what must be Tony’s personnel file.

“I’m fine, sir. I’m handling it fine most of the time.”

The BC was silent a long moment, then bridged his interlaced fingers. “I spoke with HR, and you have some extra vacation days they want you to use before the end of the month.”

Forced vacation time usually came at the end of the year. While he wasn’t being placed on mandatory leave, it sure felt close to it. His officers had convinced HR to do this, because the department didn’t usually make anyone take time off in the summer months.

He wanted to argue further, but he’d screwed the pooch this morning. Then he thought about how he could use the time to get in much-needed dive time in a local lake to prepare him for his next certification exam. “How much time off, and how soon can I take it?”

“Three consecutive shifts,” the BC said.

Then he deferred to the lieutenant with a nod who added, “Anytime you want, Tony. I can find volunteers from Station Two to cover your shifts this week, if you’d like to start right away.”

The forecast for the coming week called for rain on his days off and full sun on his days at the station. While he could dive in the rain, he preferred nicer weather for his surface prep time. Maybe taking this time off would give him a chance to further his diving skills on those nice-weather days anyway.

“I’ll take off the next three shifts then, if that’s okay.”

“Sounds good,” the two officers said at once as if expecting that response from him.

“Now, your shift ended half an hour ago. Head home.”

Home was the last place he intended to go. He planned to go to the pool and practice some of his skills to make the open-water dives this