Read Online Sizzle (St. Martin Family Saga): Emergency Responders by Gina Watson - Free Book Online Page A

trying and be reprimanded, or worse, for breaking protocol. Still, he had to try. Mrs. Howard was a large woman, and he suspected she couldn’t walk very well. Big as he was, he didn’t think he could carry her out and through the water and debris. He’d have to pray for inspiration.
    When Jack spotted Clay dressing to go out, he jogged over to him. “Hey, you going after the girl?”
    Clay pulled on his boots. “Yeah, I have to. I can’t just sit here. We’re in the eye right now, so maybe I can go and get back before it kicks up again.”
    “Wait up; I’ll go with you.” Jack ran to grab his gear.
    He was grateful; Jack might have just saved one of their lives.
    They boarded the ladder truck and drove toward Mrs. Howard’s home. The truck was big, and heavy enough not to easily get pushed around by debris and high water. Without the truck to worry about, they could focus on the problem of disorientation. Even though they’d lived in the area their entire lives, they were having trouble finding their way. To make matters worse, there were no lights since the power had been cut. Slowing but staying diligent to keep the gas pumping so the truck wouldn’t stall, Clay gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
    “I can’t see a damned thing.”
    Jack leaned closer toward the windshield. “The whole town’s been plunged into darkness. I don’t recognize a thing. I’ll get the portable searchlight.” Jack turned onto his knees and began a crawl to the back of the truck.
    “Be careful; I can’t stop the truck or we’ll stall.”
    Jack climbed through the window to access the back. If Jack were compromised, he’d stop. But if they stalled, that meant the mission was over, possibly along with the lives of the two women.
    Moments passed with no movement or sound from the back of the truck. Clay yelled for Jack, but didn’t hear anything. He lifted his foot from the gas and was about to press the brake when Jack swung himself back into the cab. Clay let out the breath he’d been holding and hit the gas pedal. Jack flipped on the spotlight and pointed it out across the landscape. The water had engulfed the roads, so there weren’t any of the usual landmarks. Debris piled up where it couldn’t pass freely or push itself through. Power lines hung lifelessly and tangled in the debris and water.
    Leaning halfway out of the truck, Jack said, “Thank God they cut the power.”
    Their world tilted and the left side of the truck rose higher than the right.
    “Shit! I think I’m on the sidewalk,” Clay said. “Hang on.” He turned the wheel, but it fought him. The truck was wedged, and he had no choice but to continue on at an angle. The wheels rutted and the metal strained and then suddenly they dropped down hard. He swung the steering wheel and the truck was freed. He felt the tires make contact with the waterlogged road.
    Jack anxiously said, “I think that’s the neighborhood over there.” He gestured across what appeared to be a bay but was actually what they knew to be a six-lane street with median.
    “Fuck, we’re on the opposite side.”
    Jack pointed the spotlight up. “Look at that, see those traffic lights?” He gestured with his head. “It’s an intersection. We can make the turn.”
    Clay approached the intersection with caution and turned the steering wheel slowly to the right. The truck responded, powering through the deep water. He kept the steering angled so the truck straightened itself out without too much effort. “Shine the light at the street signs; it won’t do to pass up the street. We won’t be able to turn around, so that only gives us one shot at this.”
    Jack nodded and lifted the upper half of his body out the window. He leaned out as far as he could and hit the reflective signs with the light. “The streets are in alphabetical order and we’re to C . They’re on Hightower, so five more streets.”
    They proceeded cautiously, using the spotlight to