Chasing the Fire (Backdraft, Fully Involved, Flashover) Read Free

Frank a
treat.
    “Yep, one of your favorites.” Though Riley’s
mind was whirling with conflicting thoughts, he stayed and talked
to the lonely man for a few minutes.
    However, when he returned to his kitchen and
picked up his coffee, his mind went right back to his father’s
downfall. Riley had been nearly twenty-three and still considered a
young gun in the fire department. But he was treated with respect
because his dad was a captain on one of the busiest engines in the
department. And head of the Firefighter’s Union. Maybe that had
been the worst thing, because when the scandal broke and their town
councilman, a local cop, and his father were implicated, the entire
fire department had been disgraced. He’d never forget when his dad
had revealed the truth.
    Ben Gallagher had come to the apartment Riley
shared with Jane then…
    “Hey, Dad.” He was always glad to see his
father, as he adored the man.
    Tonight, though, his dad’s face was ragged.
And his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept. “Hi, son. I
need to talk to you and Janie right away.”
    “Janie isn’t here. Come on in.” His father
lumbered into his house as if he bore the weight of five SCBA
tanks. “Can I get you something?”
    He’d been shocked to see his father’s eyes
well. He’d seen his dad cry a couple of times at a firefighter
funeral and when a baby died in a fire, but this kind of emotion
was a rare occurrence.
    “Dad, sit on the couch.” He practically led
his father to the sofa, dropped down beside him and put his hand on
his dad’s shoulder. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
    Ben stared at him. “I’m on my way to the
police department.”
    “Why?”
    “I’ve done something wrong, Rye. Really
wrong.”
    “You? I don’t believe it.” In his eyes, his
dad was infallible.
    “You…” He cleared his throat. “I-it’s about
the Steele scandal. You know some of the details.”
    “Yeah, everybody does. The fuckers were
trying to hurt the chief and sabotaged the fire department. A lot
of our guys were injured. Are you filing some sort of charge on
behalf of the union?”
    Ben had shaken his head. “No, I’m a fucker,
too.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I helped Stan Steele.” The councilman.
    “Dad, come on. Don’t joke about this.”
    “I’m not joking. I set up some of the
sabotage.”
    Riley’s heart had flip-flopped in his chest.
“You wouldn’t do something like that.”
    “I did. For money.”
    “Why? Money never meant much to us.”
    “I…” His eyes turned even bleaker. “I got a
gambling problem. I was in deep. Steele found out and offered to
pay off all my debts if I’d help him.”
    “No, no. The cop, Ruscio, helped him, did it
for the money.”
    It had taken his father a half hour to
convince Riley that he’d been involved. Still, Riley had been
stunned. He’d cried like a baby with his face buried in his
hands.
    Janie came home before his father left. But
she’d wanted to help Ben Gallagher get through what was to come, go
to the police station with him, stand by him.
    And Riley couldn’t. Something seemed to snap
inside him at the awful thing his father had done to the
brotherhood of firefighters. In the end, all he could do was brace
himself against the shame.
    There had been backlash from others in the
department, which hurt like hell, and an emotional wall had shot up
between him and Janie. He still didn’t know how much she supported
his father, because after several fights over what Riley should do
and how Riley should feel, they’d agreed not to discuss the matter.
Later, he learned his mother had tried to help his father, too, but
Ben Gallagher had ostracized her and she gave up. They’d been
divorced ever since his dad had gone to jail…
    “Hey, Rye, what are you thinking about?”
    He turned to find Janie had come into the
kitchen. “Take a wild guess.”
    She crossed to him, kissed his cheek—she
always smelled good after a shower—and poured herself a mug