Chapter One

Great tongues of fire leaped from the structure, more brilliant against the night sky than any fireworks display; beautiful, mesmerizing-and deadly. Lanie Weber stood close, feeling the heat beat at her, her skin burning despite the protection of her gear.

"Lanie's crew takes left; Marcus-center. We'll take right. Let's go." The fire chief's muted voice carried to her over the roaring of the flames, and she nodded to let him know she'd heard.

With the fire hose cradled along her right arm, Lanie gripped the nozzle securely with both hands. Her second lineman braced her with his elbow, offering resistance against the pressure of the water, which tried to propel her backward as soon as the water started to flow.

Lanie adjusted the stream until a focused, narrow torrent shot forth. She concentrated on the left side of the structure, her only goal to contain the flames and protect the exposure of the house next door, because it was too late to save the one-story home. At least no one had been hurt.

Though she couldn't hear anything beyond the noise of the fire, Lanie was aware of the family's devastation. In their minds, they had lost everything, but Lanie knew what real loss was. Houses, clothes, possessions-those things could be replaced. The loss of a loved one ...

Shying away from the thought, she turned her full attention back to fighting the blaze. After ten years as a volunteer firefighter, the heat of the flames, the acrid smell of smoke, the camaraderie of the other volunteers, even the mechanics of putting out the fire-these things were familiar to her. Tonight, of all nights, she needed the comfort

...