It was the first smile Vicki had seen on her face all day. “That’s great!”
Poor Libby! She’d had a fight with Brandon, and then her house had burned down. If that didn’t qualify as a shitty day, what did?
Lexi stepped out of The Cave with Megs, the stunned expressions on their faces and the way they looked at her making Vicki’s pulse skip.
Something had happened.
She rolled down her window. “What is it?”
Megs motioned to her. “Come inside. You, too, Libby.”
Vicki turned off the engine and followed Megs, leaving Lexi to get Emily and Mack. “What’s going on? Tell me.”
No one said anything.
Libby followed. “Did something happen to Brandon?”
They walked through the front door into the Ops Room, where Ahearn sat in front of the radio with a handful of other Team members—Nicole Turner, Bahir Acharya, Sasha Dillon, and Creed Herrera.
Vicki’s mouth went dry, dread churning in her stomach. She looked from Megs to Ahearn. “Please just tell me—is my husband alive?”
Ahearn stood. “The helicopter he and Brandon Silver were flying in crashed in front of the flaming front. They survived the crash, but they had to deploy shelters. Dispatch has tried to raise them, but they’re not answering.”
Libby cried out, sank to the floor beside Vicki, covering her face with her hands.
But Vicki couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, her heart thudding painfully, her pulse rushing in her ears.
A burst of static from the radio.
“Helicopter Ninety-Eight Echo, do you copy? Nineteen-oh-one, do you copy?”
Nineteen-oh-one.
That was Eric’s fire department call number.
Answer, Eric. Please answer! Say something!
Silence.
This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be.
“No response from Helicopter Ninety-Eight Echo or its passengers.”
Vicki took a step forward. “They can’t give up. Why are they giving up? Why don’t they keep calling?”
Megs knelt beside Libby, wrapped her arms around her. “They’ve been trying for the past five minutes.”
Vicki’s mind raced for explanations. “Maybe the fire hasn’t burned through yet, or maybe their radios were damaged by the heat or…”
Or maybe they’re all dead.
The world around Vicki blurred, pain seeming to shatter her breastbone. She sagged against the conference table, her throat going tight. “He can’t be …gone. I’m pregnant. I just told him… I surprised him at breakfast.”
Lexi came up beside her, smiling through tears. “A new baby. That’s wonderful.”
She wrapped her arms around Vicki and held her.
“To hell with this!” Creed surged to his feet. “I’m going after them. Who’s with me?”