He meant it.

Shoved off the teammate trying to stop him and sprinted straight into the fire.

"If I die, it's on you! Every one of you! You'll pay for it with your lives!"

The way he said it made my skin crawl.

As my husband, he knew better than anyone what it cost me to become a fire captain.

He knew these guys put their lives on the line every single call.

He knew what my injuries looked like after every mission.

He knew what failure meant for a team like ours.

And he still chose to screw us over.

I spun to my team. "Cover the evac. I'll deal with him."

They nodded, tight-faced, and kept moving.

I stayed behind, digging through wreckage for the junk he wanted—photos of him with her.

Most were already toasted.

As I reached for them, Axel yelled behind me, "Don't wreck them! I want them whole! And the album! And the prenatal reports! I put everything together!"

He'd packed it all in some fancy box, stuffed with sappy notes for the baby they were expecting.

On top? A picture of me and him.

My face was scratched out, buried under the nastiest insults I'd ever seen.

Axel's handwriting. No doubt.

"Hurry up! Don't mess it up! How's a woman even a fire captain? Freakin' joke! First thing I'm doing when I get out is reporting you! If my stuff's wrecked, you're DONE!"

One of the frames slipped out of my hand and shattered. Flames ate it in seconds.

Axel lost it. "Why don't you just die! That frame—she picked it out! It was her favorite!"

Then came the low, ugly rumble.

Gas.

"Did you shut off the gas line?"

Axel didn't even look up. Just snatched his box and bolted.

I spun around—

The fire had turned into a full-blown monster.

Axel saw it too. Shoved the last few guys out and slammed the door shut.

"What are you doing? Our captain's still in there!"

"Unlock it!"

Axel barked, "We have to lock it! If the gas spreads, we're all dead! She's the captain—she can handle it! MOVE!"

Right then, the building blew.

I tried blocking the fire with whatever I could, but the locked door trapped me.

Suddenly, the blast slammed me out of the room.

Glass ripped into my arms, legs, everything.

If one of my guys hadn't caught me, I would've dropped thirty stories straight into the pavement.

"Captain!"

They hauled me into the emergency stairwell.

Outside, Axel was already there.

Cradling her.

Whispering like we hadn't just almost died.

"It's okay, honey. It's over now. Don't be scared. I'm here."

"Axel, when I heard the explosion, I was so scared. Are you okay?"

The lights swung around, and for the first time, I saw her face.

It hit me like ice water straight to the heart.

Every nerve in my body went numb.

It was her.

The girl I once carried out of a burning school.

The girl who lost her family.

The girl I took into my home for half a year.

And now? She was clinging to my husband, rocking clothes bought with my money, carrying his baby.

Gloria Hole.

Couldn't have made it up if I tried.

Gloria saw me staring and ducked behind Axel like a scared kid.

"Why are you looking at my wife like that? Go get an ambulance. She needs a hospital," Axel snapped.

Ambulances were scarce out here. Remote spot, slow response.

"Captain, you're hurt bad. When the next one comes, you should go first. We'll handle things here, " my team said.

I nodded, every bone in me screaming.

But when the ambulances showed up?

Axel and Gloria climbed right in. Both of them.

"My captain's burns are worse! Let her go first!" my teammates begged.

Axel didn't blink.

"She's not dying. Another ambulance is coming. My wife's pregnant. She's not going alone. Your big-shot captain can wait."

The ambulances tore off.

Axel threw a glare over his shoulder.

Yeah. I caught it.

The third ambulance never showed.

I kept bleeding.

Civilians finally dragged me into a random car and gunned it to the hospital, blowing through every red light.

At the ER, the doctor barely looked at me before barking, "Get her into surgery! Massive internal bleeding!"

I grabbed his sleeve.

"Doctor... I'm pregnant... Three months..."

His face tightened.

"I'm being honest—the baby's probably not gonna make it."

Right then, Axel and Gloria strolled past.

No mask now. My face—half-melted from the blast—was right there.

Axel covered Gloria's eyes.

"Don't look. It's disgusting."

Then, straight-up cruel:

"A woman like you deserves to lose her kid. Any guy marrying you is just asking for bad luck."

Gloria smirked. "Almost lost our photos too. Guess it's karma!"

My team looked ready to throw hands.

"Enough! Move her! Forget saving the baby—we're fighting for her life now!"

As they rushed me past Axel, I grabbed his wrist.

"Axel Cheatum! I want a divorce!"