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  Unexpected Love

  Flammable Hearts Series – Book One

  J.O Mantel

  Copyright 2019 J.O Mantel

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations or places is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author. All songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is intended for mature audiences, ages 18 and older.

  Editing and proofreading by Ria @ Satisfaction Editing

  Book design by J.O Mantel

  Cover design by Dana from Designs by Dana

  Cover Image Copyright 2019

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is dedicated to Bree.

  Dedication

  Table Of Contents

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Playlist

  Acknowledgements

  Stay Connected

  About The Author

  FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE, young, naïve, and with no idea what to do with the rest of his life, Hunter Cassidy had the whole world at his feet. When he began training as a firefighter for the Fire Department of New York at the age of twenty, he had no idea of the horrific events that were about to unfold. Hunter found himself at the World Trade Center, scene of the September 11 terrorist attacks. As the North Tower started collapsing, Hunter tried desperately to get the hundreds of people around him out of the building and to safety.

  A concrete bollard fell from above, blocking the only remaining exit from the building. While he frantically looked for another way out, the ceiling above him imploded and he was able to scramble into a nearby elevator car. As the building collapsed, Hunter closed his eyes and hunched down, wrapping his arms around his head. When he opened his eyes sometime later, he found himself trapped and unable to move under the rubble, where he remained for several hours. He was one of only six firefighters rescued that day. Despite suffering a fractured left arm, and against orders from his chief, Hunter was determined to help his fellow men and the citizens of New York City through their darkest hour.

  The pain shooting through his arm was unbearable, but all Hunter cared about was searching for and rescuing any survivors. Sifting through only a small portion of the 1.8 million tons of wreckage, Hunter and some of his crew spent the next twenty-four hours searching for signs of life.

  With his arm in desperate need of medical attention, Hunter staggered through the rubble of what was the South Tower less than twenty-four hours earlier.

  “Help me!” A faint cry could be heard from beneath the rubble.

  “Wait!” Hunter yelled to his fellow crew members. “I hear something.”

  None of his crew acknowledged him. With bloodshot eyes and their faces covered in soot and dust, their exhaustion was apparent.

  “Help me, I’m down here.” This time, several officers gasped and focused their attention on the faint sounds emanating from beneath the crumpled pile of metal. Instantly, with their help, Hunter began moving the debris as best he could. His colleagues, now filled with determination and hope, prepared themselves to climb through the twisted metal to provide assistance.

  “Help me!” they heard again. This time the cries were much clearer, as the men followed the origin of the voice.

  “Hello?” Hunter called through the pile of rubble.

  “Hello? Yes ... I’m in here!” The voice came through clear and strong.

  “We’re coming. Keep talking, and make some noise so I can find you. Listen to my voice and tell me if you can still hear me.”

  Piece by piece, Hunter and the crew carefully lifted the rubble and debris that obstructed their path.

  “Miss?”

  But there was nothing.

  “Shh,” he told the crew, and they immediately stopped moving. “Miss?” he called a little louder.

  “I ... I’m here,” she whimpered through the rubble. She sounded dangerously frail and faint.

  “Cassidy, get out of there!” one of the crew yelled, as a pile of debris imploded next to him. Trying to catch his footing, Hunter slipped, lifting his hand to cover his face. A concrete slab fell from above him, narrowly missing him.

  Despite the concrete slab missing him by mere inches, and his arm bloodied and broken, Hunter was determined to rescue this woman, even if it meant risking his own life. That was part of the package being a firefighter—run straight into the line of fire.

  “Help ... please help me!” The woman’s faint voice came again from beneath the wreckage.

  Hunter and his crew continued sifting through the rubble, desperately trying to pinpoint the location of her faint cries for help. Then suddenly, they stopped.

  “Hello?” Hunter called.

  He stopped and stood on the pile of debris, searching for something ... a sign of hope ... life ... anything.

  “Ma’am?” he yelled again, but the only noise he could hear was the eerie wail of sirens.

  With the excruciating pain searing through his arm, Hunter turned and looked at his crew. Emotion, dirt, and exhaustion was clearly evident on each of their faces. Even though he hadn’t been doing the job very long, the most agonizing part was telling a family that one of their loved ones wasn’t coming home.

  Fatigue overwhelmed Hunter, so he squatted momentarily, allowing the sweat, nausea, and tears of despair to stream down his face. Looking up at his fellow crew members, he noticed that the once clear blue sky was now covered in a thick cloud of grey smoke, and the temperature was warming up.

  “Help! Help me, please!” He heard the faint cry again. This time it was just a few feet to his right. He quickly stood and walked in the direction of the sound.

  “Ma’am?”

  “I’m over here.” Her voice was becoming weaker, and Hunter knew that they needed to act quickly if they had any chance of finding this woman alive.

  He worked through the wreckage with his good arm, moving objects that obstructed his path, alerting the attention of his men.

  “Help!” As Hunter and his crew moved a concrete slab in front of them, he noticed a thin, bloodied arm. He kneeled down and grabbed what he assumed was the woman’s hand.

  “Miss?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Miss, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand,” Hunter said.

  With the limited strength she had, the woman gently squeezed Hunter’s hand.

  With a weak smile, Hunter shouted, “We’ve got a live one here!”

  Immediately, the team began working frantically to remove the wreckage lying on top of the woman.

  “Ma’am, stay with me,” Hu
nter pleaded, stroking the back of the woman’s hand.

  “Please ... please help me,” she begged, still clutching Hunter’s hand for dear life.

  It was almost ten minutes before Hunter and the crew had removed enough debris with the machinery, to be able to see the woman. As another piece of concrete was removed, Hunter looked down at her legs. They were both bruised and appeared to be broken. He then turned his head and looked at the woman’s face; she was dangerously pale, and her lips were turning blue.

  “We need to move fast!” Hunter yelled, still stroking the back of the woman’s hand with his own uninjured hand. “Ma’am?”

  As the woman slowly turned her head to face Hunter, he noticed the fear in her eyes. Despite his own fears, he continued to stroke her hand and talk to the woman, while the team worked frantically to remove the piece of metal that still lying on top of her other arm.

  “Try not to move yet. Can you tell me your name?” Hunter asked.

  “Breanne,” the woman replied softly, her eyes flickering open and closed.

  “Breanne, my name is Hunter. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hunter told her with a smile.

  The final piece of debris was removed from Breanne’s pelvis, and the men were able to get to her safely. The paramedics arrived and did a thorough check before they braced her neck and broken arm as best they could, then gave the okay for her to be moved. Breanne was pulled from the rubble, but Hunter didn’t remove his hand from hers until she was safely placed on the stretcher with an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

  As Hunter headed toward her, a steel rod broke free from some concrete above and pierced his broken arm.

  “Fuck!” Hunter yelled in agonizing pain, grabbing his bloodied arm.

  As the paramedics drove away with Breanne, Hunter was carefully transferred onto a stretcher of his own, before being placed into the back of another ambulance and taken to New York University Hospital.

  ST. VALENTINE’S DAY…

  ST. VALENTINE’S DAY…

  ST…

  FEBRUARY FOURTEENTH—the most romantic day of the year. For Hunter, though, it wasn’t his favorite date on the calendar for one reason. It was the day he’d lost his soulmate, his partner, the mother of his child, the love of his life … his wife. What was so special about a day that recognized romance anyway?

  San Valentino, as he was named, was no fucking saint. The guy went to prison when he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians who were, at the time, being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. In the end, the dude lost his head… literally.

  Hunter remembered when, on a day that shook the world forever, he’d pulled the woman he’d later marry out of that hell. He’d saved her and had known from that day forward that he couldn’t spend the rest of his life without her.

  He’d stayed by her hospital bed, day after day, night after night, until she woke up and his was the first face she saw. Their road to happiness was far from a bed of roses, but despite it all, they found a way to each other… or so he thought.

  It was 7:27 a.m. Monday, and as usual, Hunter was in his office, sitting in his high-backed swivel chair. He’d just completed a twelve-hour graveyard shift. He picked up the framed photo of himself and Bree, taken on their wedding day. In less than an hour, he would be heading to his mother’s apartment in Lower Manhattan. There, a beautiful young lady with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and the bubbliest smile that lit up Hunter’s face whenever he walked into the room would be waiting for him with open arms. His precious five-year-old, Lili.

  It was pretty quiet at the station, and for the moment it was just Hunter, Alex, and Andy left in the building. Everyone else had left an hour ago, and the three of them waited for the day crew to start their shift. His neck was stiff, so he cracked it from side to side as he stared at the photo of him and his beautiful bride. Any minute now, his chief—

  “That really is a great photo.”

  As always, right on time.

  Carter, Hunter’s chief, stepped into the office to start his shift for the day.

  “Morning, Carter,” Hunter glanced up from the photo and acknowledged his boss.

  “Quiet night?”

  “Yeah.” Hunter placed the photo back on his desk and focused his attention on Carter.

  Since Bree’s passing, Carter had become more of a brother than a boss to Hunter. Carter was in his fourth year of marriage, and with three children under the age of six, a mortgage, animals, and a full-time job, his future was sealed. For the next thirty years or so, he would be balls deep in college fees and his wife’s vagina.

  “You look tired. Why don’t you head home? I’m sure there’s a special young lady who’s waiting to see her daddy.” Carter smiled.

  “Thanks, Carter. I promised Lili I’d take her to the mall today. She’s been wanting a rocking horse since you let her ride the pony on your ranch.”

  “What can I say, the little pumpkin melted my heart. How can I say no to a face like that?”

  Now that Carter was here, it was time for Hunter to punch out and head to his mom’s place.

  “I’ll see you on Wednesday, Carter.”

  “That you will. Give Lili a big smooch and hug from her godfather.” When Lili was born, Hunter and Bree had asked Carter and his wife, Michelle, to be her godparents.

  “I will.” And that was that. Before Carter could say another word, Hunter was out the door in a flash.

  Leaving the cool morning air behind him, Hunter pushed through the door of his mother’s apartment to step into the familiar surroundings of what was his childhood home, the brightly lit hallway and smell of his mother’s cooking inviting him further inside. It was a constant reminder of why he kept coming back to the home that had brought him so much joy as a child. His mother and father had divorced years ago, after Hunter’s college graduation, when his dad left her for a much younger woman. His mom was a busy social worker and spent whatever minimal time she had caring for their only son. While his mom never remarried, his father had moved to Melbourne, Australia, with his new bride. Hunter never saw or heard from him again, and that suited him perfectly, especially after the heartache the man had put him and his mother through. Nowadays, his mom spent her days working part-time, and being a loving grandmother who took on babysitting duties when Hunter was at work.

  Whenever he craved a place of peace and quiet, his mother’s house was always at the top of his list. Well, it was close, but as for peace and quiet—

  “Daddy!” The voice of his exuberant five-year-old could be heard down the hall as Hunter slowly made his way past the stairs.

  “Where’s Daddy’s little princess?” he asked, squatting down with open arms.

  Lili came crashing out of the kitchen and into his arms. Hunter squeezed her tight and scooped her off the tiled floor.

  “I missed you, Daddy!”

  “And I missed you too, princess. Mwah!” He planted a big, fat kiss on her cheek. “Why are you awake so early?”

  “Grandma made brownies.” Lili smiled.

  “She did?” Hunter replied enthusiastically.

  He put Lili down, and she instantly ran back to the kitchen to be with her grandmother. Hunter removed his coat and bypassed the kitchen, instead stopping by the stocked liquor cabinet where he grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels, and poured some into his glass, before he joined his mother and daughter in the kitchen. He took some Coke from the fridge and filled the rest of his glass.

  “Looks like somebody missed you,” his mother said, acknowledging him with a kiss on the cheek.

  “Yes, it certainly looks that way. How was she last night?”

  “A treasure, as always. We’ve been making brownies.”

  “I noticed.”

  Hunter looked at his daughter, who had just dunked her finger into the bowl of chocolate icing that her grandmother had clearly prepared for some more brownies.

  “Look, it’s chocolate,” Lili sai
d, dunking her finger in again, then pointing it towards Hunter’s lips. He opened his mouth and gently sucked the chocolate off her little finger.

  “Is it nice?”

  “It’s yummy,” Hunter replied with a smile. “How about you go and clean all that chocolate off your face so that we can go home, missy.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She beamed as she jumped off the stool and headed for the bathroom.

  “Isn’t it a little too early for one of those?” his mother asked as Hunter brought the drink to his lips.

  “Well, technically… I’ve been working all night, so it’s a little late for me.”

  “Smart ass! You always have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

  Hunter smiled, and as he downed the rest of his drink, he could hear Lili playfully singing in the bathroom.

  “Have you made any arrangements for her birthday party?” his mother asked.

  Hunter remained quiet. He’d known this question was going to arise sooner or later, and he wanted to avoid it at every opportunity he could.

  “Hunter?” his mother called again.

  “No … Mom … I …”

  He walked over to the sink and placed the empty glass on the counter as he stared out the window. He felt his mother’s hand brush the side of his neck as it rested on his shoulder.

  “I know it’s difficult, Hunter, but don’t you think you need to start thinking about Lili?”

  “And what, Mom? Just forget about her? Like she never existed?” Hunter snapped, shrugging his mother’s hand off his shoulder as he stormed past her and into the living room. He could clearly hear the patter of tiny feet running toward him. He turned and looked over his mother’s shoulder, who was now standing inches in front of him.

  “I’m ready, Daddy.” With her backpack in one hand and her cardigan in the other, Lili stood before her father and grandmother.

  “Let me see your face,” Hunter said, squatting down to her level. “Now, let me see those teeth of yours.”

  Lili flashed her biggest smile, showing him the perfect white teeth she’d finished cleaning only moments earlier.