DESIRE ME IF YOU CAN [EN] - Chapter 35 - 35

Grayson looked ready to grab Dane by the collar, but that never happened.

Right then, one side of the stairs collapsed with a thunderous crash. Teetering on the remaining half of the staircase, they looked down into a gaping, pitch-black void. Seizing the moment Grayson faltered, Dane sprinted down the hallway. Grayson cursed under his breath, forced to chase after him again.

Just as they finished scouring most of the second floor, a voice crackled over the radio. It was Wilkins.

“Dane! Dane! You okay? Found him yet?”

“Searching now. Second floor.”

“Wait! Charlie must be in the attic!”

Suddenly, the man's voice cut in. Watching Dane's back freeze, Grayson thought, We're screwed. That's gotta be what he's thinking.

Assuming they would finally turn back, Grayson prepared to retreat when Dane suddenly asked.

“Where's the attic?”

The hell is he saying?

Grayson grimaced, staring at him. Though Dane's back was turned, hiding his expression, Grayson could clearly feel he had no intention of retreating.

“Ceiling of the inner room... so I just press a button... did Charlie go up there often?”

“Yes, yes, we trained Charlie to go up there immediately if scared. In case burglars broke in and hurt Charlie. Or if Charlie panicked and ran outside and got lost…”

The man asked urgently, his voice mixed with sobs.

“Y-you can find Charlie, right? Charlie is still ali—”

He was still talking, but Dane ruthlessly cut the radio connection. Whether he hated hearing the whining, was pressed for time, or both, his next move was certain.

I won't let you do that.

“Hey, stop...”

“Miller.”

Just as Grayson was about to say he wouldn't go any further, Dane suddenly called his name. Dane, who had been charging forward without looking back until now, turned to face Grayson for the first time.

“Get out. You don't need to be here. You're just in the way.”

That was his intention anyway. Coming this far was already more than enough; Grayson had done his part. Yet, hearing Dane say it first left a foul taste in his mouth. Of course, it was likely due to that unchangingly unpleasant tone.

“And you?”

He wanted to ask if Dane really intended to jump into that fire to save a dog that was surely dead, but there was no chance. Without even answering, Dane vanished into the black smoke in an instant.

Left alone, Grayson blinked in disbelief until a loud crack snapped him back to reality. It was clear somewhere else in the house had collapsed.

Chasing Dane was now impossible. Not that he intended to. Staying in this dangerous situation was suicide. If a rookie like Grayson knew that, there was no way Dane didn't.

He'll do what he can, then get out.

Thinking so, Grayson retreated immediately. Humans fundamentally fear death. The fear of pain is the same. Dane couldn't escape that either; he would surely abandon the dog and come out soon. After all, his own life was most precious.

Turning back, he briefly recalled Wilkins' warning never to come out alone, but he erased it from his mind instantly. By the time I get out, Dane will be right behind me anyway. Same difference.

Surrounded by rising flames, Grayson wasted no more time deliberating and ran toward the exit without looking back.

Wilkins stood rooted to the spot, anxiously watching the blazing house. Flames engulfed the structure like raging waves; the red light flickering through the windows looked like hellfire. It wasn't his first time in such a situation, but risking lives always brought inevitable anxiety. Even Wilkins, directing the scene, felt his insides burning; it felt like ages since Dane went in, yet he had no idea how things were progressing. Dane had even turned off his radio—what was he thinking?

“Charlie, Charlie...”

The man continued to cry, calling only the dog's name. Wilkins was just as anxious, but he couldn't scold him. Silently patting the man's shoulder, he suddenly saw a human silhouette flickering inside the flames.

“Dane?”

Wilkins called his name immediately, and the man also looked in the same direction, startled. Each praying for the one they waited for to emerge from the fire, they watched as the man took off his mask—it was someone completely unexpected.

“Miller!”

“Where's Charlie?”

To the simultaneous shouts, Grayson took off his helmet, sweeping back his hair as he answered.

“The bastard went back in for the dog.”

“What?”

Wilkins shouted in horror. The man fired back immediately like a bullet.

“So you haven't found Charlie yet? Where did you separate? You heard everything I said, right? I said Charlie would be hiding in the attic, but the radio cut...”

“Stop! Quiet down for a second!”

Unable to stand the barrage of words, Wilkins shouted. The man, who had been crying and clamoring, stopped sobbing momentarily, eyes wide. Ignoring him, Wilkins turned back to Grayson, asking urgently.

“Dane went inside? To find the dog?”

Following his horrified voice, Wilkins looked Grayson up and down, fixing his eyes on his face.

“Then why did you come out alone? I begged you to stay together! How could you leave your partner behind? How? How could you just walk away? Huh?”

He looked genuinely unable to comprehend. A firefighter abandoning a colleague to escape alone in such a situation was unthinkable. To Wilkins, waiting for an answer, Grayson replied brightly with the same smile as before.

“He told me to get out because I was just in the way, so I did. I never say no to a request.”

“...What?”

Wilkins reacted after a pause, utterly flustered. His face, pale and eyes wide as he looked up at Grayson, was a tangle of confusion, panic, contempt, and other negative emotions.

“What happened? You mean Dane is in there alone?”

Ezra, hearing the news belatedly, screamed in horror. Just then, backup from another station arrived; firefighters who had finished extinguishing other areas began gathering in front of the house one by one. Belatedly overcome with rage, Wilkins clenched his fists tight, glaring at Grayson. The shouting came next.

“You call that an answer! Even if Dane said that, you should have stayed there! Or at least radioed us! You threw your colleague into that fire alone and came out? And you call yourself a firefighter? You came here daring to be a firefighter, you damn bastard!”

He was raging like a madman. It wasn't just Wilkins. Ezra and the other colleagues, hearing Grayson's story, also shouted accusations at him.

“You son of a bitch, you're not even human! Even if you weren't a firefighter, you can't leave a colleague alone in that danger!”

“You showing up saying you'd be a firefighter was a joke from the start! Get out right now, you piece of trash!”

“I knew you were no good! We shouldn't have accepted someone like you in the first place! I was against it from the start! We all knew you wouldn't make it!”

Despite the pouring outcry, Grayson kept smiling. His expression, unchanging like a mask, even looked as if he were mocking them. To the firefighters yelling in escalating fury at that face, Grayson shrugged and asked.

“I get that you guys have this whole brotherhood thing going on, but if you're so worried, shouldn't someone go in and drag the bastard out instead of standing here blaming me?”

“I was gonna do it without you telling me, asshole!”