The Firefighter's Final Goodbye

Chapter 7

Before dawn, Chief Miller called Dustin into the command office, a red emergency file open on the desk between them.

"The passenger ship Starlight Wave lost power near the reef, Dustin," Miller said quietly, looking at his plastered leg. "You don't have to take this one. Your injury isn't healed, and you have a family to think about."

Dustin adjusted his uniform jacket. "Three hundred lives are drifting toward the rocks, Chief. My team needs a captain out there, not an excuse."

Before entering an extreme danger zone, base protocol required confirming next of kin. Dustin had already updated his internal files to Mark, but because the divorce wasn't finalized, the legal system still required notifying his wife.

He dialed Elena's number. The first two calls went straight to voicemail, but on the third attempt, she finally picked up.

"Dustin, why are you calling me three times in a row?" Elena's voice came through, tired and impatient against the background chatter of a waiting room. "I'm at the legal center helping Caleb with Leo's custody hearing. I don't have time for this right now."

Dustin looked out at the dark harbor. "I'm heading out on a red alert mission."

"You're a rescue captain, Dustin," Elena sighed, her tone dismissive. "Every mission has risks, and you always come back fine. Did you really call just to tell me you have work?"

"This one is high risk," Dustin replied evenly. "If something happens to me out there, my lawyer, Simon Vance, has everything. My insurance, my personal effects, and the signed divorce papers are in his safe."

Elena let out a frustrated breath. "Are you really using your job to dramatize this divorce? Stop trying to make me feel guilty, Dustin. You're just doing this to force me to apologize."

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty," Dustin said quietly. "This storm is different. The ship has no power near the shoals—"

"Elena, please come inside!" Caleb's anxious voice called out in the background. "The hearing is starting, and Leo won't stop crying!"

"I have to go," Elena said quickly into the receiver. "Caleb needs me right now. Stop dwelling on this nonsense, stay safe, and we'll talk after you get back."

The line clicked dead.

Dustin held the silent phone to his ear for a second, then lowered his hand.

"Okay," he murmured. He handed the phone to the dock guard, boarded the cutter, and headed out into the black swells.

Hours later, the operation was nearly finished. Dustin and his crew had successfully evacuated the terrified passengers from the tilting hull of the Starlight Wave, pulling the last group onto the rescue vessel.

Just as they prepared to turn back toward shore, a massive rogue wave rose out of the storm and crashed over the cabin. The vessel flipped violently in the churning surf, dragging Dustin and two of his men into the dark sea.

By mid-morning, Elena walked down the courthouse steps into the cool air, holding the approved custody paperwork for Caleb's son.

Caleb walked beside her, his face bright with relief. "Elena, thank you so much. If you hadn't stood up for me in there, I would have lost Leo for good."

"You don't need to thank me, Caleb," Elena replied, pulling her coat around herself. "I promised your sister I would look after you."

Her phone buzzed in her pocket with a call from the rescue station. Elena answered, her tone brisk. "Hello? If this is about Dustin, my meeting just wrapped up. I'll head over to the base soon."

"Director Caldwell?" Chief Miller's voice broke on the other end, heavy with grief. "Captain Rhodes' boat capsized during the evacuation early this morning."

Elena froze on the steps.

"All the passengers made it out, but Captain Rhodes and two of our men were swept into the sea," Miller choked out. "We searched the entire reef, but there's no sign of them. They are officially listed as missing."

The folder slipped from Elena's fingers, scattering legal documents across the wet concrete.

The street seemed to spin around her as all the warmth rushed out of her body. Dustin's quiet voice from hours ago echoed in her mind with terrifying clarity: If something happens to me out there, my lawyer has everything.

He hadn't been trying to force an apology. He had been saying goodbye.

A suffocating dread gripped her throat, and Elena's knees gave out beneath her as she collapsed onto the pavement.