Forcing myself up, I knew that we couldn’t stay here. I didn’t have a weapon on me and I needed to get Kate to safety. If they were launching grenades at us, it wouldn’t be long before they entered the building and started shooting.
“Come on. We need to find another way to get to the others.” I pulled Kate up by the hand and noticed that she was shaking pretty hard and she was starting to space out. Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I forced her to look into my eyes. “Kate, I’m going to get you through this, but I need you to stick with me, okay? Just do what I say and I promise you, we’ll get out of here.”
She nodded as tears filled her eyes, but she sucked them back. “Okay. I can do this.”
“Alright, honey. Let’s get out of here.”
We climbed back up one floor and pushed through the door. Light smoke filled the hallway, leaving a filmy haze, but we didn’t have a choice. The only other place to go was the next floor up and that was where the grenades had blown through the building. Looking around for any signs the ceiling was going to cave in, I led us down the hallway until I saw the exit sign that took us down a perpendicular hallway. It was a longer route, and one I could have taken when we were one floor up, but I was trying to get us down to the others.
Once we were on the other side of the building, we started running for the other set of stairs. I could hear gunfire in the distance and every minute or two, the building shook from another explosion. Kate was squeezing my hand tightly with every shock, but I kept pulling her with me. There was no time to stop and reassure her. When we reached the stairwell, I cautiously opened the door and looked down the center of the spiral staircase. I didn’t see any signs of damage yet, so I proceeded with caution. When we made it to the third floor where Reed Security had its base of operations set up, I opened the door to chaos.
Derek was barking orders into a mic as flames licked the walls on the far side of the floor. I had no idea where Rob, Lola, and Pappy were. When Derek saw us, relief flooded his face and he announced our arrival before tossing a gun my way.
“Never thought I’d be happy to see your face,” he said grudgingly.
“Same here. It’s a hell of a mess upstairs. What do we have?”
“Lola and Pappy are up top, taking out anything that moves. Rob is in the garage loading the SUVs so we can get the hell out of here. Jensen’s got a small army with him, so we’re going to have to take out as many as we can before we attempt to leave.”
“We can’t wait too long. The building’s gonna come down around us. The stairwell on the north side is rubble now.”
Pappy came flying through the door, followed by Lola seconds later. “Down!” he shouted, just as a devastating explosion shook the building. I threw Kate to the floor and covered her body, thankful when nothing fell down around us. I quickly looked up to see the other side of the building was now missing.
“I told you something wasn’t right,” Derek yelled.
“That’s why I said we had to keep an eye on shit,” Pappy countered.
“Right, because I should have expected a fucking rocket launcher.”
“Time to beat feet. We took out everyone we could, but we can’t wait any longer. Jensen’s lost too many men and he’s losing his fucking mind out there,” Lola said urgently.
“So, that’s what the rocket was about,” I quipped.
“Rob’s getting the SUVs loaded. Lola and I will head out with Rob. Pappy, you and Knight make sure Kate gets to safety. We’ll try to clear a path for you.”
“Copy that,” Pappy saluted and then started pulling us toward the stairwell. Flames were licking at the walls all around us and the heat was getting difficult to bear. Kate was coughing beside me as the smoke thickened.
“McGuire!” Jensen shouted from the other side of the building. I had no clue how he got up here, but I knew that I had to end this while I could. As long as he was alive, he was a threat to Kate.
“Get Kate out of here,” I told Pappy.
“Don’t do this man. We need to get out of here. The whole fucking building is going.”
“I’ll be right behind you. I need to end this.”
Pappy nodded and took Kate by the arm, but she started shaking her head. “No. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“Kate. I need to stop him and I can’t do that if I’m worried about you. Please.”
She nodded slightly and then flung herself into my arms. “Please come back to me,” she whispered in my ear. I pulled back and grinned at her.
“I’m not that easy to kill, honey.”
I pushed her into Pappy’s arms and turned to face Jensen who was running toward me with fury written all over his face. I raised my gun, but before I could get a shot off, the ceiling caved in and I just barely had time to cover my head before debris was raining down all around me. Coughing and choking on dust, I shoved boards out of my way as I dug my way out of the fallen ceiling. To the right of me was a large beam that had just barely missed me. I would have been dead instantly. I could only hope that Jensen met that fate, but when I finally got out of the wreckage, I saw Jensen making his way out also.
I looked around, but my gun was gone, lost somewhere in the rubble below. Deciding this was my best shot, I charged over the ruins and tackled Jensen to the ground before he could point his gun at me. I got in two good punches before he lifted his knee and flung me off him. My ribs protested as I crashed into some fallen concrete, but I quickly twisted away from his foot that was headed for my face and got back to my feet. As he started to raise his gun, I spun around and kicked it out of his hand, sending it flying across the ground.
Fists flew and blood spilled to the point that it was hard to tell who was winning the fight. The fire was growing around us, making it difficult to breathe and anticipate Jensen’s next move. I needed to end this fast and get the hell out before I burned alive in this building. When he kicked me in the chest and sent me flying backwards, I quickly snatched the gun that was laying just within reach and jumped to my feet, whirling around and firing the gun just as pain shot through my chest.
Jensens’ look of shock lasted only a moment as he fell to the floor sporting a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. My breaths came in short bursts as I looked down at the man that had been trying to kill Kate and was a little upset that I hadn’t had the time to make him suffer. When he started to waver in my vision, I knew I needed to get out of there before I couldn’t breathe through the smoke to get out. Coughing, I covered my face with my arm, trying to keep from taking a large gulp of smoke. When I pulled it back, I saw red covering my skin.
“Garrick!” Kate’s voice echoed through my head and I glanced around, sure that I was hearing things. She was at the door to the stairwell, tears flowing down her face as she screamed at me. I couldn’t figure out what she was saying, but the look of horror on her face was confusing the hell out of me. My body started shaking uncontrollably and suddenly my legs just didn’t want to hold me. I looked down to see a knife protruding from my chest with blood trickling down my bare stomach. I fell to the ground as my knees buckled and stared up at the ceiling as I realized that the reason I couldn’t breathe wasn’t the smoke, but that my lungs had been nicked by the blade.
Rolling my head to the side, I saw Pappy making his way over to me as he yelled at Kate to stay back. The building groaned around us and I knew they didn’t have long to get out. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Kate, but I wouldn’t let her die in this building with me. When Pappy reached my side, he stared down at my chest and then back up at me.
“Just hold on, Hud. I’m going to get you out of here.”
He put his arms under me, but the pain was too intense and I knew he wouldn’t be able to get me out of here on his own.
“Go,” I croaked out.
“What? I’ll get you out of here. I just need to-”
“You promised,” I choked out. “You fucking promised.”
He stopped moving and looked back into my ple
ading eyes. He shook his head slightly and his mouth hung open like he wanted to disagree, but he saw the determination on my face. He picked up the gun I had dropped and placed it in my hand.
“Don’t ask me to do it.”
“Keep..her..safe,” I gasped and then started choking as blood filled my mouth. “Go,” I said more urgently. He hesitated only a moment before spinning around and running back to Kate. I watched as he pulled on her as she screamed and struggled with him. A calm settled over me. She was going to get out and go on with life and that was all that mattered to me right now. The heat from the flames licked closer to my skin and I knew it wouldn’t be long now until I either passed out from the pain or the fire consumed me.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kate
“NO! WHAT ARE you doing? Go back. We have to get him out of there,” I yelled at Hunter as he dragged me down the stairs.
“He’ll be fine. We have to get out of here.”
“Are you crazy? The ceiling just collapsed in there. He could still be alive. We have to go get him.”
He spun around and grabbed me by the arms, shaking me to calm my hysteria. “We can’t fucking go back. He wanted me to get you out and that’s what I’m fucking doing.”
“I don’t give a damn what he wanted. You’re his friend. Go back and get him!”
“I’m just doing what he asked of me.”
“You’re a spineless bastard. You know he would never leave you behind,” I yelled at him. He cursed and yanked on my arm, dragging me back up the stairs. When we reached the doorway, I pushed past Hunter, only to stop dead in my tracks when I saw a large knife being shoved deep into Garrick’s chest. My breathing came to a halt as I watched Jensen fall to the ground and Garrick standing unsteadily on his feet.
“Garrick!” I yelled as my heart broke in two. The placement of the knife was lethal if he didn’t get help soon. I could see it from here. I tried to go to him, but Hunter held me back and we watched as Garrick fell to the ground.
“Stay here. I’m serious, Kate. You stay here or I’m not going over there.”
I nodded and watched as he ran over to Garrick, who was watching me with glazed eyes. I could see them shining in the distance and prayed that Hunter would be able to get him out. Moments slipped into minutes and then Hunter was standing and running back to me as Garrick stared at me. What was he doing?
“What are you doing? Do you need my help?”
“We’re leaving.”
“No!” I shook my head wildly. “I’m not leaving him.”
“We have to. I can’t get him out by myself and he made me promise to get you out of here.”
“I’m not fucking leaving him,” I shouted, but he didn’t care. He hauled me up over his shoulder and started running down the stairs as I screamed for Garrick. Concrete started collapsing around us and we just barely made it out before the doorway collapsed in a pile of dust. I was hysterical, punching and yelling at Hunter as he continued to haul me further away from the fire, from Garrick.
“You can’t do this to me! He’s supposed to be with me!”
Hunter had stopped outside the door and spun around, then took off running again as I continued to yell at him. A car door was opened and I was flung inside. I scrambled to sit up and looked out the back window at the burning building behind us. I was flung into the back side of the front seat as we tore off down the road.
I looked up front to see Derek driving and Rob sitting in the front seat. Lola was sitting next to me staring out the window at the wreckage. “Lola, please, we have to go back. We can’t leave him,” I pleaded, but she just looked at me sadly.
“There’s no way he could survive that. Going back would be suicide.”
“Derek, turn the car around. I’ll go myself if no one else will,” I said frantically. Hunter grabbed me by the arms and shook me as he yelled at me.
“We can’t go back for him. He’s hurt too bad and the trip would have killed him. He wanted me to keep you safe and that’s what I’m fucking doing! You saw the knife. There’s no way he could survive that if he was jostled around. This was what he wanted!”
I looked into Hunter’s eyes and saw the pain radiating from them. He didn’t want this any more than I did and it was killing him to have left his friend behind. I knew he was right. Logically, I knew that Hunter would have done anything to save Garrick if he could have, but my heart didn’t understand. The tears started pouring down my face with hiccuping sobs that threatened to take over my whole body.
“He can’t be gone. He can’t..I was supposed to be with him.” My heart was breaking. It had been just hours before that we finally made our way back to one another. He had promised me that he would end this and we would be together. “He was going to change things for us,” I cried. I pounded my fists against Hunter’s chest as the pain ripped through me. He wrapped his arms around me as I cried into his chest. I could feel Hunter’s body shaking as he held me tight. I had no idea how long we drove or where we were headed. At some point, my cries died down and all I was left with was a numbness that was spreading through my whole body.
When we pulled up to a motel hours later, Hunter carried me into the room and set me down on the bed. I was grateful, sure that my legs would collapse beneath me if I tried to stand. He knelt in front of me as I stared down at the dingy carpet and took my hand in his.
“Hey, why don’t you take a shower, then you can sleep?”
I didn’t have the slightest desire to sleep. All I wanted was to go back in time and make Garrick leave that burning building with us. He would still be alive right now and he would be the one taking care of me instead of Hunter. I pushed Hunter back slightly and stood.
“You never should have left him,” I muttered as I made my way into the bathroom and slammed the door. My chest was heaving as the tears built again, and I was sure I was going to lose it. I quickly turned on the shower and threw the t-shirt to the floor. I took off my filthy panties and stepped under the steaming water. As the dirt flowed down the drain, it felt like Garrick was being washed away. It was silly, but that dirt represented the last moments I had with Garrick and now I wouldn’t even have that.
I slid down the shower wall and sat on the floor, letting the water pelt down on me. I stared at the shower floor until the water ran clear and then closed my eyes, thinking about my last hours with Garrick. He was always so strong that I couldn’t imagine him being taken out that way, and nobody actually saw him die in that building. There was every possibility that he got out. Plus, it didn’t feel like he was gone. If he really was dead, I would know it, just like I always knew when he was watching me. I couldn’t give up on him yet. Until someone showed me proof that he was gone, I was going to assume that he was still alive and doing everything possible to get back to me.
I stood and finished washing, then shut off the water and wrapped a towel around my body. I refused to cry one more tear. Opening the bathroom door, I stepped out into the room where Derek, Rob, Lola, and Hunter all stood uncomfortably.
“Here. I got you some clothes,” Lola said, handing me a bag.
“Thank you. I’ll just get dressed.”
I went back to the bathroom and quickly dressed, towel drying my hair as I walked back into the room.
“So, what happens now?” I asked.
“We need to get back to Reed Security,” Derek said. “We think that with Jensen gone, you should be safe, but we’ll lay low for a few days to be sure.”
“I think we should wait around here. We don’t know for sure that Garrick didn’t make it out and he could be looking for us.”
Hunter sent an uneasy glance to the others and then stepped toward me. I knew what was coming. He was going to try and comfort me or talk me into his reality.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said before he could give me a lecture. “I know that he was badly injured, but this is Garrick Knight we’re talking about. He would have found a way to make it out on his own and you know it.
”
“I was with him, Kate. His injuries were bad. When I tried to move him, he was in too much pain. There’s no way he could have made it out on his own.”
“Then show me his body,” I said defiantly. “Until you do, I’m going to choose to believe that he still had a chance to make it out.”
“Kate, the building was collapsing around us. Our exit was blocked as soon as we made it outside. Where would he have gone?”
“I don’t know,” I said in frustration, “But this is Garrick and he’s strong. He wouldn’t have just laid down and let the fire take him. He would have fought with everything he had to get back to me.”
Derek sat down in the chair by the desk and ran a hand over his face. He looked exhausted. All of them did. “Look, we can’t stay around here. We need to make sure that you’re safe first. That’s what Garrick wanted. If he’s alive like you say, then he would find a way to get help. He wouldn’t come looking for us because he would know that we would take you back to Reed Security. He’ll go looking for you there. So, let’s get there so that if he is alive, you’re there waiting for him.”
I couldn’t tell if Derek was being sincere or just trying to appease me, but his face was kind and what he was saying made sense. I nodded and sat down on the bed, feeling suddenly exhausted.
“Why don’t you let me clean up that cut on your forehead and then you can get some sleep?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”
“Rob, I want you to stay in the room with Hunter and Kate. Lola and I will take first watch.”
“I’ll jump in the shower while you clean Kate up,” Rob said, standing and walking to the bathroom. Derek and Lola left the room and Hunter knelt in front of me with his medical bag. He must keep them in the SUVs for emergencies. He got to work cleaning me up and I only winced slightly at the pain. When he was all done, he put some gauze over the cut and taped it in place.
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