by Jordan Dane
In a coughing jag, she gulped breaths in small measures, her eyes watering. She rolled onto her belly and peered down a murky hallway. The ceiling had collapsed behind her. And the man who had nearly taken her life had made a run for it, but not before he gaped over his shoulder, fixing his gaze on her.
A face blurred in and out of focus, but wasn’t clear enough for her to link it with a name, not in her condition.
The man grimaced as she stared back, but he didn’t stop. Dodging fallen debris, he disappeared into a wall of flames, leaving Sam alone. She pushed off the floor and sat back until her head cleared enough to stand. Her body had begun to fight her, but she ignored the pain and got to her feet.
Her confrontation had stolen precious time. Sam turned to run deeper into the fire shouting for Jessie between fits of coughing that had her doubled over. She heard another thunderous crash that roared through the old mansion and knew her chances of making it upstairs had run out. The place would soon come crashing down on her.
She’d stayed too long.
CHAPTER 27
“Jessie!” Sam cried. “Where are…you?”
One open door remained ahead, and she made a run for it, her last-ditch effort to find her friend. When she looked inside the room, she noticed a strange door. With a makeshift closure, it had a metal pipe lying across steel brackets and was bolted shut. Gaping holes of splintered wood were punched through the closed door. The source of the gunfire. And the blaze had enveloped the walls around the doorjamb.
“Jessie!” she yelled.
Sam raced for the bolted door, careful not to stand in front of it. If someone inside still had a gun, she’d make an easy target. She stood to one side and called out again.
“Jessie…you in there?”
“Sam, is that you?”
She heard the muffled voice, and answered, “I’m here. I’m gonna get you out.”
Sam wrapped her jacket around her hands and inspected the metal bolt that had them locked inside. It looked hot, but she had no choice. She positioned her hands on one end and shoved. Even through the wrapping on her hands, she felt the trauma of her skin burning, and it sent a jolt through her—searing heat fused with the stark chill of shock. But the metal pipe crashed to the floor at her feet. And the door swept open.
In a blur she felt Jessie rush to her. Barely able to stand, Sam pulled her friend close and drew from her strength.
“Oh Sammie. You did it.”
Jess felt Sam collapse in her arms as the others gathered around them. But as her gaze shifted into the larger room and beyond, Jess’s mouth opened in shock. Fire had engulfed the house and consumed any hope they had of walking out the way they’d come.
And Sam had risked everything to save her. She clutched her lifelong friend tight, and whispered in her ear, “You saved my life, little sister.”
Despite the futility of their predicament, Jess had to return the favor—or die trying. When Alexa joined them, she grabbed Sam by the shoulders to make sure her friend was strong enough.
“Can you walk?” she asked. When Sam nodded, she glanced at Alexa. “It doesn’t look like the front door is an option out.”
“No way,” Sam agreed. “The ceiling caved in. And I’d guess anything upstairs is out, too.”
“This shit hole is comin’ down,” Jake shouted, “…and we’re gonna die. I can’t—”
“Shut up, Jake. You’re not helping.” Jess turned toward Alexa. “Max and Seth will need a hand. I’ve got an idea, but you’ll have to trust me. We gotta go now.”
What she had in mind would be a crapshoot at best, but she didn’t have the heart to tell them the truth.
Some people can sit on a sideline content to watch the drama of a game played out, but Ray Garza had never been like that. He had to get involved and make a difference—his way. That was why he’d joined the police force.
He knew that he should have let the tactical team do their thing. And the fire department would have their hands full once they got the go-ahead to move in. But leaving Sam to deal with a full-blown fire and a killer with hostages was too much to ask of a guy—especially a cop.
Ray waited until heads were turned and opened the trunk of his vehicle. A crowbar was the kind of passkey he needed to gain access fast. He headed down the block, away from the action, then doubled back toward the rear of the burning mansion through an adjoining property.
“Hang on, Coop,” he whispered. “Please.”
All he could think about was Sam’s sweet face—her crooked smile, the way her brow furrowed when she was deep in thought, and the underlying compassion in her eyes that was never far from the surface. And the woman was gutsy, too. Real gutsy.
Even though he had taken issue with her close friendship with Jessica Beckett, he knew that was something he would never change or want to. She cared deeply for those she loved. And her loyalty was steadfast, another quality he admired.
The woman had gotten under his skin in a big way, but damned if he didn’t like it.
Ray had hopes for more time with her. He’d never been in love. The possibility of it had always scared him…until now. But Sam had opened his eyes to a life outside the job. And he wanted one with her.
“You’re not getting out of our bet, Sam.”
He forced a smile and picked up his pace. And as he ran through the shadows toward the fireball lighting the night sky, he prayed it wasn’t already too late.
“You won’t be needing this anymore.” Jess pulled the gun Jake carried next to his belly. The bartender looked as if he would object, but backed off. “And since you carried him in here, you’re taking Max out. Pick him up.”
“No, I don’t want him touching my dad,” Seth protested. “I’ll take him.”
Jess was about to put up an argument, but seeing the look in Harper’s eyes, she knew better. He tried to mask his pain with a stern expression that she’d never seen before. If there was ever a time that Seth had meant business, this was it.
She pulled him aside, away from the others.
“Take my jacket and cover Max’s face. The smoke will be bad where we’re going.” She squeezed his arm. “And if you can’t do this, don’t be the hero. Ask for help, or you’ll both die.”
“Got it.” He nodded. “I trust you, Jessie. Lead the way.”
She knew what a concussion felt like firsthand, and Harper was doing a pretty good job covering up. But with the extra load and in his shaky condition, he’d be pushed to his limits. He wouldn’t be able to stay low where his chances were better. Carrying Max would put them both at risk for smoke inhalation, but she didn’t see an alternative that Harper would tolerate.
“Don’t worry. I’ll look after him,” Alexa reassured her and turned toward Seth, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s get your father.”
In seconds, they were ready to go, with Jess in front, standing at the door.
“Stay as low as you can and stick close,” she said. “If you lose sight of the person in front of you…yell. We’re heading for the kitchen.” She waved her hand to show them the direction. “There’s a door to the basement below.”
“The basement?” Jake questioned, shaking his head. “Goin’ deeper into hell is crazy.”
“There’s a way out down there…but we’ll have to work at it. If that’s not good enough, Jake, there’s the door. You feelin’ lucky?” She glared at the man who had put them in this situation. When he avoided her eyes and kept his mouth shut, she added, “I didn’t think so. Now let’s move out.”
Jess looked into the eyes of her friends one last time, but when her gaze found Jake, she clenched her jaw and didn’t hide her resentment. She didn’t trust him, but like it or not, he was part of the group and would need her help out of Millstone’s inferno.
Sometimes it sucked to have a conscience.
After they cleared the room, the heat was unbearable. Staying low only made it marginally better. The conditions made her more worried for Seth and his father.
She covered her mouth with her forearm and took shallow breaths, dodging fiery obstacles in her path, careful not to lose Harper. He followed her, but the smoke made it nearly impossible to see him. She felt his presence and kept moving. And she prayed the others were close behind. She had underestimated the noise. If one of them got lost now, she wasn’t sure she could hear their call for help.
Sam had been right about the upstairs. The staircase had been engulfed in flames, with part of the steps burned through. And the collapsed ceiling at one end of the hall made it impossible to head back the way they’d come in. Eerie sounds roared through the corridors until she heard the loud, splintering rumble of the old mansion coming apart above her. The noise intensified, and her heart beat faster. It sounded as if the second floor was about to come down on top of them.
Jess reached a hand out for Seth. But when she didn’t find him, she panicked. She flailed her hands into the murky black and leaned back until she touched something solid—Seth’s leg. He stopped, and she gripped his thigh, tugging at his jeans. She pulled him with her and took one step at a time.
She crept toward the back of the house, guided by her memory. Any familiar traces of the old mansion were burning, soon to be nothing more than charred rubble. But when she got to the basement door, it was open. And pitch-black smoke surged from its depths.
Damn it! Fear twisted her gut when she saw how much smoke came from below. Had she led them to the basement for nothing?
Shaking, she grabbed for Seth again. Harper had trusted her with the safety of his father. Feeling him next to her now—still willing to believe in her—gave Jess comfort. She couldn’t let her friends down. Sam had been willing to sacrifice her life to rescue her. And without hesitation, Alexa had accompanied her into a hostage situation, knowing it would be dangerous.
But doubt was a powerful enemy.
Jess second-guessed what she had done and racked her brain, trying to think of another way out. Yet everywhere she turned, their predicament looked more hopeless. The fire had ravaged the ground floor, and the upper stories were ready to fall. And she knew Harper couldn’t stand much more.
She ducked down and peered through the door to the basement below. In the distance, fire reflected off the cement floor, but it was a pale comparison to what scorched her back. And the ceiling heaved with dense smoke, a swirling toxic surge that cut the room in half. But her instinct for survival forced her to take that first step down—back into Millstone’s torture chamber.
Danny Ray’s hellhole would be the key to their survival—or the death of her and those she cared about. The irony wasn’t wasted on her.
CHAPTER 28
Jess looked for anything familiar to orient her, but as she crept down the basement stairs, she saw the fire had changed everything. The ventilation system that had been her ears when she was a tormented child now belched smoke that made it hard to see. And sections of the ceiling had collapsed, sending heaps of fiery debris to the cement. Walls had started to catch fire.
But she had to focus and keep going.
Into the cavernous space, she felt her way along the basement wall toward the back. Although the smoke was still bad, the heat from the fire was less intense than it had been on the floor above. And with pockets of flame burning, they made the room bright enough to catch murky glimpses through the deepening haze.
The conditions were marginal, but she had made the right choice—for now.
She kept one hand on Seth and led the way until she found what she was looking for—the familiar wooden post that marked the spot. When she stopped and tugged at Harper’s jeans, he collapsed next to her, coughing out of control. But he still held his father in his arms, with her jacket covering the old man’s face and head.
“Hang on, Harper. I’m getting you and Max out of here,” she promised.
After giving Seth a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder, Jess helped place his father on the floor, propped against a brick wall. Harper slumped next to Max and managed to say “Thanks” before a brutal coughing jag took over. Seeing him so drained scared the hell out of her.
When she felt the others settle next to Seth, she counted heads and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized everyone had made it. But Sam worried her. Unlike her normal feisty self, her friend slid to the floor, exhausted. And her face was streaked with tears, the soot leaving dark tracks on her cheeks. She leaned closer to brush back Sam’s hair.
“Catch your breath…and pray. God might still listen to you.” She kissed her on the forehead and got down to the business of survival.
Jess ran shaky fingers along the basement wall, feeling for every crack and crevice. But when she felt a faint breeze brush her skin, she knew she’d found it—the hole that had given her hope all those years ago—the one she had made as a child.
“This is it,” she muttered. When someone touched her shoulder, she turned to see Alexa.
“What is?” The woman dropped to her knees, gasping for air.
She groped for Alexa’s hand and helped her find the small gash in the brick wall.
“It isn’t much,” the blonde whispered, low enough so the others wouldn’t hear. “But what’s your plan?”
“Help me.”
She stood and led Alexa to the wooden post behind them, using her friend as balance when she lifted her leg to kick the base of a two-by-four that had once been part of a storage shelving unit. The base of it had been cemented into the floor. Once Alexa figured out what she was doing, she helped with a few well-placed kicks of her own. Jess heard a crack and grappled the post with her hands, rocking it hard. After it broke free and dropped to the floor, she picked it up and hauled it back to the brick wall with Alexa’s help.
“Use it…as a battering ram,” she explained as her lungs heaved for air. “We’ll need…help.”
Hands came through the shadows and hoisted the two-by-four from her arms.
“I’ll take the front.” Jake intervened and held the post. “Show me where to hit.”
After telling the man what to do, Alexa jumped in behind him and Jess took up the rear. They gripped the makeshift battering ram tight and made their first strike. She had visions of the wall crumbling away, but that didn’t happen. They struck the brick again and again.
In the dark, she couldn’t tell if they were making progress. She had to leave that up to Jake.
Grit caked her face and arms as sweat poured off her body. And with each driving blow, she felt more drained. The smoke-filled air made it hard to breathe, and every effort depleted her strength. Every time the post hit the wall, a jolt of pain radiated through her arms and shoulders. And wood splinters sliced into her hands with every jarring shove. But she gritted her teeth through the pain and fought back even harder with the next impact.
While they pounded the outer wall, Sam and Seth staggered to their feet, and yelled, “Help us. We’re down here…in the basement.” They screamed, and made noise any way they could. “Please…help us.”
But after a while Jake stopped and raised his hand. In a strong voice, he cried, “Hold it. I hear somethin’.”
Jess winced and blinked her stinging eyes, listening. And in the dark someone gripped her sore, splintered hand. She held her breath and shut her eyes to focus until she heard a rhythmic clinking. The sound was muffled yet clear. And it was far too steady to be an accident.
“What’s that?” she asked, her eyes welling with tears of her own.
Ray had run through a stand of trees that separated the back of the Millstone property from the nearest neighbor. The tactical team had set up a perimeter around the premises that had made it difficult to cross without being noticed—but not impossible.
With crowbar in hand, he had picked his spot to give him the best advantage while staying under the radar of the men on duty. Ray saw his opportunity and took it, closing in on the rear wall of the mansion as he stuck to the shadows. The fire had ravaged most of the old home, and the upper floors had started to crater.
“Sam?”
Using the light off the fire, he found bricks shoved through cracked mortar near ground level but thought his eyes had played tricks on him—a distortion caused by the shadowy fingers of the blaze. Hearing the voices made him take a second look. With his crowbar, he pounded the mortar around the rupture, feeling every vibrating jolt through his muscles. When metal contacted stone, shards of brick flew, and mortar dust hung in the air.
“Sam, are you down there?” he cried, not caring if anyone heard him now.
Jess peered through the haze and saw the small hole she’d started all those years ago cave through when the end of a crowbar wedged into the crack and pried it open. Outside, the silhouette of a man jabbed at the shaft, his body backlit by the night sky. And for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she felt a cool breeze stroke her cheek.
“Oh my God, we’re getting out of here,” she whispered.
Tears stung her eyes, but as Jess reached out a hand to help the man outside clear the opening, she got pushed aside and fell to the cement floor. Jake had tossed their battering ram to the ground, shoving her and Alexa aside. He yanked at the remaining bricks to make an opening wide enough for him to crawl through.
“Me first.” He hoisted his body up and flung his bulk through the hole, not caring about anyone else. “I did the work.”
Jess knew that by the time they all got to safety, the bastard would be long gone. And they’d be back at square one to build a case that would free Harper. Seth would be walking into the hands of the cops who were trying to arrest him—too worried about his father to give a damn about what would happen to him. And without Jake’s side of the story, they’d have little proof to shed light on Mandy’s and Jade’s murders.