by Amelia James
“You win?”
“If you love me, I’ll own your heart. But if you hate me, I’ll own your head.” She raised her chin and squared her shoulders, gloating as if she’d won a gold medal.
He expected her to take a bow. Goddamn it, I love her! Even when he hated her, he loved her. She owned him—heart and soul and everything in between. He rose and applauded. “All right, I’ll surrender my heart and my head.” The clapping ceased and he stalked toward her. “But I’ll own your body. On top of that desk. Bent over that chair. On the floor—again.”
She gasped and backed away, stumbling into a desk. “Sex is not enough!”
“I will make you come. Hard.” His heart pounded and his unsatisfied dick throbbed.
Her breasts heaved and her breath quickened. “Only if I let you.”
“You’ll do whatever I—!” His threat stopped short as the lights flickered and went out, plunging the room into darkness.
“Shit. What happened?” Simone’s voice carried in the empty room.
He couldn’t see a damn thing, heard nothing but her feet shuffling along the floor, felt her fingertips brush his arm. A bitter taste lined his mouth and he inhaled. “Do you smell smoke?”
The emergency lights came on, flickering as the power source faltered. “We’ve got to get out now.” Dash grabbed her hand and they ran down the flashing hallway.
“We need to help the evacuees.” She ran toward the gym.
“No! We need to see what’s out there.” He pulled her back. “And I’m not letting you get away from me.”
She kissed him hard, and they shoved the front doors open.
The roaring wind hurled leaves and sticks in their faces. Dash raised his arm to shield his eyes, but the night sky and storm clouds obscured his vision. Smoke swirled around them, and an orange glow loomed much too close.
“That’s the neighborhood across the highway.” Simone moved closer, clinging to his arm.
“The fire jumped the river.” Dash’s instincts shifted into emergency mode. “Get everyone out now!”
Chapter 15
Lightning flashed as they scrambled back inside. Simone released Dash’s hand and ran to the gym, skidding to a halt when she reached the door. “We’ve got to keep people calm.” But her racing heart refused to listen. “You, Flynn and your crew grab our supplies. Cassie and I will gather the police officers and organize the evacuation.”
“Do it fast.”
They pushed the doors open. Chaos ruled the dark as people scurried about in a panic, collecting their belongings and searching for children.
Cassie ran to Simone. “What’s happening?”
“The fire crossed the river. Tell the police to assist with an evacuation. Quietly.”
“Got it.” She found Heather and issued Simone’s orders.
Dash and Flynn tried to grab the remaining food and water, but an anxious crowd swarmed around them.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” Simone cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted above the din. “Quiet, please!”
The noise settled and she continued. “We need to evacuate in a calm and orderly manner. The police will escort you to the school buses outside. Leave your belongings. EMS personnel will carry the supplies.”
The crowd around Dash dispersed, and he and Flynn hurried outside with the water. Cassie led a group to the door, lining them up in an orderly fashion while Heather assembled another. A little girl cried as her mother yanked her teddy bear from her hands and tossed it on the floor.
Simone’s heart hammered and her breath came short. The girl wiped her tears on her sleeve, but her sobs kept coming. They can’t leave everything. Simone snatched the teddy bear and caught up with the child as Cassie led them from the gym. “Take it.”
The girl’s eyes lit up and she squealed as she hugged the stuffed toy. “Thank you.”
Seeing her joy in the middle of chaos and terror solidified Simone’s resolve. “A girl always needs her best friend.”
The mother smiled and ushered her out.
Gasps and screams echoed through the hallway as Cassie pushed the front door open, revealing the frightening scene outside. Flames shot into the air, sending plumes of smoke across the highway toward the school. Burning embers rained down on the parking lot while chunks of metal and wood blew by.
“Cover your heads!” Simone shielded a young boy with her body.
Four buses pulled up, pushing abandoned cars aside and clearing a path for their escape.
Dash jumped out of the lead bus and ran across the parking lot with Flynn following close behind. “Is anyone still inside?”
“Everyone should be out.” Simone guided the boy onto a bus.
“Do my job,” Flynn muttered and ran back to the school. “I’ll check!”
“The buses are full!” Cassie ran toward them.
“Duck!” Simone grabbed Cassie’s arm and pulled her to the ground as a large piece of wood flew over their heads and smashed through a windshield. “Are you all right?”
Cassie patted her head. “Still attached.”
Dash grabbed both women and pushed them toward the buses. “Let’s go.”
Simone pulled free. “Where’s Flynn? I’m not leaving my people.”
Dash followed as she headed toward the school. “I’m not leaving you.” He caught her arm and pulled her close. “Never again.”
“I know.” She patted his chest and they scurried inside. “Flynn!”
“Here!” He carried a toddler in his arms. “I found him hiding by the bleachers. Everyone’s out.”
“Good work.” Simone pushed him while Dash held the door open.
They sprinted across the parking lot as the first three buses pulled out onto the highway. Simone sent Flynn ahead, then grabbed Dash’s hand, holding him tight as the wind swirled around them, pummeling their bodies with debris.
Flynn handed the child to a man on the bus, then turned and held his hand out to Simone. “He’s safe! Let’s get out of here!” A piece of flying sheet metal hit him in the temple, slicing his scalp. He dropped to the ground.
“No!” Simone screamed and ran to him. Blood pooled under his head. She ripped her jacket off and wrapped it around the wound.
Dash pressed his fingers to Flynn’s neck. “I can’t find a pulse.” A plywood panel slammed against the side of the bus. “We have to go now.”
Hot tears burned Simone’s cheeks. “Take him.”
Dash scooped up Flynn’s body and carried him up the steps. They laid him on the floor and Simone cradled his head in her lap as Dash jumped into the driver’s seat.
“He’s not breathing.” She caressed his cold, pale cheek, wiping her tears from the young man’s face. “Why him?”
“I can’t answer that, darlin’.” Dash spoke without looking at her. His gaze fixed on the road while his knuckles turned white on the steering while.
Why not me? Or someone else. Anyone else. But not the boy he’d saved. And not Dash. Never Dash. If losing someone she’d known only a couple of days hurt this much, how could she survive without the only man she’d truly loved?
So what if sex was all they had left? If the flames outside caught up to them, they’d have nothing left at all. She’d love the man better this time—no matter how long or short.
***
Why Flynn? Why Brett? Why Ray? How had this fire gotten so out of control? Dash had put it out. How had it started up again? And why had the hurricane turned north when all the forecasts sent it south? No time for questions. Wondering why wouldn’t change a thing.
A tree branch blocked the road, but Dash ran over it, jostling everyone in the bus, including Flynn’s limp form. Hot tears stung his eyes as he wondered if Flynn knew he’d been a hero to that boy he’d put on the bus. He did his job, never gave up, and he saved a child who meant nothing to him. I gotta protect the woman who means everything to me.
He glanced at the rearview mirror and caught Simone staring into his eyes. She needed a
n answer, and damn it, he’d give her one. He turned his gaze back to the road and searched for the words she needed to hear. “Life’s too short.” Brilliant observation, dumbass. He peeked at the mirror again and saw her press her lips together. “You gotta hold onto the people you love while you can.”
A broken branch bounced off the hood, drawing his attention back to driving. He fought against the wind as it pushed them to the wrong side of the highway. His knuckles ached as he struggled with the wheel, hoping the bus wouldn’t roll.
Simone’s arms slid around his waist as she knelt beside him. “I’m holding onto you.”
She loves me! She always has. Maybe she didn’t say the words, but she’d shown him with action and meaning more times than he could count.
He reached for her, but the bus lurched and he grabbed the steering wheel. “I want to hold you, but driving takes all my strength.”
“Then give it everything you’ve got.”
Dash stomped on the gas and sped down the highway as fast as the big vehicle would go. He’d lost track of the other buses some time ago. Darkness and the blowing smoke obscured his vision. When would the sun come up? His watch had gotten smashed during their escape.
“Where are we going?”
“South to state road ninety-three.” He glanced in the rearview mirror at the rolling black smoke behind them. “Highway eighty-two is surrounded by fire, so ninety-three is the only way out of town.”
Simone frowned at the speedometer struggling to get above sixty miles an hour. “Can we outrun it in this beast?”
“I hope so.” Dash’s gaze fixed on the dwindling gas gauge.
The roar of a freight train sent chills down his spine. “The railroad is five miles from here.”
Someone screamed. “Tornado!”
Simone stood and searched out the windshield. “There!” She pointed right at a funnel cloud headed straight toward them.
“Hang on!” Dash spun the wheel left and the bus turned. Chunks of steel and wood smashed against the side, breaking windows as it tore down a side street. A flashing metal tower rose up in front of him. “That’s the TV station. I know where I am now.”
The tornado passed behind them, ripping up cables and snapping power lines. Dash sped down the street, planning to circle around the block and get back to the highway, but the sound of wrenching metal and a blinding flash of electricity forced him to stop. Simone screamed and grabbed his shoulder as the TV tower toppled across the road in front of them.
“Shit!” Dash ran a shaking hand through his hair as his thoughts raced, trying to decide what to do.
Simone beat on his shoulder. “Back up.”
He threw the gearshift into reverse and stepped on the gas, but the bus lurched over something. A loud bang followed, then an unmistakable hiss as a tire flattened. “Damn it!”
The tornado turned toward them.
“Get out! Get inside the TV station!” He leaped from his seat and tried to pick up Flynn’s body, but the young man’s foot caught on a seat. People scrambled out the back and ran toward the solid brick building.
“There’s no time!” Simone grabbed his shoulder and dragged him down the front steps. They held hands and sprinted across the parking lot. The tornado picked up the bus like a child’s toy and threw it on the roof, but they kept going, ducking inside the front door as the swirling winds ripped it apart.
Dash pushed Simone ahead of him, guiding her to the interior of the building.
“In here!” A guy wearing headphones ushered them into the broadcast room. Dash remembered him from his tour with Cassie—Tom, the news director.
Dash caught his breath while Simone counted the people huddling with them. “Everyone’s here.” The evacuees from the bus filled the room, much smaller than it looked on TV, but it had no windows and solid concrete walls.
“Where’s the fire?” Tom wrung his long, skinny fingers. “We were tracking it until the tower went down.” A skeleton news crew remained at the station—Cassie’s backup forecaster, the news anchor, and the sports guy, although Dash couldn’t fathom why he’d be there.
“I’m not sure.” Dash’s legs turned to rubber and he dropped into an empty chair. “It crossed the river at the high school so we evacuated and never looked back.”
“It crossed at the Lincoln Bridge too. Our last satellite image showed it spreading this way.”
They had to get out of the building. Find a way to go east, out of town. “Where’s the news helicopter?”
“Tethered to the roof.” Tom frowned at the sagging ceiling. “It can’t fly in this wind.”
Simone followed his gaze. “Or with a bus on top of it.”
Tom mouthed the words ‘a bus’ as if not quite comprehending. He shrugged it off and addressed Dash. “Where’s your crew?”
“Scattered, what’s left of them.” He’d seen AJ and Jordy get on another bus. He hoped Mason had too.
Simone paced between the door and the news desk. “So we’re stuck here.”
No one answered. Tom sat next to Dash and leaned on his elbow, turning his back so no one else would hear. “Is there anything that can stop this fire?”
“I thought the river would, but…” His stomach tightened as images of flames and destruction filled his head. “No.”
Simone circled the room like a psych patient off her meds, clawing for a way out. A monitor caught her attention as she passed by. “Can we get an updated satellite image?”
“We tried a few minutes ago, but the backup generators are failing. I’ll try again.” Tom sat at the desk and tapped a few keys to bring up a photo. “This is the old one. When I try to get the updated feed, it won’t connect.”
“What about the radar?” The lights dimmed, and Simone gasped. Dash held his breath, waiting for the plunge into darkness, but the power came back on and everyone sighed.
Tom slid over to the radar monitor. “It’s locked up.”
“So we have no way of knowing how close the fire is or if there’s another tornado headed our way?” She pressed her fist against her mouth and curled her fingernails into her palm as if trying not to bite them.
Dash hadn’t seen her do that since his last football game in high school. Her pretty nails had been chewed to the nub by the time he’d thrown the winning touchdown. He stood and took her hand, straightening her fingers and pressing his lips to her knuckles. “I’ll go outside and take a look.” He headed toward the door.
“Not without me!” Simone charged after him.
He spun and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her back against Tom. “No! Stay here. Stay safe.” The news director held her arms while Dash let go. If she’d just stay inside, she’d be all right. Anything could happen out there. Fire, tornadoes, bus projectiles. Jesus. He’d seen too much death. He dragged his hand through his hair and backed toward the exit.
She wrestled free and chased him down. “You promised you’d never leave me again.” Her eyes sparkled and her lashes spiked, showing her weakness in front of other people. She grabbed his collar and held on tight.
Holy shit, she’s terrified. He clamped his hands down on hers, but the strength needed to pry her loose failed him. “Damn it, Simone! I’m the risk-taker, not you. You’re needed here.”
“I don’t care.” A blubbering sob escaped her. “I’m not letting you go out there alone.”
Her stubborn refusal calmed his racing heart. He stole a kiss, then took her hand and pulled her toward the exit. “Don’t let go of me—no matter how bad it gets out there.”
She nodded and tightened her grip.
They found the crumbling remains of the front entrance. The tornado had dissipated, but the strong winds still threw debris in all directions. An orange glow lit the sky to their north, and distinct flames shot up in the south. Flaming branches and burning trash blew across the river and set fire to the grass.
Dash made some quick calculations, estimating distance and wind speed. “We’re surrounded.”
&n
bsp; “That way?” Simone turned east, but he shook his head.
“We’ll never make it. The best we can do is hold up here and hope something stops it.”
“What if it—”
Lightning struck an abandoned car with a resounding crash, knocking them off their feet. Dash rolled over and slapped Simone’s ass. “Get inside! Go!” He pulled her up and practically hurled her into the building, chasing her down the hall to the studio.
They ran to the broadcast room and Dash slammed the door behind them. Expectant faces greeted him, waiting for some news, some hope. I can’t crush it. “We’re staying here.” A disappointed groan swept the room. “Hand over any extra clothes, jackets, shirts, anything. We’ll stuff them under the doors and in the vents to keep the smoke out.”
The news anchor took off his blazer and dress shirt while others passed whatever they could. Dash stood on a chair and shoved his fireproof shirt into a vent, leaving him in a t-shirt. “Get as comfortable as you can while we wait it out.”
The weather guy spoke up. “Is help coming?”
Dash kept stuffing the vent, unable to face the man. “I don’t know.”
Sobs and sniffles filled the room while evacuees and the news crew settled in, forming a circle along the walls. Simone sat on the floor in a corner facing the door across the room. Dash pushed someone’s tie into the vent, then jumped off the chair and joined her.
She sniffed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry.”
Another confession? “For what?”
“I lost your book.” Her shoulders heaved as she burst into tears.
He had to smile at that.
“It was in my jacket pocket. I left it with Flynn.”
He reached for her hand and pulled it across his lap, folding it in his. “Then it’s in a good place.”
She drew in a deep, shaky breath and sat up. “Are we?”
Chapter 16
She shouldn’t have asked him that. He couldn’t possibly come up with a positive answer. ‘No, we’re all going to die.’ Or worse, ‘Yes, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’