by Stasia Black
When he started to climb out the window too, Shay wrapped her arm around his waist to stop him. “He’ll bring her down safe.” And even as she echoed Charlie’s words, she knew they were true.
She knew she and Matthew needed to get moving. She watched as Charlie scooped Nicole up into his arms. Everything was going to be fine. She knew Charlie wouldn’t let anything happen to her little girl.
Still, she lingered. Charlie would bring Nicky back and then they could all go down togeth—
BOOM.
An explosion rocked the building.
Shay was knocked backward. She stumbled off the beams she’d been standing on, landing right between two slats in the pink insulation… and kept on going. She shrieked as her foot broke through the ceiling below.
“Mom!”
Her legs were wrenched painfully wide as the foot that went through kept going—all the way until she was thigh deep through the ceiling of the floor below. Just one leg, though.
Maybe if it had been both, she could have broken cleanly through and landed on the floor below. As it was, her legs were winched in a painful, awkward splits.
“Mom,” Matthew called again. “Are you okay.” And then, after a short pause, more frantically. “Mom! The fire!”
That got Shay’s attention and she pulled herself out of her momentary pain stupor. Bracing her elbows on two of the attic slats, she tried to haul herself up. And barely budged an inch.
Goddammit!
“What do you see?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as frantic as she felt.
“There’s fire everywhere, Mom,” Matthew said, sounding more terrified than she’d ever heard him. And she’d been there with him the night he got branded right beside her.
“It’s going to be okay, Matt. I swear. It’s all going to be okay.”
She bit back tears at what she was afraid were empty promises. She braced her elbows and forearms on the attic beams and this time when she lifted her body, she gritted her teeth and thought of her daughter and the man she loved out on a burning building.
She’d stood up to Jason tonight. She was so close to getting her children to safety. She was not going to let her leg getting stuck in some goddamned sheetrock stop her now.
She pushed down with all her might on her forearms, yanking her torso and leg upwards at the same time.
At first, nothing.
And then, finally, her leg came unwedged from the ceiling and she hauled herself up onto the slats.
Nicky. Nicky and Charlie.
It was all she could think as she crawled along the slats toward Matthew at the window, ignoring the stinging itch all over her hands and legs from the fiberglass insulation.
Oh God.
She lost the little remaining breath in her lungs when she looked out the shattered window. Almost the whole roof was covered in flames. In another few moments, the window would be blocked almost completely.
Charlie stood with Nicky in his arms right on the edge of the roof, looking around him in all directions.
He was facing the fire and took a step back, almost losing his footing and toppling off the roof.
“Charlie!” Shay screamed, reaching her hand out toward them before jerking it back because of the heat.
Oh God, no. She couldn’t watch her husband and baby die. Surely God hadn’t let them get this far only for—
“Mom,” Matthew said, pulling on her arm.
“Not now,” she shushed him
Charlie looked behind him and down at what had to be the twenty-five-foot drop to the ground below. The fire was coming at them from all sides.
“Charlie,” Shay screamed again, knowing even as she did it that it was useless, that he probably couldn’t hear her through the winds and whipping firestorm.
Then Charlie pulled Nicky close to his ear. He must have whispered something because Nicky gave a small nod.
“Mom!” Matthew shouted, “look.”
Shay turned her head and saw what had him so upset. On the attic wall opposite them, the fire had come through. Actual flames licked up the pitched wooden ceiling.
They had to go.
Now.
Shay turned back to the window. Maybe Charlie could—
“No!” she screamed.
Because Charlie and Nicky weren’t at the edge of the roof anymore. There was only fire.
They were gone.
Chapter 37
CHARLIE
Five Minutes Earlier
“Wait, honey!” Shay yelled as she and Charlie looked out the window at her daughter huddled in the corner of the roof. “Mama’s coming!”
No, no, no. No fucking way.
Shay lifted one leg like she was gonna step out the window but Charlie dropped his hands on her shoulders. She was nuts if she thought he was letting her out on that roof while the damn house was on fire.
“Wait, what—?” she shrieked, turning around. “What are you doing?” Her features were contorted with panic. “I have to go save my daughter.”
Yes. That little girl out there did need help. She’d die if they didn’t get to her soon.
But he’d vowed to protect Shay no matter what. That vow extended to her daughter.
For once in his life, he was not going to fail the people he loved.
For once in his life, he was going to live up to his promises.
He pulled Shay behind him and then lifted his leg, climbing out the window. He only spared one look back for Matthew. The boy reminded him so much of himself when he was that age.
“Get our boy out,” Charlie said to Shay. “And tell him I’ll bring his sister down safe. I swear it.”
Then he hauled himself the rest of the way out of the window and ran across the roof to where the little girl was huddled.
Even though the fire was still just on the other side of the house, the heat from it was already intense. Charlie held up an arm over his head as he got closer to her.
She was tiny, all curled up with her knees against her chest and arms over her eyes. She couldn’t be much more than six years old, if even that.
“Nicky,” Charlie called out when he finally got to her. He dropped to a crouch and grabbed her up.
She screamed and kicked out at him.
“Whoa,” he said, stumbling a step back and wrapping an arm around her little waist to make sure he kept hold of her. “I’m with your mom. Look, she’s at the window. I’m with your mom,” he repeated.
Her thrashing stopped for a moment. He barely heard her words above the fire. “Mama?” But then she screamed. “Mama!”
“We’re here to take you to a good place,” Charlie said. “But we have to go now, okay?”
The girl looked up at him for the first time.
And Charlie thought her mom had done a number on him.
But the second Nicky’s big, sweet green eyes blinked up at him, he knew he was a goner. He’d protect this little girl to the ends of the earth and beyond. Nothing bad or dark would ever touch her life again. It would be his life’s mission.
And when she gave a hesitant nod, placing her trust in him, it felt like one of the greatest gifts he’d ever received.
He didn’t stop to ponder it though. He got his ass moving.
Right as he turned back for the window, though—
BOOM!
The entire roof shook, knocking Charlie off his feet. Even as he fell backwards, though, he cradled Nicky to his chest, making himself a shield around her. He landed on his ass and it hurt.
“Are you okay?” he asked the little girl frantically.
She was sobbing but she clung to his neck and he thought she nodded.
Charlie got to his feet in spite of feeling dazed by the fall.
And that was when he saw that, oh shit, the fire was everywhere now. There was a solid wall of flames between them and the attic window.
Maybe if they—
But even as he took a step toward it, the flames jumped even higher. Charlie looked around him
, moving back quickly when he saw how fast the fire was moving.
The fire just kept coming, though.
Until he ran out of roof.
There was fire on all sides and Charlie’s stomach flipped inside out as the precious little girl in his arms clung tighter than ever.
No.
No. No. No.
Not again.
He couldn’t fail again. Not now when it counted most.
She was just a little girl. Please God.
But God didn’t answer.
And when he took another step backward—
Oh FUCK!
They teetered on the edge of the roof and he managed to counterbalance just in time so they didn’t.
What the fuck? He almost just killed them. Because the fire wasn’t enough on its own, he had to help it along by falling two stories to the concrete of the patio around the pool, was that it?
He looked down and his stomach bottomed out seeing just how far it was they’d have fallen.
And then his eyes widened.
The pool.
No. He immediately rejected the thought.
It was too far.
Way too far. They’d never make it.
“Too hot!” shrieked Nicky in his ear. “It’s coming at me!” She buried her head in his chest like if she couldn’t see it then it wasn’t real.
Charlie looked over his shoulder and gulped.
The fire was coming closer. And not just inch by inch. It’d be on them any second.
It wasn’t a choice. Not really.
“Hold onto me tighter than you ever have. Wrap your legs around my waist, okay. No matter what happens, you just keep holding on. Okay? Let me know you hear me.”
Nicky pulled her head out from his chest just long enough to nod, eyes still squeezed shut.
There was no time for indecision.
Charlie moved back the small amount of clearance he had on the roof, just about four feet. Then he ran and then jumped as hard as he could, praying the whole time for a miracle.
Chapter 38
JONAS
Five Minutes Earlier
Jonas stood with his gun trained on Travis but all he could think about was Shay upstairs. Would the kids be one of the places Travis said, or had all of it been lies and they weren’t even in the house?
And Jesus Christ, when the bastard had the gun to Shay’s head, he realized how close he’d been to losing everything. And his last words to her had been so hateful and angry and—
“So, you get stuck with babysitting, huh?” Travis said, somehow laughing even though the only way he was staying upright was the two guards holding him up on either side. “She always was fickle with her favors. Guess you’re not in the inner circle, huh?”
Jonas glared at him. “Shut up.”
“Oh, touched a sore spot, did I?”
“No, but if you keep talking, I might not be able to help myself from shooting you.”
Travis laughed again. Jonas didn’t get what was so fucking funny.
“You’re the preacher, aren’t you?” Travis coughed. Smoke from the basement was slowly seeping out of the closed door and filling the room.
Where was Shay?
“I heard all about you. Henry had plenty to say in his reports.”
Jonas’s jaw flexed. He couldn’t think about Henry right now, not if he was going to keep his cool.
But Travis just gave a quick nod of his head and the two guards holding him took a step backwards. Toward the front door.
“Preacher turned pot farmer. Quite a one-eighty there. But Henry also said he didn’t think you’d changed as much as you thought you had.”
The guards took another step toward the door.
“Hey,” Jonas said sharply, bringing up his other hand to help brace the gun. “Stop! You take another step and I’ll shoot.”
“Here’s the thing.” Travis just shook his head. “I don’t think you will. I think, underneath, you’re still a preacher after all. And preachers don’t kill people.”
Travis smiled an evil, smug fucking smile. And then he nodded to his guards and they took yet another step toward the door.
Jonas had never fired a gun in his life but he’d been sure as soon as Charlie handed him the weapon he could if he had to. Because Travis was evil. In a chaotic world of gray, here was something that was black and white.
Arnold Travis was an evil man.
Jonas had heard the stories of his ruthlessness during the war. And he’d heard rumors of the things that went on here in Travis Territory. While usually he might not put much stock in rumors, everything he’d witnessed today only confirmed his opinion of the man.
So why, when the guards took yet another step toward the door, did his finger hesitate on the trigger.
“It really is a shame about the oil furnace,” Travis said even as Jonas took several steps to cover the distance Travis’s guards had opened up between them.
“What?” Jonas barked, holding the gun even straighter.
“You know,” Travis said conversationally. “The oil furnace? On the far side of the basement from the bedroom.” Travis shrugged. “I can’t imagine it’s going to be a good combination when the fire reaches it.
“You’re bluffing,” Jonas snapped.
“Am I?” Travis asked, still with that know-it-all-smirk.
Jonas raised the gun even higher. “What about your daughter? You’ll just leave her here to die? Or were you lying all along and she’s not even here?”
“I’ll have others,” Travis said, then he looked to his guards and barked, “Go! Now.”
“Stop!” Jonas yelled.
They didn’t stop. They ran for the door.
Shoot.
Shoot them!
His finger hovered over the trigger. Touched it.
They got to the door. One of the guards opened it.
Fucking shoot them! They’re escaping.
And then they were gone through the door, slamming it behind them.
“Godfuckingdammit!” Jonas yelled. He ran forward.
He couldn’t let Travis get away. He’d fucking branded Shay. And her son. Jonas shook his head in disbelief at himself, clutching the gun as he jerked the door open. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why hadn’t he pulled the trigger?
“Hey, has Shay come back d—” Jonas’s head swung toward the stairs at Rafe’s voice. “Where the fuck is—?”
He never finished the sentence though. Right as Rafe got to the bottom of the stairs, the floor underneath the couches at the far side of the living room collapsed with an ear-splitting explosion that rocked the entire house.
Jonas was knocked into the doorframe by the force of it. When he finally grabbed onto the door and dragged himself back to his feet, he had to hold an arm up against the heat. When he finally turned around, his heart leapt into his throat.
Oh Lord.
The fire. It was everywhere.
Shay.
She was out of time. They were all out of time.
He had to get her out. Now.
But when he looked toward the stairs, he saw Rafe lying unmoving on the floor. Fire raced across the carpet toward him.
“Shit,” Jonas yelled, dropping the gun and running toward Rafe. He got to him right before the fire did.
“Rafe!” But he was unconscious. Jonas grabbed him underneath the armpits and dragged him backwards.
Fuck. Jesus. Fuck!
Waves of blistering heat.
Hot. So hot. Like he’d imagined hell.
The stairs were carpeted. They’d catch fire.
Shay was still upstairs.
But he couldn’t just leave Rafe here. It had only been a minute or two but the far side of the room where the floor collapsed was already an inferno. He had to get Rafe out first.
Jonas coughed and yanked Rafe with all his might.
He kept on pulling until he had Rafe ten feet out the door. Then he dropped him and started running right back in.
; “Jonas! Where’s Shay?”
Jonas spun to see Charlie running around the side of the house.
Why the fuck was he drenched like he’d just dunked himself in a baptismal tank? And there was a little girl clinging to his neck—
Jonas’s breath caught. Shay’s little girl.
“Shay’s still inside,” Jonas yelled as Charlie ran closer.
Charlie’s eyes widened in horror as he looked through the still open front doors at the raging fire inside.
He peeled the girl off his neck. “I have to go get your Mommy,” he said as he deposited her on the ground by Rafe, who was coughing now and sitting up.
“No!” she shrieked, running after Charlie when he started for the house. “Don’t leave.”
Rafe caught her in his arms while Charlie ran through the door. “Whoa there, honey.”
“You got her?” Jonas asked Rafe.
He nodded. “Go.”
Jonas barely waited for the word to get out of his mouth before he ran after Charlie. He sucked in one huge breath before he entered.
Oh Jesus.
The stairs were on fire. The carpet had lit up like fucking kindling.
And Shay was at the top with her son. She’d taken her shirt off and had it over his face but Jonas could see her hopeless expression even through the thick smoke.
Charlie was waving his arms at her and she nodded at him, her features going hard with determination. Then she lifted her son up and over the curved banister.
Oh shit, was she going to—
Charlie positioned himself underneath her. Jonas had only a second to run up beside him as Shay let go of her son.
Jesus! Oh fuck, she really was—
Jonas lifted his arms beside Charlie right as—
The boy hit them and the impact knocked them all down. But a second later, Charlie was on his feet, helping the boy up and shoving him toward Jonas.
“Go!” Charlie shouted, looking back up toward Shay.
The boy was coughing hard but otherwise looked fine. Nothing broken from the fall. Thank God. Jonas hiked him up in his arms and ran for the door.
He barely felt the kid’s weight. All he could see was the rectangle of sunlight—the doorway out of Hell. And even as he ran toward it, he kept picturing Shay trapped upstairs.