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“Sophia,” I gasped out. “I’m not sure that was a good idea.”
A few curses and grunts later, Sophia appeared. “Please forgive me. I have to pull you out from under there. I don’t know how long that will hold.”
Unable to focus on anything but the misery of the chaos that was my body, I nodded.
Sophia moved behind me, hooked her arms under mine, and lifted me. “On the count of three, I’m going to pull. Please don’t hate me. There isn’t much time.”
The panic in her voice cleared a fraction of the haze in my mind and made me realize she’d kept her anxiety about the situation from me.
“I could never hate you. Do what you have to do.” I latched my hands onto her forearms and waited.
“One, two, three.” She clenched her teeth and pulled.
I cried out as my damaged foot hit the wood, she yanked me through, but somehow, she managed to bring all of me out in one try.
She fell onto her bottom with me on top of her.
She panted, unable to do more than take in small sips of air with the smoke pressing down on us. “Damon, I feel so tired.”
Adrenaline surged through me, hearing the dreamy way she made her statement. Turning to look at her, I immediately sat up, regardless of the mess that was my leg and foot.
She no longer wore her mask, and color had drained from her face. Her eyelids fluttered as if they were too heavy to keep open.
“So tired,” she repeated.
No, I wouldn’t lose her now. Not after all she risked for me.
“Sophia. You didn’t come all this way to let the fire win. Come on. Help me up.”
I tugged the mask from my face, put it on her, and then used my torn shirt to make a makeshift mask for me. Grabbing the light from Sophia, I searched around me and found a turned over chair.
It would have to work as a crutch.
A crackle rang through the room, and a moment later, the ceiling fell through on the spot I was in only seconds ago.
Shifting my attention to her, we stared at each other. Sophia saved my life with no time to spare.
“I told you I’d get you out.”
“You did.”
“We have to move. There isn’t any more time. I only had fifteen minutes. I went over.”
“What do you mean you went over? By how much?”
“Ten minutes.” She stood a bit shaky, tucked her head under my shoulder, and hoisted me up as I used the chair to help me on my non-injured side.
Clenching my jaw, I ignored the lightheadedness and said, “You don’t ever fucking listen.”
“Can we talk about this later? There are other priorities.” She shifted me, and my ability to focus vanished.
“Sophia, I think I’m about to pass out.” My one good leg grew weak.
Sophia shoved me onto the seat. “Passed out or not. I will drag you on this chair. We are getting out of here.”
Right before I lost consciousness, someone shouted, “Ms. Morelli. Ms. Morelli. Are you in here? It’s the fire department.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
