I swallowed past the growing lump in my throat and slammed the driver-side door open before racing toward Cheyenne. A crew of firefighters fought the fire, aside from the two she struggled against.
“Maverick, it’s Brandy! She’s in there!” The pure, undiluted terror in her voice, written plainly on her face, made the lump in my throat grow larger.
I needed to do something. Had to. Had to stop the terror in her tone like I should have done all those years ago for Ellie but couldn’t. Fear and determination warred within me, sending a jolt of adrenaline straight through my veins.
I hadn’t been able to save Ellie Mae, but I’d be damned if I didn’t save Cheyenne’s dog.
I don’t know if anyone chased after me as I ran headfirst toward the flames, sweat already coating my brow as the heat assaulted me. Covering an arm over my mouth and nose, I tried to breathe in through the fabric of my shirt—whatever I could to save my lungs.
The door was open already, fire snaking out like gnarled fingers as it consumed and destroyed every bit of flammable surface in sight. My eyes stung and watered, my vision blurring as I raced up the steps and into the main aisleway.
“Brandy!” I coughed as I tried to call for her, inhaling a lungful of smoke.
My body seized up, fear gripping my heart so tight I thought I might keel over and die. The heat, the smoke, the smell, it broughtback every painful, terrifying memory. A swell of panic chased away whatever adrenaline had spurred me onward a moment ago.
Just like that, I was back in the car. Just like that I didn’t know what to do.
One minute I stood there, the next I was on the floor. My eyes blurred with tears—of terror or from the smoke, I couldn’t tell you.
“Mavie!”
Ellie Mae’s screams cut through all the chaos. Mom and Dad lay hunched lifeless in their seats. Flames licked at them. Licked all around us, destroying everything in their path as they made their way for Ellie Mae and I.
One of my arms hung useless at my side, pain—blinding pain—pulsing from my elbow down to my fingertips. My head swam, my vision doubling, tripling during some moments. I just wanted to sleep. Sleep sounded so nice. It beat this hell.
But Ellie Mae’s screams turned shriller, pained. I turned and clawed at the seatbelt straps of her car seat. Instead of buying her a proper one, like Dad said he would, he’d resorted to tying the straps from when he’d gotten angry and cut her out of them once when he was drunk. I struggled with the knots, flames searing my fingers, my hands, my arms.
But the pain would never compare to the screams.
A whine broke through my thoughts, followed by a distant, weak yip.
I blinked through the tears as I pushed up from the prone position I’d landed on the ground.
“Brandy?” I croaked out before falling into a fit of coughs.
Another whine.
I scanned through the smoke and flames, my gaze landing on her directly under the bed at the other end of the hallway. She whined again, even as her tail wagged in a single thump. On my hands and knees, I scrambled over to her, a trickle of hope pulling at my heartstrings.
“Come on, girl,” I choked out as I made my way toward the foot of the bed.
She whined and thumped her tail again but made no effort to move. She could have been hurt, could have just been scared stiff, and as much as I wanted to ease her out from under the bed, I just didn’t have time.
A loud creak groaned from the trailer and then a loud boom as the window above the bed exploded. Glass and ash rained down on me, pain prickling along my face.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I needed out of here. I couldn’t die like this. No, I wasn’t ready.
“Come on, girl, I got you. I got you,” I repeated again, reaching out a hand and grabbing for her collar.
Please don’t bite me.
She didn’t, thank the Lord, but she also didn’t help much either. Despite being a small thing, she sure weighed a ton as I scooped her up in my arms and made my way for the front door.
My lungs screamed, my eyes burned and I was so hot I wasn’t even sure at this point if I was onfire or not.
“Come on, pretty girl,” I murmured as I crawled toward the door. Poor thing trembled in my arms as I went.
