Her heart tripped in response to that voice.She’d have recognized it anywhere.
Adrian.
He stood on the neighboring rooftop together with four other people.Marsdale, Turner, Susan, and Mrs.Parker.All were visible in the light from the blaze.All were safe and that alone filled her with joy.
“Move,” Adrian shouted.An order that sent her pulse racing.
She blocked him out, allowed herself a second in which to assess her options.A few beams of roofing were still intact and would make for the shortest route, but if they collapsed…
Alternatively, there were the walls.She could run the length of them, as long as they held.But with most of the interior flooring gone, the structure would be compromised, and the walls might crumble.
Either way, it was a gamble between two uncertain options.
A third presented itself.
She could leap away from the building and maybe sustain a few broken bones.From a height of roughly forty feet, she’d have to be unbelievably lucky not to get injured or worse.
With no time to waste, she calculated her odds, forced her brain to ignore every pain and discomfort, and started to run.Along the exterior wall and toward her husband.The wall would hold as long as it did.If it started to buckle, she’d risk the leap.
Until then, this was her best option.
* * *
Adrian stood on the roof of the neighboring house, his heart in his throat, while his wife ran toward him.Flames licked at her heels.Smoke billowed around her, obscuring the top of the wall.Each time her feet met a solid surface, his whole body jolted with instant relief.
Behind him stood Edward and Turner.The two men had helped encourage Sarah and Mrs.Parks to jump the distance between the two houses.When Mrs.Parks resisted, Turner had taken her hand and jumped with her.Once safe on this side, Turner and Edward had offered the women their jackets while ushering them away from the edge where Adrian remained.
It was hard to grasp how swiftly the world had changed in under an hour.The prominent Mayfair home his grandfather built would soon be reduced to nothing.
Gone was most of the roof.Whatever remained inside would be ash.If it wasn’t already.
Below, the fire brigade had begun pumping water.
Adrian didn’t spare them much thought.His entire focus was now on Samantha, who neared the edge of the roofline.The exterior wall nearest Adrian seemed to ripple.He blinked, convinced it must be an optical illusion brought on by the heat from the fire.
But no.
It happened again.The bricks began bulging outward.
“She’s not going to make it.”Edward’s hushed words of foreboding gave voice to Adrian’s rising dread.
The wall was going to fall and take her with it.
He met her gaze and saw the realization upon her face.The sheer determination to do the impossible.To somehow survive.
She had no choice.Her only option now was to jump and risk landing short of her mark.
Embers swirled through the air, like glowing red stars thrown against sooty smoke.Samantha’s right knee flexed, then extended with an explosive force that propelled her upward.Exactly as the wall vanished beneath her.
Adrian’s stomach bottomed out.
His wife – his heart – was airborne.With a forty-foot drop beneath her.
Helpless, he watched as she flew through the air.Edward’s words echoed so loudly his skull hurt.She’s not going to make it.Because she’d been forced to jump early.Instead of a little over two yards, he estimated she had at least three if not more.
Too far.Unless he made up the difference.
Feet braced and knees slightly bent, he extended his left arm toward her.Someone caught his right hand, steadying Adrian’s stance and letting him lean out across the distance.Edward or Turner.Adrian didn’t know.He did not turn from Samantha as she reached toward him.
