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My initial reaction was to jerk away, furious that anyone would try to tell me what to do. Then I faced him, taking ragged breaths. “I need to do this. I have to try to save them. That lock was placed there recently. My guess is those people have no way out.”
Swallowing hard, he nodded. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. Just keep everyone safe. If there’s any question, pull everyone out of here. Don’t risk their lives.”
The look on his face was one of surprise. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep them safe. Damn it. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m going to try not to. Where’s Aspen?” I managed, wiping sweat from my face.
“She was right here with the horses,” he stated, a frantic tone in his voice. “Aspen!”
Then we both heard a scream.
I reacted on instinct as well as an intense need to protect her. As I raced toward the trunk, I finally heard the sound of sirens in the distance. Too little, too fucking late. I grabbed a flashlight and headed through the fence, now hearing a series of cries for help. My fucking God, I’d been right. The family was trapped.
I’d been to Douglas’ house on several occasions. We’d shared more than a few glasses of wine, conversing about both the good and the bad times. The fact I considered him a friend as well as a mentor of sorts would likely shock everyone around me. I refused to allow his family to die.
And I would not lose Aspen. Not now. Not ever.
The smoke grew almost impassable, limbs falling on every side. However, there was a path of sorts still allowing me to get to the house. I heard their dog barking frantically and after running a few additional yards, I could see the yellow lab racing from one side of the property to the other. The house itself was engulfed in flames. Whoever had done this would pay. So help me God.
“Help me!” Aspen called from a distance.
While I was furious with her for ignoring my command, I was so relieved my heart thudded rapidly against my chest. Somehow, she’d managed to break into the side door, the only side where the fire hadn’t reached.
“Get the hell out of here!” I screamed when I closed the distance.
“Not a chance,” she huffed. “There are people inside.”
“Yeah, I know. You need to get the dog and go back the same way you came.”
The dog continued to bark insistently, now only a few feet behind us. I didn’t wait for her to respond, unable to take the time. I rushed inside the house, flashing the light, forced to cover my face with my arm. “Douglas!” My call barely sounded over the fire. “Douglas! Maryanne!”
“We’re… in… here.” The man’s voice was weak, but close. He’d obviously been trying to get them out.
I headed in the direction of the sound, although I knew enough about fires of this nature to realize it could be distorted by the fire. Now all I could do was pray, and I wasn’t that kind of man. Everything seemed to slide into slow motion, and I was forced to drop and crawl the rest of the way. I had one chance at this. There wouldn’t be a second.
As I headed into another room, I flashed the light, able to catch sight of four huddled figures near the back wall. Flames were licking up one of the other walls in the room, threatening to crawl across the ceiling. If that happened, it might be too late. The smoke was rolling through the room, all four of the Kingstons choking.
“God. Oh…” Aspen’s voice was almost a welcome relief. There was no possibility of second guessing this.
“Come on. We have to go.” I could no longer recognize the sound of my voice. I crawled closer, realizing Douglas was holding out his children. The light flashed across Maryanne’s face. She was sobbing, tears running down both sides of her face.
“Come on. I’ll help… you.” Aspen coughed but moved forward, grabbing the two hands of the small children.
“Go with the nice lady,” Douglas managed, pushing them away.
The children were braver than I would have been, following their father’s orders and allowing Aspen to take them out of harm’s way.
Or so I hoped.
“Come on. We have to leave. Now.”
“Roxy!” Maryanne cried.
“Your dog is safe, already outside. Come on.” As I pulled her against me, the fire erupted over the entire ceiling, the sound of timbers crashing occurring somewhere else in the house. We had maybe ten seconds before it all came tumbling down. The fire had burned far too hot for it to have been an accident.
Someone had tried to kill them.
