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“What?”
“I don’t have the goddamn keys. I need something. Anything. An ax.”
His face contorted, both of us cringing the second we heard the sound of a single boom.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he hissed. “The fire department is on the way.”
“They’ll be too late. Goddamn it!”
“I have an ax in the truck.”
I took several shallow breaths, pushing him toward the door. “Get it. The entrance is in the kitchen.” I stumbled into the kitchen as the lights flickered then shut off completely. Yanking the flashlight into my hand, I was forced to duck as the ceiling caved in close to the wall. Embers and debris flew everywhere. I grabbed a kitchen towel, holding it over my face as I yanked on the door. I’d been right. The bastard had locked her in. Come on. Come the fuck on.
Within seconds, Jackson appeared. “Stand back.”
The last thing I wanted was to have this out of my control, but there was no time to waste. As he swung the ax, a flash of images rushed into my mind. Aspen’s smile. The way she looked when sunlight shimmered across her skin. I could hear her voice, the sound of her purrs when I made love to her. Tears rushed to my eyes, the rage remaining.
Jackson pounded the door time after time, finally able to splinter the thick wood.
“Let me do it.” I tossed him the flashlight as I jerked the ax into my hand, taking swing after swing, my anger and adrenaline keeping me going.
Bam. Bam. Bam!
Another section of ceiling fell over our heads, but I didn’t give a shit. I was going to save her. Nothing would stop me from getting to her. Jackson helped me yank enough of the door away. I rushed inside, taking the steps two at a time. The smoke was already thick. That wasn’t possible.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
“What the fuck is that?” Jackson screamed.
As soon as we reached the bottom, I knew why the smoke was even worse. I also knew exactly the reason for the horrific sound. A section of the wine racks had been pulled down, the heat from the fire forcing the bottles to explode.Aspen.“Aspen. Aspen!” I shoved my way through the firing range, Jackson right behind me.
I knew we had little time before the kitchen would be engulfed in flames, the stairwell attracting the fire. From there, the wine would become an accelerant. The smoke continued to roll in, stinging the hell out of my eyes, but I kept going.
“Oh, God.” The beam of the flashlight highlighted her crumpled body. She was so lifeless. Lunging toward her, I cradled my body over hers. Her face was covered in blood. I gathered her into my arms, placing the towel over her face.
“We have to get… out of here.” Jackson leaned over, coughing then covering his face with his arm.
“Yeah Go. Go. Go!”
We lumbered forward, several dozen other bottles shattering. There were more creaks and groans as the house continued to burn, the hissing of the flames something that would live in my mind forever. There was a wall of flames at the top of the stairs.
“Fuck. Fuck!” Jackson called. “It’s going to be dicey.”
“Just go. We have no other choice.”
He twisted his head in order to see me then nodded. “We can do this, brother.”
His voice was almost drowned out by the horrific noise. Rearing back, he jumped through the flames. I took a deep breath, holding it then stroking her face.
And I prayed.
Another series of flashing images raced into my mind as I lunged through the flames, stumbling several times in my effort to get outside. I could hear sirens coming from every direction, several of them close. A haze had formed over my eyes, the heat oppressive.
The second Jackson and I bolted out the front door, we heard several people yelling.
“Get the hoses over there, now!”
Another firefighter raced in my direction, holding out his arms.
