AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I roll over, pain shooting up my back, and push to feet. Heat hits me at once, and I raise an arm protectively over my face and shake my head to clear the fog. I can hear someone screaming my name, but I’m disorientated, and the air is so thick with smoke and dust that I can’t make out anything.
A groan echoes through the clouds of smoke, and I stumble forward on shaky legs. My foot hits something heavy as another groan rumbles up, this time from in front of me.
I crouch, waving my hands, searching for whatever or whoever made that noise. Something is tapping at my brain for me to remember.
“Asher!”
My name carries on the wind again, but I recognize that voice this time. It’s Kenz. And like she’s the key to my clarity, it all comes rushing back just as my hand makes contact with a warm body on the floor at my feet. Stu.
“Stu, Stu, can you hear me? Hey,” I say, running my hands over his body, my vision still marred by the smoke and dust, although my head is throbbing, so I probably have a concussion too. Another groan is his only response. Moving around his body, I slide my arms beneath his arms and begin dragging him backward away for the burning cabin.
“Asher! Let me go, Dom. Let me fucking go.”
Those are the last words I hear as my body says enough is enough, and I collapse with Stu on top of me.
ChapterThirty-Two
My throat burns from screaming his name, and my arms ache at being restrained as I fight to get to Ash.
The pain I felt in my ankle has completely vanished in the wake of the pain that is settling like a dead fucking weight at the thought of Asher being gone.
“Asher!”
“Kennedy, stop before you hurt yourself,” Dom says, struggling to maintain a hold on me as I continue to fight against him.
“Never going to stop. I don’t give a shit about hurting myself, just let me go.” This time the tears that have been threatening to fall since Ash raced back to get Stu, finally break, freefalling down my face. “Asher! Let me go, Dom. Let me fucking go!”
I can hear sirens in the distance, and clouds have moved in, dark, ominous clouds that perfectly mirror my emotions. The heavens open, heavy with unshed rain and unable to bear the weight any longer, rain pours down over me. My legs give out, my body weak with exhaustion, and my knees hit the dirt.
Dom holds me up, releasing his hold on my biceps but wrapping them round my upper body as I break.
By the time the roof caved in and flames lit the sky, I couldn’t see Ash to know if he was inside or not, but either way, he has to be hurt or he’d have come back by now.
As the rain begins to dampen the fire, the smoke starts to clear, and I make out the outline of a car. Straining my eyes, I follow the line of the car, then I scan the ground.
Anxiety has my heart racing when I don’t see anything, but I push it back down, swiping at the tears blurring my vision and try again.
This time, I go slow, fighting my natural reaction to rush. I’ve almost completed a second scan when I see a heap on the floor. It looks too big to be a body, but something tells me that it’s him.
“There! Dom, he’s there!” I get to my feet and feel Dom’s hold on me fall away. I don’t think, I just run, although it’s more of a hobble as my ankle chooses now to start hurting again.
I slip on the wet gravel and slam to the ground beside Ash as I take in the scene. Ash is unconscious, his hair is charred in places and matted to his head now thanks to the rain. But it’s the small burns that are scattered across his body and face, even his arms aren’t unaffected. I can’t see the bottom half of his body as it’s covered by Stu.
Stu doesn’t appear to have as many burns as Ash and he’s at least awake, although obviously in pain as a long groan comes from him.
“Ash…” I reach out a hand but hesitate unsure where is safe to touch him. “Asher? Fuck.” Feet thundering close by have me looking up to see several firemen and police have arrived, and I call out for help. Looking behind me, I see Dom handing Peters off to a cop, who is yelling about making people pay and that this is a mistake, he’s the victim here. Peters tries to make a run for it, but Dom and the cop wrestle him to the ground, and I watch as Dom subtly jabs Peters in the ribs as he gets back to his feet, bringing Peters with him. Then the cop, now along with a second cop, take Peters and shove him in a patrol car.
When the EMTs arrive, I move back and allow them to work, but I don’t go far. And when they finally start to move Ash, I’m following close behind. I see a second EMT loading Stu into an ambulance and call over that I’ll see him at the hospital as I climb behind Ash.
* * *
It’s beenover four hours since we arrived at the hospital, and Ash has been asleep for the last three. He looks peaceful now but initially his sleep was fretful.
Now that he’s been cleaned up, he looks so much better. Thankfully, his burns are only superficial and will heal in a week or so leaving no real lasting damage. Something that will take longer is the severe bruising to his coccyx.
I visit Stu, who other than a few cuts and a lot of bruises, including his ribs, and a mild concussion thanks to the whack on the head he received courtesy of Calvin Michael, is also okay. He told me that after Ash had jumped, Calvin grabbed hold of his leg. He finally let go as fire engulfed him, and Stu was able to jump free. Not a minute later, the roof collapsed.
The doctor said that if Stu had been standing at the time of the collapse, he would have been severely burned by the heat and flames.
