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Radoslava raised her gun and JD flinched, waiting for the shot.
An explosion rocked the whole rooftop and a dirty red fireball rose into the air. The fire had reached the fuel drums inside the restaurant. Tongues of flame leapt up through the hole in the ceiling. And then we heard a scream.
Cody! Cody’s in the restaurant!
Radoslava turned and ran towards the steps. JD heaved on my arm and hauled me up onto the metal beam, then pulled me back onto the roof. I clambered to my feet and we ran.
Fire had completely enveloped the restaurant and smoke and flames were shooting up through the hole in the roof. The team had run over to it and Colton was trying to get in through the door but he kept being forced back: the flames were just too intense.
“Mom! JD!” Cody’s cries came from inside, somewhere near the back.
The only way left into the building was the stairs. Radoslava was standing right by them. She turned, locked eyes with me for a second—
And then she ran down the stairs into the flames.
JD and I ran after her. But just as we reached the stairs, a gout of flame shot up through the opening. We staggered back, then ducked down and tried to push forward. But burning fuel had spread all over the steps: they were completely impassable.
“Cody!” I screamed.
Then JD grabbed my arm, pointing down through the hole in the ceiling. I stumbled closer. The heat was so intense, every breath scorched my throat and oily smoke made my eyes burn and tear. I choked, squinted against the brightness of the flames…and saw Radoslava struggling across the restaurant, forcing her way through the inferno with Cody clutched tight to her chest. She looked up and saw us and lifted Cody up. I fell to my stomach and lunged down through the hole in the ceiling…but he was well out of reach. “No,” I sobbed. “No, no, no—”
The flames roared higher, whipped up by the wind, and Radoslava was forced back, away from us. I saw her look around desperately. Then her eyes locked on a concrete counter. That would give her enough height to pass Cody up. But the top of it was awash with burning diesel.
She set Cody down for a second, took two quick breaths and climbed up onto the burning counter. Flames immediately licked up the sides of her military boots and the cuffs of her pants.
She quickly bent down and grabbed Cody under the arms, heaving him up to her chest. She turned towards us and took a staggering step closer, the flames already climbing her thighs. Her legs shook, her face a mask of pain. She lifted Cody up into the air and held him out towards us. “Take care of him,” she grunted.
JD and I grabbed one of Cody’s hands each and we hauled him up onto the roof terrace. As soon as he was safe, we lunged back down again to try to grab Radoslava. But the flames had already climbed to her hips. She screamed and crumpled, falling down into the fire, and was gone.
JD pulled me back from the edge. I grabbed Cody and crushed him against me. Then JD wrapped both of us in his arms and we lay there in a tight, three-way hug in the rain. It was over.
71
LORNA
We lay there for a long time, physically and emotionally exhausted. The flames roared higher and higher as the fire reached its peak but there was no diesel, up on the roof terrace, and we were safe as long as we stayed put. JD called Callahan and told him where we were.
Then the fuel began to burn out and the rain damped down the flames. By the time we heard the wail of sirens, the fire was mostly out. JD led the way down the stairs and through the blackened, smoking restaurant. “Keep your eyes on me,” he told Cody and me, and we did: I focused on that broad, strong back and I kept Cody in front of me, my hands on his shoulders, making sure he didn’t glance over towards the counter.
We rejoined the team and looked down at the streets below. A convoy of fire trucks was approaching from one direction and a cluster of police cars was approaching from the other, “It’s gonna be a long night,” predicted Gabriel.
“I don’t care,” said Colton, scowling at the drop, “‘long as we get to do it on the ground.”
We all headed down in the elevator. Cal loped up just as Callahan’s car screeched to a stop. “Everyone okay?” asked Callahan as he climbed out.
JD hooked an arm around my waist and Cody’s waist and pulled us protectively close. Then he nodded to Callahan.
Callahan looked up at the smoking building. Then he looked at the approaching fire trucks and police cars and ran a hand through his tousled hair with the air of one preparing for a long night. He ducked back inside his car and brought out a travel mug of coffee. “Okay,” he said. “Start at the beginning.”
