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“And your sister,” Amon pointed out. “I thought maybe I could be in that exclusive club.”
They were mates now. It wasn’t as if Amon hadn’t seen his most intimate body parts, and there was no denying that he liked how his nickname sounded on Amon’s lips, especially the way he’d said it teasingly.
Sonny shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, as if he didn’t want to hear it again. It was possible that, this time around, giving his trust to someone wouldn’t get him hurt. “As long as no one else is around.”
Amon winked. “You got it.”
He followed Sonny out of the room, and as soon as they left, Sonny couldn’t believe how light he felt, how happy he was.
Until they reached the front of the house. Sonny heard a crash, and then Amon hissed as he moved so fast that he was next to Sonny one second and gone the next. Sonny shouted as he saw the broken window and flames spreading in the foyer.
There was also sunlight spilling in through the broken window. The dark curtains were on fire, and Sonny stood there frozen, unsure what to do.
“Sonny!” Amon shouted from somewhere he couldn’t see. “Come to me, now!”
It was as if something snapped inside Sonny. He jumped into action, racing to the kitchen to grab the fire extinguisher as he dialed 9-1-1.
After telling the operator that he needed the fire department, Sonny raced back to the fire and swept the foam back and forth at the base of the flames. No matter how hard he tried, it felt like a losing battle. The flames were relentless and were determined to consume everything. But Sonny refused to give up, vehemently pushing back the fire with every ounce of strength left in him.
Sweat ran down Sonny’s face as the fire raged around him, billowing smoke that stung his eyes and made his lungs burn with each ragged cough. He kept at it, desperately trying to contain a force he knew he had no chance of stopping. The vampire residents were relying on him, and he would not let them be exposed to the deadly rays of the sun.
Sonny heard the distant wail of sirens getting louder and closer. He threw the empty extinguisher to the ground with a loud clang and yanked the top of his shirt up over his nose and mouth to stop himself from inhaling any more of the suffocating smoke. The blazing fire was closing in on him at an incredible speed, making it impossible for him to escape through the front door.
But even if he could get out, he refused to leave Amon. Sonny spun, looking for his mate as the flames spread even farther. His shirt wasn’t doing a great job at keeping the smoke out of his lungs, and Sonny ran toward his bedroom, hoping to find Amon.
He was pulled against a hard chest. Sonny looked up, his eyes watering as he gazed into Amon’s eyes. The vampire looked terrified as he slipped the shirt off of Sonny’s face. “That was reckless!”
“I had to try!” Then Sonny fell into a coughing fit, barely able to get oxygen into his burning lungs. Now that he wasn’t battling a fire, Sonny’s fear overwhelmed him, but he had to keep a level head. There was sunlight pouring in through the front entrance, and what if there were vampires trapped?
“We have to go.” Amon yanked him close, but Sonny shoved at his mate’s chest.
“Where are you taking me?”
“We have rooms under the house to protect us from sunlight.” Amon looked toward the fire.
“Can everyone else make it down there?” Sonny asked. “What about Andrew and Zach? Andrew’s pregnant. What if he’s separated from Eleazar?”
Amon looked like he was waffling, and then he cursed. They would have to run past the sunlight in order to get to Eleazar’s bedroom. That was even if Andrew was in the bedroom. What if he was in another part of the house? Sonny doubted that since Eleazar hardly let Andrew out of his sight, but this could be one of those times when the two weren’t together.
But Amon seemed to be making a decision. “We go. We can make it to Eleazar’s bedroom if we move quickly.”
Knowing Amon had inhuman speed, Sonny nodded. He was still worried the sunlight would hurt Amon, but they had to make sure Andrew and Zach were safe.
Amon grabbed him around the waist, pulled Sonny close, and then took off, racing past the fire so fast that the smoke didn’t have time to overwhelm them. The fire didn’t have time to singe their skin.
When they stopped in front of Eleazar’s bedroom door, Sonny burst inside, but it was empty.
“We need to get downstairs.” Amon pressed a section of the wall, and Sonny was relieved that it opened into an entryway.
There was the same kind of secret passage in the room Andrew had occupied when he’d first arrived. It seemed the house was filled with them.
Praying everyone made it downstairs, Sonny followed closely behind Amon.
* * * *
Eleazar had been on the second floor of the east wing, showing Andrew centuries of his belongings, centuries of his memories, when he’d heard the chaos downstairs. Soon, he’d smelled the smoke and knew the estate was on fire.
Unable to look outside—because of the glaring sun—he wasn’t sure which part of the house was on fire.
