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Fuck me.
Now I decided to finally embrace loving someone? Maybe I’d known for a portion of my life that Delaney was the one. How ridiculous. It wasn’t possible.
I shoved my way into another room, gasping for air at this point. There was too much debris. There wasn’t a chance she’d gotten this far, or if she had, I feared she’d succumbed to smoke inhalation. I headed back toward the set of stairs, turning in a full circle, listening for any indication of where she might have gone.
“Delaney!” All time ceased to exist, all noise gone but the rapid beating of my heart and what felt a ticking timebomb surrounding us. “Delaney!”
Woof…
What the fuck?
“Sadie. Come here, girl. Where are you?” Noise. Sweet noise as if the dog was trying desperately to get to me. I raced up the stairs, something sharp driving into my leg, the pain blasting. I couldn’t give a shit. “Sadie. Sadie! Delaney!”
Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.
Out of the blackness Sadie bounded toward me, stopping short a foot away. Then she turned and went back the direction from which she’d come. She wanted me to follow her. Nothing would stop me now from finding and saving my two girls.
“Go on, girl. Help me find Delaney.” I coughed, forced to drop to my knees. My eyes were burning, my head killing me, but I pressed on.
Woof!
Sadie’s barks became more insistent, louder.
I pressed forward, noticing a pile of debris. Dropping down, I started tossing pieces of wallboard and a fucking light fixture, timber and other debris away like a crazed man. I heard a cracking sound. I had a split second to dodge the falling beam, gasping when it bounced off a piece of furniture. Fuck me. My anger only continued to increase, the rage all consuming.
Then I noticed hair. Red hair. Oh, my God. I’d found her.Please, God. Let her be alive. Please.I would have promised my soul to the devil in order to save her if I hadn’t already given it away freely. I scrambled closer, placing the flashlight close, ignoring the pain in my leg, tossing pieces of debris everywhere in order to get to her.
“Oh, God. Delaney.” When I brushed dust and ash from her face, I held my breath while placing my fingers on the pulse in her neck. “Thank God.”
Sadie barked incessantly, the warning something I took seriously.
“We’re going, girl. You’re going to need to lead the way.” I grabbed the flashlight then gently eased her into my arms. Cracking sounds occurred from all around us, blue flames becoming uncontrollable. The stench was ungodly, gasoline and some other accelerant. How the fuck had this happened?
When her eyelids fluttered open, I shook my head. “Francois… he was… here.”
Her voice was strangled, barely audible, but she was alive. Thank fucking God, she was alive. What the hell did she mean ‘he’? Had she seen the arsonist?
“Don’t talk. I’ve got you, baby. I’m never going to let you go.”
I stumbled forward, cradling her tightly against me, following Sadie who constantly glanced behind her to ensure I was coming. Voices were coming from everywhere, yells and commands from the firefighters. When I noticed additional lights, I pulled her even closer, still praying, which was something I hadn’t done in years. I struggled to get down the stairs, another series of ceiling panels collapsing all around me.
Sadie bolted forward first, still guiding me to the door.
Once we were free, firefighters raced toward us as I collapsed, keeping a firm hold until I was able to gently place her on the ground.
“I love you, baby,” I told her, pressing kisses against her face.
“Goddamn it, Francois.” Rocco raced toward me. “Are you okay? Jesus.”
Another spray of embers rushed down as if from the heavens. Too bad the fire had been started in hell.
“Get the EMTs. Now! Now.” I brushed my hand down her face. “She said he was here. Did you find anyone who shouldn’t be here?”
“It’s impossible to tell right now, boss. Too many people.”
“Keep fucking searching. I need a goddamn EMT!”
People swarmed around us, throwing blankets, the water raining down from the hoses a welcome sight.
