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“What color hair does she have?” Zayne asked before I even opened my mouth.
“Blonde. It looks like she was in her early forties.”
I bent over and propped my hands on my knees, attempting to calm my galloping pulse.
“Holden? Excuse me. Excuse me, coming through.”
I straightened to see the top of a redhead moving through the crowd. “Yes, I understand but I need through please.”
“Bitch, stop being so damned pushy. We’re all trying to see here!” A female voice scolded Brynn.
“Fuck. You. I’m not trying to see anything. I am a partial owner of the club that’s on fire. Now get the hell out of my way.” Brynn had always been crafty when she needed to be. Of course, people would let her through if they thought she owned 4 Play.
I began moving in Brynn’s direction, so I could grab her and pull her through the crowd. If I didn’t, she’d beat that woman’s ass, and I couldn’t deal with any more chaos.
“Holden.” I looked at Zayne, and he tossed me a few masks he’d been able to obtain from a firefighter. His was already in place. At least it would help filter the smoke some.
I slipped mine on, then made my way to Brynn.
“Brynn! Take my hand.”
Brynn’s expression overflowed with relief as she reached for me. “Excuse me, I’m the club owner and I need everyone to please let her through,” I said in a commanding tone.
The crowd parted, and Brynn finally reached me. She gripped my hand so hard I thought my fingers would lose circulation.
“You’re okay!” She hiccupped. I pulled her to me in a tight hug and she buried her face in my chest.
“I’m fine. I wasn’t at the club.” We stepped apart, and I gently slid the mask over her nose and mouth. “This should help you breathe better.”
Brynn nodded and adjusted the straps behind her ears. “What happened?”
I draped my arm around her and spotted Zayne a few feet away from us. “Let’s join Zayne, then I’ll tell you what we know so far.”
She nodded, her features full of fear. Her skin was still pale, and she shivered against me even though the blaze of the fire heated the air, making it toasty.
“Brynn,” Zayne nodded at her as we stood beside him.
“Hey, Zayne.” She eased her arm around my waist and looked up at me. “Fill me in.”
I pursed my lips, not wanting to stress her out even more. “We’re waiting for Chance.”
“What? He was inside?” Panic flashed in her green eyes.
“Yeah. I thought …” I pointed to the body bag. “I thought he was in there, but it’s not him. It might be a salesperson from one of the liquor companies. We have a standing appointment every week.”
Brynn gasped, her attention zeroing in on the body.
“When I got here, Chance answered his phone, then he dropped it. There were two explosions, and I haven’t been able to reach him.”
“Oh, God.” She shook her head, shock evident in her gaze. “He has to be all right. Holden …” Her body shook violently, and I wrapped my arms around her. We clung to each other as we waited, the seconds stretching on forever.
“Holden!” I peeked over my shoulder and identified a familiar hand waving at me over the crowd.
“Jace!” I motioned for him to come on over. I grabbed another mask from Zayne and handed it to him when he joined the rest of us.
Jace engulfed us in a huge hug. “Man, am I glad to see you guys. I sped like a bat out of hell when I heard the club was on fire.”
I watched as Jace glanced around, then worry twisted his expression. “Chance?” His focus bounced from me to Brynn, then back to me.
