14

Will

Christian grabbed Simon's arms and steered him away from the house. "Let me take out the trash first. I'll be right back to help you."

Jake and I ran back inside the house. The smoke hit us before we even reached the flames. I ripped off my black T-shirt and wrapped it around my face, and Jake did the same. Walking low, below the smoke, my eyes scanned the first floor as the fire spread throughout the main rooms.

I grabbed a blanket and put out some of the flames closest to us, but there was no containing this.

"There's no time to look for an extinguisher. We need to find the women," I shouted over the roar of the flames.

Jake nodded. I stood and ran to the other side of the house, away from the fire.

"Is there a basement?" asked Jake, panting beside me.

I shook my head. "I have no idea." I coughed and my eyes watered from the smoke.

The wood floor beneath our feet creaked, and I knew we didn't have much time before we would run out of air or be trapped inside here.

Just then, a piece of the doorframe near the back door groaned and snapped in half. Both Jake and I dropped to the ground onto our stomachs.

I knew Jager had an infrared scanner that could find the women if there wasn't a raging fire. Now there was no way we could tell if they were inside the house or not.

I slammed my fist against the wooden floor and dropped my ear to the ground.

Think! Damn it!

Despite the hopelessness of the situation, I knew I couldn't leave here without Christina's sister. I hadn't heard them move the women outside of the house. They had to still be here.

"Will, we've got to go," Jake shouted over the crackling of the fire. "They're not here."

I closed my eyes and shut out everything around me.

Where would Simon have hidden them?

"Will!" Jake shouted again. I was just about to raise my body from the ground when I heard a pounding near my ear. Jake lay still beside me, so it wasn't him.

Bang! Bang!

There it was again. It was coming from beneath the floor.

"I think they're under here," I said, running my hands along the wooden floor, looking for a lever.

"What?" asked Jake, staring at the front door, which was the only exit left at the moment.

"I think he stashed the women under the floorboards. Help me find the opening."

"Jake! Will!" Jager shouted from the doorway. "The fire trucks are on their way, but you've got to get out of there now."

Christian had brought a small extinguisher with him, which we kept in the truck. It wouldn't put out this inferno, but it might buy us some time.

"I'm not leaving without the women."

"They're here?" asked Christian.

"Yes."

"He thinks he heard them beneath the wooden floor," said Jake between coughs, then ran his hands along the wooden slats near the front stairs.

Jager ran into the house and got on his hands and knees, looking for anything that would indicate there was a crawl space lurking underneath these floors. Christian sprayed the area around us, keeping the worst of the fire at bay.

I glanced at the carpet on the other side of the kitchen, and my heart sped up. If I were to hide a crawl space, I'd do it beneath a carpet. I ran toward the rug and threw it back. A small black lever was nestled between two wooden planks. I yanked it up and opened the hidden door.

I inhaled sharply and immediately started coughing. With hardly any air left in my lungs, I breathed out, "Oh, my God."

Christina

Minutes earlier…

From the back of the house, Christian pushed Simon forward as he dragged his feet. Lifting on my tiptoes, I looked left and then right for any sign of my sister or Will.

But there was no one else.

I ran up to Christian, but he didn't look my way. "What's going on? Where's Will?"

Christian handed Simon over to one of the police officers who pulled out his handcuffs. I ignored the grin on Simon's face and grabbed Christian's T-shirt, crumpling it with my fist. "What the fuck is going on in there?"

"Will is looking for your sister and the other women. He believes they're still inside."

I sniffed, and this time, the smell of smoke was even stronger. "Is that smoke coming from the house?"

He answered solemnly. "Yes."

Then he swallowed and pursed his lips. "I've got to get back in there. Call for fire trucks."

After grabbing an extinguisher from his truck, he ran back to the house and entered through the front door this time.

When he opened the door, he had to duck as a rush of smoke flew out.

"Oh, my God," I cried and covered my mouth with my hand.

I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

"Hello. 911. What's your emergency?"

"There's a house on fire and there are at least four people inside. The address is 119 Delaware Street."

"Ok, ma'am. I'll dispatch a fire truck. Is anyone hurt?"

"I don't know."

"That's OK. I'll send an ambulance, too."

"The police are already here."

Just then, a loud crash came from inside the house. "I've got to go. Hurry!" I shouted and hung up the phone.

I ran toward the front door, but one of the officers stopped me. "Whoa!"

"Let me go," I shouted. "Someone I love is in there."

"We don't know for sure that the women are inside," he said, and I let him pull me away.

Mainly because I wasn't sure if my heart was hammering because he'd assumed correctly that I was referring to my sister or because an image of Will had popped into my head when I'd said it.

I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled at the roots. "Come on," I cried. "What's taking so long? They should have come out by now."

Fire licked at the front blinds and tore through them. I dropped down to my haunches on the sidewalk and rested my chin on my clasped hands. "Come on, come on," I whispered.

I'd closed my eyes for a few seconds when one of the officers yelled, "Someone's coming out!"

Jake stepped out of the front door carrying a woman over his shoulder, followed by Christian and Jager, who steadied a woman with one arm over each of their shoulders. Her head was down, but she was keeping up with their pace.

I rushed over to them. Everyone was coughing, and soot covered their faces and clothes. I was thankful to see them all breathing. I looked over my shoulder, back up at the house. The doorway was dark and empty.

"Where's Will and my sister?"

Jake's brow furrowed. "They were right behind us."

Without another word, Christian ran toward the house and I took off behind him.

But just as we approached the front porch, a beam of wood broke through the front window and Christian used his body to cover me from the shattered glass. "Stay back," he shouted.

But I wouldn't listen. My only thought was that Will and Donna were in trouble, and I needed to help them.

"I can't help them if I'm worrying about you," he yelled as I stepped onto the porch.

The heat from inside the house hit me as soon as I took the second step. How did they get through it? How would Will and Donna?

Sirens blasted behind me and I ignored them.

I was just about to get onto my hands and knees and crawl inside when a figure emerged from the smoke and shadows inside.

His face was covered by a cloth, exposing only his eyes, but I recognized him. "Will," I breathed and my chest tightened. "Will!"

He carried a woman—it had to be my sister—in his arms. One arm underneath her neck, the other under her knees. Her face was pressed against his bare chest, but I recognized Donna's hair. His biceps bulged and the tendons in his neck protruded as he held her.

Tears sprung to my eyes as joy brimmed at my lids.

Will's eyes remained focused as he navigated through the smoke and fallen debris.

Firefighters rushed up the porch steps and one took Donna from Will's arms and put her on a stretcher. I tried to move toward her, but two paramedics already surrounded her and I knew I would just be in their way.

I turned to Will, whose eyes blazed as hot as the fire behind him. "I told you to stay back."

I blinked, trying to recall our conversation before he went into the house, and couldn't remember anything except the vision of him rescuing my sister. He had looked like some hero out of an action movie. I'd never been attracted to those men before, thinking them unrealistic. As Will stood there, his chest heaving, heat emanating from his body, I knew he was very much real.

I threw myself into his arms, and he pulled me closer. An intense heat radiated through my body and I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about how I'd almost lost him and Donna.

Thank you , I wanted to whisper, but I scolded him instead. "You could have been killed in there."

I hugged him tighter.

"I wasn't going to leave without your sister," he breathed into my neck and tears gathered in my eyes again.,

"Thank you," I said, finally, and I pressed my lips together.

But this time, the tears fell, and I couldn't stop them. I buried my face in Will's shoulder, his skin warm against my cheek. Slowly, I turned and pressed a kiss onto his shoulder.

Goosebumps raised on his flesh, and his grip tightened.

"The only thing that kept me going was that I had to get back to you."

I swallowed the emotion that clogged my throat, but I couldn't form any words. I'd never felt anything like this before. Perhaps it was the adrenaline talking, or maybe he just needed to explain what was going through his mind. But I wouldn't read too much into this. The heart and the mind were two different things.

"I'm glad you're safe, and Donna, too."

"How can we ever repay you for this?"

He rubbed my back and squeezed my waist. "I'll think of something."

I looked up, and he smiled weakly, his eyes a bit glossy. "Will? Are you feeling all right?"

His eyes closed, and he crumbled to his knees as I struggled to hold his body up. "Help! Someone, please!"

Christian pulled Will up from his armpits while Jake grabbed his ankles. Will's eyes were closed and panic set in.

They lifted him onto a stretcher, and a paramedic fixed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose.

"How long was he in the house?" asked the paramedic.

"He was in there the longest," said Jake. "Maybe fifteen minutes. Maybe more."

They pushed the stretcher down the driveway to the ambulance and hoisted him inside. When I tried to get in with him, one of them asked, "Are you his wife?"

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't come in."

Then they closed the doors and drove away. Looking around me, I assessed the scene. Three ambulances and two fire trucks lined the road. People were running all around me, and yet, I couldn't move.

Jake appeared in front of me. I hadn't seen him approach. My head raced with worry.

"Can I take you home?" he asked. "You can come back to our place if you don't want to be alone. I know Nikole would love to see you and make sure you're alright."

For a moment, I imagined sitting on Nikole's couch and being handed a cup of coffee. But then I knew I'd only be thinking of the people I love lying in a recovery bed and I knew there was only one place I wanted to be.

"Can you take me to the hospital instead?"

He nodded. "Absolutely."

I handed Jake my car keys, as I could barely walk straight. We didn't say a word to each other, each of us was absorbed in our own thoughts and memories. Or perhaps he was just being polite. I had no idea what was going on inside of my head right now. I just felt everything all at once.

He parked my car, and we walked to the information desk. "I'm looking for Donna Polito and Will Nash," I said. "They would have been brought in by ambulance a little while ago."

"If they came by ambulance, they're likely still in the ER. Take this corridor and stick to your right," she said, pointing down a white sterile hallway.

"Thank you."

Jake walked with me in silence and when we turned the corner toward the Emergency Room, we saw Christian and Jager leaning against one wall.

"Are they here?" asked Jake.

They turned and nodded. "Donna inhaled less smoke than Will since she was beneath the floor most of the time. The nurse is with her now."

"And Will?" I asked.

"His situation is a bit more complicated, according to the paramedic. We're waiting for a doctor to assess him."

I looked inside the room where he lay on the stretcher. "Is he asleep?"

Jager bit his cheek and looked at Jake behind me.

"Tell me," I said more forcefully than I should have, but I didn't know why he was holding out on me.

"We can't wake him up. I don't know if he's in a coma or not. We're going to have to wait to speak to the doctor."

I ignored their hands on my shoulder, trying to stop me as I pushed past them toward Will.

A thin white sheet and black soot covered his bare chest. Gently, I ran my hand over the stubble on his jaw and pushed his hair away from his face. His full lips remained straight. No grin or wry smile tugged at them. I'd never seen Will asleep. I wasn't sure if this was how he always looked or if the fire had exhausted him.

My fingers traced a line down his arm until they reached his hand. I grasped it tightly and rubbed circles with my thumb. The warmth of his skin seeped into mine and my blood pounded through my veins.

"Wake up," I whispered. "You need to wake up."

Except for Gabby, I'd been alone for most of my life and all of my adulthood. I'd only known Will for a few weeks. And yet, I couldn't imagine losing him. I rubbed the middle of my chest; an ache was building deep inside my heart.

I pulled a chair over and sat down, laying my head on his chest. The beating of his heart lulled me and I closed my eyes.

For the first time in a very long time, I prayed.

Please God. Let him be Ok.

I wasn't sure if his brothers had left because they never entered his room while I was there. I was thankful they didn't see my tears.

I sniffed and closed my eyes as I listened to Will's soft breathing and the beeping of the machine.

Just as the doctor walked into the room, I felt something rustle my hair. Was it the breeze?

"I'm sorry, miss, but you have to leave now."

I nodded and wiped the wetness from my eyes.

I turned to look at Will one more time, asleep on the bed. I refused to think it was anything other than that.