Page 61 of No Take Backs

“What’s taking so long?” Rich stares at me and Gem like we have answers for him.

“It takes time,” Gem tells him after I don’t say anything. I can’t. My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, unable to move or even twitch.

Instead, my eyes stay locked on the side of the house that isn’t up in flames. On the glass panel that looks like it is starting to melt, even if that seems like an impossibility.

“It doesn’t take this long, does it?” Ella’s eyes bore into mine, and the expression on my face gives away my feelings. The same ones I’m trying to keep repressed.

“Harmon,” Chief Hayes barks into his microphone. “Report.”

One second ticks by. Then another.

“Harmon,” he repeats.

When there isn’t an answer, he looks around. “Cook,” he yells at Ryder. “Is the fire out on that side?”

Ryder stands on the opposite side of the house, hosing down the adjacent house and the bushes that separate the two properties to keep them from igniting.

“Yes, Chief,” he calls back. “Just watering the grass.” The sarcasm isn’t lost on any of us.

“Harmon isn’t answering his mic check.”

Ryder immediately drops his hose and books it around the side of the house into the backyard without another word.

“Does Lyla have her inhaler?” I ask Ella. “With the smoke, maybe we need to have the oxygen ready. Just in case.”

Gem is already moving, though. She has the oxygen pack out of the back of the ambulance and ready on a gurney. Even though we don’t know what is happening yet, it won’t hurt to be prepared.

Not when it comes to Lyla, or any child for that matter.

When Ryder appears back around the side of the house a few seconds later, he is huffing and out of breath.

“They’re not there.” He doesn’t look at Rich or Ella when he says it; his eyes are locked on the chief.

Cap moves to stand in front of Rich as he surges forward, and I tighten my arms around Ella’s shoulders.

“They’re not in the house,” I yell at them. “Remember that. They weren’t in the house. The fire didn’t spread to the backyard. They’re safe.” When neither of them stop struggling, I scream.

“Stop.” That gets their attention. “Lyla wasn’t in the house. They were in the backyard. Richard probably got scared. They’re in the woods, safe. The fire didn’t spread.”

That knocks the wind out of Ella’s sails, at least. Rich still has wild eyes, and they dart to the woods that line the back of their property.

“Let me go.” He pulls away from Cap. “I’m going around the back.” He tells no one in particular. “Is that where Josh is?”

Ryder nods. “He’s searching behind the house in the woods for the kids.”

“Lyla wouldn’t have gone into the house,” I say again, trying to force myself to believe the words I’ve insisted her parents believe.

Ella breathes deeply and then turns her tear-streaked face to me. “She’s a smart girl. If Richard got scared of the fire, she’d get him away. They might have taken the trail Rich built her through the woods for their hikes.”

“I’ll show you.” I push Ella into Rich’s arms and grab the oxygen pack from Gem. “Let me go,” I tell Rich when he steps away from his wife. “I’ve got medical training, just in case she has an asthma attack. Gem’s gonna stay here, in case they come here. We’ve got another oxygen tank in the back of the rig. You two stay here, for if they get back before I do. Lyla knows me and Josh. She trusts us, too.”

Rich nods, and I take off around the side of the house the same way that Ryder went. The heat from the fire is still enough to singe the hair on my arm, and the smell of Ella’s life burning almost makes me sick to my stomach.

“Where are they?” I mutter to myself.

Not that I don’t believe Ryder or Josh, but I find myself stopping at the bottom of the tree where Lyla’s tree house sits, and I put the straps of the oxygen tank on my back. Then I take the steps and climb up, checking everywhere. Just in case.

There is no sign of the kids.