Page 77 of Embers of You
Carmichael moves closer to the door, completely oblivious to Kenzie’s movements.
“Liam, let’s go,” he says, nodding towards the door, but Liam stands firm. “Liam!” he shouts. When he still doesn’t respond, Carmichael steps forward, letting the flame of the lighter flicker out and palming it, then he shoots out a hand, attempting to snatch the gun from him.
As I see my chance, Kenz must too. I jump up the steps, surprise flashing on Kenzie’s face as she spots me, and crash into Carmichael. She’s a split second behind me, changing her target and ploughing into Peters as Carmichael and I tumble to the floor with a thud, knocking the air from my lungs in a rushed breath.
The carpet is damp, and the smell of gasoline almost chokes me this close as I wrestle with Carmichael. Just as I get my breath back, it’s knocked from me a second time as Carmichael lands a solid hit to my solar plexus. Sucking in air, I hook a leg round Carmichael’s hip and flip us, blocking the hit coming at me from the left as I land one of my own. The sound of bone crunching has me gripping the front of his shirt and gearing up for a second hit when a wail rents the air, distracting me.
My momentary distraction is all it takes for Carmichael to knock me off balance, then my temple explodes in a shower of pain as my head swims and black spots dance in my vision.
Metal glints in the light as Carmichael shoves me to the side, and I realize he must have taken the gun from Peters just before I crashed into him. Carmichael makes it to his feet just as my vision begins to clear, although my head still swims with dizziness.
“Liam, leave her or I’ll leave you the fuck here to burn along with them,” he orders, pointing the gun at me as he nears the exit.
I turn to where Peters is now up on his feet, revealing an unmoving Kenz, and I tell myself to get the fuck up. I told her that this was our second chance, that I wasn’t planning to die anytime soon, and I meant it. She rolls to the left, and her groans and whimpers are like a dagger to the heart. It adds further fuel to my need to get on my feet.
Peters steps over me as Carmichael reignites the lighter stepping back onto the top step, ready to make a quick exit after tossing the lighter into the office. But he can’t miss the opportunity for one more taunt. Only he doesn’t get the chance as a shot rings out.
I watch in slow motion as the lighter is tossed up in the air before it finally begins to fall, free falling, spinning over and over. I scramble to my feet, slipping on the damp carpet in my race to stop it from hitting the floor and igniting this whole cabin.
There’s a dull thud followed by a split second of silence and stillness before there’s a whoosh as the naked flame and the gasoline fumes finally meet, igniting in a twisted love story. In seconds, fire flares across the carpet, partially blocking the exit as oxygen feeds the flames.
Carmichael drops to his knees then falls forward over the threshold of the doorway revealing a figure disappearing beyond. They call out something, but it’s drowned out as the fire begins to spread. I’m too busy thinking how the fuck I get us all out alive, including Stu, who is wide awake, yelling behind his gag and tugging at his restraints.
“Ash…” Kenz starts coughing as I make my way to her.
“Stay low to the ground, Kenz,” I tell her, as I search for something I can use to cover our faces. “Hold on, Stu, I’m coming,” I yell, hoping he can hear me above the roar of the flames as they spread further into the office. It seems that Aria wasn’t very generous with the gasoline in certain parts, a fact I’m grateful for now. I look over to her just a foot away. I quickly crawl to her, realizing there’s no sign of Preston Thomas, and I begin removing her sweater. It’s thin but will do the job.
I move back to Kenz and begin tearing the sweater into strips. “Can you walk? Are you hurt?” I ask, finally getting a look at her blood splattered face. There’s much more blood there now than when I arrived, and I really hope it’s Peters’ and not hers.
“I think I sprained my ankle…and a couple of fingers are…kind of broken,” she splutters between coughs. The smoke is beginning to thicken, and I know I don’t have long before the whole place is filled with thick black, acrid smoke that will kill you quicker than the flames. As if to prove my point, I start coughing too.
“Okay, we can work with that,” I say, pushing away the dread in my stomach as I look at the only exit getting swallowed by more flames. “Can you get onto your knees for me but stay low, okay?” She nods, twisting over onto her hands and knees before sitting back on the heels of her feet. I wrap the strip of Aria’s sweater around Kenz’s head making sure to cover her nose and mouth and tie it tight. I shove the other strip into my back pocket for Stu. I grasp her face and look into her eyes. “I’m going to carry you to Stu, okay?” She nods, and I continue, “I need you to tuck your face into my back and hold on tight.” Before she can reply, a loud crack splinters the air followed by creaking as the cabin begins to warp from the heat. I hold onto her face. “I’ll get you out, Kenz,” I tell her, and I mean every fucking word. I will make sure she and Stu get out safely no matter the cost.
She gets to her feet, keeping her weight off her injured foot, and I toss her over my shoulder, then slowly weave a path through the flames toward Stu. When I reach him, he’s managed to topple his chair but is still tied to it and is laying on his side. Unable to untie him with Kenz on my back, I hesitate. The door is right there. My mind scrambles to work out if I can get Kenz out then come back for Stu. I hear Kenz yell at me to put her down, that she can help. Images of the last time I left a man behind flash through my mind’s eye, paralyzing me for second. Kenz tapping my back brings me out of my head, and I make my choice. Lowering her to the ground beside Stu, who’s eyes are livid with a mix of fury and fear, she immediately begins to rip at Stu’s bindings. I tear the tape from his mouth, and he instantly starts yelling at me to leave him and get Kenz out. I block it out, focusing on getting us all out alive.
The last strip of tape falls away as the back window blows out, showering us in glass. Raising my head, flames lick at the ceiling, and I know we don’t have long.
“Can you walk?” I call to Stu, positioning Kenz to pick her up again.
“Yes, now go. Get the hell out of here,” he shouts back, and so I do.
With Kenz back over my shoulder, I check to make sure Stu is with me, then I move toward the exit.
Stopping in front of the door, I can feel the heat from the flames singeing the hairs on my arms as I turn back to Stu. “Watch your step. You’re going to have to jump,” I tell him, and he nods.
“Go, I’m right behind you,” he hollers, tapping my shoulder. The words ring in my head, my mouth filling with a sour taste as my earlier dread returns. They are the exact words Nolan said to me before I walked away leaving my best friend to die.
“You’ve got this, man. Take care of my sister.”
The words are a whisper in the air, spoken directly to me but so far away. As they come again, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and let his words calm me.
“Go, Ash. It’s coming down!”
Stu’s warning spurs me into action, my eyes snapping open a second before I jump. Heat licks at me as I pass through the flames, but I ignore the burn as I land, just managing to stay on my feet. I run, getting as far away from the cabin as I can. Just ahead of me, I see two people, one on the ground as the other stands over them.
“Asher!” I hear my name being called as someone runs toward me, closing the distance. “Shit, man.”
“Take Kenz. I need to go back for Stu.” I pass Kenz to Dom and run back toward the cabin. Just as I reach the patrol car, there’s an almighty crash before flames burst from the door and windows of the cabin as the roof caves in, throwing me backward.