Page 76 of The Sleeping Girls
The first room he came to was cloudy with smoke but he didn’t see Ellie. He pulled his bandana from his pocket and covered his mouth as he glanced in the next room. The smoke was thicker here. Flames licked the window and wood trim.
“Ellie!” Dodging the flames, he surveyed the space and spotted a closet. He ran toward the closet and yanked at the door but it wouldn’t budge.
“If you’re in there, El, step back!” Heat seared his neck as he lifted his leg and kicked the door. The wood cracked slightly. He kicked it again and again until it splintered.
His heart thundered. Ellie was on the floor, curled up, unconscious.
He scooped her into his arms and ran through the smoke to the living room. The smoke was so thick he could barely see, and he stumbled, but he blindly found his way and raced outside.
Behind him, the fire continued to blaze as he ran toward his truck. He opened the door, slid in with Ellie in his lap and checked for a pulse.
Dammit, he couldn’t feel one. “Come on, El, you’re a fighter.” He snagged his phone, put it on speaker and called 9-1-1 as he began CPR.
“9-1-1, how can I help you?” the operator said when she answered.
“This is Ranger McClain, from SAR. Requesting immediate assistance at 1024 Holly Lane. Officer down. Unconscious,possible smoke inhalation. Performing CPR now.” Her cheek was red and bruised. She might have other injuries, too. “Need an ambulance and firefighters ASAP.”
“On the way,” the 9-1-1 operator replied.
He gently brushed Ellie’s hair from her face. “You are not leaving me,” he whispered. “You’re not, El.”
Seconds stretched into a minute, then two, then three. Terror tore at his insides as he watched her for signs of life. Another minute passed, then finally her eyes fluttered and she gasped for a breath.
Cord wasn’t much of a godly person, but he thanked him anyway, then cradled her against him and held on tight.
EIGHTY-THREE
Derrick’s pulse raced as he parked beside Cord’s truck and jumped out. McClain had called him just as he’d started home from the station.
“Ellie’s okay,” the ranger had assured him. “I got her out just in time and gave her CPR. Ambulance is on the way.”
CPR. That meant Ellie hadn’t been breathing. That she’d almost died.
A sick fear ripped through him as he climbed out. Then mixed emotions as he spotted McClain in his truck holding Ellie against him.
His boots squished in the mud as he strode toward Cord’s truck. A fire engine was already on scene, firefighters attacking the blaze although he doubted there was anything they could salvage. A siren wailed, lights flashing as it rolled up and screeched to a stop.
Derrick had to see Ellie for himself. Had to look into her eyes and know she was really all right.
The ranger looked up, his face and hair sweaty from the fire. Ellie’s face was bruised, skin pale, her breathing unsteady.
“You okay, Ellie?” Derrick asked.
She gave a weak nod. “I had the files, the podcasts. But… he must have taken them.”
Derrick raised a brow. “He?”
“The man who attacked me,” she said on another cough.
“Did you get a look at him?” Derrick asked.
She shook her head as the medic helped her onto the stretcher. “He came up behind me.”
Derrick gestured for Cord to step aside with him while the medic settled an oxygen mask on her face. “McClain, did you see anyone when you arrived?”
Cord gestured toward the rear of the house. “Thought I saw someone back there running into the woods. But the house was on fire so I went in for Ellie.”
“You did the right thing.” Derrick sized up the scene just as ERT rolled up. Williams, the head of the team, gave a nod of recognition as he approached. “Looks like the scene we just came from.”