Page 32 of Stormy Knight

19

Standing over the stove, Reeves stared down into the pot of sauce. The aromas filtering around the room would make anyone’s mouth water. In the background music hummed through the overhead speakers blocking out all other sounds. This was the one place he could lose himself. Let go of everything that weighed on him. This was the one place he could work out all the little details of his day-to-day life. Make the hard choices that weighed on him. Tonight he was trying hard not to think about anything pertaining to work or the family. He was focusing on the gorgeous woman sitting at the kitchen’s large island drinking a glass of wine.

Reeves stopped cooking hearing a noise coming from the outer room. Glancing at Stormy, who sat thumbing through the new wine list Monroe had put together for the restaurant. “Sweetheart, did we lock the front door?”

“We came in through the back.”

“That’s right.” Reminding himself the place was locked up. When he didn’t hear anything else, he went back to cooking.

“Are these wines in stock?”

Looking up from the parsley he was chopping, he gave her a smile. “They are. Would you like to go select one for our dinner?”

Stormy smiled sliding off the stool, “I would. Don’t run off, I’ll be right back,” she joked heading for the swinging door.

Reeves continued cooking getting lost in what he was doing. Glancing around, he noticed Stormy hadn’t come back in from the dining room. Pausing for a moment, the sound of his own breathing filled the space in his head quieting his thoughts. Shaking his head, he set the knife he was using on the counter. Wiping his hands on the towel, his thoughts focused on Stormy.

Glancing at the swinging door, then back at the knife, he reminded himself there was no reason to worry. She hadn’t been gone that long. The tension bubbling up in him was just him letting his subconscious get the better of him.

But that nagging voice in his head lingered, reminding him there were still things he hadn’t wrapped up.Mario Serrano. Paul Delacour.The two names whispered across the edge of his mind. A heavy thud sounded from the dining room… then a partially muffled scream cut through the soft music playing overhead. Picking up the knife, he made his way around the island towards the door.

Shoving open the door, he kept the knife gripped in his hand, hanging loosely at his side. The tension from moments ago coiled tight in his chest, every breath slow, smooth, controlled in and out.

His gaze scanned the dimly lit room, scanning for movement. The silence of the room was heavy… threatening. Reeves let the door close gently behind him, keeping his free hand behind him, keeping the door from moving on its hinges. Taking the first step into the room his footsteps were intentional, silent, making no sounds on the floor. The knife felt too familiar in his hand.

Movement to his left caught his attention. Turning to defend himself he saw nothing. The air felt thick, heavy with somethingdangerous, something out of place. He couldn’t see Stormy, couldn’t hear her. Then he saw her deeper in the room, standing between him and the front of the restaurant.

Her eyes wide, full of fear, stared back at him. Behind her stood a tall man holding her against him with a blade pointed at her neck. One quick move and he could cut her throat. The voice in his head screamed this was her ex. “How do you think this will work out, Paul?” Reeves asked, his voice stern, steady, commanding in its tone.

“I’ve got what I want. Stormy’s leaving with me.”

“It doesn’t look like she wants to go with you.”

“She doesn’t have a choice.”

Reeves saw the gun at the last-minute right before Paul pulled the trigger. He heard Stormy scream as an impact hit his head sending him to the ground. Then a second impact hit him in the head. Struggling to get off the floor, Reeves barely got to his feet when something slammed into his back and head sending him to the floor once again. His vision blurred, then faded into blackness as he lost consciousness.

Reeves came to coughing. Struggling to get up, he could barely see. The room was engulfed in smoke. Stumbling to his feet he fought to stay upright. Looking around, he saw the room was on fire. He could see the light coming from the kitchen through the door. His head pounded and his lungs rebelled with every strained step he made.

The heavy smoke filled the kitchen when he pushed through the door. Stumbling around the kitchen he struggled to get a clear breath, instead he coughed and wheezed as the smoke clogged his airways. Dropping to his knees he began crawlingacross the floor. His eyes watered as he struggled to see where he was going. Feeling along the floor, he tried getting to the back door, which he knew was only a few feet from him.

The sounds of glass shattering and wood splintering surrounded him. Off in the distance he could hear sirens. Dropping lower he began army crawling across the floor in hopes of making it to the door. Flames shot across the ceiling above him sucking the air from the room. With every move he made, smoke was taking hold of him.

As another explosion of red-hot flames broke through the wall, he felt a deluge of water drenching him. Had the sprinkler systems finally kicked on? He thought as the weight of the water made moving harder.

Large hands grabbed him, lifting Reeves to his feet. His first instinct was to fight. Then he saw a firefighter had him. Taking the oxygen mask that was shoved at his face, Reeves wrapped an arm around the firefighter accepting the help as he was half led, half carried out of the burning building.

When the firefighter had Reeves away from the burning building, he laid Reeves onto the ground, turning his care over to the EMTs. Reeves’ heart was raced, his entire body shook with adrenaline as he lay on the hard ground, his chest rising and falling with each breath. His mind raced, running over the images of Stormy being held by Paul. It hit him; he didn’t know where she was. If she was inside the burning building. Images of her trapped in the flames and smoke, gripped his chest tightening into a painful twisted knot.

Grabbing the firefighter’s arm, he gripped it tightly as he struggled to sit up, the EMT held him down. “Stormy, my girlfriend,” his voice rough, full of urgency told the firefighter, “you have to go back, she could still be in there.” Reeves coughed, shoving the EMT’s hand away, “There was a man holding her hostage.”Reaching back Reeves felt the back andside of his head. Two large knots was all he felt, bringing his hand back down he saw no blood. What had he been hit with? The firefighter whose name Reeves hadn’t caught crouched down beside him, “We’re gonna go back in, okay? Just try to stay calm.”

Reeves heard the firefighter shouting into his radio, “Possibly two more individuals inside.”

Listening to the firefighter, Reeves allowed the oxygen mask to be placed back over his face. Taking a few deep breaths his head was spinning. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. His mind was running on a loop worried about Stormy, and what was happening to her. Pulling the mask from his face he asked if his brothers had been called.

“I’m not sure, sir, please put the mask back on,” was the answer he got, honest and to the point. “You need to keep the mask on.”

A surge of adrenaline hit him, the need to get up and find Stormy threatened to take him over. “I need to…”

---