Page 142 of First Chance

I cut off its direct path to her, but the fire is still burning brightly, catching the dry brush along the trees, and filling the air with smoke as everything begins to ignite.

It’s going to start a wildfire.

“How’d you get in there?” I yell, smacking the fence until I find a loose spot.

“Right here, right here.” She nods her head to a spot a few feet from her, and I grab it, pulling the chain link wide open in one tug.

“We’ve got to go, the fire is spreading.” I reach for her, noticing the chain looped around her waist.

“Lochlan,” she utters as my hands roam over her, looking for a way to free her. “Lochlan, look at me.”

My eyes ping to hers. “It’s too late. He threw the key.”

“What?”

“He padlocked the chain. He threw the key into the woods. I’m stuck.”

“No.”

“Yes. He wanted this. He wanted me to get trapped here.” She nods to the ground and the raw meat scattered at our feet.

“The bears?”

She nods stiffly. “Now, I’m going to burn and they’re going to eat me like I was cooked over a campfire.” She laughs humorlessly with streaks of tears running down her cheeks.

“No.”

“Go, you have to go. You need to get help, or the entire mountain will burn.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You have to.”

“No, the fuck, I don’t.”

“Lochlan. Please, go. It’s okay, I’ll probably be alright,” she shrugs sadly, unconvinced.

I tug on the chain around the fence post with all of my strength until the entire fence line rattles. It’s solid metal. There’s no way to break it.

I would need bolt cutters and time. Neither of which we have. Even if I could run for help, I might get cut off by the fire and wouldn’t be able to get back.

The thought of her being trapped here, burning to death…

“I’m not fucking leaving you here,” I growl, tugging harder on the chain that’s not going anywhere.

Her hands cup my face, forcing my attention upward. “If you stay, we both might not make it. You have to go.”

Her big beautiful sad eyes don’t have a fucking clue. I press my forehead to hers, feeling her trembling body against me.

“Darlin’, if something happened to you, I wouldn’t survive a moment without you anyway. But that’s not going to happen because I’m getting you the fuck out of here.”

“Lochlan…” She whimpers, seeing what I’m not over my shoulder. “The fire is getting closer. If it gets too close, I’ll go up in flames.”

“No, you’re not.” I feel down her dress, finding the damp spots and ripping the fabric clear from her body.

“It’s on my legs, too.”

My palms scour the ground for mud, and I fill my hands with it, smearing it up and down her legs, covering any remnants of accelerant.

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