Page 84 of Risky Passion

My chest tightened as I sprinted into the inferno. The smoke was thicker now, clinging to my lungs like poison, and the flames had devoured even more of the room. Every step was agony, burning debris biting into my bare feet. The heat felt alive, a ravenous beast, and it was everywhere . . . above, beneath, and all around me.

I pushed forward, forcing my body past the pain, dodging the flickering tongues of fire that snapped at me, threatening to devour everything in their reach.

The air was so hot it felt like my skin might melt.

By the time I returned to the pile of boxes, they were partially buried under fallen ceiling debris. I yanked two free, straining against their awkward weight.

As I turned to leave, something rolled free from one of the boxes, hitting the floor with a hollowclunk.

My heart stopped. A skull.

“Fucking hell!” I froze, staring, as the empty eye sockets seemed to glare right back at me.

What the hell?

Gritting my teeth, I shoved the skull into my shirt, and as its rough surface pressed against my chest, I gripped the boxes and marched back up the hallway. Each step felt heavier than the last, and the fire raged around me, licking at the walls and ceiling with unrelenting fury.

Halfway to the exit, I stumbled into Tory.

“What the hell are you doing? Get out!” I yelled, my voice raw and shredded from the smoke.

“One more load!” she shot back as she shoved past me, heading deeper into the flames.

“Tory!” I bellowed, my frustration boiling over, but she ignored me, disappearing into the thick, choking smoke.

“Fucking hell!” Rage and panic twisted in my chest as I charged toward the exit with my lungs screaming for air.

Bursting outside, I staggered down the crumbling steps, my legs barely supporting me as I dumped the boxes onto the dirt. The skull tumbled free, rolling to a stop next to Cooper’s lifeless body. Onyx trotted over to investigate.

I turned and sprinted back toward the inferno, forcing my burning lungs to keep going.

“Tory!” I shouted, my voice cracking.

The fire had grown even more feral, and its heat was an unrelenting force. Flames licked along the walls, devouring what little was left of the hideous wallpaper.

Through the smoke, Tory stumbled toward me with her arms loaded with two more boxes.

“That’s your last load!” I yelled as she passed me.

She didn’t reply. Didn’t even look at me. But I didn’t stop to argue. I rushed into the room where the remaining boxes were piled in the corner and grabbed as many as I could manage.

The heat was unbearable, the air so thick with smoke that every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass. My lungs screamed, my throat burned, and my vision blurred, but I kept moving.

The scorched floor burned my bare feet, and each step was a fresh jolt of agony, but I forced myself forward, gripping the boxes as I stumbled toward the exit.

As I reached the hallway, there she was again. Tory. Runningbackto the boxes.

“Goddammit, Tory,” I growled.

Flaming debris rained down from the ceiling. Chunks peeled from the walls. The collapsing hallway groaned like it was in agony. I adjusted my grip on the boxes, waiting for her to emerge, every second stretching into eternity.

“Come on!” I yelled, but she wouldn’t hear me in this roaring chaos.

Through the smoke, she finally staggered out of the room with another load of boxes clutched to her chest.

“Go!Go!” I shouted.

I could barely breathe, and the smoke was so thick I couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead. Flaming embers scorched the soles of my feet, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.

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