Page 47 of Quadruplets for the Vipers

I hope that Tony’s ego will mean he reads this as a confirmation rather than the hatred it truly conveys. But then another message comes.

I’ll destroy everyone who touched what’s mine. I’ll blow everything up for you. I promise.

With those ominous words, there’s suddenly a deafening explosion and a bright flash of light.

In dazed horror, I rush to the window and look toward the sound. The bar is engulfed in flames. The sounds of screams echo from inside and I see one man on fire desperately running around in the forecourt outside. It’s like something from a nightmare. This can’t be happening. I shake my head, wanting to rub my eyes like a cartoon character, but the sight doesn’t change. It’s really happening. Someone’s blown up the bar.

The timing isn’t a coincidence. Tony is behind this. Bile rises in my throat, and I rush to the bathroom to throw up.

When I finally regain control of my body, a terrible, insidious thought occurs to me, were any of the guys there? They didn’t say they were going out when I went to bed, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.

I race out of the room, screaming their names at the top of my lungs. Their bedrooms are empty, the doors thrown open, blankets crumpled, I try to tell myself this means they were sleeping and they’ve just left to help after hearing the explosion, but that niggling evil voice tells me they were in there. That they’re trapped in the fire, or worse. I rush down the stairs, flinging the front door open wide, and running down the street,barefoot in just my nightgown. Tears stream down my face, and I scream out their names, my voice growing hoarse.

This can’t be happening.

Chapter 23

Axel

The fire is already raging by the time I reach the clubhouse. The sound of the explosion woke me, and I rushed to help as quickly as I could. Rider was emerging from his room at the same time as me and I shouted to him to wake Jace as I ran down the stairs. Knox was just seconds ahead of me, running down the road. Spotting his bare feet, I decided to throw on my leathers and boots. Already planning to go inside and brave the flames to try to get people out.

Knox seems to realize his mistake when I arrive. Dressed only in sweats, he’s helpless to go inside and try to save our friends who we can hear crying out for help from within. He’s busy helping the ones outside who were lucky enough to have escaped. Vic is badly burned, and his old lady, Betsy, is unharmed but sobbing uncontrollably. A short distance away there’s a burned body lying face down, I can’t see who it is, but I know from my military days that they’re beyond help. A couple of club bunnies and some guys I don’t recognize stand coughing, staring at the flames in horror.

“Call the fire brigade!” I shout to them, and they nod, pulling out their phones in a daze.

“Who else is inside? How many are trapped?” I frantically ask, turning my attention to Betsy.

“I don’t know… I… um… there’s Shelly on the bar, and then I think there was Tank, Brewer, and a couple of prospects and a few of the club girls…” she says, dazed.

“Are those the prospects and club girls over there?” I ask, pointing to the ones that made it out.

She nods uncertainly, “I think so. Maybe there was one or two more. I dunno, they weren’t with us.”

“Alright, Betsy, you did good. Help is on the way.”

After speaking with the others, they confirm that no one is missing from their group. They inform me that they escaped through the emergency exit, which means the others left inside must be trapped, unconscious, or it’s blocked off now.

Knox looks at me. “We can’t wait for the fire brigade. The rate that fire is burning it will be too late…”

“I know. That’s why I’m going in.”

“Me too,” Jace says, coming over with Rider beside him. Like me, they thought to put on their clothing for protection. They also had the added idea of bringing some soaking wet towels with them.

I nod, turning my attention to Rider and Knox. “You two stay out here and help everyone who made it out.”

“No. I’m coming in too,” Rider insists.

“No, you’re not. I’m sorry, brother. I know you mean well, but if you freak out on us in there, we’re all dead.”

I feel like shit for saying it. But Rider is no longer warzone-ready, and this is a warzone. He doesn’t argue with me. He knows I’m right. Knox starts to argue that he can come, he just needs to change.

“There’s no time,” I say, cutting him off. ‘Let’s go,” I bark at Jace who follows me into hell.

Covering my mouth with one of the wet towels, I head inside with Jace close by my side. “Shelly, Tank, Brewer!” we shout in unison.

“Over here!” I hear Tank call out from behind a wall of flames, his voice hoarse from coughing.

I brace myself for the intense heat that licks at me as I brave the flames. When we come through the other side, only a second later but it feels like forever, we’re unharmed.

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