Page 144 of Fragile Sanctuary

Tears tracked down my cheeks as Anson’s face blurred. “I love you,” I croaked.

“Shut up,” Silas barked, tugging my hair in a vicious shake.

The tears fell faster as pain surged in my head, but I didn’t stop. “I don’t regret loving you for a single second. Scared the hell out of me, but it brought me back to life.”

“Reckless,” Anson choked out.

“I’ll always love you.”

“Stop it!” Silas screamed, tugging me backward.

There was a crack so loud and long it sounded like a vicious clap of thunder. At first, I thought it was a gunshot and braced for pain. But it wasn’t. The floor beneath our feet gave way, the boards snapping.

Everything slowed. It was as if I could see each millisecond in a snapshot. Anson screaming my name. Law enforcement charging out from the trees.

Then we were falling, descending into darkness. I couldn’t see where we were going. One second, shadows engulfed us. Then there was pain. Finally, only blissful nothingness.

50

ANSON

My first thoughtat the cracking sound wasbullet. That some wet-behind-the-ears deputy had decided to take their shot. But as Silas stumbled back a step, I realized I was wrong.

The entire house had been burned beyond recognition, so it was no wonder the floor was unstable and had given way.

The world dropped away as I saw them start to fall. Silas’s grip on Rho’s hair was so strong she didn’t have a prayer of breaking free. I yelled her name as if that would do something, as if I could change the course of what was about to happen.

I knew from the blueprints that the house had a basement below the ground floor. But I had no clue how deep it was. Was it a mere eight feet, or was it something deeper? How would they fall? What would they land on?

My mind worked out every twisted scenario as the horror played out in front of me. But my body was already moving, rushing forward, trying to do something,anything.

I leapt onto the cabin’s frame in what looked like it had once been an entryway. I charged forward toward the gaping hole in the floor. But a hand caught my vest and tugged me back hard.

“Don’t,” Trace barked. “You’ll go over with them.”

He was right. But I didn’t care. Wherever Rho was, that’s where I wanted to be. The cost didn’t matter. Because she was my sanctuary. I’d just never realized how fragile it all was.

The house made a series of noises that sounded like they’d come from a horror movie. A plume of dust and soot rose from the hole in an ominous cloud. Dread churned in my gut. “I’ve gotta get to her.”

“I know,” Trace said, gripping my vest tighter. Pain dug grooves into his face as he looked over my shoulder into the depths below. “But we need to be smart about it. Get gear.”

“I’ve got some, boss,” a young deputy called. “Our search and rescue stuff.”

I whirled around. “Toss me a harness.”

Trace eyed me. “You’ve had training?”

“The basics,” I said as the officer tossed me what looked like a rock-climbing harness. “We’re often searching for victims.”

“Boss,” the guy said, lifting another harness.

Trace held out a hand for it.

In a matter of seconds, we’d geared up, done a quick check for each other, and hooked into a belay system with two other officers.

“EMTs are five minutes out,” Deputy Hansen called.

I just hoped like hell they got here in time. “Anyone got a headlamp?”

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