Page 65 of Corey
And quickly realized there weren’t fucking any.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Now what?” Sera asked, peering over the edge. There was no way they could jump safely. They were three stories up and it was a straight drop down.
Corey leaned over, his eyes zeroing in on the chimney that ran down the length of the house. “Could you hug the chimney and scale down it?”
“Are you kidding me?” she asked a little hysterically and lifted her arms, showing him her lack of muscles. “My dad used to call them bendy straws.”
They probably would’ve laughed if the situation weren’t so dire.
“We need to somehow climb down the side—” His voice abruptly cut off, his gears turning.
“We could go back to the bedroom. Knot sheets together?” she suggested. But one look back in the conservatory, and she couldn’t miss the smoke already pouring out from the passageway.
“Too dangerous to go back.” Corey frowned hard. “I have a better idea. Wait here.”
Wait here?Hugging herself and feeling trapped, she watched Corey sprint back into the hazy conservatory. In lessthan twenty seconds, he came running back out, hefting a heavy-looking, coiled garden hose.
Her jaw dropped. “You’re brilliant!”
“Only if this works,” he stated dryly. “I already tied it off around a pillar inside.”
He tossed the thick length of hose over the side.
“I’m going to go first, but I’ll be right beneath you. If your arms get tired, I want you to step onto my shoulders. Just hang on tight, okay?”
“Okay.” She forced a short, quick nod and felt like throwing up.
Corey grabbed her face in his hands, his electric-blue eyes locking onto hers. “You’ve got this, sweetheart.”
Then he pressed his lips to hers, infusing her with strength and reminding her that she had so much to live for.
“Let’s do this,” she whispered, trying to sound more courageous than she felt.
“That’s my brave girl.” He grabbed the hose in his gloved hands and levered himself over the edge with an ease and strength she wished she possessed. He exuded intense warrior vibes, and she watched in awe as he scaled down a few feet, giving her plenty of room to follow.
Stopping, he looked up. “C’mon, sweetheart. Grab the hose, get a good grip, and come down to me.”
Heart in her throat, she wiped her sweaty hands on her thighs, praying she wouldn’t slip, bump into him and take them both down. Wrapping her hands around the rubber hose in a death grip, she dropped down onto her butt and scooted rightover the edge before she could think too hard about it and let the fear consume her.
No way was she letting herself or Corey down. They were too close to escaping this hellish place, and she wasn’t about to lose her shit and destroy their only chance of getting away. Time to dig deep, lock down the terror and move her ass.
Corey stayed close beneath her like he said he would, waiting for her to reach him, then lowering himself a little further. Halfway down, her arms began to burn like crazy, but she refused to add extra weight to Corey’s shoulders unless she thought she might actually fall. She did, however, vow to start working out again and beef up her spaghetti noodle arms.
Staring at the wall, praying she could hang in there, she focused on the motions.Hold tight, keep your legs wrapped firmly around the hose, slide a little. Feel Corey’s touch on your ankle. And repeat.
She wasn’t sure if it had been one minute or ten, but when she felt firm hands grip her waist and tug, she squeezed the hose tighter. She couldn’t fall. They were so close now.
“Sweetheart, let go. You made it.”
Relief poured through her and she released the hose, falling back into Corey’s embrace.
“You did so well.” He tucked her into his side and lifted his gun, quickly surveying the area. Nodding to the rear hedges, he said, “Almost out of here.”
God, she hoped so.
Halfway across the lawn, a huge explosion tore through the house. Corey grabbed her as they flew forward, jerked right off their feet from the powerful blast. He turned as they hit theground, his body taking the impact, then rolled over top of her, shielding her from the massive wave of heat and debris pouring over them.
