Page 72 of Last Chance Christmas
“Now look at what you’ve done.” Vaynes grew still. He threw a case on the table and opened it. The light glinted off the metal tip of a needle in his hand.
She couldn’t be drugged again.
She threw her weight back and forth with what little give she could find. Every instinct screamed to get as far away from him as possible.
Vaynes stepped closer. She thrashed harder, tipping her chair. She fell to the side, her free arm barely escaping being crushed. But in the fall, one of her legs broke free. With it, she kicked at Vaynes, catching him in the chin, then the chest.
He fell over, knocking the light down to the ground and flooding the room in darkness. But sparks caught the spilled kerosene and quickly ignited. Flames licked the floor, growing taller by the second.
Vaynes didn’t move.
She had to get out of here.
Della kicked, scooting herself and the chair farther back. With her free arm and leg, she pushed herself as far away from Vaynes and the fire as she could until she’d positioned herself against the wall, by the double doors that had to be the main entrance. But already, the table she’d been strapped to in the middle of the room was ablaze. A wall of flames cut her off from Vaynes, but she couldn’t free herself from the chair. She couldn’t stand.
But she could kick.
Having lost her sock in the fray, she kicked at the door with her bare foot. It didn’t budge.
She screamed and kicked again. She had to get free.
Smoke rolled off the low ceiling. Della coughed and continued to beat at the door.
The smoke grew thicker, the flames danced closer, and Della’s muscles screamed for relief. A coughing fit overtook her. She lay on the floor, still strapped to the chair, and gasped for breath. The fire was only a few feet away, but she had nothing left. Her kicking must’ve broken something in her foot. She couldn’t move it anymore.
As she lay there, a voice called her name. It was faint, maybe only a figment of her imagination. Hopefully someone would take care of Grandma Priya. Her thoughts grew fuzzy.
This was it.
There would be no foster care, no honoring Lily’s sacrifice. No chance to get to know Anthony.
But then a draft of cold, clean air rushed over her as the doors flew open.
“Della!”
She pried open her eyes to find Anthony standing over her. He lifted her, chair and all, and carried her into the snowy night.
“Set her down, Tony.” Penny pulled a multitool from her pocket and cut the tape and rope, freeing Della’s other limbs. As soon as Della was free from the chair, Anthony scooped her up in his arms. Someone, maybe Penny, tucked a coat around her. Shouting, sirens, and flashing lights swirled around them.
And there was Anthony. The warmth from his body fighting off the chill in hers.
This wasn’t a dream. He was real. He was here. She smiled.
Finally safe and sheltered, Della rested her head against his chest and succumbed to the blackness overtaking her.
Nineteen
Anthony raced back to Last Chance as quickly as the treacherous roads would allow. As grateful as he was for the break in the weather that had allowed the medevac helicopter to land and take Della, he hated that he couldn’t ride with her. And now the storm system was back even stronger as he fought to get to the hospital. He wanted to be there when Della woke. Wanted to tell her the nightmare was over.
Vaynes was dead. No one had been able to reach him in the burning building, though Bryce had tried. The building was a total loss, but thankfully the rest of Sagebrush City was safe.
There was a lot more to tell her.
Like how much he liked her. How he wanted her to meet his mother. That he would gladly don a Santa suit if it brought joy to children and made her event a success. He rehearsed the whole list while he drove to the hospital and then waited in the lobby. But hours later, when he was able to step into her room and see for himself that she truly was alive and awake, he forgot it all.
She sat in the bed, propped up at an angle, early-morning light shining through the window. Her eyes met his and her full lips tilted up into a weak smile. “You came.”
Even with the croak in her voice, it was still the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. He walked up to her bed and took her free hand in his. Her wrist had been bandaged, but her fingers fit perfectly entwined with his. Her other hand was in a cast and rested in her lap.
