Page 92 of The Front Runner
“Hey, guys. I got you.” I swing the door open.
Farrah doesn’t need any prompting. She bolts for the safety of the front door with Loki at her haunch, galloping to keep up.
I spin to follow them when a wave of dizziness hits me.
I need to get out of here.
That’s my last thought before everything goes black.
31
Stefan
I haveno idea what I’m walking into, but I know it’s not good. I could see the glow of my property from down the road as I sped back from a court date in Vancouver where I was really looking forward to burying that slime ball Patrick Cassel.
When I drive through the tall iron gates, with my heart firmly in my throat, I’m met with chaos. Lights flash and horses are loose around the property. I sigh when I see Farrah and Loki closed off in the paddock closest to the house.Thank God.
I’m relieved to see Mira’s truck is here. I suspect we’re going to need her help, and I’m willing to endure the pain of being around her if it means saving my horses’ lives.
Nauseating butterflies erupt in my stomach as Nadia runs toward my car, waving bandaged hands, tears clinging to her mascara, leaving black smudges down her cheeks. For a girl who looks constantly put together, she is downright frantic.
I sit frozen, not sure I’m ready to face what I’m about to walk into. I’m watching my goal go up in flames. Literally. I’ve spent the past several years chasing a vendetta. And here I am, watching it all turn to ash. I don’t even know how to feel.
Nadia yanks my driver’s side door open. She’s shouting frantically, but I can’t quite wrap my head around what she’s saying. I’m too lost in the flames, what they represent.
It’s almost hypnotic.
Her hand lands hard and fast across my cheek, forcing my attention to her. “Wake the fuck up! Mira is in there! She hasn’t come out!” She’s screaming now. Distraught.
And in a blast, I absorb all her anxiety. Her horror. I’m in motion before I have a single second to think about it. I leave my door open as I jog toward the barn, the devastation of the fire dawning on me.
“Stefan! They said they can’t go in. Butshe’s in there! She sent me out and went in instead, promising to get Loki and Farrah! They both came out. They’re the last stall. But she hasn’t followed!” The pain is palpable as it rolls off my sister in waves.
Everyone is just standing back, watching.
“Where is she? Where is Mira?” I hear Billie from just behind me, her golden eyes desperately searching the crowd while Hank stands at her side, his green eyes alight with pure agony as he wraps an arm around Billie’s midsection to hold her back.
Word travels fast in a small town, and I’m certain they could see the fire from their property. They must have arrived mere moments after me, and I’m sure they overheard Nadia’s shouting.
The lack of action enrages me.Ienrage me. I told Mira she only ever does anything to benefit herself. Now she’s inmyburning barn. Savingmyhorses. Savingmysister.
And I saidthatto her. What I should have said to her is that I love her. That I needed some time to lick my wounds. That we would be fine. That I was going to come back. That I’d never felt this way about another person before.
That I never wanted to again.
The need to tell her overwhelms me. And instinct overtakes all sense. All I know is Ineedher.
I need to tell her I love her.
I take one look into my newfound father’s eyes, and something passes between us. An understanding. An agreement. I only just found him, and now I might lose him. But if I don’t at least try to get her out of there, I will lose myself. He nods at me, and with his blessing, I push through the line of firefighters.
“Sir!”
“Sir, stop! The structure isn’t stable!”
A hand reaches out to grip me, but I’m stronger. My strength is coming from somewhere else right now.Adrenaline.
I shake the person off and hold an arm up over my mouth to stifle the smoke. Once I cross the threshold, I realize they localized the flames on the outside of the building but the smoke inside is suffocating. It’s captured in here like steam from a shower in a closed bathroom. Deep down, I know I’m making a stupid decision walking into a burning building.
