It was fine. The guys would put out the fire that must have relit and come searching for me.
They had to know I was up here, right?
SETH
“Where's Violet?” Dylan looked around at the group of us assembled at the standard checkpoint in front of the farmhouse. The fire had reignited in the front room while we were overhauling the kitchen. Definitely not what we were hoping for.
“What do you mean?” Did she not come out with the rest of us? A quick glance around confirmed she wasn't out here. No one could miss the fishnets and shiny black shorts she wore.
“She was in there.” Dylan tipped his head toward the house.
No shit. We all saw her. But the problem was she wasn’t out here with the rest of us.
“You’re sure?” Owen asked. “Mitchell, you said no one else was inside.”
“There wasn't.” Jay nodded to the second floor. “Unless she went upstairs.”
Christ. Standing here arguing about where she might have gone wasn't solving anything. The fire blocked the front room already, and the windows were boarded up, so if she was on the second floor, she wasn't getting out that way.
I turned back to the truck and grabbed the Halligan, avoiding the guys grabbing the hoses to have a second go at the stubborn flames.
“Davis,” Owen's voice boomed as I ran toward the front door.
I would likely get my ass handed to me for this, but I couldn't just stand around. With everything being so hot and unstable from the original burning, it wouldn't take long for the fire to make it to the second level.
I held my breath as I entered the house. The flames were just beginning to lap at the stairs as I ascended them. Visibility on the second floor wasn't great, but getting down low made it a little better. I went left to check the master bedroom first. After calling out and performing a quick but thorough search, including the attached bathroom, I headed back into the hallway. The smoke was thicker and it was getting harder to see. But the first thing I noticed as I made my way down the hallway toward the other rooms was that all the doors were ajar except for one.
Good girl.
I pushed it open and stepped inside, closing it behind me. She was huddled in the furthest corner from the door.
“Mountain Man,” she whispered and stood with a smile.
What the fuck did she just say? I narrowed my eyes at her and then assessed the room.
“Let's go,” I called and made my way to one of the windows that faced the front. I was sure the flames would be at the stairs by now. Best option was to get the boards off and go out that way.
The faint sound of wood splintering followed by a loud crash reverberated through the room.Fuck. That wasn’t good. We needed to get out. Now.
I used the Halligan to pry the wood away from the window casing and leaned out to get my bearings.
“There,” Jay yelled. “Get the ladder.”
I turned back toward Violet just as all the blood drained from her face.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.” She squared her shoulders and flinched when the ladder clamored loudly against the siding.
I waved toward the window. “You go first.”
She started to shake her head then stopped, but she still didn't make any attempt to move.
“We gotta go. You'll be fine. I’ll be right behind you.”
“I'm, umm... afraid of heights.”
Fucking great. Did that mean she wasn't planning to go out the window? Because being burned by fire seemed like a much less appealing alternative.
