Your Captivating Love (The Bennett Family 2)
My euphoria takes a nosedive once I open the door to my apartment. On a sigh, I make my way between the boxes.
I’m in the process of counting the boxes when all hell breaks loose. A fire alarm rings loudly. My stomach gives a painful jolt as I swirl on my heels, facing my closed door. I’ve lived in many shitholes in my life and experienced false alarms more than once. Something tells me it’s not false this time. The hairs rise on the back of my neck.
Without hesitation, I open the front door and head out into the corridor. At first glance, nothing is wrong. But then I peer over the railing, looking down then up the staircase. There is thick gray smoke on the floor above me. My heart sinks, my pulse quickens. In case of fire, one shouldn’t use elevators. Right. I’m on the fourth floor. With the deafening alarm ringing in my ears, I skid down the stairs.
Rushing downward, I exert the muscles in my calves until they burn. I don’t slow down until I reach the first floor, where it’s crowded with the rest of the residents, all trying to get out. When I glance up the staircase, a knot forms in my throat. There are flames in sight, and the smoke is thick, which can kill as viciously as fire does. Covering my ears, I rise on my toes, trying to see what’s keeping us from escaping. To no avail. We don’t have much time. The air grows hotter, thicker. Every breath brings more torture than relief. My eyes water, and the crowd isn’t moving. Suddenly, dust falls on us, thick and suffocating. I turn my eyes up and freeze.
The staircase will collapse on us.
***
Logan
“What do you mean, I have to remain calm?” I ask the police officer through gritted teeth. “That building’s on fucking fire. There are people inside.” Nadine is inside.
“The firefighters will be here any minute now, and they will do their best,” he replies. His voice is so calm and robotic that it makes want to smash his nose.
I ball my hands into fists. The top floor is in flames. “This building will burn to the ground in a few fucking minutes. Where the fuck are the firefighters?”
“Sir, I will ask you to step back and calm down,” he says in the same robotic voice. I back up, panic replacing my anger as flames engulf the fourth floor as well. My pulse quickens and my mind turns blank except for one thought: I am powerless, and I might lose the woman I love.
Someone shoves me hard in the back, and I realize there’s a crowd behind me that wasn’t here before. From the fleeting comments I catch, they live in the neighboring buildings.
“The firefighters are here,” someone from the back of the crowd calls, and some of my sanity returns. They’re not here, per se, but I can hear their siren.
They arrive within seconds, followed by ambulances. Jesus. Ambulances. My blood goes cold.
I watch as if in a nightmare as the firefighters rescue the residents, and hand them over to the paramedics. I make my way through the crowd, desperate to see Nadine. She must be okay. Please, dear God, let her be okay. I cannot lose her. I will not lose her.
“Everyone was evacuated,” someone yells through the crowd as I finally reach the ambulances.
My heart constricts when I see her, covered in dust and whatnot. Her eyes are wide and fearful as she peers around her frantically. She only calms down when she sees me walking to her.
I step inside the ambulance and hug her as the paramedic scribbles something on a piece of paper. Nadine molds into my arms, fisting my shirt. She’s trembling slightly, and so am I. The relief of having her with me again is overwhelming. “Nadine, are you hurt?” My voice quivers.
She opens her mouth, but no words come out, so she shakes her head.
I hug her tight again, caressing her hair. “Is she hurt?” I ask the paramedic.
“Physically, no, but she might be in shock. I suggest you take your wife to the hospital to have a thorough checkup.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to take her with the ambulance?”
The paramedic shakes her head. “She doesn’t need to ride in the ambulance, and we’re needed here for first aid.”
I nod, licking my lips. “I’ll take her to the hospital right away.”
“Please, Logan,” Nadine murmurs. “I want to go home. I want to sleep.”
“I’m taking you to the hospital. I’m not negotiating on this.”
Without waiting for her reply, I lift her in my arms. She rests her head against my chest without arguing. We ride to the hospital in a cab instead of my car, because I can’t concentrate on anything until a doctor tells me she’s one hundred percent okay.
Chapter Seventeen
Logan
I can’t fall asleep, even hours after I put Nadine to bed. The doctors checked her at the hospital, assured me she’s in perfect health, but exhausted, and still in shock. I brought her home, put her on the bed, and prepared her a bath. When I returned to the bedroom, she was already asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake her up, even though she still smelled of danger: smoke and burnt wood.