Page 26

I locked the front door and turned, stepping off the porch. I hummed as I walked, eager to get home. I was just walking across the lawn when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and realized it was Ayden calling me.

It was only a little past six now. I knew it was likely not work-related, which worried me a little.

"Hello?" I said as I walked down the sidewalk towards my truck.

"Hey, we just got a call from your apartment complex. There's a fire, apparently. We are taking the fire truck over."

My heart stopped beating for a moment, and I worried about April. But I knew that she was out. When I called her, she had left over half an hour earlier. She was out with the girls and safe away from the fire.

"Well, shit. Okay, I'll head over there." I ran a hand through my hair. "Is it bad?" I asked.

"We don't know entirely what's going on. We will know more when we get there." I started my truck up and started down the road. I knew I was speeding a little as I drove, but I was worried. There were things in the apartment that were sentimental to me, and I didn't want anything to be lost.

But we lived up on the third floor, and depending on where the fire was would determine how bad things would be.

I took a deep breath. "It's fine. It's probably something minor." We had a lot of elderly people living in the building. It was probably just a small kitchen fire, but we had to investigate, even if it was something minor like that.

I stopped at a light, and my stomach flipped. But if it was something small, Ayden wouldn't have called me, would he? Unless my apartment was part of the fire.

I hit the gas and drove faster, flying across town until I pulled in front of the apartment. My eyes widened as I saw that the entire third floor was on fire. Windows were blown out, and smoke was pouring out of them.

The parking lot was filled with people and cars. I spotted the fire truck. The guys were already geared up, staring at the third floor. Police officers were running around, taping the place off. It was a disaster.

I parked and hurried out of the truck. I ran across the lawn towards the guys, and Ayden spotted me.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked, looking back at the building. It didn't look like it was any of the other floors besides the third.

Ayden sighed, looking stressed. "We don't know yet. We just got word that there was a fire. We didn't even realize how bad it was until we got here. The entire third floor is in flames."

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling my heart racing now. "Is the building cleared out?"

Ayden nodded. "Yeah, we think. We haven't gotten inside yet."

I watched as Miles and Lucas set up the hose. The others were talking, figuring out the best tactic.

"Where is April?" Cayden asked, flipping his helmet up. He looked frantic as he stared at me.

"She's out with the girls," I said. "She called me about half an hour ago and said she was heading out."

Cayden looked confused and shook his head. "No, the girls are here." He pointed, and I spotted Riley standing near another vehicle, her eyes wide as she stared at the fire. My stomach dropped.

I shook my head. "No, she can't be inside. She was…" She was at the apartment when I called. But she had to have made it out, right? She was leaving half an hour ago.

I quickly scanned the crowd, searching for her short hair and pierced ears. But I didn't see her, and it scared the living shit out of me. And as I looked back up at the fire, I realized it had been burning for a while to become this big.

"Where is my sister!" Cayden snapped at me, shoving at my shoulder. "Where is she!? You said you were going to keep her safe!"

"I don't know!" I yelled back quickly, looking at the windows. One of the apartments was ours, and it was filled with smoke and fire. The chances of survival were slim.

I moved, hurrying onto the truck, and grabbed our extra gear. I yanked it on and zipped it up. Cayden ran his hands through his hair, freaking out. He paced, shaking his head frantically.

"You're telling me she's inside!?" he said, looking at me. He looked defeated, and all the color left his face.

Ayden grabbed Cayden by the front of his outfit. "Enough! Now is not the time to be yelling. We need to get inside! So, either get your head on straight or sit your ass down and stay out of the way!"

He quickly let go of Cayden and looked at me. "Are you prepared to be in there and make the right decisions!? If not, you stay down here as well."

I nodded, knowing I could. I would. If she was inside that building, I would bring her out.

Miles and Lucas went up the truck's ladder. Ayden, Thomas Owen, and I headed inside. As we entered the building, I tightened the helmet into place.

"Owen and Thomas, you guys clear out the second and first floors. Weslie and I are going to the third floor. I will intercom if we need you up on third."

We hit the stairs and started up them. I felt my heart race, and my mind was a disaster. She had to have been out of the apartment. She said she was going out. But why didn't I see her? She would have known to leave the apartment if a fire had started. Or at least to go onto the patio if she couldn't.

Owen and Thomas slipped out the door for the first floor while Ayden and I continued up the stairs.

"You okay?" Ayden asked.

"I feel like I want to vomit," I grumbled back, feeling my stomach twist up more with each step.

Ayden was silent for a moment but glanced at me. "I know the feeling."

I took a deep breath as we continued to climb, ignoring the pain in my legs and lungs.

When we finally reached the third floor, smoke completely filled the space. It was seeping into the stairwell, and Ayden grabbed the door.

"We move quickly."

I nodded.

He pulled the door open, and the apartment was dark. We could see the fire at the other end of the hallway. It had filled over half the space.

I looked at the apartment doors and found two of them were opening, meaning whoever was there got out. I looked at our apartment door, and my eyes zoned in on a large rock shoved under our door's handle.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked, stepping closer to the door.

I grabbed the rock and wiggled it free. I turned the handle and pushed the door open. Our apartment was filled with smoke, and the heat was starting to soak through my suit.

"Fuck, we need to move fast."

I scanned the hallway, and Ayden headed down it while I slipped into the kitchen and scanned the living room. And then I spotted her. She was lying on her stomach with her phone in her right hand. Her chest wasn't rising or falling.

"Ayden!" I screamed for him as I lurked forward, dropping onto the ground next to her. I turned her, growing frantic.

"April! April!" I shook her, taking in her pale expression and her closed eyes. She looked lifeless, and I couldn't breathe.

"April!" I screamed louder, feeling my voice crack as I placed two fingers on her neck.

"Does she have a pulse?" Ayden asked, stopping next to us.

I shook my head. "No!"

Ayden turned towards the balcony and unstrapped his ax. He took a swing, and the glass door shattered.

"Crane up here, now," Ayden said into the mic and turned back to me. "We need to move her." I picked her up and moved her over towards the door. I was careful of the glass as we got onto the balcony.

"I'll search the other apartments," Ayden said as Miles helped me get April onto the crane. I yanked my helmet off and climbed on. I leaned over, tilted her mouth open, and started CPR on her.

"Shit," Miles said as he brought the crane down. "She doesn't look good, Weslie."

"Shut up!" I yelled as I continued giving her mouth-to-mouth. "Breath, April. Breath! Just take a breath in, please."

We landed at the bottom, and everything was happening so fast. A couple of EMTs grabbed April and started hooking her up to machines. I ran my hands through my hair, staring at them.

She was pale, and the EMTs were talking so quickly that I could hardly keep up. I just watched, feeling my life slip through my fingers.

"How long was she out for?" One of them asked as they did compressions on her.

"I don't know," I said. I didn't. She could have been out a few moments, I got off the phone, or she could have been out for a minute.

"You have to save her," I said, taking her hand. She was cold. "She… she's my everything. You have to bring her back!"

"April!" I could hear Riley yelling, and I turned, spotting her running towards me. I quickly stopped her before she could get in the way.

"What happened? Why was she still inside?!" Riley started to scream, trying to reach for April.

I didn't know the answer, but the rock told me someone was stopping her from getting out, and I knew it was Ivan. Meaning he knew where we were living.

Riley started to cry, clinging onto me. "She can't die! She's my best friend!"

I held Riley close and stared at April. She had to be okay. We still had too much to do, so much life to spend together. She hadn't seen the house yet. I hadn't seen her reaction to it. We still hadn't fucked in every inch of it and shared moments.

We were supposed to have children and grow old together. It couldn't all end now, not like this.

And suddenly, April gasped loudly for air. Her lungs rose, and her eyes flicked open slightly.

I suddenly felt like I could breathe again, and Riley's nail dug into my arm. "April," she cried, and her legs gave out.

Cayden rounded the group, his eyes on us. He walked over, his eyes zoning in on April. He paused next to us, and the color still hadn't returned to his face.

"She's okay," one of the EMTs said. "But we need to bring her in. She needs to be looked over. She's inhaled smoke. And while she will heal, smoke inhalation is serious."

Cayden grabbed her hand, tears in his eyes. "April, why didn't you leave the apartment?"

I walked over, grabbing his shoulder. "Not here," I said, looking at Riley. She needed him, and April likely didn't have the lung capacity to speak.

"We have room for one person to drive with us."

"I'll go," I said, handing Riley to him. I took April's hand, and her eyes snapped to me. She looked out of it and was afraid. I gave her hand a squeeze. "I have you. You're okay. Just focus on breathing."

She blinked, and I pulled her hand up, kissing it. "I have you."

The drive to the hospital was fast, and we were in a room within a few minutes. I held April's hand as they hooked her up to IVs and then had her get x-rays of her chest. April shook the entire time, and I kept her hand tightly in mine.

It was late, and the sun had set by the time the doctor came back with good news.

"She's okay. We want to do another X-ray before she leaves because of how much smoke she inhaled. We want to make sure everything is clear."

I nodded and watched as April sank into her pillow. The doctor slipped back out, and I looked at her, pulling her hair back. The color had returned to her face, and she looked more like herself.

"You're okay," I whispered to her.

"I was so scared," she whispered back. "He locked me in there."

I knew it. I had thought it, but for her to say the words ignited a rage I didn't think was possible. I wanted to hunt him down and skin him alive. I wanted him dead, and I wanted to hear him scream until he died.

"I'm sorry," I said, pulling myself up and crawling onto the bed. I pulled her into my arms and inhaled her scent. "I'm sorry, April. I'll make this better."

I wasn't entirely sure how we were going to fix everything, but I knew something would have to change. And something would.