Page 45 of Striking the Match (Redwood Bay Fire #3)

But Flores is already running out of the room to do as I asked. “Anyone else here?” he shouts as he does. “Fire department, call out!”

I turn back to my man. “Cassius, have you got any of those chicken treats she loves in here?”

“I do!” he cries, launching himself at his nightstand. The fact that the big tough football player has kitty nibbles by his bed makes my heart melt.

“Shake them and call for her,” I tell him. “I’ll go help the lieutenant. Remember, keep calm?—”

“And carry on,” he finishes, giving the packet a hearty jiggle.

The tiniest meow comes from above our heads.

I hold my breath as Cassius and I look at each other, our eyes wide as we strain our ears over everything else going on around us. I absolutely did not expect that to work so fast, or even at all. I just wanted to give Cassius a job to do to stop him freaking out.

“Do it again,” I whisper.

He does.

The meow is louder this time.

I snap my head up as my heart summersaults in my chest. “The wardrobe!” I cry. I’d go weak at the knees from relief, but my legs have got a lot of work to do yet. “Rico!” I shout down the hall. “We found her, but I need a boost!”

“I can—” Cassius begins, but I cup my hand against his cheek.

“Not with your shoulder,” I say firmly. Lieutenant Flores is already back in the room with us, ready to assist. “You be ready with the bag. She’s going to fight.”

“That’s my girl,” he grits out, hurriedly giving me the treats and unscrunching the duffle, ready to catch an irate ball of fluff and claws.

“Up there,” I say to Flores, pointing to the top of the wardrobe.

“Gotcha, Probie,” he says, linking his fingers to scoop up my foot.

I bounce up the few extra feet I needed and cling to the side of the wardrobe.

Kiki is curled up against the wall, trembling and looking at me with enormous blue eyes.

“It’s okay, baby girl,” I say softly, tipping out a few bits of freeze-dried chicken in front of her. Luckily, it isn’t dusty as Cassius hasn’t been here that long, but that’s really the least of my issues.

A bloody-chilling screech tears through the house, most likely metal twisting, followed by other snapping and crumbling sounds. The window near us shatters as the frame warps, making us all flinch and Kiki try and scramble away from me.

We haven’t got time to do this as gently as I’d like.

But even if she never trusts me again, she’ll be alive.

So I lurch forward, and Flores automatically boosts me higher.

I wrap my hand around Kiki’s chest and yank her to me.

She howls and flails, but I just hug her tighter as gravity brings me back down again.

I slip from Flores’s grip, but he grabs my thighs to slow my fall.

We both stumble on our feet, and I tip Kiki into the duffle bag.

Cassius had it half closed already, and he zips up the rest, quick as a flash.

“You did it,” he says breathlessly.

“We did it,” I assure him.

“We need to get the fuck out of here, right now!” Flores shouts, already running for the door. “Anyone else here? This is your last chance! Fire department, call out!”

Mercifully, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else up here, so it’s just ourselves we have to worry about. Cassius hands me the squirming, yowling bag, and I throw the strap over my shoulder, making sure that Kiki is secured across my body. Then I hold my hand out for Cassius to take.

“Let’s go,” I say. He nods, and we sprint toward the stairs.

It’s only then do I realize that the floor is way more uneven than I appreciated. My heart hammers in my chest as we turn the corner and rush down the steps back into the flood water.

I suppose the good news is that the level has receded by a couple of feet. Also, once we get low enough, I can see the One-Thirteen second watch near the front of the house in full gear. The civilians look to have all been cleared out.

That’s where the good news ends, though.

The central supporting beam has huge cracks in its center where it’s buckled. It’s like the entire house is folding in on itself.

There’s really no telling if the worst of the damage has been done already, or if the whole building could still come down around our ears.

“Lieutenant!” Captain Valentine bellows from across what’s left of Cassius’s kitchen-dining-living area. “Stay where you are, it’s not stable! Is there anyone else with you?”

He shakes his head. “Just us three and the cat. What’s our exit strategy?”

“Can you reach a window at the front of the property?” Cap asks.

We look at each other. “Back to the bedroom?” I suggest. “We can climb out.”

Flores nods. But before he can reply to the captain, the supporting beam contorts, raining drywall and chunks of concrete and metal into the swirling brown water.

“Go, go, go!” the lieutenant yells, and we bolt back the way we came with him leading the charge and me bringing up the rear.

Kiki is like a tornado made of knives inside the duffle bag. But I know as long as she’s inside, I can keep her safe, even if she’s terrified.

She’s right to be.

The whole house lurches as we scramble down the corridor. Without warning, Cassius goes flying, tumbling to the floor in front of me with a yell. Flores whirls around, and we both dash to him.

“My fucking ankle,” Cassius cries in dismay.

“We’ve got you,” I promise him despite the fear gripping my heart. How’s he going to climb down now? Hopefully it’s a mild sprain like before, but still—when are we going to catch a break?

I only just got Kiki out of the river and Cassius out of the landslide in one piece. How many of our nine lives have we already used up?

Do we have just one more to get us out of this crumbling house alive?

“Rico, can you…” I say to my lieutenant, not quite sure what I’m asking, only knowing that the corridor is too narrow to fit three people side-by-side and that I’ve already got Kiki to protect.

“It’s okay, Teddy,” Flores says, looping Cassius’s arm around his neck. “We’ll go first, all right?”

In a flash, he has Cassius up on his feet and limping back toward the bedroom. But the entire building is shaking and I’m struggling to find stable footing.

I think the lower floors might finally be giving up.

“Teddy!” Cassius yells, looking over his shoulder at me.

“Get to the window!” I scream. “Rico, get him out! Don’t look back, Cassius, I’m right behind you!”

Except I’m not. I’m pinwheeling backward, flailing my arms to grab at the banister to give me some purchase.

And that’s when the floor in front of me begins to disintegrate.

Debris is raining all around me as the hole appears, growing rapidly between me and the bedroom. Flores glances back, his eyes widening as he realizing how much trouble I’m in.

“Get Cassius out!” I shout. “Don’t stop! I’m right behind you.”

I can’t think about how there might not be a wall for them to scale in a matter of moments.

I can’t think about how unstable the floor is.

Every second we waste could be our last. So I back myself up as the house rattles around me and pause only long enough to hug Kiki through the bag.

She’s stopped thrashing, like she knows this shit has gotten really real.

“Come on, Miss Kitty,” I tell her. “We’ve got this. ”

With a deep breath, my legs erupt, and I vault the two of us over the gaping space. My foot almost hits dead air, but I fumble and roll forward, cradling Kiki protectively to my chest.

We’ve made it, but a structural beam crashes through the ceiling in the bedroom, causing me to scramble back toward the closet where we started. At least there’s no sign of Cassius or Flores. They must have made it out the window.

Now it’s our turn.

But it’s like the whole house is in a trash compactor, the space getting smaller around me. Walls crack, metal squeals, glass shatters, wood snaps, and water is dripping and spraying from everywhere.

I just have to make it to the window. Even if I have to jump, that feels like a better option than staying here.

My whole body is trembling as I haul myself back onto my feet, clinging to the closet for support.

I’m probably better off crawling over the bed than trying to go around it and under the fallen beam.

It’s covered in shit, so I yank the duvet toward me to expose the mattress underneath.

Cassius and I have made love here so many times.

How was I to know that the last time would be, well, the last?

“No, we’re getting out of here,” I growl to myself.

At least I thought it was to myself.

“Damn right you are, Probie!” Lili yells, her scowling face suddenly appearing at the window. “What are you playing at?”

She’s barefooted as she swings her legs around and drops into the room. She’s still in her green jumpsuit with streaks of mud all over her exposed skin. “How the…what?” I stammer as I crawl over the bed.

She grabs my arm and hurries me back to the window. “You really thought we’d just leave you hanging, dumb ass? You’re stuck with the One-Thirteen now. Live with it, emphasis on live!”

As she shoves me forward…I see the ladder from the rig lined up outside. “What? I didn’t think the truck would have room?—”

“Escape first, explain later!” she yells as the house gives another sickening groan.

She has a point.

I throw myself out into the night, spinning to face the ladder so I can climb down it quicker. Glancing up, I see Lili shimmying after me. The house continues to crumble and sag, but all that’s left inside are things. Kiki and I were the last two souls to make it out.

We’re safe. We made it.

A sob racks through my chest, but I breathe through it, focusing on getting back on solid ground. There are people shouting and cheering from behind me, but I can’t make sense of any of it. My trembling limbs don’t stop until I stumble off the ladder.

And straight into Cassius’s arms.

“You’re all right!” he yells between peppering kisses all over my face. “Holy fuck, you’re all right! Teddy, god, Teddy, I?—”