Page 98 of Up In Smoke

That didn’t even occur to me. I barely even thought to call 911. The fact that I haven’t leaned out of the burning building and begged for help until now probably says some bad things about my mental health, but fuck it. Hopefully, I’ll have time to psychoanalyze later.

If there is a later.

“Hey! Over here!” I yell, flinging my arms up in the air.

“Jesse!” Katerina cries in alarm. I whip my head around and see the smoke coming around the glowing sides of her bedroom door.

The fire’s in her apartment.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I utter as I grab a blanket and try my best to hang it around the doorframe. If I can keep the smoke out for a few extra minutes, it might just give us the time we need. But the wall is hot and the smoke that’s already making its way into the room catches at the back of my throat. I cough and splutter. Klaus barks and Noski meows.

“Get back, Jesse!” Katerina croaks before coughing as well.

“Breathe through your dressing gown sleeve,” I cry over my shoulder at her.

We’re running out of time.

I give up on trying to hang the blanket and instead add it to the heap of towels at the bottom of the door. Then I dash back to the window with the intention of screaming my lungs out to get one of those ladders over to us. We can’t stay here much longer.

But as I shove my head out into the night air, I come face to face with my husband.

And send him flying backward, four stories above the ground.

CHAPTER 30

Rico

Despair claws at me.But if Jesse isn’t here, then he isn’t here. Wishing isn’t going to make him magically appear. “Fire department! Call out!” I try one last time, but I hear nothing over the blaring alarm and the ominous crackling of the fire beyond my front door.

I can tell it’s close to getting through, so I take a second to look for some towels to dampen and throw down. But I realize they’re already in a pile in the entrance hall area, so Jesse must have been aware of what was going on. A thought strikes me, and I run to check under the kitchen counter.

The fire extinguisher is gone.

Okay, that’s a good sign! I try and slow my heart rate down. Maybe in the time it took me to get up here, Jesse and Klaus were able to fight their way down before the flames got too bad. I still run the towels under the faucet for a second then throw them down in the hopes of salvaging some of our home and possessions.

“Hey! Over here!”

The voice comes from outside and I almost miss it over the rest of the noise going on around me. But that doesn’t negate the fact that it came fromnearbyoutside my window.

I run back to the empty frame, my boots crunching over the broken glass scattered over my carpet. When I stick my head out, I don’t see anyone directly above, but I do see Lochlan helping the family next door with their escape. Well, that’s one less thing I have to worry about. I can also see the rest of the team are hard at work using the hoses to get the blaze under control. The One-Two-Two are already set up and are joining in with the rescue effort.

But as I scan the crowd, I still don’t see Jesse or Klaus.

Then I glance left and realize my Russian neighbor’s window is open. Oh, crap. Katerina is not so nimble on her feet and I haven’t seen her since we got here, either.

Not wasting any time, I haul myself back out onto the windowsill and start carefully easing my way along this ledge. It wasn’t designed to be climbed, let alone by anyone wearing as much gear as I am. More than once I almost lose my balance, but I manage to keep clinging to the wall by my gloved fingertips. Finally, I reach the sill and stretch my leg out, covering the last couple of feet as quickly as I can.

With a relieved exhale, I crouch down, ready to enter.

Just as Jesse lunges toward me.

“Fuck!” I yell, finally losing my battle with gravity. My stomach drops as I begin to fall…

But then Jesse grabs my hand with two of his and hauls me back toward the building. I seize the window frame with my free hand and find my purchase again.

“Holy shit!” he shouts in my face, still pulling on me until I tumble inside Katerina’s bedroom. “Rico! Are you okay? Oh my god, I almost killed you! I’m so sorry.”

I find my feet again and stop his rambling by throwing my arms around him and hugging him tight. “Thank god, you’re safe,” I utter.