Page 49 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
And when I came around the corner to check the book room we had set up just for Raven in the first place, I found her underneath a pile of books that had fallen from the bookshelf.
Most likely, from the explosion in the cellar.
“Raven,” I said as I rushed to her side.
I rolled her over and found her completely unconscious.
“Raven, wake up. Can you hear me?” I asked.
She coughed, but she still didn’t open her eyes. So, I ripped my mask off my head and slipped it around hers. I picked her up in my arms before tossing her over my shoulder, and I heard her softly grunt at her stomach’s impact with my shoulder.
Before flames barreled down the hallway.
“Shit,” I hissed.
The door I had kicked in was blocked with flames that were too thick to get through. The effort the guys were putting in down below wouldn’t do shit for the flames that had made their way up here. So, I backtracked. I weaved up and down the hallways, trying not to inhale as much smoke as I possibly could. And after making my way back to the window I had smashed earlier, I tried to figure out how the hell I’d get Raven through it safely.
Since she still hadn’t come back to the conscious world yet.
Twenty-Four
Summer
“Summer! This way!” Molly called out.
The smoke almost choked me as the sound of flames crackling off in the distance confused me. There was so much smoke, and yet I saw absolutely no flames.
Was the fire somewhere else in the warehouse?
“Come on,” Molly said as she took my hand, “we have to get out of here.”
“Follow me!” Porter called out.
“Tanner!” I exclaimed.
I reached out for him as Molly tugged me down the hallway. I didn’t want to leave without him, though. I didn’t want him to perish in the fire. And when he reached out for me, our fingers touched. Electricity jumped from my body to his as my skin sizzled with desire.
With love.
With fear.
“Go with Molly,” Tanner said, “I’ll be out there soon enough.”
The steadiness of his voice only betrayed the shaking quality of my own. I was worried as fuck, and the further Molly dragged me down the hallway the more the smoke enveloped his body. I wanted to call out to him. I wanted to rush back to him and drag him out with me so that I knew he’d be okay.
But once Molly coughed, my attention snapped over to her.
“Here, we need to get you some fresh air,” I said.
With smoke billowing into every open corner and crevice of the place, I wrapped my arm around Molly’s back. I helped her down the hallway as her right hand clasped her stomach, almost as if she were trying to lift it up. She waddled alongside me, moving as quickly as she could. But when I saw a sea of smoke rushing around the corner in front of us, I looked around for an alternate route.
“We’re gonna die in here,” Molly said breathlessly.
I gritted my teeth. “No, we’re not. Follow me. Come on.”
I darted into a room that connected two of the hallways and burst through the other side. I looked to my right and saw nothing but a wall of smoke, but when I looked to my left, I saw what looked like paradise. I saw the opening to the living room down the way about twenty feet, and there didn’t seem to be a shred of smoke in its wake.
So, we turned down that way and booked it for the front door.
Molly’s coughing had me worried and we had to stop to catch our breath a couple of times, but we finally made it to the living room. However, I was wrong on the smoke.
The smoke simply hadn’t crept around the corner yet.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed.
“You guys! Over here!”
I didn’t recognize the voice, but Molly did. “Finn? Is that you?”
“Hey! Down here!”
Then, Molly’s eyes widened. “Finn! We can’t see you!”
The smoke grew thicker by the second as my eyes darted around, trying to figure out where the hell that man was. I backed us up into the kitchen, trying to stay away from the bulk of it as footsteps fell heavily against the floor. The sound came closer before Finn rounded the corner, his eyes dancing between the two of us.
Then, he took each of us by our hands and tugged us along.
“The front door is the quickest way out. Follow me,” he urged.
We rushed along behind him and I helped Molly steady herself on her feet. The sound of crackling flames grew louder, and I looked around to see if Tanner was anywhere near us. Was he still in the building? Had he gotten out?
What the fuck was he doing?
“There!” Molly exclaimed.
Finn had to really work to get the front door open, but when he did we all dashed outside. Molly and I rushed toward the treeline before we turned around, and I was still confused at the sight I saw.
