Page 115 of Exposed

“Matt!” Rafe’s panicked voice rings out down the hall.

“Rafe!” I call.

Just then, a boom sounds from downstairs, and huge, vicious flames engulf the stairs. The temperature of the carpet beneath me is burning my knees and hands.

“Go to your window!” I scream, then scramble as fast as I can to him.

Once inside his bedroom with Shani on my heels, I slam the door and stuff the sheet in the crack where the door meets the floor.

“You came for me,” Rafe says with tears in his eyes.

Fuck. He thought we would leave him alone in a burning house?

“You bet I did. We’re getting out of here together.”

He’s got his window opened as we taught him in case of a fire, and the fresh air is a welcome reprieve to my burning lungs.

“I tried to put the escape ladder on like you told me, but it slipped out of my hands. I’m sorry,” Rafe hunches his shoulders and lowers his head, braced for my anger.

Being in an actual fire is as stressful as all get out, and he’s only eight.

“Don’t worry about it, bud. I’ll get you out of here.” I eye the ladder where it’s fallen to the grass below.

“Matt!” Jasmine calls from down below. She’s standing on the ground with Simon pulled tight against her, one hand covering her mouth in concern.

“We’re climbing down,” I shout back.

I grab the blankets and pillows from Rafe’s bed and toss them out the window in case I need something to break my fall, then scope out my options. We’re at the back of the house. It’s built on a slight incline, so a built-up foundation makes the second story higher than normal.

The siding will offer zero grip unless I can get my fingers under it and hold us up. I’ve been rock climbing a few times with Noah and Deacon, so I could attempt it, but there’s no place for my feet to go. To the right, there’s a rain gutter drain pipe running the full height of the house from the roof to the ground where it drains. It’s not far from the window, and it’s bolted in at several points. I’llclimb down it like a pole. It may pull away from the house as we go down, but it’ll slow our descent.

“Put those under the storm drain,” I shout to Jasmine, and she rushes to move the padding I threw down.

Little plumes of smoke swirl into the room from under the door, and the temperature is heating up. We need to leave.

“I’m getting you out of here first, then I’ll have Shani jump to me,” I tell Rafe.

Grabbing his desk chair, I put it next to the window so Shani can use it to get up and out.

“Shani, girl. You’re going to get on this chair,” I pat the chair for her, “and jump when I tell you to.” Shani looks at me, her tongue hanging sideways out of her mouth. She’s panting to try to cool herself.

Hang on for me, girl.

I have no idea how much she understands, but I pray she listens when I tell her to jump.

I turn to Rafe. “Come here, bud.” He nods, and I hoist him up to my chest, wrapping his legs around my waist. If I have to fall backward, I don’t want him to get hurt.

“Hold me tight,” I instruct, and he presses his body to mine as he latches his thin arms around my neck and buries his head in my neck.

“Let’s do this,” I say, then hold onto the windowsill as I climb out backward.

Shani barks her head off, scampering towards the window, then backing up in a frenzy.

“Shani, it’s okay. Once I’m down,” I point to my chest, then point to her, “you jump down to me.”

I pray she can do that, because there’s no way I can carry them both down at one time.

I move to one side of the windowsill, holding on with my fingers as I stretch my body and reach towards the water drain pipe until I can hook my foot around it.

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