Page 96 of Billionaire Protector

A sliver of dread sliced through him.

“Where is Sheriff Sloan?” He knelt down to Tommy. “Did she go for help?”

The little boy shook his head, pointed with a tiny ash-covered finger. “She’s up there.” His voice cracked. “She went after you.”

No.Fear seized his breath, making his lungs crackle. With a barked command to the boys to stay, he ran back to the structure, barely noticing the thickening smoke, the sparks lighting up the world like the Fourth of July. His chances of survival were miniscule, but it didn’t matter. Sarah needed him.

He ascended stairs that swayed like a funhouse drawbridge, as jagged nails tore at his palms, splintered wood drawing blood on his legs. Finally, he reached the top, the entrance to an interior completely filled with smoke. He’d have the span of one breath to rescue Sarah, for an attempt at more would likely render him unconscious. With his last taste of oxygen, he raced in.

The world was alive with fire. Red and orange flames danced on melting walls, a juxtaposition of brilliant light and midnight darkness set to a symphony of sizzling, creaking and splintering. The house was a sea of shadows, concealing hidden perils and unseen dangers from a child’s nightmare. He stepped forward,and the groundgave. He grabbed a beam, somehow heaving himself up before he plummeted to certain death. Only seconds had passed, but time was running out. He couldn’t leave – not without Sarah.

His lungs burned, demanding oxygen, as the shadows shifted in the darkness. Was someone there? He took a chance and grabbed at it.

“Cole!” Sarah gasped.

Relief cascaded through him. Sarah was pale and shaken, but she was alive. Without wasting precious air, he lifted her, racing back to where he thought – hoped – the exit remained. A sliver of light lit their path, a gift of the full moon, and then they were at the window and he was pushing her through it. She made it to the top of the stairs, miraculously still standing, and he took a breath of sweet air through the open portal. Though laden with smoke, it still had some oxygen to offer. “The stairs can’t hold both of us,” he yelled. “Go down first!”

His beautiful partner looked ready to fight, but she must’ve known she wouldn’t win. Far too fast, she started down the precarious steps. He held his breath as the stairs creaked, the wood fighting valiantly but so ready to give up. She was met at the bottom by dozens of firefighters from Harmony Creek and beyond. “Hurry, Cole! It’s not going to hold much longer.”

No, it wouldn’t. He stepped onto the ledge, grabbed a beam…

That’s when the vision took over.

The world descended into an all too familiar nightmare. He fought it with everything he had, grasping for control, but it was too powerful, too all-encompassing. And suddenly, he was in a different type of hell altogether, the hell that always captured him. Only this time, something was different.

He refused to stop fighting.

“It’s not real. It’s over.” He repeated the words, shouted them, screamed them as loud as he could. This time he wouldn’tlet it win, not when he was so close. He thought of Sarah, and suddenly the vision wavered. It was just the slightest change, the slightest lessening, but he seized it, fought for control. And just as suddenly, the nightmare dissipated and he was back in reality’s nightmare, back in the smoke laden house, his hand still gripping the beam, the fire so close, the heat licking his back.

“Cole!” Screaming came from down below, as Sarah desperately trying to reach him, stopped by three burly firemen who held her tight. He put his foot on the first step.

The staircase vanished.

CHAPTER 20

Sarah Sloan’s Review

Cole Carter:A thousand stars

Giving and kind. Powerful and Strong. Compassionate and brilliant. A real life hero, a man who would give all to save those he loves. The man I thought was my enemy was so much more.

My true love.

No.

The stairs collapsed, shattering into a thousand slices of timber.

No.

Cole descended to what could only be certain death.

No.

Sarah screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as screams and gasps played like a horror film soundtrack.

But then an impossible yell. “He’s still there!”

Yes.

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