Page 98 of Bonds of Obsession

She whirls on me, eyes blazing brighter than the fire behind her. “Like hell you’re stopping me from going in there,” she snarls. “I’m not losing anyone else. Not one more fucking person.”

The raw determination in her voice hits me in the gut. I know that feeling, that desperation to protect what’s yours, no matter the cost. I’ve felt it every time I’ve looked at her since the day she got under my skin.

“I wasn’t planning on stopping you,” I say, meeting her gaze. “But I’m going in with you.”

“We all are,” Nico adds as he and Killian step up beside us.

Quinn looks between us for a moment, then gives a sharp nod. “We need wet rags,” she says, already pulling off her jacket.“And we need to know exactly where in the basement they were headed.”

One of her people points out the most likely spot while another runs to get rags from the bar next door. My chest tightens as I watch the flames eating away at the building. Time is running out fast.

The moment we have the wet rags over our faces, we enter through the front door, where flames are already licking up the walls and across the ceiling. The smoke is thick enough to make my eyes water instantly.

Every breath feels like swallowing razor blades, but I push through it, keeping close to Quinn as we navigate the burning shop. Thank fuck we’ve all spent enough time here to know every corner, but the heat and the smoke are making even the familiar layout seem disorienting.

“This way!” Quinn shouts over the roar of the flames, leading us toward the basement door. A burning beam crashes down behind us, showering sparks and making me grab her waist, yanking her forward just in time.

“Careful, vicious,” I rasp against her ear. “This whole place could come down any second.”

The memory of the night Ambrose ambushed the tattoo parlor hits me hard—Quinn was drugged, and I took a bullet to get her out. Now we’re walking straight back into hell, and it might be even more dangerous than it was that day.

Flames dance in the corners of my vision as we reach the basement door. The handle is hot enough to blister when Killian grabs it, cursing as he yanks his hand back.

“Stand back,” Nico orders, already moving to kick the door. The wood is warped from the heat, making it stick in the frame.

We all take turns ramming it, our desperation growing with each passing second. Finally, the door gives way with a crack that I can barely hear over the inferno around us. The basementstairs disappear into darkness below, with smoke rolling up past us as we start to move.

“Stay close,” Quinn says. “We do this fast, or we don’t make it out at all.”

The basement stairs creak under our weight as we descend blindly into the smoke-filled darkness.

“Jasper?” Quinn calls out, her voice muffled by the wet rag. “Damon?”

A weak cough answers from somewhere to our left. We follow the sound, doing our best to stay low where the smoke is thinner. The basement is a maze of storage areas and old furniture, with some of it already starting to burn.

“Here,” a voice croaks. Through the haze, I make out two figures. Damon is on his feet, supporting Jasper, who is trapped under what looks like a fallen shelf unit. Blood is running down the side of Jasper’s face, and his leg is bent at an angle that makes my stomach clench.

“Fuck,” Killian mutters, already moving to help. Above us, something crashes, sending vibrations through the ceiling. Dust and debris rain down, making us all look up.

“The whole fucking place is about to come down,” Nico says. “We need to get the fuck out.”

Together, we manage to lift the shelf off Jasper. He screams when we move him, but there’s no time to stop or to even take it easy on the poor guy. I take one side while Killian takes the other, and we start the brutal task of getting him up the stairs.

The walk back up to the ground floor feels like it takes forever, although it can’t be more than a minute or two. The smoke has gotten thicker, making it almost impossible to see, and heat is pressing in from all sides.

“Stay with me, man,” I grunt to Jasper as he groans. “We’re almost there.”

“I can’t—” Jasper coughs violently. “My leg?—”

“Shut up and keep moving,” Damon snaps. It’s easy to hear the fear in his voice, but I know from plenty of past experience in shitty situations that the best thing to do—the only way to stay alive—is to keep a calm head and keep moving forward.

We’re halfway to the front door when there’s a loud crack from above. Quinn looks up, her eyes widening. “Let’s move!” she shouts, leaping forward just as part of the ceiling gives way.

“Quinn!” I yell as debris rains down. Through the smoke, I see her dive clear of the falling beam.

“I’m good!” she calls back, coughing. “Keep going!”

Killian and I rush forward with Jasper as debris rains down on our backs. The impact sends fresh waves of pain through my chest, but I grit my teeth and keep moving. There’s no time for anything else.

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