Page 57 of Saving Jared

"Nothing… Sir."

"I thought so. See me when we get back to the station." Cord was in for a talking to. She shouldn’t grin over that. Really, she shouldn’t. But she couldn’t help it.

"We’re out front," Kevin said. "You guys need to come on. They’re having a hard time in the bakery."

Willa clicked her mic. "You got outside fast," she said while waiting at the apartment’s front door for Cord, then grinned at Kevin’s, "You bet your ass."

Speaking of asses…

She glanced over her shoulder. Cord needed get his in here. The sooner they got out of this building, the better. She clicked open her mic. "We’ll be right down."

"I didn’t need you to wait on me."

Willa threw her irritated glare at Cord rushing toward her. She still had her mic up to her mask, just not open. But he wouldn’t know that. So, he’d probably refrained from adding any overtly smart-ass—or suggestive—comment just in case. The man had already screwed up. But his tone, along with the disgusted look she observed through his mask when he got to the door, spoke volumes.

"Well, I did. So, let’s go." She let the mic drop again, opened the door, and stepped into a wall of whiteish-gray smoke obscuring the landing and the stairs going in both directions. "Honestly—"

Willa jolted at a booming blast from somewhere to their right, and close enough the building quaked, while thunks hit against the building’s exterior.

"What the hell was that?"

"I don’t know," she answered, shaking her head. "An explosion?" But that didn’t make sense. Another station’s crew had been working the four-story antique store across the alley when they’d entered the bakery. What could have possibly been that combustible inside a building filled with old furnishings and such?

Her hesitant gaze drifted toward a faint light filtering through the smoke. That wasn’t daylight from the two windows facing the alley—not this late, and not with how the antique store sitting just ten feet away normally kept the windows darkened. The only explanation could be that particular fire had gotten out of control.

"I think we’d better go," she threw over her shoulder at Cord, before her startled gaze flew toward the sound of the windows shattering. Bricks and glass skidded across the floor in front of them. She jumped back, shouting, "Now," as the building shook again and the floor buckled, then tilted under her feet.

"No shit!" Cord’s bellow was nearly eclipsed by their heavy footfalls pounding on the now uneven steps. Cord led the way down the narrow stairwell, while Kevin yelled, "Go, go, go," and Rick shouted, "Hurry," over her radio.

They’d just reached the glass-strewn second floor landing when a thunderous roar froze her in place. Seconds later, the outside wall crashed in at the stairs going down. She stumbled back, her heels meeting the bottom step sending her backward into the stairwell. If not for her hand gripping tight to the railing, she would have ended up landing on the stairs, as bricks, wood, plaster, and burning embers rained down in front of her—shearing away more of the landing.

"Dammit!"

She squinted through the smoke to the vague outline of Cord scrambling on all fours away from where the landing had opened up—the floor crumbling away—while more voices shouted at her through her radio, but she didn’t have time to sort them all out. Not when her partner was in danger—possibly hurt. She held her pike firmly in both hands and slung it out.

"Taggert… Posey… Answer me."

Her captain would have to wait too.

"Grab hold!"

She couldn’t see him reaching for it, but a heavy tug told her he’d caught it. She pulled and braced her booted feet against the walls on either side of her just as an ear-splitting crack rent the air. What was left of the landing took on a sudden, precarious slant.

"Son of a bitch," Cole shouted, as his weight on the end of the pole nearly upended her. But she pressed her feet skidding along the walls harder onto the surface, leaned back against the stairs, and held tight with all her strength.

"Come on," she loudly choked out, then pulled some more.

"I made it," Cord called out as her momentum from pulling on the pole had her jerking back when he’d undoubtedly let go. "I’m in the… Holy shit!"

She pushed herself up to stand on the bottom step and contemplated their situation, while her gaze followed the smoke billowing up from below and out through the gaping hole in the side of the building. Flames licked along the wall coming up from the now wide-open lower stairwell. It too followed the air—feeding on it.

They were in trouble.

"Now we’ve really got to get out of here," she said loud enough her voice would carry, while carefully maneuvering from the stairs and across the unstable landing to join Cord in the second-floor construction area, and straight into…

Holy shitwas right. She did a slow turn, taking in the space. They weren’t much better off here than they’d been on the landing and stairs.

Fear raced up her spine as her gaze followed the wall of fire dancing across the floor, up wooden framing, and over what looked like had been stacks of two by fours and tarps spread throughout. The impenetrable flames effectively blocked the way to any windows and the fire escape on the building’s back. She glanced toward her right while the fire slowly encroached on where they stood.

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