Page 5 of Rescued Heart

The man twisted around. He had a dimpled chin and a spotty five-o’clock shadow. His eyes behind his domino mask widened, and he froze. Except behind him, a piece of fiery sleeve fabric fell onto the dress’s skirt. Flames shot up the entire dress.

Eddie hurdled over a set of cases. There’d be no arsonist on his watch. “Stop!”

The man smirked and tossed the lighter at the flaming dress. He ducked behind a barrier of boxes that zigzagged to the exit as the greedy fire engulfed the carpet around the mannequins.

Eddie’s gaze swung back from the fleeing arsonist and onto the fire roaring up the sleeve of the other dress. Eddie sprinted for the door. There would be no stopping those flames without a fire extinguisher.

The man stood from his hunched position. Eddie leaped over a section of the clear cases only to land on a box, his foot trapped inside.

Eddie kicked the broken box off his shoe, but the man reached the door first. He swung it open only to stop.

A feminine voice that sounded like Bianca said, “Goodness, you scared me. You haven’t by chance seen?—”

The arsonist grabbed hold of Bianca and shoved her.

Her heel snapped, which sent her straight into an arched pane of painted glass propped up against a box.

The shattering glass wasn’t as loud as Bianca’s whimper as it crashed into Eddie’s heart.

The man raced out, and the door banged shut.

Eddie raced to Bianca. Blood and glass sprinkled the carpet. A gash ran along her hairline.

Bianca pushed herself up. “This was so not a part of tonight’s deal.”

Eddie steadied her. “You can turn in your complaint after we get out of here. You sure you can walk?”

The glow of the fire blossomed from the dress and a tapestry hanging from the ceiling. The fire roared up the tapestry and hopped over to the nearest stack of wooden crates.

Bianca gasped. “Is that…”

“A fire? Unfortunately, yes.” Eddie pulled out the handkerchief from his suit jacket. “Does anything else hurt besides your head?”

She stumbled on her uneven heels and pointed a shaky finger at the fire. “We’ve got to call a firefighter.”

The masquerade mask had disappeared, no longer shielding her full beauty. Nor was it hiding the paleness of her skin or the gash the length of his finger on her forehead. She wasn’t simply Bianca who had mistaken him for someone else. She was the Bia Pearl—movie star.

How he wished he could be in two places at once.

He shifted the handkerchief against her wound and tucked her against his side. “Honey, I am a firefighter, and first, we’re getting you out of here.”

She leaned against him, and he yanked on the door handle.

Except the door didn’t budge. Locked.

He tried again. The keypad on the wall flashed red.

“Are we locked in?” Bianca whispered.

“We can’t be locked in from the inside. That wouldn’t meet fire codes.” He used both hands and tugged on the handle again. Even rammed his shoulder into the door.

Still nothing.

Bianca coughed, and Eddie whipped his gaze back to the fire. Flames rolled up the wall. A ceiling that wasn’t tiled, so they couldn’t escape through the crawl space.

Zero windows. Only one door. No easily accessible vent system. Trapped.

The fire popped and hissed, pillaging closer. This room would be gone in a matter of minutes. So would they. Unless he got them out of here.

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