Page 103 of Take Me Under

I turned the corner—and saw hell.

Flames clawed at the sky, devouring everything in their path. Serena’s mother’s house was an inferno, fire licking up the walls and spilling from the shattered windows like molten fury. The glass-blowing workshop beside it was barely visible through the churning smoke, the heat warping the air around it like a living thing.

For a moment, all I could do was stare, my mind struggling to process the scene before me. The workshop roof had alreadycaved, fiery embers cascading through the air like vengeful stars. The fire crackled and roared like a beast devouring its last meal.

Then I heard her scream—a sound of pure, raw agony.

My gaze snapped away from the burning structures toward the chaos. I scanned the area until I found Serena. She was wild-eyed, straining against the grip of a fireman holding her back.

“No! Let me go!” she sobbed, her voice breaking. Her fists hammered against his chest as she fought to get free.

I was moving before I even realized it, instinctually surging forward. I shoved through the cluster of onlookers and emergency responders, reaching her within seconds.

“Serena!”

She didn’t seem to hear me. She was lost in sheer panic as her entire world burned before her eyes. I grabbed her, wrenching her from the fireman’s hold and pulling her against me. She thrashed at first, fists pounding against me just as they had against him, but I didn’t let go.

“Serena, stop,” I ordered, my voice rough. “I’ve got you.”

As if she suddenly realized whose arms she was in, she stilled and sagged against me. Her fingers fisted in my jacket as broken sobs tore from her throat.

“My mother,” she gasped. “She—she was inside. I saw her earlier. She brought my dinner to the workshop. She said she had a headache, and that she was going to lie down. She’s in there!”

My spine stiffened, finally understanding the reason for her hysteria. If Sylvia Martinelli was truly inside…

I glanced back at the burned house, then turned to the fireman, my grip on Serena tightening. “Why are you just standing there? Her mother is in there!”

The firefighter shook his head, his face grim. “Tetto instabile. The roof is too unstable. If we try to send anyone in now?—”

A loud crack split the air, deafening over the roar of the flames. We all turned just in time to see part of the roof collapse,a fiery explosion of embers shooting skyward. The firemen scrambled back, barking frantic orders to one another.

Serena screamed, and I pulled her in closer, forcing her against my chest before she could try to run toward the destruction. Her nails dug into my arms as she choked out, “No, no, no!”

I gritted my teeth, my own heart hammering as I whispered, “Shh, princess. I’ve got you.”

Her body shook, wracked by sobs as I stroked her hair. Flames licked at the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the frantic chaos. Firefighters yelled orders to one another, their silhouettes a blur of motion as they fought to put out the fire. Smoke billowed thick and black, choking the air with the pungent scent of burning wood, plastic, and other things I couldn’t name.

Serena sobbed against my chest, her fingers clutching desperately to my shirt.

“She was inside,” she repeated. Her breath hitched, coming out in broken gasps. “She—she was inside.”

I tightened my hold, needing to keep her anchored to me. Another loud crack, and we both flinched as the front part of the roof caved in, sending up a fresh shower of embers and debris. The firefighters closest to the house shouted, scrambling back. The inferno surged higher, the flames feeding on the oxygen created by the collapse.

Serena’s strangled cry cut through the noise, raw and laced with a new kind of agony. “Oh, my God. What if this was me? What if I did this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I was working earlier today. I know I turned the needle valve off to close the fuel source, but I had to leave the blower running overnight to keep the burner tip cool. I think I cleared the area but now I’m not sure. I could have left flammable material or?—”

“Stop.” I seized her chin, forcing her to look at me. Her face was streaked with tears as her wide, devastated eyes locked onto mine. “Stop it right now. Don’t do this to yourself. You don’t know anything yet.”

She let out another choked sob and collapsed against me, her strength giving out. My heart pounded against my ribs as I looked past her, back toward the fire. My mind scrambled for hope, for something to cling to.

Then I saw it.

The front door stood open. The fire hadn’t fully consumed the entryway yet, leaving it eerily intact amid the destruction. My breath caught.

Why would the door be open?

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