Page 99 of Pride
Two officers ran down the hallway, their keys jangling. One of them opened the door while the other handcuffed Parker before leading him out, cursing softly under his breath, complaining he didn’t get paid enough for this.
Police were everywhere, shouting and barking orders. Other cells were opened and prisoners hauled out. In the blink of an eye the station became chaos. Fire. Heat. Smoke.
The officer leading him inhaled smoke and coughed horrendously.
“We need to get low.” Parker urged him down.
The smoke was so thick they couldn’t see five feet in front. Parker was just about ready to snap his cuffs when a fireman appeared like an apparition. Their savior’s identity was hidden by full protective gear, face mask and helmet. He stared for a split second at Parker and then handed the officer an oxygen mask before beckoning.
They followed, with Parker taking up the rear. He took not two steps before someone tugged him from behind. He rounded and found another fireman taking Parker’s bare hand, and all the sin in the room popped out of existence. His eyes snapped to those blinking at him from behind the fireman’s goggles—firewoman.Alice.
His heart hammered fast. What was she doing here? It was supposed to be Julius… or at least one of the Faithful. That was the plan. Parker had worked it all out in his head. Julius was filled with deadly pride, and Parker knew what that did to someone… didn’t he?
Alice guided him furiously in the chaos, weaving expertly through smoke. Eventually they burst through a less used fire exit and onto an empty side street where Alice had stashed more bunker gear. Water drops landed heavily and Parker couldn’t tell if it was the rain or from a fire hose. Alice pointed at the gear, but he shook his head.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to go.
“Hurry!” she shouted.
Grinding his teeth, he snapped the cuffs and then dressed in protective gear, including the goggles and breathing apparatus to conceal his identity. Alice took him down the alley and they burst out onto the street where firetrucks and emergency services were in full force, swarming and saving.
Alice continued to guide him until they cleared the area and found a quiet spot behind a Dumpster a few blocks away. She pulled off her headgear and threw it on the floor.
“What were you thinking?” she snapped.
“That Julius would break me out and take me to Daisy. You ruined it.”
She scoffed. “I ruined it? You almost cost your family their lives. They barely got out of the country to finish the job. Cops have been knocking on everyone’s doors. Do you have any idea what’s happening?”
“I had it under control, Alice.”
“No, you didn’t.” She pushed him. “If you had the presence of mind to consult your family, or me, you might have—God!You’re impossible.”
Light rain fell from the sky, making it the weather, not the firehouse he’d felt earlier. Parker stepped out of the last of his gear and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Julius—”
“Julius didn’t give a shit. He was there to gloat. You got that part right. We haven’t seen a sign of him.”
“The rest of the family?”
Alice’s nostrils flared. “They’re fine. No one has been arrested. There’s no warrant. They just want to talk to all of them.”
“I thought…” He blinked, turning over the events in his mind. Julius should have broken Parker out.
“You thought wrong but”—Alice sighed and showed him a piece of paper—“maybe all isn’t lost.”
There was a message scrawled onto it:I can take you to Daisy.
There was more to it, a name—Axel Alvares—and a meeting place and time. The Cardinal City Fire Department, an hour ago.
“He was Julius’s bodyguard,” Alice said. “He said Julius has gone mad, that he’s been talking to people who aren’t there. He wants to help us rescue Daisy.”
“And you believed him?”
“Well, he helped me get you out of jail, and, yeah, there’s something about him. I don’t think he meant to get as embroiled with the Syndicate, but he did.”
Parker grew quiet. Had he really been so far from the truth? Did Julius have zero intention of taking him, or would he have turned up, eventually? Was Parker’s pride truly blinding him?
“Parker,” Alice said softly. “You need to let others help out sometimes. We can share the load. You can’t do it all on your own.”
