Page 2 of Bound By Redemption
“What are you going to do? Why won’t you come with us? What about Austyn?” she pleaded, tears falling from her eyes.
I gripped Ensley on each shoulder and looked deep into her eyes, needing her to see the desperation for them to get far away from danger. “Please, Ensley. I need to focus without worrying about my girls. Take Remy and go. Now.”
Remy’s cries got louder, killing me inside. Seconds ticked by feeling like hours. Ensley reached over, brushed her lips against mine, and dashed into her car.
Fuck, that was nice. That small touch. I didn’t know I needed it, but I did. She felt like comfort.
I pulled out my phone and called my father as I took off in a mad sprint to the house, hearing Ensley’s car leaving the area and feeling that partial bit of relief.
“Son.” Thankfully, he answered right away.
I didn’t waste any time. “Explosions at Austyn and Emery’s. Need to get here now. Everything’s on fire, and I know Austyn is home. Don’t know about Emery or the others. I gotta get Austyn out!”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he yelled, hanging up the phone. I shoved my phone in my back pocket, forging ahead to the mission in front of me.
Making it to the fire at Austyn’s home, the red, yellow, and orange flames lit up the sky while smoke billowed from everywhere. It was taller than the trees around us.
How many bombs had detonated? The questions ran rampant in my mind. In the military, I was trained to identify the source of my problem and work out the solution.
The only solution here was getting Austyn out and finding out if anyone was in Emery’s home.
Heat. The closer I got the more it enclosed around me, sucking me in, and wanting me to enter it. Fire was a dangerous element. It needed fuel to survive. If you were in the path of it, it would eat you whole and not think twice about it. Hell, it would laugh and find something else to set ablaze.
Pressure. Every breath became harder to hold onto the deeper I got to the house as the air was tinged in smoke. Being trained, I paced my mind to steady each inhale and exhale.
Repeat.
Focus.
The mission in front of me—get to Austyn and get her out. It was all that mattered.
“Austyn! You in here?” I yelled, hoping like hell she could give me a clue as to where she was. Going into fire was difficult, but not having any clue where you were headed was worse.
“Help!” I heard from the inside. Fuck, it was Austyn, and she sounded scared. Something I hadn’t heard from her since we were little kids. This meant whatever was in there was bad, and I needed to prepare myself for what I was about to see.
Fuck.
Stepping nearer, the flames were hotter than hell, but I made it through the fog to the house. I tapped the door handle a few times to check the temperature. Hot. Scorching. Luckily, I hadn’t gripped the handle, or my hand would’ve been burned to shit.
This also meant that the fire was right on the other side of the door just waiting for me like a temptress.
But I had to get in.
I used my arm to cover my face, knowing flames would be on the other side, as I kicked the door down with my booted foot. Fire came out in a flash as I bent down to evade the flames, then its angriness receded back inside. Milliseconds was all it took, and if I hadn’t had the quick reflex to go down, I’d be burned and unable to try to get to Austyn. Once again, I had to be thankful for my training.
Fuck, I hoped like hell there weren’t any more explosions, or we were both fucked. If something else went off when we were both in here, that would be the end.
Risk or not, I was getting Austyn out of here.
She was not burning.
I was not burning.
We had families to get to.
No fucking way.
Whoever did this would not win by ending Austyn or me. Since I wasn’t sure the target, I wasn’t sure the enemy. Whoever they were, though, outside of the loss of the homes, they weren’t getting any lives. I would make sure of it.
