Page 28 of London Inked Boys: The Complete Trilogy
“We don’t have time. The floor’s burning.”
She starts to cough, and I join her.
Holding her in my arms, I run for the door. The stairs are starting to go, the middle part sagging.
“Oh, shit. This could get messy. Hang on.” Her arms tighten around my neck, her dark eyes wide and streaming with tears. I didn’t know if they’re caused by fear or the smoke.
As my boot makes contact with the tread, the step splinters, my foot almost going through it, sending us into the flames below. Instead of going down, I pitch forward, shielding Tess with my body as I hit the remaining stairs. Battered and bruised, we come to a rest at the bottom. There isn’t any time to catch our breath. The glass of the internal door shatters outward, covering us with broken pieces. Oxygen hits the flames, and they roar higher, and another part of the staircase collapses with a crash.
Tess lets out a scream.
I climb to my feet, pulling Tess with me. With my arm around her, we both run for the backdoor. I kick it open, and we burst out into the fresh air.
We both collapse to the ground, Tess crying in my arms. I hold her tight, stroking her singed hair and checking her over for any injuries. The soles of her feet are burnt and she obviously has smoke inhalation, as do I, but otherwise she’s safe.
In the distance, I hear the wail of sirens approaching. The fire brigade and most likely the cops are on their way. Further crashes came from inside as things collapse. People in the surrounding houses emerge, looking frightened and confused.
My heart breaks at the thought of all the artwork inside, all the equipment that will be lost. I have Tess though—that’s what matters. I hate to think what might have been if I hadn’t stayed at the shop tonight. What if I’d taken one of the guys up on their offer and gone and slept on their couch? I wouldn’t have been here to wake Tess. She would have died.
“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice hoarse from the smoke. I pull away from her so I can look into her face. I note how she only wears her knickers and a t-shirt. She’s shivering from the cold, and shock as well, most likely.
She nods. “I am, thanks to you.”
I pull off my own t-shirt, leaving me bare-chested and wrap it around her shoulders. She reaches up to tug it closer, and I notice something and frown. The inside of her arms are criss-crossed with lines, some of them still pink and new.
I catch hold of her wrists. “Fucking hell, Tess. What happened?”
She snatches her hands away. “Nothing.”
“That’s not nothing. Those look recent, too.”
Her face flames red. “Please, Art. Just leave it.”
“No, I won’t. I care about you. You can’t expect me to see scars like that and not want to know what happened. Did you do that to yourself?”
“I was in a bad place. I’m better now.”
My voice softens. “I know you are, but I want to know all about you, and this is a part of you I never knew existed.”
Her dark eyes meet with mine. “We’ll talk about it later, Art. I promise. Now’s not the time.”
I nod my agreement. We both have our pasts, our secrets. I haven’t told her things either, but I know now that I want to. I want to know everything about her, and want her to know everything about me. No more secrets.
No more trying to push her away.
15
TESS
Iallow Art to hold me as the police and ambulance crew sweep in. The acrid tang of smoke fills my nostrils, permeating both the air around me and the small amount of clothing I wear. I wonder how long it’ll be before I won’t be able to smell smoke again. I have the feeling it’ll take a lot more than a fresh set of clothes and a bath.
“Are you folks okay?” asks a paramedic, as he hunkers down beside us.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Art says. “Just suffering from the smoke.”
The paramedic’s gaze flicks over us both, a slight frown marking his brow as I start to cough again, my hand hiding my mouth.
“Let’s take you in, and get you checked over.”
