Page 1 of Tyrant

PROLOGUE

Montgomery

“No!”

There was nothing like the wretched scream filling the chilly air, the horrible screech managing to rise above the roar of flames. As bright orange littered the night sky, a raging fire licking toward the heavens, I struggled to hold her in my arms. “There’s nothing we can do, baby. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“No! I will not leave her!” Carmine yelled, fighting my hold with everything she had.

As the terrified horses scattered in all directions, their horrified whinnying giving me chills, I bit back a cry of my own. I couldn’t believe this was happening. The fire had torn through the massive barn within minutes, consuming everything in its path.

“We got most of them!” my foreman Joshua called, coughing and wheezing as he stumbled out of the barn, several other workers following him.

“Not all of them.” My wife of five years refused to be denied, breaking free of my hold and racing directly into the middle of the fire.

“No. No. No!” My reactions stilted, I lumbered forward, losing sight of her as she rushed inside the burning building.

Crack!

Another wall came tumbling down, the force as it smashed against the dense terrain spewing embers and ashes several yards away. The horses went crazy, kicking the fence as two of the workers tried to herd them away from the corral.

“Help me do this!” I roared as I ducked another group of falling timbers, holding my arm across my face as I moved into the blackness. “Carmine!”

“Help me. Please,” she called from a distance.

Everything was distorted, the flames licking closer and closer. Acrid smoke filled the space, making it impossible to see anything in front of me. “Baby. No. Please.” My words were strangled, cut short as I became overwhelmed by the effects of the dense smoke.

I heard muffled sirens in the distance, but they would be too late to help.

Too late to save anything from the all-consuming fire.

“Boss. We have to get out of here,” Joshua called. The sound of his sharp cry was quickly overpowered by another series of timbers crashing down on the barn floor.

I took another step, pitching forward after tripping on some of the timbers. Then I heard another horrible sound, an anguished cry of her beloved horse. She refused to allow the precious girl to die this way.

“Carmine!” I managed, fighting to get to my feet. There was nothing but the cries of the horse, the sound becoming more animated. Flames had consumed at least seventy percent of the building. It would soon collapse.

“We have to get you out of here.” Joshua grabbed my arms, pulling me backward. His coughing sounds echoed in my ears.

“No. Not without my wife!”

“We can’t… do… this.” Joshua fought to say the words as the smoke became toxic.

Within seconds, I was numb, screaming out her name as he dragged me out of the building. I finally broke free of his hold, stumbling forward only to be stopped by several of the workers.

“No, sir. You can’t. There’s nothing you can do,” one of them yelled.

They pushed me away as the sirens shifted closer. I could see the flashing red lights in the distance.

Too late.

Too… late…

As another crash occurred, flames bursting from several spots in the building, I heard a wail of hope, the rumble creating vibrations beneath my feet. Then she appeared, the beautiful palomino that had been a birthday present, a special horse that had given my wife so much happiness.

“The horse is hurt. Get a blanket!”

I knew it was Joshua’s voice, but it was almost completely drowned out by the roar of the flames. As I stared at what was left of the opening, doing something I’d never done in my life—praying—a shattering feeling exploded in my heart.

---