Page 184 of Mad Love

She shook her head. “I’m scared!”

Deep breaths. “I know.” So am I. “But we need to go now, Cor.”

She backed away from the edge. “No!”

“Please, Cori,” I practically begged. “If the police are here, that means Royal’s probably here, too.”

“He’ll come up and get me,” she countered.

I resisted the urge to ball my hands into fists. “Cori, I know you’re scared, but you need to be really brave and trust me.” I could feel the heat radiating under me, and I wondered if it was my imagination trying to convince me that it felt hotter than a minute ago.

“Please, sweetie.” I stretched up for her once more.

Her face twisted with determination and, with a small scream, she dropped through the opening.

I caught her, the momentum knocking us both to the ground, but I managed to keep her from hitting her head. “You’re okay, you’re okay.” I got us both up and looked around for the door, worried that Beckett might be waiting on the other side to finish us off.

“Stay behind me,” I told her, reaching for the closed door and edging it open slowly. My gaze searched the bedroom, unable to make out much beyond lumpy objects under white sheets as police lights bounced around.

I dragged in a deep breath and reached back to grab Corinne’s hand as I pushed the door open and stepped into the room. A hard breath left my lungs when Beckett didn’t jump out from the shadows. “Okay, let’s go.”

Holding her hand as tight as I could without bruising it, I pulled her to one of the windows that overlooked the front lawn.

“Holy shit.” A veritable army had amassed, and I could see firefighters getting their rigs into position as people screamed orders. I looked around, but there wasn’t a ledge for us to crawl onto. It was a straight shot to the ground.

Maybe I could open the window and flag someone down.

I let go of Cori and unlocked the window. My nails dug into the paint as I shoved upward.

“There’s Royal!” Cori shouted, grabbing my arm.

I sucked in a deep breath to scream for him, for anyone, when an explosion from below knocked me off my feet. Cori screamed, and I rolled onto my back to see flames licking up the sides of the house outside and blocking the window.

I scrambled back, dragging Cori with me. Heat seared into my ass from the floor below.

“We’re gonna die!” Cori thrashed against me.

“No, we aren’t!” I framed her face with my hands and forced her to look at me. “We’re not gonna die, Cor, but we need to find another way out.”

“But there’s fire, Maddie.” Her big-eyed gaze darted around frantically.

I took a deep breath and felt smoke tickle my throat. “I know, baby, but we’re gonna be fine. We’ve gotta move, though, okay? Stick with me.”

Despite the hot floors, I pulled her down and crawled to the door before tentatively touching the handle to feel for heat before twisting it open.

Smoke billowed in from the hallway, but the fire didn’t seem to have reached the top floor yet. That was something, at least.

We crawled forward, and I swore the floor beneath me shuddered. After what felt like an eternity, I spied the top of the stairs, but there was a strange glow coming from it that didn’t look like the blue and red flashes of the cop cars out front.

I stopped, realizing this way wouldn’t work. The fire was coming up the staircase.

“Maddie?” Cori asked, pressing against my side.

I sucked in a deep breath and started coughing, my head spinning. “Back up.” I looked around the hallway and spotted Corinne’s smashed bedroom door. “Your room.” Pushing her forward, I chased her through the door Beckett had destroyed and into the space, moving her around to the far side of the bed before running into the bathroom.

From the small bathroom linen closet beside the toilet, I grabbed a stack of towels and shoved them under the bathtub faucet until they were soaked. I ran back to Cori and pressed one over her mouth. “Breathe through this, okay?”

She nodded, taking gulping breaths.

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