Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“You need to get to Siren now,” a panicked woman screeches, the fear in her tone feeling like a hand just physically reached inside my chest and squeezed the living shit out of my heart. Quickly going through the shortlist of people this could possibly be, I come to the conclusion that this is Siren’s best friend, Mila, who professionally prefers to go by the Tech Girl. Siren has done nothing but tell me how much she loves this girl, and for her to intervene in War Games and seek me out, this is as serious as it gets.
Siren is in trouble.
“What?” I rush out, already on my feet.
“Gasoline got to her. If you don’t get to her now, she’ll . . . she’ll.”
Fuck. Anyone but her. “Where?”
“The resort. Please. Don’t let her die, she’s all I’ve got,” Mila says as I race to my car, leaving the brothers behind. “If she dies . . . fuck. I swear, I will come for you.”
I end the call, not having time to deal with her wild, whiplashing emotions on top of trying to get to Siren, and within seconds, I’m in my car, fishtailing it around and hitting the fucking gas.
I push the car to its limits, weaving in and out of what little traffic is on the roads, and as I drive, I can’t help but notice the billowing smoke polluting the air, and despite not having any fucking clue what kind of situation Siren is in, I just know that’s her.
I’m not far from the resort, but every second that passes feels like a lifetime. I cut through the main street of Blue Springs before flying right out the other end. When I pull into the resort, I don’t bother stopping for the boom gate. I simply speed straight through it before racing toward the thick, billowing smoke.
My stomach sinks the closer I get to the blazing property, and as I screech around the final corner and skid to a halt, the onlookers diving away from my car, I realize there’s no fucking hope here. Nobody could have survived a fire like this. I can’t even get inside to check.
Despair tears through my chest as I bail out of my car and drop to my knees, and the sound of the ceiling collapsing breaks me. I’ve never felt agony like this.
Emptiness fills me, and I catch myself on my palms, struggling to breathe, but it has nothing to do with the thick smoke. I’ve failed her. Since the night I stood in her kitchen and realized I couldn’t take her life, I knew that I would do anything to protect her, to keep her until my dying days, and the one time she needed me, I let her down.
The pain is like nothing I’ve ever known, but even over the roar of flames, a soft grunting sound coming from the back of the property catches my attention.
I get to my feet and run, racing around the corner of the burning building to the back where I find Shadow dragging Siren’s body from the building, both of them covered in soot, their skin angry from burns. Shadow is barely keeping on her feet while Siren is . . . fuck. I don’t even want to think about it.
Hearing me coming, Shadow looks back at me, tears in her blue eyes. “I don’t,” she starts, violently coughing as she sways on her feet. “I don’t know what to . . . do.”
Her eyes flutter, and just before she has a chance to collapse, I crash into her, scooping Siren’s lifeless body into my arms and gripping Shadow’s wrist. I pull them away from the raging flames, but Shadow can barely manage to stay on her feet. I’ll drag her if I have to. I’m determined that neither of them are going to die on me tonight.
We get just a few feet away, far enough that the flames don’t threaten to sear my skin while still behind the property and out of view of the nosey onlookers with their video phones. I crumble to the ground, laying Siren in the grass before slamming my hands over her chest and performing CPR, breathing much-needed oxygen into her lungs. There’s no telling how long she’s been out, and as I frantically try to save her life, Shadow succumbs to exhaustion and collapses behind me.
“FUCK!”
I don’t dare stop the compressions on Siren’s chest, but I have no choice but to release just one of my hands so I can reach behind me and make sure Shadow still has a pulse. Relief floods me, finding that she’s just passed out, and I go back to giving Siren my full attention as I pump her heart for her and breathe into her lungs.
“COME ON,” I roar, clenching my jaw as the desperation to save her eats me alive. “I’m not losing you like this, Siren. FUCKING BREATHE!”