The sound of an alarm goes off and cold liquid splashes all over my face.
I jerk up, gasping as the spray from the fire sprinklers drenches my sleep shirt in seconds.
It takes me a few more seconds to shake the disorientation out of my head and focus on my surroundings.
The smell of smoke clogs my nostrils as shadows and bright light spill in from outside.
I stumble out of bed and peek through the window, fingers clenching the sill. The view that materializes in front of me traps my breath in the back of my throat.
The brightness isn’t actually light. A huge fire is eating up the upper western half of the mansion.
The half where I am.
Where my brother is.
A deep sense of terror lodges itself into my soul and I remain frozen in place.
Being Adrian Volkov’s only daughter has put me in danger more times than I can count. There have been at least three kidnapping attempts and a few shootings. Some scum would try anything to hurt my father, and that includes targeting me, Jer, and Mom since they think we’re his weakness.
Because we have the best guards, all those attempts ended in failure and were followed by the assailants’ eventual deaths.
I’ve never really been scared of outside threats, because I knew Papa, Jeremy, or their men would be there every time.
But that doesn’t apply to a fire.
Namely, the one that’s currently devouring the mansion.
My eyes widen as I continue to watch the scene unfolding in front of me. Guards run in different directions, some with hoses, others with fire extinguishers.
Judging by their exerted expressions, it seems the fire has gotten out of control.
I spot Gareth and Killian with them, but there’s no sight of Jeremy or Nikolai.
A different type of horror seeps into my bloodstream as I bolt toward the door.
My bare feet slip on the water that’s filled the floor and I step on something, but I don’t pay it any attention.
The moment I’m out the door, a heatwave slaps me across the face. The dark corridor is crowded with so much smoke that it’s impossible to see or breathe properly.
I place my hand against my nose and mouth and inhale toxic air through them.
My brother’s room is on the other side of this smoke, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find it in this hell.
It’s as if the flames have swallowed the entire place.
“Annika, come down!”
My spine jerks at the loud voice. When I turn toward the stairs, I make out a half-naked Nikolai holding a hose.
“Where’s Jeremy?” I shout back.
“We haven’t seen him. You just get out for now. I’ll go find him.”
No, no, no…
I sprint in the direction of the smoke, ignoring Nikolai’s curses.
My eyes water from the thickness of the toxic air and I cough as I grab the wall for balance.
This won’t do.
I rip the hem of my shirt, bend over, and soak it with the water from the floor, then hold it to my nose.
The humid cold offers a small reprieve, but the smoke still clogs my throat. My eyes burn and I cough until I think I’ll throw up.
Still, I keep going, using the wall as balance. The moment I touch a door, I try to open it, but it’s locked.
I bang on it with my free hand. “Jeremy!”
My voice is so weak and muffled that I can hardly hear it myself.
So I hit the door again while having a coughing fit. “Jer!”
“Anoushka?” His low question comes from the other side, equally weak. “What the fuck are you doing here? Get out.”
“I came for you!”
“I’m all right. You go.”
I keep coughing as dizziness assaults me. “If you’re all right, then let’s go together.”
“Get the fuck out of here, Annika.” There’s a strain in his voice that’s so similar to pain.
My heartbeat thunders as I choke on my cough. “Open the door.”
There are more coughs from his and my side, but there’s no reply.
“Jer?” My voice is spooked. “Open up—”
“I can’t.” I barely hear his low words. “I’m trapped. You need to go, Anoushka. Now.”
“No, no.” I hit the door with my shoulder, tears streaming down my cheeks, and they’re not only due to the smoke.
So this is why he didn’t come to find me as soon as the fire hit. I found it weird that my overprotective brother didn’t break down my door or haul me out of sleep.
It’s not that he didn’t think of me, it’s that he couldn’t come to my rescue.
“Go!”
“No!” I scream back through my coughs. “I’m not leaving you to die.”
My vision becomes blurry and I sway on my feet, but I don’t stop hitting the door over and over. It takes all of my strength, but it does nothing to move the fucking shit.
So I kick the handle with all my might and throw myself at it repeatedly.
“Anoushka…go…please…”
“Shut up.” I’m sobbing through my coughs as I kick and punch and hit the handle. My feet sting, my hand screams in pain, and my vision has filled with tears, but I refuse to give in.
“If you stay…we’ll both die…” Jeremy sounds far away, almost like he’s in another realm.
“I’m not leaving you.” I kick the handle again, my strength waning. “I’d rather die with you than live knowing I could’ve saved you but didn’t.”
I pack all my energy in one final kick against the handle and it comes off, falling to the ground.
My heart leaps as I push the door open. A hot wave of heat physically jerks me backward and I tighten my grip on the cloth.
The room is completely gray, reeking of smoke. The fire has eaten up the northern wall and is advancing with creepily easy speed.
“Jer?”
No reply.
My fist clenches and I can feel the emotions clogging my throat as I cough.
I call my brother’s name again, spooked this time, and getting weaker. I’m swaying and I don’t think I’ll be able to stand on my feet for much longer.
He was right, after all. Maybe we were meant to die together tonight.
I snort. Jer is always right.
Tears stream down my face as I lose my footing, and the fabric falls to the ground. “Jer…”
My side hits a wall—no, not a wall.
It’s warm, but not with the lethality of the flames. It’s suffocating, but not like the deadliness of the smoke.
Strong arms pull me up effortlessly and I end up flush against a rock-hard chest.
My vision slowly focuses on Creighton’s beautiful face that’s half covered by a gas mask. Despite that fact, I would recognize him anywhere.
And it’s all because of these piercing light eyes that haunt me everywhere I go.
For a moment, I think this is a figment of my imagination and I’m making him up in my most dire situation.
But he is here.
For me.
Creighton removes the mask, revealing his tight, sharp features. He straps it to my face. I inhale the clean air deeply, then pull it away, my other hand fisting his shirt.
“Jer…is over here.”
“We have to go.”
“Not without Jeremy.” I don’t recognize the heat in my voice.
Because I will not move from here until my brother is safe.
Creighton shoves the mask back onto my face and pushes me toward the exit. “Leave.”
“No—”
My word is interrupted when a body shoves against mine. “Get out of the way, bitches.”
Nikolai storms inside wearing a mask and carrying a few more in a sheet that he’s morphed into a messenger bag and strapped around his waist.
I take one and slam it against Creighton’s chest and glare. He shakes his head, but he wears it.
Despite the possibility of being able to breathe, the hot air is unbearable. Still, when I point Nikolai and Creighton in the direction of where the fire is spreading, they don’t hesitate.
We run there, but Creighton keeps me shielded by his body at all times.
“Annika…” Jer’s low voice barely reaches us. “Leave…”
We follow the sound until we finally find my brother trapped beneath a table. Probably caused by a blast or the spreading of the fire.
I snatch a gas mask from Nikolai’s sheet and strap it on my brother’s face. His eyes are closed, and his body is limp, but he’s breathing.
He’s still here.
While I push Jeremy’s hair away from his face, calling his name but getting no reply, Creighton and Nikolai lift the table.
Then they carry him out just as the fire is about to devour the room.
My brother’s feet drag against the ground, his weight pulling him down even as they swiftly carry him away from the danger.
I stay close behind them, trying and failing not to get tense whenever Creighton throws a glance at me. He continues to keep an eye on me until we reach the bottom of the stairs.
Once we’re outside, chaos of different proportions greets us. Guards, firefighters, onlookers. The whole of The King’s U campus seems to be here to watch.
I tune them out, choosing to focus on my brother.
Gareth takes over from Creighton, then he and Nikolai carry an unconscious but breathing Jeremy to get medical attention.
I take off my mask and start to follow behind them, when a wall of muscle blocks my path.
Creighton glares at me with that silent broodiness of his and it’s downright terrifying.
It’s like he’s blaming me for what happened. Or maybe he’s blaming me for having somehow ended up in the fire.
He removes his mask and throws it to the ground, revealing a clenched jaw. Both his hands and his face are smudged with soot, and I want to wipe it away.
I don’t, though, completely entrapped by the dark expression covering his features.
His punishing gaze glides from my face to my breasts and then to my waist with heated anger.
That’s when I realize I’ve been roaming around wearing a wet shirt. A ripped wet shirt. Not only does it barely cover my ass, but it’s also molded to my body, leaving little to the imagination.
Even my nipples are hard, pushing against the fabric.
And Creighton doesn’t seem pleased with the view, but if he is, the displeasure and anger have cut open any sense of appreciation.
He takes off his hoodie and slides it over my head. I help by putting my hands through the oversized sleeves. The thing swallows me whole and almost reaches my knees. And just like that, I’m surrounded by his warmth and soothing smell.
But despite the reprieve from the cold, I can’t help shivering at the view of his half-nakedness, the bulging muscles, and the spider tattoo.
Something gets stuck in my scratchy throat and I cough a few times. “Thanks.”
A savage hand grips my upper arm. “What the fuck were you thinking staying in the house in the middle of the fire?”
I swallow and flinch a little at the raw power behind his words. I thought he was mad because of how I looked, but maybe that’s not the case.
“Jer was trapped,” I say slowly. “I couldn’t leave him alone.”
“So you decided to die along with him?”
“If need be.” I lift my chin. “Besides, it all worked out fine in the end. What are you so mad about?”
“The fact that you put your life in jeopardy.” He tightens his grip on my arm until I wince. “That won’t be happening again, is that clear?”
I purse my lips.
“Is that fucking clear, Annika?”
“I won’t leave the people I care about to die,” I murmur. “That’s just not me.”
Creighton’s nostrils flare with the force of his inhales and exhales, but before he can say anything else, something hits him from behind.
At first, he remains frozen, but then a trickle of blood trails down the side of his head.
I shriek as he tumbles forward, but I don’t get out of the way. Before he can fall against me, a savage hand grabs his hair and wrenches him back.
Nikolai throws down his baseball bat and grins like a maniac. “Time to punish the cunt who burned our property.”
