Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(88)

Choking back a cry, Harlow knew their only choice was barricading themselves inside one of the rooms and trying to get the attention of someone below so they could make sure the firefighters knew where they were.

“Follow me,” she ordered, and headed for Loretta’s office. It wasn’t ideal, as it was at the back of the building, facing the alley, but Harlow was afraid to go into the rooms above the living area. She didn’t know exactly how fire worked, but she figured those rooms would be overcome with smoke and flames faster than ones on the other side.

She slammed the door once everyone was inside and said, “Help me find whatever we can to stuff under the crack in the door.”

Immediately, Jasper grabbed some of the pillows off the window seat and brought them to her. Harlow stuffed as many of the pillows under the door as she could, hoping the stuffing would more effectively stop the smoke than if she stripped them and just used the covers. The pillows stopped most of the smoke, but she could see that it was still coming in from the cracks around the edges of the door.

Spinning, she ran to the window and unlocked it. Praying harder than she’d ever prayed in her life, she shoved at the pane with all her strength. Thank God, it moved. She pushed it up as high as it could go and leaned out.

She didn’t see any people wandering around the back alley. Wanting to cry, she estimated how far it was to the ground below.

Too far.

They were three floors up, and there was absolutely nothing to break their fall. They couldn’t jump. No way.

Coughing, she took a deep breath of the fresh air, then turned and climbed off the window seat. “Come here,” she said, wiggling her fingers at the kids. They came toward her as a group, and she helped them sit as close to the window as possible. “The air is better here,” she told them, even though she knew the open window would eventually draw more smoke into the room, making it harder to breathe. “Milo and Jasper, hold on to Sammie and Jody. Make sure they don’t lean too far out.”

“What are we going to do?” Jasper asked. “How are we going to get out?”

Harlow didn’t have an answer for him. Instead she tried to give him a reassuring smile. “The firefighters will come and get us. Don’t worry.”

But she didn’t believe her own words. She’d seen how fast the fire had spread. Whatever had started the fire had to have been fast and traumatic, not giving the women time to warn them or get to the kitchen to help the kids.

Suddenly, Harlow remembered that she’d put her phone in her pocket after she’d texted Lowell earlier.

Sobbing in relief, she pulled it out and coughed as she clicked on his name. The others had surely called 911 by now. Lowell would come for her. Of that she had no doubt.

She just wasn’t sure he’d make it in time.





Chapter Twenty-Three

Black drove faster than he normally would, Rex’s words echoing in his head. “She’s fine,” he muttered as he rolled through a stop sign.

His phone rang on the seat next to him. Normally, he would’ve ignored it because he was driving, but he reached for it without hesitation. He saw it was Harlow and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Hey, baby,” he said.

“Lowell!”

Every muscle in his body stiffened at the sound of her voice. Something was wrong. Really wrong. “I’m here.”

“I need you!”

“I’m on my way. Probably about five minutes out. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. But there’s a fire.”

Black’s heart stopped. “Are you out?”

“No,” she said, and he heard the panic in her tone. “We couldn’t get out in time. I was in the kitchen with the kids and a fire started right outside the door. I got Lacie out the window, but Jody ran up the stairs and Jasper went after her, and I couldn’t leave them!”

“Slow down, baby. Where are you, and who’s with you?”

He heard her take a big breath, then she immediately started coughing.

Black pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal.

“I’m upstairs in Loretta’s office. Jasper, Sammie, Milo, and Jody are with me. I put stuff under the door to try to keep the smoke out, but it’s coming in around the doorframe.”

“You did good, Harl.”

“We can’t jump, it’s too high,” she told him.

Black’s blood froze in his veins at the thought of any of them trying to jump out of the three-story building. “No, you can’t. Hang tight, baby. Have you called 911?”

“No. I called you.”

Her words made his throat close up. “Did the women get out?” he asked.

“I think so. I didn’t stop to do a head count, but I saw a lot of them out front when I handed Lacie out the window.”

“Okay, I’m sure they’re fine. They’ve probably already called the fire department. Stay calm, Harley.”

“Okay. Lowell?”

“Yeah?”

“I just want to say that the last month has been the happiest I’ve ever had. Even though I didn’t know we were dating, I loved every second.”

“Don’t,” Black ordered harshly. “Do not say goodbye. I won’t have it. I haven’t gone through all the trouble to sneak in some amazing dates to have you give up now.”