Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(89)

He heard her chuckle, as he’d hoped she would.

“I’m not giving up,” she said softly.

“Good. Because I’m coming for you,” Black told her. “I’m gonna move heaven and earth to get you and those kids out of there. Hear me?”

“Yeah, Lowell, I hear you.”

“Good. I’m coming for you, Harlow. I’ll always come for you.”

“Okay. I . . . I need to go.” He heard her voice break.

“Okay. Be brave, baby.”

The line went dead.

“Fuck!” Black swore and floored it. He was going sixty miles an hour in a thirty-five-mile-an-hour zone, but he didn’t care. Every second counted. The building was old. He didn’t even think it had a sprinkler system, or if it did, it was probably years out of date and not up to code.

The thought of Harlow, or any of the kids with her, dying of smoke inhalation while waiting for rescue made his skin crawl.

Not gonna happen on his watch.

Black didn’t take the time to call the rest of the team or Rex. He was using all his concentration to get to Harlow safely. If he crashed, she’d die for sure. Somehow he knew he was her only hope.

Three and a half minutes later, Black slammed on his brakes when he was a block away. Traffic was backed up, and no one was moving. Throwing his car in park, he leaped out, not caring if someone stole the damn thing or not. His eyes were glued to the black smoke rising into the air in front of him.

He sprinted toward the buildings but stopped when he saw Loretta and the other women who lived in the shelter. Lacie was standing in her mom’s arms, and everyone else was huddled together, staring up at the building in horror. They were all crying, and the parents of the kids with Harlow were hysterical.

“Black!” Loretta cried when she saw him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, but Harlow and the other kids are still inside! She told us to call 911 and said she was going up the kitchen staircase after the kids who’d panicked and ran to their rooms.”

“I know. She called me. Is everyone else out?”

Loretta nodded. “Yes. Someone threw a brick through the front window, and before we could really do anything, a bomb or something came through next. It rolled in front of the kitchen door and caught the rug on fire. It went up with a big whoosh. There was nothing we could do! Then a second bomb flew in, and we had to get out.”

“You did the right thing,” Black reassured her, mentally assessing the building as he listened. His eyes went from the black smoke rolling out of the crevasses of the building to the flames he could see coming from a few windows on the second floor. He knew Harlow and the kids didn’t have much time.

“When the fire department gets here, send them around back,” he ordered, then rushed off before she could ask for more information.

Black ran down the block, nearly slamming into people who were standing around staring at the fire. He ran through the parking lot and swore when he almost ran into a big white delivery truck parked around the corner. He caught himself before he went sprawling on the ground and ignored the driver’s yelled warning to watch out.

He stared upward as he ran, and knew exactly which room Harlow and the kids were at. Four little heads were sticking out the window at the far end of Loretta’s building, the room farthest away from the fire.

Thanking his lucky stars that Harlow had been smart enough to choose that room to hole up in, he stopped directly under the window.

“Harlow!” he bellowed.

“Lowell!” she yelled back.

He held up his arms. “You’ve got to help them out. One at a time. I’ll catch them!”



Harlow stared down at Lowell in horror. Jump? They couldn’t jump! It was too high. “It’s too high!” she yelled. The fire was extremely loud. She hadn’t thought it would be so darn loud.

“You have to!” he yelled back. “Stop arguing and do it!”

She was coughing almost nonstop now, as were the kids. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they were absolutely terrified. So was she. But she was the adult. She had to be the strong one.

“Okay, guys, here’s what we’re going to have to do. Lowell is here. He’s going to catch you.”

Jasper’s eyes got wide, and he opened his mouth to protest, but Harlow shook her head at him in warning.

“It’s high, but you guys can do it. Look, I’ll hold on to your hands and lean out the window as far as I can. I’m almost six feet tall. You guys are what, three to four feet or more? And Lowell is my height too. When you add all that together, it’ll be almost like you’re jumping out the kitchen window like Lacie did.”

The kids didn’t look convinced, but unfortunately, Harlow didn’t have time to cajole them. “Jody, you’re first,” she said.

The little girl was absolutely terrified, but she didn’t balk when Harlow picked her up. “Scoot back, guys,” she told the others, and they immediately made room for her at the window. “Jasper, hold my legs,” she ordered.

The teenager immediately kneeled on the window seat and sat on her calves. Harlow nodded her approval. Then she took Jody’s face in hers. “Close your eyes, baby. Before you know it, you’ll be on the ground and with your mommy, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, and Harlow almost broke down at the complete trust she saw in the girl’s eyes. Taking a deep breath and trying not to cough, she turned Jody until she was sitting on the ledge facing out. She took her wrists in her hands and slowly lowered her out the window.