Foreplay (The Ivy Chronicles #1)(78)

“Here!” My voice came out a pathetic croak.

Life surged inside me, desperate for one more chance. My body fought back up to its hands and knees.

I cried out again, “Here!” I was louder, but it still wasn’t enough. Panting, I pushed myself to keep going, praying I was headed in the right direction. I was making progress until I bumped into something hard. I peered through the fog, registering that it was the Campbells’ grandfather clock. Flames ate at the top portion of it. Suddenly it started to crumble. I tried to back away, but it came down, landing on me and pinning me across my hips. It was only a matter of moments before it was engulfed in fire. And me with it.

Something groaned and I heard a crash behind me. A glance back revealed that a section of the ceiling had collapsed. It wouldn’t be long before the rest of it caved in. I was going to burn to death. And Reece was in here somewhere searching for me.

He would burn, too.

Throwing back my head, I screamed with everything I had left. To save Reece. To save me. My voice ripped from my raw throat: “Here! I’m here!”

It was enough.

Reece emerged, charging through the smoke, his face sweaty and red where it wasn’t covered in soot. Squatting, he pulled me free and swept me into his arms. Cradling me to his chest, he didn’t bother to crawl. He ran. The fire roared all around us as he cut a straight line for the door.

We burst out into the night. The sudden cold was a shock on my scalded flesh. Reece carried me to where the girls waited. Once there, he dropped to his knees, still clutching me to him.

The girls surrounded us, crying and exclaiming. I still wheezed, starved for air. All of me hurt. My lungs, my eyes, my skin.

“Pepper.” Reece turned my face and examined me. “Are you all right?”

I nodded once and even that motion hurt. “Are you?” I tried to assess him in turn, to see if he was hurt, but my eyes continued to blur with tears.

“I’m fine.”

Something stirred against my chest and I remembered the puppy. I tugged at the hem of my sweatshirt, and the girls saw Jazz. They squealed and grabbed him.

Still unable to catch my breath, I fell back on the ground.

Reece’s face loomed over me. “Pepper? Pepper?”

He sounded so panicked. I wanted to tell him everything was going to be all right. That I was fine. I wanted to thank him for coming, for giving me the strength to keep going, to keep fighting.

I wanted to say all these things. All these things and more. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t catch my breath. My hand drifted to my chest, as though I could find some switch there to help open up my oxygen-starved lungs.

There was no switch.

I wheezed, terrible little sounds escaping my lips as I struggled for more air. Spots danced before my eyes, and I hated that most of all. The edges of my vision grayed. I could barely see Reece anymore. My gaze strained, as if struggling to memorize his face. Overheated and marred with soot, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I could hear him, though, screaming my name again and again. Could feel him. His hands on my arms, my face.

My vision went dark, and just before that darkness rolled in on my mind, I got out two words. Just two words. But they were good ones. I hoped he heard them.

“Love. You.”





Chapter 26

Ouch. It was my first thought when I came to. Ouch and then: Dear God, that really hurts.

I moaned, and the simple action only made my throat hurt more. I quickly sealed my lips, stopping the effort.

“You’re awake!”

I opened my eyes to witness Reece lurching from a chair beside me. My gaze flicked around me—hospital bed?

“Where am I?” I asked in a voice as gravelly as sandpaper. I winced and he grabbed a cup of water and held it to my lips. I drank deeply, letting the water flow over my raw tongue and throat as he replied.

“In the emergency room.”

“The girls—”

“They’re fine. They’re with their parents. The house is gone. Some kind of faulty wiring in the kitchen. Old house. We’re lucky it didn’t happen when the Campbells were in bed. They might not have gotten out.”

My head felt like it weighed two tons, but I lifted it to glance down at myself. The movement made me aware of the tubes running into my nose. I reached up to touch them.

“It’s to give you oxygen. Don’t mess with it. They had a full oxygen mask on you earlier. They said you’ll need to keep the tubes in for a while to help your lungs recover.”

My hand fell away. I licked at my dry lips and fought to swallow against my raw throat. He reached for the cup again and handed it to me over the bed guard. I sipped and handed it back. “You came. H-how did you know?”

“I heard the alarm down the road. And then I saw the black smoke in the sky. I didn’t know you were there until I found the girls in the yard.” His jaw clenched. A muscle feathered in his cheek. His eyes blazed down at me. “You went back for a dog? What the f*ck were you thinking? You could have died, Pepper! I watched the paramedics work on you and . . . I thought . . .” He stopped, his voice choking. I had never seen him like this. Not even when he told me about his mother. Not even when his father showed up and made a scene at Mulvaney’s.

I held silent, letting him yell at me. I deserved it. For tonight and more.