Chapter 60 Knox
KNOX
One final kick, and the front door busted open.
Flames roared in response. Thick black smoke poured out like a fog of death, a dark veil masking everything in front of me.
Pulling my shirt over my nose and mouth, I pushed through the wall of fire into the entryway.
My eyes screamed. My throat felt like I’d swallowed molten glass. Every breath was a knife to the lungs, but I forced myself forward.
My foot caught on something. I tripped, nearly went down, and realized I was standing over her body.
“Harper!” The word came out shredded. Barely human.
The fumes invaded my lungs, and I could feel myself flirting with unconsciousness. My knees wanted to buckle. My brain wanted to shut down.
Not yet.
Bending over, I scooped her into my arms. Pain screamed up my burned feet, through my hands, but I locked it away somewhere I couldn’t feel it. She was limp. Her head lolled against my chest like a rag doll’s.
I turned and shielded her body with my own as I carried her through the flames, feeling the fire bite at my back, my shoulders, my arms. Didn’t matter.
The next few seconds were a blur.
Running. Night air filling my scorched lungs, each breath a fresh kind of agony. Putting distance between us and the inferno until I was next door.
I laid her down on the neighbor’s lawn, the grass cool and damp beneath her.
She was too still. Too quiet.
“Harper.” My voice cracked. Broke. Came out as something closer to a rasp than a word.
I pressed two fingers to her throat.
For one agonizing moment, nothing.
Then … a faint pulse. Light as a butterfly wing against my fingertips. And then the most beautiful sound in the world.
A cough.
I dropped my forehead to her chest. A sob ripped through me, followed by a coughing fit so violent, I nearly collapsed beside her.
Even though I knew she wasn’t out of danger, even though the effects of smoke inhalation could stretch far beyond the next few minutes, the knowledge that she was alive hit me with the force of a tsunami.
Tears leaked from my eyes, and I didn’t try to stop them. They carved tracks through the soot and ash coating my face.
I lifted my head, cupping her face between my hands. Her skin was covered in patches of black smoke residue. So was mine. We probably looked like we’d crawled out of hell together.
Because we had.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
“Stay still,” I commanded, my voice rough.
Her unfocused gaze drifted around, taking in the sky, the orange glow of the burning bungalow. Finally, her eyes landed on my face.
Slowly, I must have come into focus.
Because her lips curled up. Just slightly. Just enough.
But one second later, her eyes went wide with horror.
Staring at something behind me.
Something hard slammed into the back of my skull.
And everything went black.