Fierce (Devils Point Wolves Book 5)(3)
“Dani!” he screamed again, panic rising.
Staying here was out of the question, but the smoke growing thicker by the second made where to go next an impossible decision.
“Creed!” A faint shout from the hallway had him whirling around at the sound. With little time to waste he tore from the room and searched desperately through the smoke filled rooms.
“Sawyer!” he called back. In his freaked out mode to get to Dani he’d forgotten about Sawyer being there too.
“Over here.”
Moving blind, he followed the hoarse voice and found him and Dani trapped under two burning beams. She looked at him with tear filled eyes, a bleeding gash at the side of her head. Fortunately, her mouth was covered by a piece of Sawyer’s shirt and she seemed to be breathing okay for now.
Sawyer on the other hand…
The beam trapping his hip and leg was fully engulfed. He ran to his side and tried to grab it off at him only to recoil when his hands started to burn.
“Are you fucking crazy? Get her out of here.”
Creed ignored him and searched the room for something he could use for leverage. There was nothing that wasn’t already burning.
“Creed! Stop looking for a way to get me free and get your mate out of here. This fucking beam hit her first and she needs fresh air now or she isn’t going to make it.”
Torn between the woman he needed more than air and the packmate he owed everything too, he hesitated. There had to be a way to get them both out.
He scanned the room again, searching for anything or anyone that could help him. Where the hell were the others?
“Creed!” Sawyer was yelling at him but the roar of the flames encroaching on them nearly drowned him out.
“Go now. I’ve got this.”
The flames were inches away from his leg and hip…
Creed shook his head. This was not a choice he was willing to make.
His friend grabbed his arm and jerked him hard. “Get her out of here now, you idiot. I can’t get free without jeopardizing her. So once she’s free I can move, okay?”
The voice of reason got through his thick skull enough to have him turn back to Dani, who remained still on the ground her eyes barely open slits. “I’m getting you out of here. Hang on, baby.”
He thought he saw a slight smile cross her face as he shifted to his half wolf/half human form and lifted the beam that pinned her shoulder and arm. Between the smoke and flames he had no idea what force got him through, but the moment the wood gave way, he reached for his woman and pulled her free.
Lifting her into his arms, the cloth she had held over her mouth fluttered to the ground, her body turning dead weight.
Shit. He glanced at Sawyer.
“Go. Save her. I’m almost free.”
He nodded at his best friend and ran from the room while dodging more burning timbers continuing to fall from the ceiling. They didn’t have much time before the entire place came crashing down.
He collided into Damien in the thick smoke, but remained upright.
“Good, you found her. Now get the hell out of here." He pointed behind him and to the right. “Can’t see shit but the door’s over there.”
About to turn and run again, the sound of burning wood was split by an ear piercing scream and growl that came from the direction of his friend.
“Sawyer,” Creed said. “Trapped under a beam.”
“Got it. Now get the hell out of here before she dies.”
Creed didn’t need to be told twice this time. With Dani passed out in his arms he was reminded how fragile she really was. She came across tough as nails and always looked ready to chew him a new one, but the reality was far different.
She needed him.
He kicked his way through the door and crashed down on his knees as he gulped for the somewhat fresh air outside the building.
Not good enough though, he reminded himself.
He staggered to his feet, his lungs still burning, and carried Dani to the far end of the parking lot where the injured were being taken care of. Pack surrounded him and pried her from his arms so they could assess her condition.
“She’s going to need a hospital,” one of them said.
“Sawyer,” he tried to speak and it came out more like a croak. He tried again. “Damien went after him.”
Two of the men glanced at each other. “The building’s fully engulfed. No one else is getting in or out.”
Creed struggled to his feet, his lungs burning from smoke. “Bullshit.”
“Creed, you aren’t going anywhere,” Dante spoke from behind him. “We’ve lost enough people.”
“Sawyer,” he repeated. Why the hell weren’t they listening to him?
“I know. My fucking brother went after him. But turn around and look and you tell me what I should do. You want to send more men into that?”