Worth the Risk(89)

Her heart beat out of control but her thoughts were clear. Start at the front. Work your way back. High-pitched whinnies pierced her ears as she ran past the animals.

I’m coming back.

It had only been a few seconds, and already smoke-induced tears poured from her eyes. The sounds of panicked horses tore at her heart. She opened the door of the first stall past the tack room, swatted Sugar’s rear, and the black mare took off in the direction of safety.

Sixteen stalls, and not all held horses, but as hard as she tried, she couldn’t be sure which stalls were empty. Couldn’t accept the consequences if she skipped one and was wrong. She’d have to go side to side and try to beat the flames.

Bits of fiery hay sprinkled the air until the entire building looked like the inside of a fire pit someone had just kicked. The stacked bales of hay had created a roaring inferno, and Hazel was right next door. Using the end of her shirt like a potholder, she flipped the hot metal latch and slid it back to free the frantic gray. That was two. No, three. The smoke had thickened to black and she worked only by feel, arms outstretched. She assumed Lexie was doing the same at the other end.

She’d never been so hot, so suffocated. It was like someone had turned off the lights and turned up the heat. Her chest burned from trying not to breathe. Her hands moved, the rough wood scraping her palms, until they felt metal and another horse ran out, desperate to be free from a sudden threat he couldn’t comprehend.

She hunched low instinctively, searching for a clear bit of air. Or maybe, remembering her brother Zach’s instructions. Stay low and get out. No matter what.

I can’t. I won’t leave them.

A beam crashed to her left in a stream of orange light. She wasn’t going to make it. Wasn’t going to get them all out. She flipped the latch on the nearest door, slid it back, and freed Lady, a boarding mare. And just in time. The fire in the neighboring stall caught the hay bedding in Lady’s and erupted, sending more burning bits into the air. She swiped at her arms and face and kept moving.

With a quick glance back through teary eyes, she saw Lexie fighting the door to Roma’s stall. The stallion reared and battered against the door, unknowingly making it more difficult for the woman trying to save him. Hannah felt a second of relief when she stepped back and Roma emerged. Then she watched in slow motion as Lexie tried to get to the frantic horse turned in the right direction. Saw him rear, saw the woman go down.

“Lexie!” Her scream went nowhere, only opened herself to hot smoke that seemed to charge straight down her throat.

Hannah dropped to her knees and crawled to the other side, one pointless hand over her mouth, the other making wide sweeps along the ground searching for a body. Yelling for her was useless. She couldn’t drag in enough air and there was no way Lexie would hear her. Her hands met wood, telling her she’d made it to the other side. She turned right and crawled toward the back.

Her lungs felt seared, her eyes burned like they’d been doused with hot pepper, and she couldn’t keep them open any longer. Didn’t matter. She couldn’t see anyway, couldn’t hear anything except the fire and the shrill cries of horses as the inferno grew over and around them.

Starved for oxygen, her head started to buzz. What if Lexie was crawling on the other side looking for her? She had no way of knowing if her friend had already made it out. If she didn’t go now, there was a good chance she would burn on this floor.

Would she pass out before the flames got her? Hooves pounded against wood near her head. There were more horses, but…she couldn’t think who, where, or which way to go. And Lexie.

She pulled her legs under her and tried to crawl. The suffocating heat and black smoke pressed her back down. She couldn’t even drag in enough air to cough. After all the times she’d wanted to die, she now desperately wanted to live, but her mind was going dark. With her forehead resting on the ash-strewn floor, she took a second. Thought of her brothers, of Stephen.

A strong hand grabbed her upper arm and jerked her up and off the concrete flooring. She reached out with her other hand as she was lifted and felt the thick, rough fabric of the protective jacket Zach wore. She coughed out Lexie’s name. Or tried to as she was thrown roughly over a shoulder, knocking the remaining air from her stomach.

The relief was immediate, but her throat and chest burned like she’d swallowed fire. Maybe she had.

She was lowered to her back on cool grass. Something covered her mouth and she made a weak attempt to push it away. “Lexie. She’s—”

“They’ll get her out. Just relax. Breathe.”

Zach. Zach was here. She tried again to tell him but couldn’t get enough breath to speak. Nauseous, she fought to sit up. Zach helped her roll to her side and she coughed until she thought a lung would come up.