Then it came again…a shout that competed with the flames.
Becket’s voice.
Was he really here?
A part of her rebelled against the idea of him being here, because it wasn’t safe. But the other part, the part that barely had the energy to walk, let alone run, let hope bloom inside her.
“Becket?” She tried to yell but her voice was cut off by coughing.
She forced her feet forward, grabbing another tree, then another again, barely keeping herself upright.
“Becket?” she yelled again.
She wasn’t loud enough. So weak that she couldn’t even yell at full volume.
Suddenly, a second voice sounded, this one less familiar but also male. Was someone with him? Maybe someone from his crew, here to fight the fire.
She took a few more steps, a new determination inside her. A determination to reach Becket. To see his face.
“Sky!” Becket’s voice was louder this time.
He was calling for her. He knew she was here.
How?
God, it didn’t matter.
She forced her feet to move faster. Black dots danced in her vision, but she blinked them away.
Suddenly, something appeared in front of her. Something small and fast.
“Bella!” Sky gasped.
The small dog closed the distance between them, and Sky dropped to her knees, cuddling her to her chest. “You came back.”
Bella licked her face, and Sky looked up to see another figure in the distance…Becket.
CHAPTER33
This fire was out of control and it was spreading fast.
Becket’s feet pounded the earth. Bella had led them straight to the center of it, and the blaze surrounded them. But he didn’t stop. He pushed his body faster to keep up with the dog, praying she would lead them to Sky.
“The flames are getting thicker, Beck,” Teddy shouted through his mask.
“You can return to the road.”
“No. I’m staying with you. You shouldn’t be alone.”
Bella sped up, and Becket did too.
He pulled the radio from his belt. “Copter 403, this is Chief Hayes from Station 8. How long until the retardant drop?”
A deep voice sounded over the radio. “Station 8, this is Copter 403. We’re looking at a couple of minutes.”
Dammit.
Suddenly, Bella sprinted into a small gap between two trees. Everything around those trees was alight.
