“Well, what happened? What did they say?” I ask frantically, trying to wrap my head around it.
“You should probably ask her that.” Ainsley tilts her head, brows raised.
“She did the right thing. I mean...” I run my hand over my face and through my beard. “Damn it, I mean, she did more than just the right thing. She, she,” I stutter. “God, I’m an idiot.”
“Yup,” both Rory and Callie say in unison, popping the ‘p,’ and somehow it feels like a slap to the back of the head.
I’m a big man, but right now I feel less than two feet tall. The kind of smallness that comes from realizing I’ve been the dumbest person in the room the entire time. I scrub at my beard again, the regret over everything I’ve said to her choking me. I should have trusted her.
I sit down with my head in my hands, trying to figure out how I’m going to make this right, how to not only tell her but also show her how proud I am of her and that she’s mine. I’m beating myself up about everything when Ainsley’s startled gasp grabs my attention.
“Where’s that smoke coming from?” She points out the window and up toward the mountain where Tris and I live.
We all rush to the window. As soon as I see the dark, angry smoke rising through the peaks of the trees, my breath catches, and fear fills me to my core, but I don’t let it stop me. Before my brain can catch up, I make a break straight out the door and for my truck. The sound of footsteps follows behind me, and by the time I’ve got the engine started, Tom is in the passenger seat, already calling it in on his phone.
My hands tremble as I floor the truck up the driveway, images of what could be flashing through my mind.
“I need everyone, fire department, ambulance, send them to Captain Levi King’s home, now...” Tom rattles off information but pauses before looking at me. “I don’t know...” he breathes, his voice trembling slightly as he looks at me with eyes haunted by fear and the tragedy of my past.
I barely have the truck in park before I’m jumping out of it, ready to run straight into danger. Ellie nearly knocks me over as her front paws collide with me. She’s barking and yelping, as panicked as the rest of us. Tris’s door is wide open, but she’s nowhere to be found. Through the thick smoke, I can barely see that my door, the one that was closed when I left, is now wide open. I look down at Ellie, and it all comes together.
She went in for Ellie.
She saved her.
Angry flames devour my side of the duplex, climbing hungrily as it grows. The fire roars loudly while the sounds of popping echo through the air, and the flames become stronger.
“Levi!” Tom’s hand clamps around my arm, stopping me. “You need to wait for help to arrive.”
His eyes are begging for me to listen, but I can tell he already knows that I won’t by the desperation behind them and the way that he’s still holding onto me for dear life.
“Tris!” Rory’s gut-wrenching scream cuts loudly over the hiss of the flames as she runs out of Ainsley’s car and drops to her knees.
I yank my arm from Tom and grab what I have of my firefighter gear from the back of the truck. It’s only my turnout pants and coat, but I’m not waiting one more second.
Tom tries to stop me again, but I swing around, grabbing him by the shoulders.
“I’m not losing her,” I shout, shaking him.
He must see the resolve in my eyes because he lets go.
I have to save her.
I can’t fail.
Not again.
With every step toward the house, the temperature rises until it’s nearly unbearable, but I don’t stop. I can’t. My heart is pounding, but I push my fear down, relying on instinct to propelme forward. I’m not afraid of the fire. I never have been. But the thought of losing her...
God, please let her be okay.
“Tris!” I yell, hoping she can hear me through the thundering flames, my heart sinking the longer I don’t hear an answer. “Tris!”
The porch steps are still stable, but it won’t be long until the fire spreads to them, too, if help doesn’t arrive soon. As I reach the door, a window pops, sending glass flying in my direction that I barely block, and the sound of a scream through the air.
“Tris?!” I yell, my heart clenching.
“Levi?” Her voice comes from somewhere inside. “Levi! I’m in here! I can’t—” her voice is cut off by a cough.
