Page 57 of The Knight (Endgame 2)
With a low growl, Gabriel hauls my father over his shoulder and carries him from the house. I trail after them, worried that the position will hurt my father worse. It’s with surprising carefulness that Gabriel deposits Daddy on the grass a few yards from the house.
“Stay with him,” he orders before disappearing into the house again.
I check on my father, who’s coughing even more, unable to speak. After a moment flames leak out of the roof, breaking through the high shingles. Smoke pours out of the top as if the house expels a deep breath. The flow of people out the door slows to a trickle.
Uncle Landon bursts from the house, helping a white-haired woman to the grass, before joining us. “I think we got everyone.”
Damon appears, looking haggard. “Where is he?”
“Gabriel?”
“My father.”
The sea of people mill around the lawn, looking frightened, pale with shock. A few are clearly excited, their cell phones out to snap pictures and post them online. This is the most excitement Tanglewood society has seen in years. “I haven’t seen him.”
Damon curses under his breath before charging into the crowd, clearly determined. Except that I know everyone isn’t out. Nina Thomas and her daughter aren’t anywhere to be seen.
I turn to Uncle Landon. “Gabriel is still upstairs.”
He shrugs. “He’s stronger than me. If he can’t get down, then I can’t help him.”
Fury washes through me. “Fine.”
Then I’m back through the door, Uncle Landon’s shout of protest trailing after me.
I make it halfway up the stairs before I pass Charlotte. Nina leans against the wall, almost falling down the stairs while Charlotte tries to support her.
“She’s having some kind of attack,” Charlotte says, fighting tears.
I help them down the last few steps. “Where’s Gabriel?”
“He came back for her, but the fire moved so fast. Maybe it was the open walls, I don’t know. But the ceiling started coming down on us. He pushed Mom out into the hallway before a flame blew through the room.”
My heart stops. “Oh my God.”
Any trace of the cool, calm businesswomen has been replaced by a heartbroken girl. “I tried to get him out, but he yelled at me to go. I’m so sorry.”
I take the steps two at a time, faster than I’ve ever moved through the house. I see what Charlotte meant, the cascade of flames that have consumed the wall. Is he already dead inside? Already burned?
“Gabriel,” I shout.
I don’t hear anything, but there’s not a chance in hell I’m leaving him here. With a deep breath, as if I’m about to plunge into dark water, I jump over the flames—praying that the floor isn’t weak enough to send me crashing down to the first floor. I stumble and fall, a large gash on my forearm making me cry out.
And then I see him. Gabriel, held down by a beam across his chest, fighting to push it off.
His eyes widen. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Saving you.”
“Get out of here, Avery. Right now.”
“I’m not leaving without you.” But the beam is too heavy for me to lift—clearly, because he would have been able to remove it himself. “On the count of three.”
Even though he looks furious with me, he says, “Three.”
I force all my weight into it, all the grief and rage and love I have for Gabriel. He struggles too, his breath coming harder as the beam pushes down on him. Are his ribs broken? My arms quiver with the force I’m using, but the beam barely budges.
Smoke swirls around us, filling my lungs. I cough, shoving uselessly against the beam.
Gabriel manages to grasp my arm. “Avery, listen to me. It’s too late. Go outside. Wait for the fire department.”
I shake my head, eyes stinging with smoke and tears. There hadn’t been any sirens outside. “After the looks we got at the courthouse from the cops? With my family’s reputation in this city? I don’t think they’ll be rushing to my address anytime soon.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Gabriel says furiously. “You need to go.”
And like the fire brought down the walls around us, like the marble chess piece smashed into the Sheetrock, I can see right through to the heart of him. To his doubt and his power. His love, the kind that makes him do terrible things.
“I’m not leaving you.”
He must see the determination in my eyes because something like panic crosses his. “You once told me that if I care about you at all, to tell you the truth. And I did, Avery. I did it, even knowing it would bring us here. It would endanger you.”
My heart clenches. “Yes.”
“And now I need something from you. If you care about me at all, leave. Now.”
I kneel at his side, placing a kiss on his cheek. “I care about you, Gabriel. And that’s why I can’t leave you here.”
