Page 73 of The Bratva Sinner

A beam crashes down in front of me. I jump back in surprise. The ceiling is coming down.

We need to get out. Now.

Mike has a hold of my bad arm, tugging me along. I stumble over something on the ground and nearly fall, but he’s right there.

He throws me over his shoulder like a fireman and runs. I see the open door ahead, daylight, and fresh air. We burst through just as another beam crashes behind us.

Mike doesn’t stop until we’re fifty feet from the building. He sets me down, and I double over, coughing so hard that I think I might vomit. My lungs are on fire. Each breath is agony. I rub my chest as if that will stop the ache.

“Breathe,” Mike orders. “Slow breaths.”

I try, but the coughing won’t stop. I’m going to puke.

“Get the medic!” someone shouts.

I’m vaguely aware of being lowered to the ground. Grass beneath me. Sky above me. Someone places an oxygen mask over my face.

“Breathe,” a woman’s voice says. “Just breathe.”

I focus on pulling air into my lungs. It hurts so much, like I’m pulling razor blades through my throat.

I stare at the stables. Men with fire extinguishers and garden hoses are fighting it.

At least the horses are safe. I count them in the far paddock—Midnight, Willow, and Outlaw. All three alive. All three unharmed.

“We should get her to the hospital,” I hear someone say.

I shake my head. “No. Too dangerous. I’m fine.”

“Are you burned?”

I turn and see Cinder standing over me with her hands on her hips.

Of course, she’s here.

I want to tell her to fuck off, but I’m too tired. I cannot waste my breath on her.

The oxygen mask is doing its job. The spots in my vision fade, and the coughing eases a little. I can think again, sort of.

“The sprinklers,” I rasp. “They didn’t work.”

“We know,” Cinder says. I turn to look at her. She’s sitting on the ground beside me. For once, she doesn’t look hostile. She looks worried. “Someone disabled them.”

“This was deliberate,” I whisper.

“Rest. Don’t try to talk.”

“I’m here!” A female calls out. She’s breathless.

I turn and see Ava running across the grass toward where we’re sitting. “I brought my bag!”

“Come on,” Cinder says. “Let the doctor check you out.”

“Not a doctor yet.” Ava looks at me and shakes her head. “Girl, you are a magnet for pain.”

I pull off the mask. “Trust me, not by choice.”

Mike helps me to my feet. He moves to carry me, but I push him off. “I can walk.”