wall had finally reached a state of combustion that would ignite the entire building in minutes. He didn't have time to cross both offices and get out, not carrying Georgina.
Without a quiver, Daniel turned and crashed his shoulder against the windowpane behind him, shattering the glass. Flinging Georgina over his shoulder, he used his coat sleeve to knock splinters from the frame. Only when he was satisfied the exit was safe did he lower Georgina through it.
She crumpled lifelessly on the ground outside. Daniel had already stopped feeling any emotion at all. His brain had quit functioning the instant he'd touched her and felt no response. Like the machines on the other side of the wall, he moved stiffly and without reason, going through the motions for which he was made.
He climbed through the window and bent to lift Georgina from the ground. He could hear the excited shouts of people carrying a water line to the pumps. In the distance he heard the clang of a firebell. None of that mattered. His life was in his hands now, and Daniel carried her through the darkened alley to the street. If she lived, he would survive. If she didn't, he had died in the fire with her. He knew that as certainly as he knew where his feet were carrying him.
No one saw them as he lifted her through the unboarded window of the warehouse across the street. He needed no light to carry her up the familiar stairs to the room they had shared together.
He laid her on the bed that had been left behind when they abandoned the building. She unfolded like a lifeless doll, spilling arms and legs across the cover. This was more than sleep, then.
Daniel reached a trembling hand to Georgina's cheek, whispering her name. He sat beside her, willing her to respond as he stroked her face. Desperate, he leaned over and applied his lips to hers. They were warm, but seemingly lifeless.
He pulled her into his arms, forcing her upright, holding her over his shoulder as he hugged her and murmured senseless words in her ear. He ran his hands up and down her back, gently at first, then more vigorously. His murmurs became anguished cries of pain when she didn't respond.
"Georgina, answer me! My God, don't leave me like this! You can't leave me. You're all I have, Georgina. Wake up and wish me to the devil, Georgie, but don't go away. Please, Georgie..."
Daniel was crying now, huge tears rolling unashamedly down his beard-stubbled cheeks as he rubbed her back and buried kisses against her throat. "I love you, Georgina," he whispered desperately, suddenly knowing it was true, recognizing it with a stab of bitter anguish. "I love you. I just want you to be happy. Please, God, let her live. I'll do anything. I'll never curse. I'll never take Your name in vain. I'll honor my father. Lord, anything! Please..."
Daniel's voice trailed off in waves of sobs as he rocked Georgina back and forth, waiting for some miracle in a life that had been filled with anything but miracles.
In the silence left by his tears, a low moan sounded, followed by a wracking cough.
Daniel ran his fingers deep into Georgina's hair and gave a heartfelt prayer of thanks even as she bent double with a spasm of coughing that shook them both.
Chapter 36
He was afraid to let her go, afraid she would slip away from him again, but he needed to get her water. Daniel held Georgina tightly as spasms of coughing struck her so hard he feared the attacks would spit out her lungs.
He needed to call a physician, but he couldn't bear to leave her. He had never been the sort to panic easily, but he couldn't think for the terror blurring his mind. He couldn't lose Georgina. Not now. Not ever. The shouts and noises from the street below joined the anguished scream of fear inside his skull.
Fighting for some form of rationality, Daniel piled pillows behind Georgina's head so she could lean against them while he unfastened her bodice. He thanked Whoever watched over them that she had worn a gown that buttoned up the front. The way his hands were shaking, he didn't think he could hold her up and unfasten back hooks.
With trembling fingers he ripped open the corset beneath, and Georgina took a gasping breath that brought another attack of coughing. This time, her lashes fluttered a little, and Daniel's heart fluttered with them.