caught fire yet, but this son of bitch was spreading fast. It wouldn’t be much longer.
And my wife was inside that building.
Cris screeched his Bugatti to a stop down the street, followed by Rome’s Hummer just behind us. Mom had refused to let Dad come along, so it was just us brothers climbing out of the two vehicles. I was surprised the fire department hadn’t arrived yet, but it was only a matter of time before the big red trucks came rolling in.
We all ran for the building at full speed.
Every one of us was armed to the max. I had my .45 1911 holstered, but I kept my dagger in hand. In close combat situations, the weapon was oftentimes more convenient than a gun. Plus, I would love to take out the fuckers that started this fire with my own hands.
A loud groaning noise followed by a crash came from inside. Fuck. That sounded like something had just collapsed.
I pushed my legs faster. “Lexi!”
“Nico, wait! We don’t know who else is in there yet.”
I quickly glanced up and down both sides of the street, checking for any assholes with Uzis lying in wait for us.
Then I did a double take.
I could have sworn I saw a familiar figure hovering near the alley across the street, watching us. I squinted in that direction, but thick smoke wafted in front of my face and obscured my vision. It was probably just shadows playing tricks on me.
And I didn’t have time to worry about fucking shadows.
“You guys secure the building,” I yelled. “I’m going after my wife.”
I threw my shoulder against the front door and was hit by a heavy cloud of hot smoke and steam.
“I got your back!” Cris roared. This close, the noise of burning materials was much louder. “Luka and Ace have the other entrance covered. Rome’s got the loading dock.”
We pulled our shirts up over our mouths as we advanced into the taproom, choosing our steps carefully. The smoke was so thick I could barely see in front of me. The first level wasn’t fully engulfed in flames yet, but we needed to hurry before their path trapped us inside while the whole place burned to ashes. The fire had basically formed a giant “U” around the room. The bar was lit up, as well as the back wall and the entire right side of the room, leaving a miniscule path for us down the middle.
A large man carrying a body over his shoulder suddenly appeared before us, shoving aside overturned chairs. The light from the flames reflected off the shiny badge that was clipped to the man’s belt.
“Connelly?”
In between hacking coughs, he rasped, “Yeah. Got Sergei. He’s not in a good way.”
The man was completely limp on Bryce’s shoulder. Shit, was he even alive?
“Where’s Lexi?” I demanded frantically.
More coughing wracked his body. “Dimitri chased her upstairs. I hit him, but he’s not down.”
That motherfucker.
“Anyone else in the building?” Cris shouted.
“Two of his men. They were down at one point, but they might have gotten out and ran for it.”
Bryce stumbled then, falling to one knee. Cris dove to catch Sergei before the man’s head slammed onto the hardwood floor. “Damn, man, you’re hit!”
It was only then that I noticed the bloodied cloth wrapped around Bryce’s upper thigh, acting as a tourniquet. “I’m all right,” he wheezed in a weak voice.
“You go with him,” I told Cris. “Call an ambulance. I’m going to get her.”
“Be careful!”
Moving toward the spiral staircase, I realized the real danger at this point was smoke inhalation. In most cases, victims of fires usually suffocate from smoke before the flames ever reach them.
And Lexi had already breathed in too much of this shit.
I needed to find her immediately.
One of the rustic-looking rafters on the ceiling had collapsed and fallen onto a high-top table. I had to squeeze my way under the structure, crawling on my hands and knees as the spreading flames raged around me. The heat licked at my flesh, sweat dotted my forehead, and my lungs burned. Every time I tried to suck in a deep breath, I coughed so hard I thought my throat was on fire.
Faster.
It felt like an eternity before I finally reached the staircase. I flew up the steps like a madman, my dagger raised and body primed for attack.
“Lexi!”
Where the hell was she? There were only so many places to hide up here. There was a storage room and small bathroom down the hallway to the left,