The damn door had been wedged shut … she couldn’t have escaped. She was still here. “Savannah!”
“Chief, there’s not much time left. Get out now!”
Zach ignored the fireman behind him. He had to find her. He’d already been in every room on the first floor. The fire had started in the back of the house, close to the kitchen. The flames were growing heavier. The firemen were working valiantly, but saving the structure might not be possible. But dammit, saving Savannah was.
Racing up the stairs, he continued to yell. As he went from room to room, the small oxygen tank they had loaned him pumped fresh air into his lungs. The goggles protected his eyes, but the smoke was so heavy it was almost impossible to see anything.
Standing at the top of the landing, he lifted the oxygen mask and shouted, “Savannah! Where are you?”
Nothing. Had she gotten out? How? Where? He turned and ran toward the stairway to the third floor. The attic. Maybe she was in the attic. Shouts from the outside stopped him cold. “There she is! At the back … the roof!”
Relief gave his feet wings as he raced downstairs, out the door, and to the back of the house. A ladder was being leaned against the building and a fireman was already halfway up. Zach followed him, once again ignoring the shouts for him to stay back. When at last he reached the roof, his heart that had been rejoicing stopped and slammed to the ground. Savannah lay facedown on the roof, unmoving. No, no, no … He couldn’t be too late.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Agony in her chest woke her. Willing her eyes to open, she realized that they wouldn’t cooperate. What was wrong? Where was she? Why did she hurt so much? Panic seized her, causing her breath to labor; more intense pain clutched her chest.
“Shh,” a deep, dearly familiar voice whispered. “You’re going to be fine. Just breathe slowly.”
Zach. She tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn’t cooperate. Questions filled her dazed brain. She dug deep, beneath the pain and confusion, searching for reason. Finally it came. Smoke … a fire. Someone had tried to kill her … had burned down the guesthouse. What about the mansion? Had it burned down, too? Tears seeped from her closed lids, causing them to sting. A sob built in her chest, causing a new agony.
“Savannah, listen to me. You’re going to be fine. You inhaled too much smoke and you’re on oxygen. Your eyes are fine, too. The doctor has treated them and said your vision won’t be compromised. You just need to rest.”
Struggling with all her might, she managed a croaking whisper: “The house?”
“The guesthouse is gone. The mansion is untouched.”
Relieved and grateful, Savannah at last managed to open her eyes. Zach’s red-rimmed eyes and charcoal-blackened face was the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen. “Thank you,” she whispered.
A smile lifted his mouth but his eyes remained worried and behind that worry was a simmering rage. The fact that someone had gone to so much trouble and risk astounded her. The killer either believed she knew something or there was evidence he didn’t want her to find. The letters … oh God, the letters were gone.
“Letters?” she whispered.
“All gone, I’m afraid. I’m sorry, Savannah.”
She would deal with that knowledge later. “Aunt … Gibby?”
“She’s fine. I hadn’t planned to tell her until she could see you were all right for herself. Unfortunately Hester got to her first. I assured her you were going to be okay and would be by to see her in a day or so, after you’re rested up. I’ve had to turn half the town away from your door. Everyone is worried about you.”
Amazing. With the exception of her family, she’d always felt like such a loner in this town. Having that many people concerned for her gave her a warm feeling until she remembered that one of those people might well be a killer. Had one of them wanted to see her to finish off the job?
She lifted her hand, surprised at how heavy it felt, and tenderly traced the grim lines around his mouth. “Tired?”
Taking her hand in his, he pressed a kiss against her palm. “Scared. So very scared, babe.”
Zach never called her an endearment, it had never been his style. The fact that he did now made her wonder. “ ‘Babe?’ ” she whispered.
A grin lifted his mouth and finally his eyes smiled, too.
“ ‘Sugar’ and ‘honey doll’ just don’t fit