Pieces of Us - Carrie Elks Page 0,87

was short, panicked, and with every stride she completed, the heat of the air increased.

It was every owner’s worst nightmare. The reason insurance was so damn high on the wood-and-iron constructions. In spite of the frothing ocean beneath, pier fires were a dime a dozen. Their materials were combustible, the construction and electrical wiring often out of date, and more than anything, they were hard for firefighters to access, meaning it took longer than usual to douse any flames.

She was panting, her legs flying as she got closer still. Firefighters were pulling hoses from the engines parked at the base of the pier, their movements fast but considered, as they entered the burning edifice.

As she got closer, she could see the fire was consuming Delmonico’s and her office. Everybody had left, hadn’t they? She remembered Pietro saying goodnight before she’d sat down with Ally and Lydia in the office. He’d locked up the restaurant and all his staff were gone.

The fairground rides had been taken down and put back onto the trucks that had driven them away. The stage was still up, but she didn’t care about that. Her eyes darted this way and that as she scanned the pier, her chest screaming from the speed she was running.

Then her gaze landed on the Ocean Explorer. Griff’s boat. He’d left the pier hours ago. Please god, don’t let him have come back for any reason. She blinked, her eyes watering from a combination of the smoke, salty air, and fear.

The smoke was so thick as she reached the end of the pier, choking her lungs as she tried desperately to stop breathing it in. When she reached the boardwalk she slowed, lifting her gaze to the orange flames as tears rolled down her face.

The heat scorched her nose and throat as she hurried along the wide concrete path. A crowd of onlookers had gathered, held back by caution tape the firefighters had placed. A few of them turned to look at her, blinking as she walked toward them. She looked down and remembered she was only wearing a thin tank and a pair of tiny sleep shorts, with nothing on her feet.

With her hair tangled and knotted, she must' look like a crazy woman.

What sounded like thunder rumbled ahead of her, even though there were no clouds in the sky. She looked to see Griff running at twice the speed she had, his face twisted with emotion as he reached her.

“Thank god,” he said. “I thought you might be in there.” He pointed at the burning pier.

She blinked back stinging tears. “I thought you might be, too.”

He looked like he was going to hug her, but then he stepped back, shaking his head to move his hair from his eyes. Standing with the blazing fire reflected in his gaze, he looked every inch a wild man.

“Do you know if there’s anybody stuck on the pier?” she shouted over the noise of the flames and the firefighters, fear clenching her chest in a vice grip. “I know Pietro went home, and everything looked empty when I left tonight, but…” she trailed off as she turned to look at the blaze again. Please God, don’t let anybody get hurt.

“Not that I know of. I came with Lucas and he’s been briefed by the team. They think it was empty.”

“Thank god,” she whimpered, her legs trembling. Her whole body quivered, as though the ground beneath her was vibrating. Her teeth started to chatter. Griff was looking over her shoulder at something, and she followed his gaze.

“Oh Griff, your boat,” she said, clamping her hand over her mouth. It wasn’t simply her pier that the blaze was destroying. Those flames were eating up Griff’s livelihood, and the Delmonico’s, too. Her body shook uncontrollably as she watched the firefighters train water onto the flames, trying to beat the blaze into submission.

“Forget about the boat,” Griff said, his brows pinching together. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does.” A sob escaped her lips. “It was your grandfather’s fishing boat. You told me that. And Delmonico’s. All that history being destroyed.” Her teeth chattered as she spoke.

“You’re cold,” he said, his voice strangely calm. “Here, take my shirt.” He deftly unbuttoned it and lifted it around her shoulders, but the shivers didn’t ease at all. She was finding it hard to breathe. Any air she managed to inhale felt like fire against her throat. Her chest rose and fell quickly in an effort to get the oxygen she