hoodie, her mind still trying to process everything. She pointed toward the bottom of the bedroom door where ominous curls of black smoke were rising. “Fire!”
“Shit!” Clint rushed into the bathroom. She heard the tap running for a second, and then he was back, tossing a wet towel to her as he passed. “Wrap that around your face and stay here. I’m going to get my daughter!”
“I’m coming with you,” she said, running up behind him and hooking her finger through a belt loop on the back of his jeans as he opened the door. Good thing too, since she couldn’t see anything out in the hall. The towel helped keep the thick smoke out of her nose and mouth but did little to keep her eyes from watering. Soon, she couldn’t see anything through the haze of her tears. But she was surprised to realize that the air in the hallway didn’t feel hot. Was there not a fire after all? “What’s happening?”
“Smoke bomb!” Clint yelled through the shadows as he felt his way along the hallway to the bottom of the stairs. “Sweet pea? Honey?” he called through the toxic air as they slowly climbed upward. “Daddy’s here! Daddy’s coming! Can you yell to tell me where you are?”
“Daddy!” Ashley coughed and hacked. Smoke rose, so it was thicker in the air up here. The noise hurt Tara’s lungs just to hear it. “I can’t see you. I’m scared! Please help me!”
“I’m coming, honey. Daddy’s here!” The desperation in his tone tore at her heart and Tara did her best to keep up with him, knowing time was of the essence.
“We need to get her out of here,” Tara said. Her foot hit the wall and pain radiated up her leg. She cursed, stepping back slightly, the movement knocking her towel askew in the darkness. Smoke crept in to fill her nose and mouth and she started to cough uncontrollably, each breath only drawing in more of the noxious fumes. “Oh God. I…can’t…breathe.”
Clint vanished from her grasp and for a moment, Tara wondered if this was it. The end. Then he was back, his strong hand closing around hers. From the sound of whimpers close by, she could tell that he held his daughter in his other arm, leading them both down the stairs toward the living room and escape. The farther they got from Ashley’s room, the less smoke there was, until they were finally in the kitchen, where the air was clearer at last. Clint positioned them by a window which he yanked open, filling the room with cool night air.
Tara bent over, hands on her knees, sucking in great gulps of sweet oxygen, her throat burning and her mouth sticky from smoke. Clint too was coughing, his cheeks damp from his eyes watering. Poor Ashley had the worst of it, though, her breaths wheezing as she tried to get enough air into her lungs. “She needs to get to a hospital.”
“We all do,” Clint said. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called 911. “We need an ambulance please. There’s been a smoke bomb detonated in our home.” Clint gave the dispatcher the address and stayed on the line while they waited for the emergency vehicles to arrive.
Ashley was still having trouble breathing and Tara did her best to calm her, even though her own anxiety was through the roof. But she knew that losing her shit right now would help no one, least of all Ashley. “Hey, look at me, sweetie,” Tara said, meeting the little girl’s terrified blue eyes. “That’s it. Just focus on me and we’ll breathe together, okay. In and out. In, out. In, out. There you go.” Gradually, Ashley’s breathing grew less labored and Tara’s thundering pulse slowed to a less deadly level. Sirens wailed closer in the distance and Clint ceased his endless pacing. It was going to be okay. It had to be okay. Tara kept her gaze locked with Ashley’s. “Good. Good girl. Help’s here now and we’re going to be okay. I promise.”
Ashley threw her arms around Tara’s neck and held on for dear life and Tara hugged her tight, not wanting to let go. Not now. Maybe not ever.
14
The bustle of the ER did little to settle Tara’s nerves, but at least Ashley was doing better now.
Tara stayed by her bedside while Clint went out to call the guys from SSoF and talk to them about what had happened. While the doctor