Countdown to Death. Debby Giusti

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СКАЧАТЬ and was ready to crash through the door when he raised his eyes.

      A woman stood at the second-story window, frantically pounding her hands against the glass.

      Heart in his throat, Luke slammed his full weight against the kitchen door, relieved when the aged oak gave way. Inside, the smoke rolled through the house, thick and black.

      “Fire,” he screamed again.

      A middle-aged man coughed as he staggered from the darkness.

      “How many people are staying here?” Luke asked.

      “A guy and his wife are in the back bedroom. They’re headed this way. But someone’s trapped upstairs. The fire’s raging at the top of the staircase. There’s no way to reach her.”

      “Where’s the night manager?”

      “He left hours ago.”

      Before the man finished speaking, a young couple stumbled into the kitchen. The woman gasped for air.

      “Get outside,” Luke ordered. He reached for the woman’s arm and guided the three of them to safety.

      As they scurried away from the house, Luke looked up once again. An increased sense of dread slipped over him. Unable to break the window, the woman stood outlined against the deadly glow from the fire that filled the room.

      Climbing onto the porch railing, Luke shimmied up the column holding the drainage spout to the overhanging roof, then hoisted himself onto the ledge that rimmed the second story.

      Adrenaline coursed like lightning through his veins as he scooted toward the window, aware of the growing crackle of the flames coming from within the aged structure. A section of the narrow railing broke. His foot gave way. He grabbed the rough shingles, holding on with his fingertips, and hugged the wall to maintain his balance.

      His rapidly beating heart seemed as loud as the sirens wailing through the night. Fire trucks would arrive soon, but not in time to save the woman.

      He inched forward. Sweat trickled down his back and dampened his shirt.

      Reaching the window, he pounded on the glass.

      She turned at the sound, her face wrapped in terror.

      “Move back,” he warned, shrugging out of his jacket.

      Had she heard him?

      As if his words had finally registered, she stepped aside and covered her face with her arms.

      Luke twisted his jacket around his right hand, raised his fist and jammed it against the window. The pane shattered.

      With a series of sweeps, he cleared away the remaining shards of glass.

      Fueled by the increased oxygen, the fire burned bright, the roar deafening.

      Luke grabbed the woman and guided her over the windowsill. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his flesh.

      “I’ve got you,” he assured her. “We jump on three.”

      She shook her head. “I…I can’t.”

      “You have to,” he insisted. “One…Two…”

      He wrapped his arm protectively around her waist.

      “Three.”

      They jumped just before the room exploded, spewing a ball of fire into the night.

      A clump of overgrown azalea bushes broke their fall. Together they rolled and came to rest on a mound of thick pine needles.

      Luke groaned as he pulled himself to a sitting position.

      Lights flashed. The fire chief appeared, yelling orders to his men. A scurry of activity surrounded them as hoses stretched toward the flames. Water hissed from the nozzles.

      The woman lay on the ground, eyes closed, golden hair streaming around a face pale as death.

      “Ma’am?” Luke nudged her shoulder. “Ma’am?”

      When she didn’t respond, he touched her neck. No pulse.

      “She needs help,” he shouted, hoping to attract attention.

      Knowing every second was critical, Luke tilted her head back. With swift, sure movements, he blew two quick puffs of air into her mouth, then, intertwining his fingers, he pressed down on her sternum.

      “And one, and two…” He counted the compressions.

      Where were the medical personnel?

      “And three, and—”

      “We’ll take it from here.” A team of EMTs scurried to his aid.

      Luke edged back to let them do their job.

      Bett raced toward him. “Someone said you went into the burning building.”

      “I’m fine,” he assured her as he stood and looked around. “Where’s Shelly?”

      “In the car. Mrs. Rogers heard the sirens and stopped by to help. She’s with Shelly. I was worried. They told me you pulled a person from the fire.”

      He pointed to where the EMTs clustered.

      Bett grabbed his arm. “You’re hurt, Luke.”

      For the first time, he noticed the gash on his forearm and the blood that matted his shirt.

      “It’s a small cut.” He shrugged off her concern while his eyes fixed once again on the woman he’d tried to save.

      The spotlights cutting through the night, the frantic rush of the emergency personnel and the acrid stench of the smoke took him back, and for a moment he saw Hilary’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

      A lump filled his throat. Lord, don’t let another woman die.

      Chaos. Allison felt the swell of confusion and panic surround her. She gasped for air.

      A mask covered her mouth and nose. She tried to push it aside.

      Someone restrained her hand.

      “Breathe, lady.”

      Her chest burned.

      “Come on, lady. You gotta breathe.”

      She pulled in a shallow breath, expecting smoke. Instead her lungs filled with life-giving oxygen. She gulped, sucking in the pure air.

      “She’s coming ’round,” the voice announced. “Tell Luke. Only way he’ll calm down is if he knows she’s okay.”

      A few moments later, a hand touched her shoulder.

      She blinked open her eyes and saw the man who’d saved СКАЧАТЬ