The temperature increases with every step we descend until the flames become visible.
“This way,” Theo barks from behind us. “There’s a fire escape.”
I turn around, relieved to find the others all standing there, covering their mouths.
We race after Theo, who rushes forward and into another flat before heading to the window and climbing straight out.
The ladder doesn’t take us right to the ground, but the jump we need to make is a hell of a lot better than running through a fucking inferno.
“I didn’t fucking sign up for this,” Nico barks as he lets go of the ladder and tumbles to the ground only seconds after Theo.
I don’t have time to think about how much it looked like it fucking hurt as a surge of heat floods the room behind us.
“Fucking move,” Daemon barks, and I jump through the window with him and Alex hot on my tail as the building begins to lose the fight against the fire behind us.
A loud crash sounds out as I hit the ground, and my legs buckle beneath me as I’m thrown across the road from the explosion.
Pain blooms down my entire right side from where I hit the building opposite the one we thought we were safe in as shouts and gunfire get louder around us.
“Is everyone okay?” Theo asks, and when I look up, I find him, Nico and Daemon staring down at where me, Seb and Alex are laid out on the fucking tarmac.
“Yeah,” I grunt, rolling onto my good side and sucking in a breath as I prepare to stand.
Glancing over, I find Seb and Alex in a similar position with pain etched onto their faces.
“Shit,” Nico barks as the crack of gunfire gets louder. “Move.”
Sucking in a breath, I gather every ounce of strength I have to start running. An unrelenting grip wraps around my upper arm, and when I look over, I find Nico dragging me along with him into a dark alley a few buildings up.
“Holy fuck,” I pant, bending over and pressing my hands to my knees as I try to catch my breath.
My heart is a fucking runaway train in my chest as my hands tremble with adrenaline, which I’m pretty fucking sure is stopping me from hurting as much as I should be right now. I hit that building hard.
“You guys okay to keep going?”
I follow Theo and Nico’s line of sight, my eyes landing on Seb, Alex and Daemon. They’ve got blood and dirt covering them, but I thankfully can’t see anything serious. And thank fuck they’re standing.
“Yeah,” they all agree before giving each other a look.
“We’re good,” Daemon says. “Let’s fucking finish this. Those motherfuckers aren’t taking anything else.”
We pull our guns, ready to help fight for Archer’s ownership of this estate, but right before we head back out to where the OGs are getting closer, my phone ringing cuts through our heaving breaths and the sound of gunfire.
“Shit,” I hiss, knowing with the first note of the ringtone that it’s Jodie. “Fuck.”
“Answer it,” Seb says, guessing who it is from my reaction. “We’ve got you.”
My hand trembles as I pull my phone from my pocket.
If she’s been on social media or talked to Sara, then she has to know we’re in the middle of this. I haven’t exactly shied away from telling her the truth about our involvement here.
“Jodie,” I bark, the roughness of my voice giving away the shit situation we’ve just come from.
“I’m with Sara,” she cries down the line. “The betting shop is on fire. We’re stuck. Jesse isn’t answering.” The panic in her voice sends an ice-cold shiver down my spine.
“Fuck. I’m coming, baby. I’m coming, okay? Do anything you can to get out.”
“I’m scared, Toby,” she confesses quietly as Sara screams in the background.