Luca and Viktor have their phones out as we descend the stairs, tapping out hasty messages as we hurry down, probably to Sofia and Caterina. Behind me, I can only guess that Liam is doing the same, sending Anastasia a message, letting her know that he’s in danger. Something tightens in my chest, and I consider sending Saoirse a message, but I push the thought away as quickly as it comes.
Why would she care? I’ve done my best to put distance between us. To treat her like a chore to handle and not a wife to care for. I’ve done it for our own good. I’m not capable of loving someone like that, of devoting myself to one person, only to risk them leaving later. Losing them. I’m not able to tie myself so close to someone who could betray me.
By the time we make it down to the second floor, the door is hot when I touch it. “I don’t know if it’s safe in there,” I tell the others, turning back. “But we can’t make it out from the third floor. We can take our chances in there, or we can go back up to the roof. There might be some parts of the fire escapes we can use to get down from the second floor, even if they’re not sturdy.”
It’s clear by now that the fire started on the first floor, heightening the now-planted suspicion that this might have been arson and not just an accident. If the door here is this hot, we can’t go down further. We can only go in—or go up.
“Just go in,” Jacob says urgently. “Let’s try to get out through the windows. We spent some time fixing the latches and such on these last week. We should be able to get out. At least open the fuckin’ door, and let’s see if it’s safe.”
Wincing, I wrap my hand around the heated knob. It doesn’t burn my palm, but it’s uncomfortably hot. I wrench it open, kicking the door inward as we all cram backward in the stairwell in case of flame, covering our mouths with our hands to guard against smoke.
There’s so much of it billowing in the second-floor room. I cough as it spills outwards, peering into the room for flames, but it’s not impassable yet. Towards the back, I can see them starting to lick upwards where the floor is burning, but we still have time.
“It’s dangerous. But if we move quickly, we can get out. Go. Go!”
We push forward into the room, coughing from the smoke as Jacob, Quint, Levin, and Niall lead the rush to the windows, hauling them open and peering outside to see what parts of the fire escapes are usable. “There’s one here that looks like the lower part of it is steady,” Jacob calls out. “You’ll have to move quick but careful, but even if you only make it partway down, it’s better than dropping the entire two stories without assistance. Come on.”
“Get the older Kings out first,” I say sharply, all of us moving to the side as Graham, Denis, Colin, and the others start to hurry towards the window. “They won’t be able to take the smoke or the heat as long, or the drop if the fire escape starts to fail. Come on, let’s go before the fire downstairs blows out the windows there and you get burned going down.”
I have to shout over the alarms, through the coughing as the smoke in the room thickens, burning my eyes. But we keep them moving. When the elder Kings have made it down to the pavement below, the other men go next, us leaders and our right-hand men waiting to go last. When every single man is out, I nod to Charlie. “You next, then Quint, Jacob, Niall, Levin. Luca and Viktor, you after that. Liam and I will bring up the rear.”
There’s no argument. Charlie heaves himself out of the window just as I hear cracking. I turn sharply to see more of the floor caving in behind us, the flames leaping up, making their way through the room as the beams above start to burn. I feel that cold, liquid fear again, like ice water in my veins, but I refuse to let it take over. We’re so close. We can do this.
We can make it out. We can survive.I have to believe that, because the alternative is too impossible, too terrifying. Quint goes next, then Jacob. “I’ll see you down there, boss,” Jacob says gruffly, meeting my gaze before starting to climb down the fire escape that’s looking less and less secure by the moment.
Niall goes next, and I have a brief, uncharitable moment of wishing he might slip off the fire escape and break something vital. He makes it down, though, along with Jacob. As Levin starts to make his way out of the window, maneuvering his muscled bulk through it as gracelessly as Jacob had, Viktor gestures for Luca to go next.
“I think Caterina could manage better without me than Sofia could without you,” he jokes humorlessly. Luca pulls a small, wan smile before starting to make his way out of the window.
It’s starting to feel hard to breathe. I hear Liam coughing behind me, all of us red-faced from the heat, sweating, the fire beginning to crackle through the room at an alarming pace. As Luca makes his way down and Viktor prepares to follow, there’s a sudden, loudwoosh, and fire spreads over the ceiling, beams cracking.
“Shit!” I press myself against the wall just in time as one comes down, only to see another starting to fall directly above Liam.
I scream his name, the sounds of the alarms and the fire so loud now that I have to shout to be heard, and his green eyes go wide in the instant before the beam starts to come crashing down.
I act without thinking. I don’t stop to consider that this is the easy way out, that with Liam trapped or injured, I could leave him behind and take the Kings that easily. He’s my brother, and leaving him behind again isn’t an option.
Not like I did before.The reason why we’re all in this mess to begin with.
It’s my fault.The guilt wells up in me as I grab my brother, hauling him backward away from the falling beam as we both fall heavily to the floor, sparks and smoke surrounding us.It’s my fault Liam has to leave. My fault he’s about to be exiled. If I’d never gone away, I’d be the King now. He’d be here, with me. The two of us enjoying life together, as brothers.
As it should be.
I grip Liam’s arms, hauling us both to our feet. His eyes meet mine, and I can see the pain in them.
“You saved me,” he murmurs. “You could have left me to die.”
“Twice now,” I say gruffly. “But I came back to save your life. I won’t leave you to die here. Now go! I’ll be right behind you.”
I’ll be right behind you.How many times had I said that to Liam when we were children? When I helped teach him to do things that our father wouldn’t—swim, ride a bike, or fight in the boxing ring? When I showed him how to ride a motorcycle at fourteen, and he hated it?
I don’t want to lose you.
Liam’s words to me right before I left, echo in my head, and for a brief second, I think he’s said them out loud again, here. Thatthat’swhy he doesn’t want to give up, to leave, not because he wants to hold onto his power but because he doesn’t want to leave me behind, what’s left of our family.
“You go first, Connor!” Liam shouts as another beam comes crashing down.
“No!” I scream. “You’re my little brother. You go! I’ll be right behind you, I swear.”