“Just go.” The new attack made no sense. He was free. He could run.
“I’ve decided you need to be taught a lesson first.” He stepped away from the fire.
She didn’t hesitate. Crawling on her hands and knees, she headed for the bow case. She’d never get off a shot, but her arrows were clipped inside and the pointed end could cause some damage. The hard thumps rattled through her and jarred her from head to foot as she went.
Her hand had just hit the case when Charlie’s foot appeared in front of her face. He stepped on her hand and she screamed.
“I warned you.” He used a scolding voice.
It only emboldened her. Finding energy she didn’t know she had, she made a fist and punched the fleshy part right above his knee straight on and with all her might. It buckled and he doubled over, almost going down. The move took his weight off her hand and she made another lunge.
Smoke billowed around her and fire raced up the walls in long lines. She ignored it all and reached for the latch. She fumbled but got it open just as something stabbed into her hip. The sharp pain had her flinching, but she fought on.
Throwing the lid open, she ripped an arrow from the lid and spun around. Charlie crawled up next to her thigh with his knife raised. His chest shook from coughing, but all she saw was the madness in his eyes.
She had one shot and she took it. Gripping the arrow, she stabbed it right into his shoulder as hard as she could. He screamed and the knife fell to the floor. She thought about searching for it, but the thick smoke clouded her vision.
She looked up. The door loomed in the distance. She thought she’d fallen near it, but it wavered and blurred in front of her.
She tried to crawl, but her strength abandoned her and she crumpled to the floor.
Somewhere over her she heard a crack. The noise sounded familiar. She remembered it from the cabin and feared the ceiling was caving in.
Then a rush of warm air poured in and swept over her. She heard her name. In her cloudy head, she thought the voice sounded like Joel’s. She tried to call out, but her throat refused to work.
As the world went hazy, strong arms slipped under her. Fearing she’d slipped into a dream, she forced her eyes open and saw a line of flames headed her way.
But there was someone else in her dream. She lifted her hand, expecting to touch air.
Her fingertips hit warm skin. Reality punched through her.
Blinking, she forced her vision to settle and touched the face swimming in front of her. “Joel?”
“I’m right here, baby.” His voice sounded harsh and faster than usual. But he sounded real, like he was actually there.
“It was Charlie.” An illusion or not, he needed Joel to know. The desperation to get the words out broke free.
Then she was floating. Her feet had almost left the floor when a hand clamped over her ankle and tugged her back.
The jolt revived her. Joel held her. They were in danger.
She looked down the length of her body and saw Charlie’s furious face. She turned to warn Joel about the knife, but she saw Joel’s gun.
He tucked her head against his shirt and brought her body in close to his. The roar of the shot broke through the thunder of the fire. It boomed in her ears and she rushed to cover them.
After one sharp crack, all pressure was gone from her legs and Joel stumbled back. Freefalling, she tried to get a sense of where the flames were and realized they raged all around them.
She heard people talking and the wail of her alarm before she smelled fresh air. When her back hit the grass, she believed she’d finally slipped into that welcoming dream. Before she could settle in, the coughing started. She turned her head and hacked as the scent of fresh grass filled her head.
After a few minutes she lay back down. She tried to gulp in breaths of fresh air as the realization hit her—she was alive. Which meant...
Joel’s face hovered in front of her. “You’re going to be fine,” he said.
She thought she heard Cam and a neighbor. Sirens screamed in the distance and all around her. None of it made sense. It was so dark and she’d lost track of time. “What’s happening?”
“You’re safe.”
She saw it all now. She sat cradled in Joel’s arms as people rushed around them and Cam repeated something to Joel, something she couldn’t understand. For some reason she needed to tell him one more thing.
She grabbed on to Joel’s shirt and tugged him closer. “I love you.”
Then the world went black.
Chapter Eighteen
Joel would never forget that moment. The SUV had screeched to a halt in front of her place and the whole first floor was aglow with orange flames. He searched the crowd that had gathered, looking for her and shoving people aside without thinking.