Chapter 6

Laura Sterling

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“I don’t want to die…”

The words left my lips before I could stop them, raw and broken as the heat closed in around me. My chest burned with every breath I dragged in, each inhale harder than the last.

Smoke filled my lungs, thick and suffocating, making it impossible to think straight.

I tried to pull myself forward again, tried to reach the bars like I had before, but my arms refused to cooperate. They trembled once, then gave out completely, and I collapsed back onto the floor.

“This can’t be how it ends,” I muttered, my voice barely audible.

For a moment, I just lay there, staring at nothing as the fire roared closer. The walls glowed with heat, the air turning heavier by the second. My body felt useless, completely useless, and that truth hit harder than anything else.

“I fought for everything,” I said weakly, a bitter laugh slipping through my lips before turning into a cough. “I built everything from nothing… and this is how it ends?”

My throat tightened as Derick’s face flashed in my mind. The lies. The betrayal. The way he looked at me like I was nothing.

“You did this,” I whispered, my fingers curling weakly against the ground. “You really did this to me.”

A sharp pain shot through my chest as I coughed again, harder this time, my vision blurring at the edges.

“I trusted you,” I added, my voice cracking. “I gave you everything.”

The fire answered me with a loud crack, something collapsing in the distance. The sound echoed through the block, shaking the ground beneath me.

I flinched instinctively, but my body didn’t move.

“I can’t even stand,” I said, my voice dropping into something hollow. “What was the point of surviving all this time?”

The heat pressed down harder, suffocating, relentless. My eyes stung so badly I could barely keep them open.

“I’m tired,” I admitted quietly.

And for the first time since this started, I stopped fighting.

My body went still, my breathing shallow as I let my head rest against the floor...while my wheel chair laid uselessly by my side. “Maybe… it’s better this way.”

Then a sound of a metallic clank cut through the chaos.

My brows furrowed slightly as I forced my eyes open again.

“No…” I whispered.

Another sound followed, louder this time. The unmistakable rattle of keys.

My heart skipped weakly.

“That’s not real,” I said under my breath. “That can’t be real.”

The door jerked violently before it burst open.

I blinked slowly, trying to focus through the smoke as a figure stepped inside. The flames danced behind him, making it impossible to see clearly.

For a second, I thought I had already died.

Because no one walks through fire like that.

The man moved fast, dropping beside me without hesitation.

“Laura,” he said, his voice so deep and powerful....It made my body feel tingly.

I tried to look at him, tried to understand what was happening, but everything felt distant, like I was slipping out of my own body.

His body was oozing with masculinity, his sharp jawline...his radiant eyes were so beautiful. I couldn't remember we're I'd seen him before.

“Am I dead?” I asked weakly.

“No,” he replied immediately, his tone firm. “You’re not dead.”

His hands were on me now, lifting me carefully. They were warm, steady, real.

“I’ve got you,” he added.

I wanted to believe that. I really did, but my mind couldn’t keep up.

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

He didn’t hesitate. “Someone who’s not letting you die.”

That answer didn’t make sense, but I didn’t have the strength to question it.

“I can’t breathe,” I admitted, my head falling against his chest.

“I know,” he said quietly. “Just stay with me.”

His heartbeat was strong, steady against my ear. It grounded me in a way nothing else could.

His grip tightened slightly as he adjusted me in his arms.

“You’re getting out of here,” he said.. His voice was urgent, as well as his heart beat against me..I listened to it carefully.

The world around me blurred further, the heat, the noise, the fear all fading into the background.

“I’m so tired,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said again, softer this time. “But stay awake.”

I tried my very best, but my body gave up before my mind could.

Everything went dark as I slipped completely into him.

My eyes burnt even more as I felt him move out of the burning building. A kind of hell I was going to die in.

"Stay with me! Laura wake up! No!" His voice croaked...and a few tears feel on me.