Chapter 12:Too Close To The Fire

Zoe's POV

The smell reached Zoe before the alarm did.

It was sharp and chemical.

Something was wrong.

She stopped for a second and looked around the parking garage.

She was three floors below the main building, standing near the storage unit Julian kept there. He had sent her down to collect some supplies that were needed upstairs.

She had only been there for a few minutes.

Then the smoke alarm suddenly screamed through the garage.

Zoe jumped.

At the same time, she heard the sprinklers above her.

They clicked.

They sputtered.

Then nothing happened.

No water came out.

Her heart dropped.

“What is going on?”

A second later, someone shouted from the other side of the garage.

“Fire! Everybody out!”

Zoe turned quickly.

Flames were already climbing up the side of a maintenance closet.

Black smoke poured from the room and rose toward the ceiling.

Within seconds, the smoke began spreading across the garage.

Zoe's eyes widened.

The exit was on the other side.

She grabbed the supplies she had been carrying and dropped them.

There was no time to worry about them.

“Everyone get out!” someone shouted again.

People began running.

Zoe ran too.

Her feet moved before her mind could fully catch up with what was happening.

She headed straight for the stairwell.

The smoke was getting thicker with every second.

Her eyes began to sting.

She coughed.

The air felt hot and heavy in her lungs.

She pulled her shirt over her nose and kept moving.

She was halfway to the stairwell when she heard something behind her.

A voice.

A frightened voice.

“Help!”

Zoe stopped.

The voice came again.

“I'm stuck! The door won't—”

She looked back.

The flames were still spreading near the maintenance closet.

Smoke was filling the area around it.

For a second, Zoe stood completely still.

It was one of those moments when her body knew what it wanted to do before her heart could make a decision.

Run.

Get out.

Save yourself.

Every sensible part of her mind told her to keep moving.

Someone else would help him.

The firefighters were coming.

Security would handle it.

She needed to get out before the smoke became worse.

Then she heard the voice again.

“Help!”

Zoe closed her eyes for half a second.

She could not leave him.

She turned around.

“Where are you?” she shouted.

There was coughing on the other side.

“Here!”

“Where?”

“By the elevator!”

Zoe moved back toward the voice.

“The door's jammed!”

Zoe lowered herself closer to the ground.

She remembered reading somewhere that smoke rose, so staying lower could help.

She did not know if she was doing everything correctly.

She only knew she had to reach him.

She crawled forward through the smoke.

Her eyes burned badly.

Her throat felt dry and raw.

Every breath hurt.

She kept coughing, but she continued moving.

“Keep talking!” she shouted.

“I'm here!”

“I can hear you!”

She followed his voice until she reached the side of a parked car.

The young man was trapped near a service door.

Zoe recognized him.

He was one of the valet staff.

He looked terrified.

“Zoe?”

“It's me,” she said.

“I'm stuck. The door won't open.”

Zoe looked at the door.

It was closed tightly.

She grabbed the handle and pulled.

Nothing.

“Move back.”

“What?”

“Move back!”

The young man pushed himself away from the door as much as he could.

Zoe took a breath.

Then she threw her whole body against the door.

It moved slightly.

She stepped back and tried again.

Nothing.

“Come on!”

She hit it a second time.

The metal made a loud sound.

The door moved.

Zoe tried again.

This time, the lock finally gave.

The door opened with a loud groan.

“Go!” she shouted.

The young man stumbled through the opening.

“Go, go, go!”

They both moved toward the stairwell.

The smoke was getting thicker now.

Zoe could barely see.

She grabbed the young man's arm.

“Keep moving!”

They reached the stairwell.

The young man pushed the door open.

Fresh air rushed toward them.

Zoe followed.

They hurried up the stairs as quickly as they could.

By the time they reached the lobby, Zoe was coughing hard.

People were already rushing outside.

The fire department arrived moments later.

The sound of the trucks filled the street as they stopped in front of the building.

Firefighters jumped out and rushed toward the garage.

Red and blue lights flashed across the glass doors.

Zoe stumbled outside with the young valet worker.

The moment she reached the sidewalk, her legs gave out.

She dropped to her knees.

She coughed again and again.

Her ribs hurt.

Her eyes were watering.

She tried to take a deep breath, but her chest felt tight.

Someone nearby asked if she was okay.

She could not answer immediately.

Then she heard footsteps.

Slow.

Fast.

She could not tell.

A pair of expensive shoes stopped in front of her.

Zoe looked up.

Julian.

He was crouching in front of her.

His tie was loose.

His jacket was gone.

His hair was slightly messy.

But that was not what caught her attention.

It was his face.

Julian looked pale.

Not angry.

Not cold.

Not controlled.

Afraid.

Zoe had never seen that look on him before.

His hand reached for her shoulder.

It was warm and steady.

“Zoe.”

His voice cracked slightly.

She looked at him.

“Zoe, look at me.”

She did.

His gray-blue eyes moved across her face as if he was checking every part of her.

Her forehead.

Her eyes.

Her cheeks.

Her mouth.

He seemed to be making sure she was really there.

That she was alive.

That nothing had happened to her.

“I'm okay,” Zoe managed to say.

Her voice sounded terrible.

It was rough from the smoke.

“There was a guy stuck,” she continued. “I couldn't just—”

“You could have died.”

Julian's voice was low.

Zoe stopped talking.

His hand tightened slightly on her shoulder.

For one strange moment, she thought he might pull her into his arms.

He did not.

Instead, he stayed there on one knee, holding her shoulder as if letting go would somehow make her disappear.

His eyes never left her face.

Zoe swallowed.

“I've had worse days.”

She tried to smile.

It did not work.

Her voice cracked halfway through the sentence.

Julian's jaw tightened.

“Don't.”

Zoe blinked.

“Don't what?”

“Don't joke about this.”

“Julian—”

“I mean it.”

There was something in his voice that made her stop.

He looked over his shoulder toward the parking garage.

Firefighters were still moving around.

Smoke continued pouring from the entrance.

People were being kept away from the area.

Julian turned back to Zoe.

“That fire started in a maintenance closet.”

Zoe said nothing.

“It was inspected two weeks ago.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“And?”

“The same week as the elevator incident.”

Zoe stared at him.

Julian continued.

“The elevator suddenly stopped working. Now a maintenance room catches fire, and the sprinklers fail.”

His voice became quieter.

“That is not a coincidence, Zoe.”

The cold feeling returned to her chest.

“What are you saying?”

“Someone did this.”

Zoe looked toward the garage.

The black smoke was still rising into the air.

She remembered the man near the laundry room.

The strange security badge.

The warnings.

The messages.

The elevator.

And now this.

Her stomach turned.

“He's escalating,” she whispered.

Julian nodded.

“Yes.”

Zoe looked back at him.

“Marcus?”

“I don't know yet.”

“But you think it's connected.”

“I know enough to believe it is.”

Julian stood and helped Zoe up.

His hand stayed around her elbow.

Even when she was fully standing, he did not let go immediately.

She noticed.

So did he.

But neither of them said anything.

Julian looked toward the building again.

“He's sending a message.”

“What kind of message?”

“That he can reach anyone inside this building whenever he wants.”

Zoe's face became serious.

Julian looked at her.

“Even you.”

The words sent a chill through her.

She looked around.

People were everywhere.

Firefighters.

Security guards.

Employees.

People watching from a distance.

And yet, for the first time, the building did not feel safe.

It felt like someone had found a way inside their walls.

Someone was watching.

Someone was testing how far they could go.

Zoe looked at the smoke.

“This was meant for me.”

Julian shook his head.

“Maybe.”

“Or for you.”

He looked at her.

“Either way, you were almost caught in it.”

Zoe lowered her eyes.

She hated that he was right.

She had thought she was being careful.

She had watched doors.

She had paid attention to people.

She had written everything down.

But none of that had stopped someone from starting a fire three floors below her.

She looked at Julian again.

“What do we do now?”

Julian's expression hardened.

“First, you're getting checked by a doctor.”

“I'm fine.”

“You breathed in smoke.”

“I said I'm fine.”

“And I said you're getting checked.”

She stared at him.

There was no room for an argument in his voice.

Normally, Zoe would have pushed back.

But this time, she was too tired.

“Fine.”

Julian nodded.

Then his eyes moved toward the garage again.

Zoe followed his gaze.

The firefighters were still working.

The black smoke curled into the evening sky.

The fire had started as a small thing.

A maintenance closet.

A locked door.

A broken sprinkler.

But it had nearly trapped someone.

It had nearly trapped her.

And suddenly, Zoe understood something.

The threats were no longer words.

They were becoming actions.

Someone was running out of patience.

Someone was getting bolder.

Someone wanted Julian to know that no place was completely safe.

She looked at the burning building and felt the truth settle deep inside her.

This was no longer a warning.

It was a countdown.