Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 75240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
The plans only showed that there was a wide-open stage area.
However, we were proved wrong moments later when we opened the door, and something completely different than the auditorium that the plans said were there greeted us.
“What the fuck?” both Booth and I said at the same time.
It was like a completely different world back here. Tons of rooms greeted us.
Though, I couldn’t say that they were actual rooms. More like props.
Whatever the reason for them, this was going to be difficult.
“Could be anywhere,” Booth muttered as we pushed through the door.
“Fire’s out!” we heard yelled from somewhere beyond the curtain to our right.
There was also someone on the roof making a vent for the smoke to escape through, and by the minute it was getting clearer and clearer.
Soon I wouldn’t even need the mask.
My hand tightened on the axe in my hand when whimpering came from somewhere beside me.
Looking down, I found a young child, and closed my eyes in thanks that I’d even heard her.
She was three or four, but no more. She also looked scared to fucking death.
I hunkered down beside her and pushed up my mask.
“Baby?” I said, touching her lightly on the arm.
She screamed and shrunk away from me, but with nothing else I could do, I reached for her and picked her up anyway.
Then I pushed through the curtain that separated backstage from the stage itself, and whistled loudly.
Two firefighters from the other rig looked up, and I hand gestured to the girl.
“Can y’all take her?”
One of the firefighters started toward me, Boorman, their newest recruit, and raised his hands up high from down below.
I leaned down and placed the screaming, thrashing child into his arms and nodded in thanks before returning to the curtain.
Except I couldn’t find the fucking hole that I’d come out of, causing me to go further down than I’d originally intended. Which then caused me to become separated from Booth.
And in a completely different set up than I’d been in before.
The place was a fucking maze of rooms. One led into another. Hallways between the rooms. It was like they pushed them all backwards off the stage, then added more to it so it was like a freakin’ city back here.
I just stepped out of a room that was likely supposed to be a kitchen of sorts when I heard the voices.
“Just let me go,” Jade cried. “This isn’t you, Troy.”
My heart froze in my chest.
“You were supposed to get me money!” Troy fumed. “What did you give me? That’s right, fucking nothing. A pain in the ass wife. Her snotty assed kids. And I couldn’t be with the pretty sister.”
I froze, listening intently, and waited to gauge more on the situation before I reacted.
Stupid me, though.
I should’ve known that freezing like that for the amount of time that I did would set off my PASS—Personal Alert Safety System—device. When I didn’t move for over ten seconds it would start this annoying chirping.
It was a nuisance at times, because if you watched a firefighter just standing there, every once in a while you would see him jiggle to alert the device that he or she wasn’t dead. In case of an accident, it was an excellent tool to have.
In an instant like this, where I was trying to hide my presence…well let’s just say it wasn’t so good.
“What was that?” Troy barked.
I jiggled my shoulder, and the beeping stopped.
What didn’t stop, though, was Troy’s frantic voice.
“Fucking bullshit. I’m lighting it. Not more talking. I have a nice insurance policy on both of you, so what I get should be enough.”
Both of you?
This time I didn’t freeze.
This time, I did the stupid and noble thing, and pulled the flimsy ass wall down.
Which started a chain reaction on the entire surrounding area.
The walls all went down like a domino effect, one by one.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
On and on it went, until every single one of the walls was on the ground.
I had no clue they weren’t nailed up.
None.
Otherwise, I would’ve likely tried to catch the wall before it fell on the man that’d been the bane of Angie’s existence.
But I didn’t know it wasn’t nailed together.
And it did fall on Troy.
It was all quite comical, really.
“That was eventful,” Booth said through his mask from behind me, making me jump.
“Jesus,” I hissed. “Where the hell did you come from?”
He pointed at the fallen walls, and I had nothing to say to that.
Lucky for Angie, she was at the back of the actual wall of the backstage area, meaning the wall that’d fallen hadn’t landed anywhere near her.
It did take down Troy at the hips, though.
Troy was also knocked unconscious.
“Oh, my God!” Jade cried in excitement. “Thank God you came!”
Like I came for her.
“Booth,” I gestured toward Troy. “Can you check him out while I get these two out?”