She wrapped her arms around him. 'You wouldn't let it happen,' she assured him. 'Not in our town. Not ever.'
He pressed his lips to the top of her head, then reached over and turned out the lamp on the bedside table. Sara settled back in, curling her body into his. She felt herself relax just as she felt him tense.
She asked, 'What's wrong?'
'Do you smell something burning?'
'After today, that's all I smell.'
'No.' Jeffrey turned the lamp back on. 'I mean it. Something's burning.'
'I can't smell-'
He got out of bed and slipped on his jeans. Reluctantly, Sara sat up, knowing that he wouldn't go to sleep until he located the source of the smell. Considering the state of the hotel, she wouldn't be surprised if the electrical wiring was smoking.
He pulled back the drapes and checked the parking lot. 'I can't see anything.'
'I don't suppose that means you'll come back to bed?'
Jeffrey slipped on a T-shirt from the suitcase and opened the door. He stood there, letting the cold in, sniffing the air. 'It's coming from outside.'
She stood up. 'I can smell it now.'
They both put on their shoes before walking out into the parking lot. Sara pulled the sleeves of her
sweatshirt down over her hands to fight the nighttime chill. Outside, the odor was more intense, like smoke from a roaring campfire. The sound of crackling was obvious, too, and they both followed the noise to a tunnel that ran along the back of the motel's front office.
There was a crowd of guests gathered at the end of the tunnel, all of them looking as if they were embarrassed to be seen here. Their fear of being caught by their neighbors and spouses could not compete with the desire to watch a spectacle. And spectacular the sight was: the building next to the motel was surrounded by flames, smoke wafting into the night sky.
As Jeffrey and Sara reached the front of the crowd, the windows blew out of the building with an earth-shaking explosion. Jeffrey put his arm around Sara, turning her away from the debris. There was another loud boom. The front door blew off and skittered across the parking lot.
Jeffrey had to raise his voice over the roar of the fire to ask, 'Has anyone called nine-one-one?' Someone from the crowd answered, 'Twice.' Jeffrey told Sara, 'That's Hank's bar.' 'I hope no one is in there,' she answered, shielding her eyes with her hand to block out the intense light. The flames seemed to be concentrated around the periphery of the building, as if someone had poured gasoline around the outside and lit a match. With the windows gone, the fire was working its way in, following the line of the studs and beams, dancing across the roof. If there were fire sprinklers in the building, they weren't working. Sara guessed the bar would be completely engulfed within the next five minutes.
There was a piercing noise, like a hurt animal or maybe a siren. Sara glanced down the road, expecting a fire truck, but there were only a couple of cars and a motorcycle driving slowly by.
' Lena,' Jeffrey murmured, striding toward the building.
Through one of the broken windows, Sara saw a figure move to the middle of the bar. In the glowing light, she could tell that the person was looking at something in his hands.
'Hey, you!' Jeffrey had obviously realized what Sara had: that the person inside wasn't Lena after all, but a man with broad shoulders and a stocky build. He looked up when Jeffrey called again, but he made no move to leave.
Jeffrey turned back toward Sara. He nodded once, as if to say, 'You know I have to do this,' then ran toward the building.
'Jeffrey!' she called. It was too dangerous. The fire would reach the man in seconds. 'Jeffrey!'
He jumped back as a wall of flames shot up in front of him, but would not give up. Ignoring Sara's pleas, he circled the building, looking for another way to reach the man.
'No,' Sara whispered, helplessly watching Jeffrey dart into the burning building. Inside, the man's shirt was on fire now, but insanely he turned away from Jeffrey, disappearing farther into the building. Jeffrey chased after him, reaching out, then they both vanished.
'No,' Sara repeated, waiting, watching the open doorway for Jeffrey. She circled, glass crunching under her shoes, scanning the building, looking through the gaping holes where windows used to be. She had gone halfway round the bar and was standing at the edge of the woods when there was a loud explosion, this one so intense that it knocked her to the ground.
Seconds passed. Her ears rang, her brain felt enveloped in static. Sara shook her head, debris falling from her hair. She pressed her hands into the packed dirt and sat up on her side. Flames shot up from the building. Her skin felt singed by the heat. She managed to get to her knees, but could not stand. Her mouth opened, but she could not speak.
'Sara!' Jeffrey came running out of the woods, sliding on the dirt as he dropped to his knees beside her. 'Are you okay?' He put his hands on either side of her face. 'Are you hurt?'
She put her hands over his. 'I thought-'
The distinctive wail of a siren filled the air. This time, there was no mistaking that the noise came from a fire truck. The back wheels screeched as it pulled into the parking lot, an ambulance right behind it. The firemen scrambled like ants as they hooked up hoses and directed people away from the blazing building.
'Sara,' Jeffrey repeated. 'Talk to me. Are you hurt?'
She shook her head, collapsing against him, her arms so tight around his waist that she was surprised he could still breathe.
'You're okay,' he told her, stroking back her hair. 'You're okay.'
Sara couldn't trust herself to open her mouth without sobbing. She felt numb, caught in a vacuum that muffled sound and sensation.
Jeffrey coughed, and she loosened her grip around him but did not let go.
She'd thought he was dead. For that split second, she'd seen her life without him, felt what it would be like to lose him.
'He ran into the woods,' Jeffrey told her, as if she gave a damn about the man who'd lured him into the building. 'He had something in his hands. I couldn't see what it was.'
One of the paramedics knelt beside Sara, put his hand to her back. 'Ma'am, are you okay?'
She managed to nod her head. Shock. She must be in shock.
The other paramedic asked, 'Can you breathe? Do you need some oxygen?'
She had to clear her throat before she could tell him, 'No.' Obviously he did not believe her. He tried to put a mask over her mouth but she pushed him away.
Jeffrey looked worried. 'Maybe you should-'
'I'm okay,' she told them all, feeling foolish having so many people fuss over her. She pulled on Jeffrey's shirt, trying to stand. He practically lifted her off the ground, his arm around her waist. She put her hand over his to keep it there.
She told him, 'I want to go back to the room.' He didn't ask questions. He led her through the crowd, using his hand to push people aside and make a path. They were all staring, and Sara looked down at the ground, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, holding Jeffrey as closely as she could.
'Hold on, Chief.' It was Jake Valentine.
'Not now,' Jeffrey told him.
He took off his ball cap. 'If you could just-'
'Not now,' Jeffrey repeated, tightening his grip around Sara's waist. The lights from the snack machines were flickering as they walked by, the compressors buzzing like a hive. Sara hadn't closed the door properly when they'd left the room and Jeffrey slowly pushed it open with one hand. She could feel his body tense as he looked around, made sure no one was inside.
He tried not to make a big show of it, but he kept Sara behind him as he checked out the small room that held the toilet and the tub. Once he was certain they were alone, he turned on the faucet and took a rag off the towel rack.