Chapter Nine
A cold wet nose, nuzzling the hand he had hanging off the bed, woke him early the next morning.
Annie ran to the door to the bedroom, whined, returned.
More of the wet nose action. And licking.
Titanium cracked a lid to face the nearly frantic golden retriever. She licked his hand and then mouthed it, trying to pull him out of bed.
Rubbing his eyes with the non-slobbered on hand he got up on one elbow and glanced at the window.
Raine touched his side. “Sssearly.”
“Not even dawn.” The sun wasn’t even peeking over the horizon yet. Sky wasn’t pitch-black, though, so it had to be close. Clock was on Raine’s side of the bed and he didn’t want to turn around so far to see it.
Annie whined again.
“Okay. Okay. I’m coming.” His jaw cracked when he yawned.
“Why don’t you let me? I’ve had more sleep than you.” Raine flipped the covers off and tried to get out of bed.
“Not on your life.” He tugged her down and kissed her. “I want to know my girl’s in bed keeping it warm for me as soon as I take the furry kid out to pee.”
Her arms wound around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss. “Well if you put it that way.” Her lips touched his—
Bark!!
Raine let him go with a giggle.
“Sorry, sorry, Annie girl. I got distracted by a kitty. I’m focused now.” Rolling over, he snagged his boxers from beside the bed, along with his legs. Annie vibrated with energy beside him, still pacing between him and the closed door.
“A kitty?”
“Uh huh.” He stood and headed out. “I’m quite distracted by your pussy…cat.”
“Haaa!” Raine probably rolled her eyes and she hunkered down in the covers. “I’m warming both sides. Hurry back.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He petted Annie, and opened the door.
Bolting out, she left him in the dust.
“Really have to pee don’t you?”
Surprisingly, she didn’t head for the front door like she normally did. She headed for the back, scratching at the door.
“Hold on, girl. I’m coming. Promise.” He unlocked the door, and she was out like a shot, barely waiting for him to open it enough for her to fit through.
“Of course, you’re not stopping in the backyard. I don’t even have pants on.” He left the door open and mumbled as he retraced his steps to the bedroom.
“What are you cursing about?” Raine asked as he walked into the room.
“Your kid ran out to the ass-crack of the property so now I have to get pants on so I can go find her.” He snagged pants and sat on the bed to shove his robo legs into them.
“My child. Oh no. She’s mine when she’s being all sweet, curled up on the end of the bed.” She sat up and stretched. “Wanna wait a couple minutes and I’ll throw clothes on? We could make a morning stroll of it.”
“Nah. It’s chilly out and I’m determined to get in bed with you while you’re looking all sleepy and rumpled and fuckable.” He stood to zip his pants and moved to her side of the bed to kiss her.
Her smile.
Fuck.
His heart stuttered in his chest. “You’re so gorgeous.” Staring down at her, he knew there was no other woman for him. No one else, no matter who they were wouldn’t be better for him. Or more perfect for him.
“You’re just smitten.”
“I most certainly am.” One more kiss. “To bed with you. Be back as soon as I can.”
He snagged his leather jacket on the way out and slipped it on. Stepping outside he headed toward the tree line. “Annie! Where are you?”
One bark was all he heard before an explosion shook the property.
A fireball lit up the night sky in front of him and fear gripped him so hard he nearly went down.
As his eyes tried to adjust to the dark again he charged toward the explosion and the fire now engulfing the thick stand of trees.
“Annie,” he yelled.
He needed to go tell Raine to call the rest of the teams. He needed to call 911 because of the fire. Needed to wait for help of some kind but he couldn’t.
Seconds counted when it came to saving the ones you loved.
He, of all people, knew that more than most.
Racing ahead he called for her again. “Annie! Annie!”
Trees were fully ablaze almost a hundred foot long and spreading fast. Adrenaline raced through his veins as he called for one of his best friends.
“Annie where are you? Annie!”
Oh fuck. The heat. He turned away, shielding his face and backed up a few steps.
High heat will ruin the implants. They can’t get hot for any length of time.
The warning of his doctor slammed into him as his eyes watered. He retreated a couple more steps.
“Annie!” He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled again.
Her being dead wasn’t an option. He wouldn’t even entertain the notion. She couldn’t be. She just…
Then he saw her.
On the other side of the engulfed trees. Lying on the ground. And she wasn’t moving.
He looked behind him and no one was close enough to help and he couldn’t wait.
The choice.
Between Annie and his sight.
There was no decision to be made.
He dug his prostheses into the dirt, praying he wouldn’t slip. Heading for the tree line past where the fire had reached seemed to take him forever, even when it took less than a minute to get there.
Charging into the woods he lifted his jacket to protect him as much as he could. He needed his implants to last long enough to get her out. That was it. “Please God, keep my eyes going long enough to save her. Please.”
Letting her die was not a sacrifice he was willing to make. Not ever.
She’d saved him so many days and months and so many ways he could never repay her.
Not ever.
And if he had to give something up in trade to keep her on the Earth, then he’d do it without a shadow of regret.
The smoke ate at his lungs as he approached where he thought she lay.
Fuck. The heat. So hot.
“Annie, baby. Annie.” Calling her name got no response but his voice sounded so quiet.
He yelled again and closed his eyes so he could focus on his hearing and nothing else.
The roar of the fire. He’d never understood the phrase before now.
A whimper. A tiny whine.
To his left.
A little bit away from the fire.
And again. The only reason he heard it was because his hearing was so much better due to his other senses making up for the blindness.
Using the jacket to shield his face, he searched for her.
There!
Beside a tree, not yet engulfed in flames but too fucking close for comfort.
One of her legs lay at a horrible angle. Pretty sure he saw bone. Fuck.
He hit one knee beside her, placing himself between her and the fire. Her getting hurt wasn’t an option. He’d be damned if she was injured any further after trying to save them all. Trying to alert them to the problem. She’d been trying for weeks.
Voices reached him, but distant. He tried to hear them, tried to find faces through the inferno behind him, toward the hangar as he looked over his shoulder, but he couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t find them through the flames.
No.
His eyes.
The implants.
They were failing.
Leaning over he spoke to his girl. “I’m gonna get you out of here, sweet girl. We don’t leave anyone behind.” He scooped her up, struggled to his feet, and she cried out when he lifted her from the ground, jostling her leg. “Only a little bit further. You can make it.”
Heat ate at him, and the smoke seeped into his lungs. He moved as fast as he could toward the end of the fire line but one of his legs didn’t feel right.
The fire spread through the cold, dry wood beside him. It was nothing more than kindling as he tried in vain to find a place to cross to free them both.
Tears streamed from his eyes and everything went black. “We’re gonna be fine, Annie. Hold on. We’re gonna get out of here.” He believed it. He had to. He had so much to live for.
Water sizzled on the fire from what he could hear. Up ahead. On his left.
Rain?
No. Too localized.
The hydrant.
Elite members must have hooked up to the hydrant and were trying to give him an out. Had to be. But he couldn’t see.
Rubbing his eyes on his shoulders didn’t help at—
Yes it did.
Barely.
The orange glow of the fire surrounded him except for one place. Pitch black. Had to be where they were spraying.
A coughing fit nearly took him to his knees and he clutched Annie to his chest, trying to tuck her in his jacket. He wasn’t losing her. He couldn’t. Oxygen was becoming scarce as the smoke blanketed them both.
Then Raine’s voice reached him. “A little farther, Charles. A little bit more. That’s all you have to go. You can do it!! Don’t give up!”
Wanting to yell to her and being able to, were on different continents as the cloying heat and smoke seeped into his lungs.
His vision blacked out again and he had a feeling that was all she wrote.
Then how the fuck was he going to get out? Even with the water coming down, with the trees being so hot the probability of him getting burned or burning Annie was sky high.
“Four steps more. Four steps,” Raine yelled.
He took them, coughing the entire time.
“Turn to the left. Good. Back to the right a bit. Step to the right.”
The water should have felt good all over his body but it was as if he was cooking from the inside out.
“Three steps forward. Stay focused. Three steps.”
He tried to lock onto her voice and tune everything else out.
“Four more. Now step to the left. Two forward. You’re almost there.”
Now he knew exactly what a chess piece felt like.
“Three to the right. Now turn sideways. A bit more. Stop!”
She sounded closer, and he held his breath. Staying conscious wouldn’t last much longer. Annie’s entire body went limp and he wanted to scream. She couldn’t die.
“Walk sideways to me. Toward my voice. Yes. Keep coming. Keep coming. The guys are ready to take Annie as soon as you get through. Three more steps. Two more. One last one.” Her voice cracked.
As soon as he took one more step, the water continued but arms were there to take his precious cargo.
“I’ve got her, sir. On my honor I have her.” Tungsten.
“Leg,” he wheezed. “Broken. I don’t think she’s breathing.” He released his girl into the arms of one of his brothers and then collapsed.
But—he didn’t hit the ground.
Other arms were there to catch him. Voices coming from all direction.
They rushed him farther away from the fire and then laid him down. Pretty sure one of his legs fell off.
“Get the jacket off. It’s melted.” Hazel.
“Keep spraying the trees. Beat it back. Keep it under control.” Merc. “The fire department will be here in less than two minutes.”
Choking on soot and ash and smoke, he sucked in oxygen but his lungs felt burned.
“What the fuck? Why couldn’t he see?” Chrome asked it.
Raine answered as he was pretty sure she sank to her knees beside him. “His implants. They couldn’t take heat so close to the surgery. Failure was inevitable with the fire right next to him. Oh, Charles.” Her hand touched his cheek again.
“What?” Steele this time. “And he knew this?”
He imagined Raine nodding, and he sucked in another breath, which kicked off another coughing fit.
Her cool forehead touched his and her hair dripped in his face. “You knew what you were doing, didn’t you? Knew your implants would fail if you saved her?”
“Couldn’t. Lose. Her.” He wanted to tell her so much. Wanted to share with her what she meant to him. What Annie meant to him. More than anything he wanted to say one thing. It couldn’t wait.
One thing he’d needed to say for days and months and years.
“Love you. Love. You.”
And with his declaration and her gasp of recognition of what he’d said, a ghost of a smile tilted his lips and he finally let the blackness take him.