Dead in the Water by Donna Collins

Author:Donna Collins [Collins, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime, CSI, good thrillers 2020, action-packed thrillers, Thriller, CSI Crime, Best thrillers of 2020
Publisher: Willow Books
Published: 2020-02-17T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

It felt like the earth moved.

Jason’s feet left the ground and he hit the car in front of him. Pain ripped across his shoulders. His ribs. Glass rained around him and he sheltered beneath his arms, but shards still scratched and sliced every inch of skin found. He struggled to sit. Tried to shake the fog from his head.

Screams broke through the confusion. He tried to get to his feet. Quickly collapsed again. Took a breath, rubbed his eyes, and looked up at the building above him. Smoke billowed from the first two floors of the penthouse apartment, flames licking and caressing the outer frame of the structure.

Kate.

Jason got to his feet. People of all ages fled the burning building, crying and yelling for help. Jason pushed through them towards the entrance. His feet were unsteady and his legs struggled to hold his weight. He gripped his side, entered the lobby, and headed towards the stairs.

Four flights up and Kate’s apartment door still hung on its hinges. He hugged his ribs tighter, prepared for the pain, and kicked the door inwards. Heat exploded out and Jason spun back against the wall. Sweat dampened his skin and he wiped his cuff across his forehead. Another breath.

Smoke poured out into the stairway and quickly stole his vision.

Kate was inside and he was fast running out of time if he wanted to get her out of there. He pulled his arms free of his jacket and held it above his head like a piece of tarpaulin. His ribs screamed at the movement and he was left with little choice but to lower one of his arms mid-way. One last breath and he twisted back towards the open door.

Heat engulfed him. Smoke suffocated him and burned his throat. He pulled the coat closer around his face and lurched inside. Overturned furniture blocked his path. The ugly cat shot past him and fled out onto the landing.

Jason turned back towards the room.

He kicked a loose drawer out of his way and climbed over the side table. “Kate!”

Black smoke blocked most of his view and he tried to wave it away. But it just made things worse. Flames danced across the laminate flooring, swallowing the Egyptian rug, hungry for what was left of the decimated sofa. With the growing fire came a more intense heat not even the winter gust could cool.

Jason coughed the smoke from his lungs and ducked closer to the floor, trying to see beneath the smog. Just ahead, lying motionless against the wall, he saw a shape. A body.

Kate? A sour taste flooded his mouth and he struggled to swallow it. He raced towards her. Please don’t be Kate. She lay face down, her brunette hair fanning the sides of her head. He reached for her shoulders and rolled her limp body over. But it wasn’t Kate. It was Charlotte – her eyes closed, the right side of her face blistered and burned.

Jason swallowed back the guilty elation that raced through his veins and felt for a pulse.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.