His rough husk of a voice went over her like lightning striking much too close.
The plea was a bare whisper but the look in his eyes—he’d opened his eyes!—said all that she’d been thinking. They were in absolute mortal danger.
She didn’t want to die either. Every instinct said that trying to save this stranger would only get them both killed.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, he released her with a hard push. “Go. Now!” He was giving her permission to abandon him.
Move, Carly. Move or die!
She stumbled back against his dog, who was pushed in protectively behind her knees. Even as she did, the man collapsed onto his back, his eyes falling shut.
Hopeless. You’re hopeless.
A dozen other responses zoomed through her thoughts but she didn’t have breath for any of them. Instead, she grabbed two handfuls of his jacket and pulled him upright again. “Wake up! Now!”
He moaned, his lids fluttering. Finally he seemed to realize that she was still trying to help him out of the doorway. He gripped her forearms, this time using her to leverage himself in an effort to move. His legs weren’t cooperating much, making scuffling sounds against the floor, but it made all the difference. They were moving over the barrier of the door sill.
Once in the alley, their movements activated the security lights, spotlighting them like a soundstage. For the first time she saw him clearly. He still held her shoulders, his face revealed by the alley light. He had light hair and blue eyes. A strong clean-shaven jaw, and a nice mouth even though it was twisted in pain. He was no derelict. Even in agony, he was gorgeous.
For one second all she could think was that she had probably saved the life of this very good-looking man. Even as she thought it, Carly scolded herself. The fact that he was good-looking was about as useful as noticing the color of a balloon attached to an eighteen-wheeler that had just run her down.
The heat from the doorway suddenly pushed against them like the belched breath of a dragon.
Carly was up on her feet in an instant.
Close the door. It was the only thought in her head. As if by doing so she could contain every bit of the superheated inferno inside.
He grabbed her ankle and sent her sprawling into the concrete walkway. Even as she fell, the man who minutes before had been unconscious flopped over her, covering her body with his. A second after that, something exploded inside the store, spewing heat and flame through the exit.
Too stunned to cry out, it took her three tries to draw a breath. Even then, all she could do was lie there and sob.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Still lying over her, he was whispering into her ear and awkwardly patting her cheek. “You did—good.”
Carly closed her eyes and just tried to breathe.
*
“We’ve got all we need tonight. I’ll let the EMTs finish checking you out.”
Carly didn’t even smile at the man who identified himself as an arson investigator. Before him, a police officer had interviewed her. Both had asked questions until she no longer had breath or answers for them.
Breathing in oxygen through the mask the EMT had given her, she sat on the bumper of an ambulance parked well away from the fire. Other than hugging the dog who had miraculously ducked in under her arms while the EMTs looked her over, she had no energy left for anything. The dog, poor baby, looked as miserable as she felt. Probably that was because his owner had been scooped up and carted away.
She had watched the ambulance containing the man pull away from the curb, sirens blaring, and felt nothing but relief.
He wasn’t her problem anymore. That man was not part of her world. Not her responsibility. Even so, she glanced up at the EMT hovering over her.
“Is he going to be okay?”
The EMT shrugged, avoiding eye contact. “I heard them say he was breathing. You a friend?”
Carly shook her head. “Never saw him before in my life.”
The EMT’s gaze shifted to her face. “They said you pulled him out of the fire. That took a lot of courage.”
Carly’s turn to shrug. “I was just trying to save a dog.” Instantly, she was ashamed. Yet accepting the burden of admitting she was trying to save another human being seemed like boasting on her part. But to say less would be a lie. “That’s how I found him. I couldn’t not help.”
“You have professional training as a first responder?”
Carly shook her head.
“Most civilians would have waited for first responders.” The EMT grinned at her. “Still, I respect what you did. Can I do anything more for you before we load you up for the ride to the hospital?”
Carly shook her head. “No hospital.” She just needed to lie down somewhere quiet for a very long time. But no! She had a ton of things left to do before the opening of Flawless.
It wasn’t until that moment that she thought to turn her head back down the street toward her shop.
The front door was open and a huge fire hose penetrated it. Which meant …
“Oh no!”
CHAPTER TWO