Cassidy blinked away the tears burning her eyes from the thickening smoke and the possibility of her family’s suffering. Kyle would never forgive himself. He was spiraling out of control now; if she died in a place he inadvertently led her to, he might completely lose it.
Her heart ached for her twin and herself. She wasn’t ready to die; she still had so many songs to sing and so many dreams left to live. And she’d just found Dante. Whether he was her mate or not, she didn’t know, but she liked him, and she was curious to see where her connection to him would lead.
And she couldn’t stand the idea of him dying in this awful place too.
“Get off!” Zan roared and, releasing the door, spun to shove away the patrons crushing him.
Dante grabbed two people and threw them into a group of vampires, knocking them all back. Lowering the woman, he tucked her beneath a table to keep her safe from the flames and crowd.
“Give her to me!” Cassidy shouted, but he didn’t hear her as he lowered his shoulder and charged forward to knock aside those closest to Zan.
Cassidy lost sight of Dante as the crowd surged forward to swallow the space he created. She shoved against the mob to reach the woman, but the mass of bodies propelled her toward the door. Cassidy tried to crawl over them, but they kept her packed in until she was jealous of the space sardines in a can possessed.
She was certain they were going to crush her, but Dante’s charge through the crowd had bought Zan enough time to get the door open. The rush of fresh air spilling through the door fanned the flames to higher levels.
When she chanced a glance at the deadly flames, she almost gawked as the fire rolling over her head like waves crashing onto the beach. Except these waves wanted to sear the skin from her before devouring her bones.
She was so focused on the deadly waves, she didn’t see Dante return until he pulled her away from the mob and pushed her head down against his chest. Though she couldn’t see his face, she knew it was him as his scent filled her nose and the familiar strength of his arms comforted her.
Clutching Cassidy against him, Dante shoved through the crowd as the inferno continued to build. Ashes and small chunks of wood rained down as the fire devoured more of the ceiling. He had to get her out of here, it was the only thing that mattered, but he couldn’t see the door as black smoke choked the air.
He was sure he’d somehow gotten turned around when blessedly cool, fresh air rushed over his skin as they stumbled outside. After the screams and roar of the fire, the peaceful night was almost deafening. The once pleasant May night felt like a bucket of ice water over him; it was amazing.
Dante blinked against the smoke burning his eyes as he turned to survey the crowd spilling out the door. Humans and vamps coughed as they staggered forward and fell to the ground. He didn’t see Zan anywhere, but the bartender was already grabbing humans and yanking them toward her as she worked to change their memories.
He released Cassidy as he searched for the woman he left against the wall. He didn’t see her anywhere, but then he hadn’t expected to; she was too weak to stand, never mind fight her way out of the club.
“I’ll be back,” he said to Cassidy.
“Wait… What?” she breathed, but before she could stop him, Dante was shoving his way back through the mass spilling out the door. “No!”
Cassidy lurched forward to go after him, but he was already vanishing into the club. She didn’t make it more than three steps before the bartender seized her wrist, jerking her back.
“Help me,” the bartender pleaded. “There are so many of them, and we can’t let them leave here with their memories intact.”
Cassidy looked back toward the door as smoke and flames billowed out of it. Then she glanced back at the bartender’s pleading face and all the humans staggering around. Right now, they were too shell-shocked to process everything that happened. But soon, they would realize they should have kept on running.
The bartender was right; they couldn’t let the humans leave there with their memories intact. It would put all of them at risk and could destroy everything they’d always known.
And as she realized it, two humans came to their senses and started running toward the main road. Cassidy chased after them, and like a cattle dog herding a wayward steer, she cut them off and herded them back toward the building.
She spoke to them in a low, calming tone while changing their memories of the events. The vamps who lost control in the building fled into the night, but she couldn’t change the human’s memories and hunt them down. She could only hope they got their shit together or someone else took care of them.
Some of the other vamps stuck around to help with the humans’ memories, but most of them fled too. No one wanted to be here when the police and fire departments arrived.
Cassidy kept glancing at the door as she worked with the humans. She resisted the urge to scream as her heart pounded out a riotous, terrified beat. The discordant rhythm was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, and she hoped never to feel it again.
Where is he? Why did he go back in there? Why is it taking him so long? That last question had her feeling like she was about to tear her skin off or fall to her knees, screaming while she tugged at her hair.
He should have been out of there by now. There was no way he could survive those flames as they licked up the side of the building and leapt to life in the third-floor windows. The crashes and bangs from inside quaked
