Without a second thought, Garrett bent over to lift it just enough for Raymond to pull himself out from underneath.
It was odd, given that Garrett wanted to kill Raymond that he felt relief he was still alive. They needed to hurry up and find Anthony. He yelled out his name.
Raymond had trouble standing. He was hurt but was able to get up. He stood and looked around. “We don’t have time to find him. Let’s go. We need to get the hell out of here.”
“I’m not leaving a man behind.”
Imani made her way over to them. “No. He’s not. We already lost Seth and Lucinda. We’re not going to leave here until we find Anthony.”
Garrett was pissed. “Do you ever listen and do what you’re told? I’m trying to keep you safe.”
Imani finally understood what drove him. All the pieces of the puzzle snapped into place with Raymond’s revelation and his desire to find Anthony. “You don’t always have to put everything on your back. You’re not alone in this. I can help.”
If she wasn’t going to listen and stay out of harm’s way, Garrett made sure to keep her as close to him as possible as they made their way around the obstacle course. “Anthony!”
Raymond, who had walked just a few feet from where they were standing, bent low. “I found him. He’s over here.”
Imani and Garrett rushed over to Raymond as quickly as possible. Abruptly, Imani stopped walking just short of where Anthony lay. She was going to be sick. Garrett pulled her into the crook of his arms. She turned her face away and planted it onto his shoulder.
Anthony’s crumpled up body lay in an unnatural position—several positions. His eyes were glassy as the blood oozed from the top of his head.
Smoke was starting to fill up the floor.
Their situation became direr by the minute. They couldn’t leave the way they came. There was no way to get out from there. The other exit had been blocked by the last shake up.
Imani began to cough. She threw her arm over her face to cover her nose. “The restaurant. Don’t they have service elevators?”
“Yes, but they won’t work.” Garrett designed the building. He knew it inside and out.
Still, Imani’s words prompted a small shred of hope as he grabbed her by the hand and started to make their way over to the restaurant just off to their left. “There should be an emergency exit right next to those elevators.”
Raymond wasn’t going to be left behind, and he followed closely.
The emergency lights flickered on and off, and the thick gray smoke prevented them from seeing clearly. Feeling their way through, and after going in the wrong direction a couple of times, Garrett, Imani and Raymond finally made it to the back of the restaurant. As Murphy’s Law would have it, something was blocking it.
“Shit!” Garrett yelled and looked skyward. “Give us a fuckin’ break!” He rolled his neck around his shoulders trying to get a grip. Imani and their unborn child were depending on him. The air wasn’t as hard to breathe in the kitchen.
Death wasn’t an option. Raymond and Garrett went over to the door and together miraculously removed the barriers. It was enough space for the three of them to squeeze through.
Before they entered the stairwell, Garrett turned to Imani. “Wait. Do you still have your cell phone?”
Imani looked down at her body. Through some miracle of God, the purse was still draped across her body. Quickly, she reached inside and pulled out her phone. The screen was shattered, but the flashlight worked. “Yeah.” She handed it over to him.
Garrett took it. “We have no idea what condition we’re going to find things. Stay close.”
Imani nodded.
The burst of red and orange flames from a small explosion behind them sent everyone scurrying into the darkened corridor.
In utter disbelief, Imani murmured, “Mary, Jesus, and Joseph.” With each step they took, she was shocked but relieved to discover they had a clear path.
Her heart rate began to pick up as the numbers on the wall began to get smaller with each flight of stairs they descended. It must have been her Big Mama in Heaven pulling strings because there was no way Imani thought they were going to get out the Rusche Towers and live to tell about it.
Her adrenaline was high but not high enough because the exhaustion was starting to take over, and there wasn’t a muscle in her body that didn’t ache.
Garrett turned to Imani, strain written all over his face. It was as if he had a sixth sense. “Are you okay? Do you need a minute?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” Raymond snapped. “Imani can take all the breaks she wants once we get the hell out of this building.”
Garrett wouldn’t take the bait. Gently, he gazed into her eyes and held the sides of her smut covered face in his hands. He whispered, “Are you good?”
Imani wanted to hate Garrett; he’d almost destroyed her, but she didn’t. When he looked at her like she was the most import thing in his world, she couldn’t. She’d loved him almost from the moment they’d met.
Before Imani could respond, Raymond interrupted again. At this point, if Imani had a hundred million dollars she would give it all to him if it would make him go away.
“This little thing you two are doing is cute, but we need
