Chapter 119 Save

Chapter 119 Save

Ramzi Draneth

The moment we catch sight of Esposito’s ex-wife’s house, I see the scene that makes my heart stop:

The building is on fire.

The flames have already consumed part of the structure, vomiting thick black smoke into the sky like an omen of death.

“Fuck!” I growl, remembering Vladimir’s words.

Sereia’s mother wants to burn her alive to claim power.

That hell-spawned bitch.

My men’s vehicles are scattered across the front of the property. Doors hang open. Weapons lie abandoned.

But none of my soldiers are visible.

There is only fire.

And an ominous silence.

“It’s an ambush,” Liam warns.

I nod, feeling adrenaline dominate my bloodstream.

Then gunfire erupts from behind the house.

Because our vehicles are armored, my men aren’t hit, and we throw open the doors, using them as shields while the cars are still moving.

We return fire.

Blood spills.

Our rifles take down more men, but the bastards keep coming.

One of my soldiers is shot in the arm, yet he continues firing with the other.

A deafening roar sounds overhead.

One of our helicopters sweeps across the sky and drops a bomb toward the enemy.

Explosion.

Some of them scatter.

The firefight continues with absolute madness.

But I don’t have time for this.

“Sereia is in there,” I say.

The certainty slides down my throat with a bitter taste.

I tear off my suit jacket and dump a bottle of water over it.

Gun in hand, I glance at my brother, who is calmly shooting targets with lethal precision.

The best marksman in the United States.

Liam nods and slams on the handbrake.

I jump from the vehicle before it fully stops.

“Cover me.”

He jumps out beside me and escorts me through the hail of bullets until I reach the nearly consumed house.

Fuck.

She’s in there.

My Flame.

With smoke stealing the air from my lungs, I cover my mouth and nose with the soaked fabric.

For the first time, Liam looks at me differently.

Concern?

My brother is worried about me?

I don’t have time to process it.

And neither does he stop me.

Because he knows nothing on earth will change my mind.

“Find her fucking mother.”

That’s all I say before searching for a way inside.

The front entrance is engulfed in flames.

A shattered window is the only option.

I knock away the remaining glass with my elbow and climb through, immediately feeling the heat slam into me like a punch to the gut.

I can no longer hear the battle outside.

Inside, the fire devours everything.

Wood cracking.

Glass exploding.

Beams groaning.

Yet I hear something else.

A song ending.

Then starting again.

A cruel replay from whoever planned our deaths.

Royalty.

Our wedding song.

The melody echoes through the burning house.

The memory of Sereia dancing with me in her wedding dress makes my chest ache.

The smoke is thick.

Suffocating.

My eyes burn and water uncontrollably.

“Sereia!” I shout.

My voice is swallowed by the roar of the fire.

“Flame!”

The house is enormous.

Most of it is already burning.

I have to trust my instincts.

Something tells me to go upstairs.

I race up the staircase.

The steps creak beneath my feet as though they might collapse at any moment.

The ceiling looks ready to cave in.

Then I see my men.

Dead.

Lying across the floor.

A shock tears through me.

They were Sereia’s bodyguards today.

If trained, armed soldiers were murdered and dumped here...

What could they have done to my pregnant, defenseless wife?

“No! Fuck! Flame!”

I roar.

I am not leaving this house without her.

I will find her.

I will bring my wife home.

They say I'm dangerous because I broke every cage...

The song continues.

Each lyric drags another memory of her into my mind.

Another reminder of our vows.

Desperate to find her, I begin reciting them aloud.

“I’ll stay by your side until my last breath. I’ll care for you. Protect you. Kill and die for you. Discover your desires and make every one of them come true.”

I search room after room.

Kicking open doors.

Dodging flames.

Coughing through the smoke.

Feeling my body cook in the infernal heat.

“I know your beauty is dangerous. You unbalance me. Steal my sanity. Make me risk everything just to have you.”

Every room without her fills me with greater panic.

Every time I hurt, there's only more pain to burn...

I remember every time she calmed me.

Every time she teased me.

Every story born from her endless imagination.

Every moment she trusted me because I was the only person trying to protect her.

“I know that like a raging fire, you’re consuming me little by little. I see it, Flame. I feel it.”

I remember how she wrinkles her nose when she’s angry.

How she blushes when I compliment her.

How her hair smells.

How she somehow made me love her despite my cold heart and my cruelty.

Until the battles are won... until my annihilation... I will never run...

The fire is nearly consuming everything when my eyes land on the final door.

It hangs partially open.

My heart slams against my ribs.

She’s there.

I know she’s there.

“But I don’t care. I’ll burn for you.”

I sprint toward the room.

And then I see her.

There.

Collapsed in the center of the smoke-filled room.

Motionless.

One arm wrapped protectively around her stomach as though she’d spent her final moments shielding our child.

My heart stops.

No.

No.

No!

I run to her and fall to my knees, pulling her against my chest.

“Flame! Flame?!”

She doesn’t move.

I rip the wet cloth from my face and press it over her mouth and nose, praying there’s still time.

I have never been a religious man.