ground below.
She heard people yelling. A jet of flame caught the sleeve of her
nightgown. She ran quickly to the side of the roof, stood there for
just an instant, slapping down the flames on her arm even as the fire
inched closer and closer, and at last the firemen had the safety net
in place.
Adam yelled, “Jump, Becca!”
And she did, without hesitation, her nightgown billowing out
around her, her long legs bare, the white sleeve of her nightgown
smoking. She hit the white safety net, her nightgown tangling
around her. It closed over her for just an instant, and then a fireman
yelled, “We’ve got her. She’s okay!”
He watched her scramble out of the confines of the safety net,
shake off the firemen. She ran toward him, and he saw the shock in
her face, the blindness in her eyes, but he couldn’t think of anything
to say to her. Then there was simply nothing. He collapsed where
he stood. The last thing he heard before the blackness closed over
him was the huge roar of the collapsing roof and Becca’s voice, saying
his name over and over.
Chapter 41
He was buried in pain, so deep he wondered if he’d ever climb
out, but he knew he could deal with it, even appreciate it, because
it meant he was still alive. Finally, after what seemed like beyond
forever, he managed to gain a bit of control and forced his eyes to
open. He looked up at Becca’s smiling face. Ah, but the worry in
her eyes, her pallor, it scared him. Was he going to die after all? He
felt her fingers lightly touch the line of his eyebrow, his cheek, his
chin. Then she leaned down and kissed where her fingers had
touched him. Her breath was sweet and warm. His own mouth felt
like he’d dived mouth-first into a box of dried manure.
“Hello, Adam. You’ll be just fine. I’ll bet you’re really thirsty, the
nurse said you would be. Here’s some water to drink. Take it slow,
that’s it.”
He drank. It was the best water he’d ever tasted in his life. He
managed to say, “Thomas?”
“He’ll live. He told me so himself when he came out of surgery.
The doctors say it looks good. He’s in great shape, so that’s a big
help.”
“Your arm?”
“My arm is okay. Just a bit of a burn, nothing serious .We all survived.
Except for Mikhail Krimakov. He’s very dead. He’ll never
terrorize anyone again or kill another person. I know you’re in bad
pain, the bullet went through your back, broke a rib. The other
bullet went right through your arm. You’ll be okay, thank God.”
He closed his eyes and said, “It nearly killed me watching you on
the roof with him. The flames kept getting closer and closer, the
wind whipping your nightgown around your legs, whipping the
flames higher. I wanted to do something, but I just stood there
yelling at you and I nearly lost what sanity I had left.”
“I’m sorry, but I had to go after him, Adam. That’s how he got
into Thomas’s house, from the end of a very long oak branch; then
he jumped onto the roof and managed to get the trapdoor open and
made it into the attic. When I saw him going down to the end of
the hall where those pull-down steps to the attic are, I knew he
would escape. I just couldn’t let him do it. He got in that way, the
chances were he’d get out. I had to stop him.” She paused a moment,
looking inward. “Then he wanted to die. And he wanted me
to die with him. But I didn’t. We won.” She kissed him again, and
this time he managed to smile just a bit through the god-awful pain.
“Now, no more about it. I’ve done nothing but answer question
after question for the FBI. Mr. Woodhouse keeps coming back again
and again, but it’s mainly to see Dad, not for any more questions. Do
you know what Savich is doing? He’s sitting in the waiting room,
checking out churches on MAX to find one for us to get married in.