Chapter 10 - Breaking the Foundation
“Through the wall?” Harper stared at him incredulously as smoke began to thicken in the room, stinging her eyes and catching in her throat. “Roman, this is a brick tenement building, not a movie set! We can't just—"
“Watch me,” Roman interrupted, a fierce, reckless energy flashing in his dark eyes.
He hoisted the heavy metal table like a battering ram, bracing his weight against his back foot. Harper didn't hesitate; she grabbed the opposite end of the steel frame, channeling every ounce of her frustration, her fear, and her burning need for answers into her grip.
“On three,” Roman grunted, his muscles straining against the weight. “One... two... THREE!”
They lunged forward together, hurling the heavy steel table sideways directly into the weak lath-and-plaster wall separating Room 4B from the adjacent vacant apartment.
CRASH!
Plaster exploded into a choking cloud of white dust. The lath boards splintered like matchsticks, leaving a jagged, jagged hole barely large enough for a person to squeeze through.
Through the opening, thick billows of black smoke from the hallway began pouring into the room, obscuring their vision. Coughing violently, Harper dropped to her knees, waving her hands to clear the air.
“Go!” Roman ordered, grabbing her jacket collar and shoving her bodily through the splintered opening into the dark, empty apartment next door.
Harper tumbled hard onto the dusty floorboards, skinning her elbows, but she scrambled back up instantly, pulling Roman through just as a dull, concussive whoomp echoed from the hallway—the fire had caught the accelerant.
Flames licked hungrily beneath the cracks of the apartment’s front door, illuminating the ruined, abandoned rooms in a dancing, orange glow.
“This way!” Harper coughed, grabbing Roman’s hand—though she didn't realize she was doing it—and pulling him toward the front bay window overlooking the street.
The window was bolted shut with an old, rusted latch. Roman didn't bother trying to unpick it; he drew his elbow back and smashed his forearm directly through the center glass pane, shattering it into a thousand glittering shards.
Cool, clean night air rushed into the burning room, offering an immediate, life-saving gasp of oxygen.
Below them, flashing red-and-blue lights strobed against the wet pavement. Three black town cars blocked the mouth of the alley, and two of Roman’s massive bodyguards were shouting up toward the window, waving frantically.
“The awning,” Roman said, looking down at the faded canvas storefront awning jutting out over the ground floor bakery two stories below. “We drop onto that, then hit the pavement.”
“Are you insane?” Harper yelled over the roar of the fire behind them. “That’s twenty feet!”
“Do you want to burn to death or do you want to find your brother?” Roman asked, his voice deadpan, offering no room for debate.
May you like
Without waiting for her answer, Roman hoisted himself up onto the wooden window sill, gripped the exterior brick ledge, and lowered himself out into the driving rain. He looked back up at her, his dark eyes fierce through the smoke.
“Jump, Harper! I’ve got you!”
