BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book by Rebecca Bradley (whitelam books .txt) 📗

life with every second he wavered outside? The people watching wanted him to go in, to risk his life for that child. He could feel the weight of their expectation on him and it spurred him on.

Dominic pulled his jacket off and draped it over his head.

He took a step forward onto the doorstep, scanned the inside of the house. The fire was downstairs. It looked to have taken hold at the back of the house, where the kitchen appeared to be situated. Fire was licking its way up the doorframe between the kitchen and living room. Smoke was billowing from the flames and winding its way across the ceiling out past Dominic towards the oxygen rich air outdoors.

Dominic took one last look at the woman in the street behind him. If the fire was downstairs how had she not managed to save her own daughter who was upstairs? He didn’t have time to consider that now. The only way the girl was going to get out of there was if he entered the property.

With head bent he stepped inside.

The stairs were directly in front of him. They were dark and wafts of smoke were following him up each step. Time was not on his side and he took the stairs two at a time. Once he reached the landing he turned right, towards the front of the house, facing two doors.

The heat was incredible up here. Burning through the floor. He didn’t have much time. He needed to get into each room and find the child and bring her out as quickly as he could.

He thought back to the image in his mind of the house when he saw it from outside. One bedroom had a light on. Was this the room with the child in? Which side of the house was it? Dominic closed his eyes for a brief second, brought the image up, then rapidly opened the door on the left.

The light was on.

There was a bed in the corner and under the covers a lump. Dominic rushed over to it and pulled the quilt back. Curled underneath was a young girl who looked no more than five years of age. He scooped both arms underneath her and pulled her to him. Her eyelids fluttered but she kept them closed.

‘It’s okay, sweetie. Keep your eyes tightly closed until we get out of here. I’ve got you now.’ He murmured into her ear. Her eyelids scrunched up and stayed scrunched. Her hands were in little fists by her shoulders. Her whole body was the same, curled tight and rigid. She’d been hiding from the fire, hoping it wouldn’t find her under her covers, probably the same way monsters never find you when you’re under your bedding.

The room was filling with smoke. Dominic coughed out the dirty air and turned towards the door. Out the corner of his eye a blue light spun through the thin fabric of the little girl’s curtains.

Help was here.

The landing was darker than he recalled it. The smoke was thicker, making visibility more difficult. Dominic found the bannister and clung to it with one hand while his other hand hugged the child tightly to him.

He couldn’t see anything now but relied on the handrail to guide his descent. As he reached the bottom the heat pushed him back a step. The fire moving further into the room and towards the door.

From under his coat he tried to see in front of him. The fire wasn’t blocking his route out yet. He had to force himself to push forward regardless of the heat. It was the only way they were going to make it out of here.

Dominic took another step forward and the heat grazed his face. The child yelped in his arms. He pulled the coat from his head and draped it over the girl. He could see the spiralling blue lights of emergency vehicles through the open doorway. He had to make it through to them and they’d be free.

The fire roared and Dominic took another step backwards.

The girl whimpered. He could hear her mother screaming for her through the open doorway. The fire crew would be kitting up. They’d come and get them. But he couldn’t bear to stand in here any longer than necessary. He was feeling claustrophobic and needed to get out. He needed to find a way through.

Dominic turned, keeping his hand on the bannister he ran up the stairs, turned into the bathroom, threw two towels into the bath and ran the cold tap onto them. Then he took the jacket from the child and enveloped the girl with a dripping towel and placed the second one over his head.

It was cool and welcome in the heat and smog of the house.

They were going to get out of here. Following the same handrail he made his way back down the stairs. They only had seconds to spare now as the fire was moving quickly.

‘Take a deep breath in and hold it,’ he shouted to the girl over the roar of the fire. He took his own deep breath and stumbled down the last two steps and forced himself towards the door. His free hand fumbling for the doorframe to guide him out.

A pair of hands grabbed his arms and guided him through. Then the girl was lifted from his grasp and he was pushed down onto an ambulance trolley to be examined and an oxygen mask placed over his face. The mask cool on his skin.

Dominic didn’t see the mother again. The ambulance containing the little girl left for the hospital before his did. He was taken to be checked out but released a few hours later and told sleeping in a more upright position might help if he found it uncomfortable lying flat and to return should he feel he had any problems