Anna Leigh Keaton & Madison Layle - Incognito 08 - Conquering Connie Read online

  “Uh, guys…” Alex stormed back into the room. “It’s real. We’ve got to go.”

  Ty spun toward his cousin.

  A shrill sound rang out. Sudden and loud. The fire alarm—

  “Now!” Alex grabbed Connie’s gown off the floor.

  Ty redoubled his efforts on Connie’s taped legs.

  “Where is it? What’s happening?” she asked with a new tremble in her voice.

  The instant Ty finished, he lifted her to the floor. “Lift your arms,” he ordered, pleased to see her obey without question. Although he hated to see the alarm in her eyes return, he could understand why it was there. No doubt some shone in his own.

  “All I saw was smoke, but where there’s smoke…” Alex wasted no time slipping her gown over her and yanking the zipper up.

  She took a step for the door, but Ty grabbed her arm. “One sec.” He hoped they had more seconds than one, but if there was smoke… He jerked open another desk drawer and pulled out some bandanas more often used as blindfolds or to bind limbs. He tossed one to Alex and draped another over Connie’s nose and mouth before tying it off and getting a third for himself.

  Alex gave him a nod and, with a firm grip on Connie’s wrist, he led the way out of the voyeur room. In the hall, the smoke billowed overhead, crawling along the ceiling to fill the space like a monstrous mist. Screams, coughing, and shouts echoed.

  “This way!” Alex changed direction when they reached the bar. Ty saw why. The way ahead was crowded into a bottleneck with others all doing what was natural, familiar, as they headed for the front exit. They doubled back, and Alex shoved open the door to the men’s bathroom, raced passed the urinals, sinks, and stalls, and stopped before the frosted window on the opposite wall.

  Ty released Connie’s other hand and turned to head back to the main hall. She grabbed his arm.

  “Where are you going?”

  Alex unlocked and pushed up the window, then shoved the screen off.

  “Go. I’ll be right behind you,” Ty said, peeling her fingers from his bicep.

  “Come on,” Alex urged.

  “No.” She struggled to keep a grip on Ty. He yanked her to him and kissed her hard. Fast.

  “Get her out of here,” he told his cousin, pushing her away.

  “No!”

  Ty shared a determined look with Alex before his cousin swept her into his arms and shoved her feet-first through the window.

  Ty turned back to the door, opened it and hollered, “This way. Through the windows!”

  “Hurry,” Connie yelled. She stuck her head and shoulders back through the window, reaching out for them.

  Ty looked out once more to see some people rushing toward him, weaving around and colliding with tables and chairs.

  Sean, Alex’s backup, ran past, helped a woman who’d fallen get up, and directed others toward the women’s bathroom and its window. “There’s another through here,” he shouted.

  Ty glanced over his shoulder at Connie.

  Alex said, “Move back, Con. Come on, sugar. Back up and help those we get out.”

  Her worried gaze shot from Alex to him and back. “Don’t wait t-too—” She cut off her words. Choked on emotion?

  “We’ll get out, sweetheart. I promise,” Ty said.

  Her lips firmed. Her expression altered. “Yes, masters.” Resolve replaced fear, and he’d never been more proud of her than right then. She disappeared from the window.

  “Come on! Send ’em through,” he heard her cry out.

  With a grin, he headed back into the hall. “This way,” he called out, holding the door open for a handful of club members and guests.

  Alex helped them climb through the window, ordering everyone to, “Stay calm. One at a time. Don’t crowd.”

  After what seemed an eternity, another glance around showed a deserted hall. The smoke was thicker now. Dark. Making his way back to the bathroom, he coughed, waved a hand over his nose and mouth, the bandana proving insufficient. The heated air had become intense. An orange glow flickered through the smoke, menacing and alive. Flames licked at the walls.

  Then, masked and armed with water-spewing hoses, firefighters stormed into the main hall behind him.

  Time to go.

  He nodded to Sean who popped out of the women’s bathroom. “Go! Get out of here!” Sean returned his nod before vanishing to make good his own escape.

  The walls groaned. Something exploded overhead, somewhere upstairs.

  He ducked and scrambled for the bathroom window.

  Alex had awaited his return, but the second he appeared, Alex climbed outside. Ty didn’t hesitate as he followed his cousin’s lead.

  The night flashed red from emergency lights and orange from the blaze. His first breath of fresh, clean air sent him into a coughing fit. When he finally stopped, like a gilded angel, Connie was there.

  “When the windows blew…” Tears streamed down her soot-smudged face. “I thought I lost you both,” she said, looking from him to Alex, who took and squeezed her hand. “I was so scared.”

  Ty touched her cheek. “Nothing could keep me from you, sweetheart.”

  “We keep our promises, sugar,” Alex added with a smile, although Ty could see more relief in the expression than his cousin probably wanted to show.

  It had been close. As he looked back at the brick building, saw the flames shooting from many of its windows, he realized just how close.

  Putting his arm around Connie, he gave Alex a pat on the shoulder as they made their way around to the front of the club where emergency crews were on hand to lend first aid. “Did everyone get out?” he wondered aloud, his gaze searching for faces.

  “I think so,” Alex said, “but I can’t be sure.”

  “Sean said he’d cleared the top floor before coming downstairs,” Connie said. “He made it out just before you two.”

  “And the widow?” Ty asked, watching the last of the firefighters pull back to fight the blaze from outside of the building.

  Alex shrugged and searched the crowd.

  Seconds later, another small explosion rocked the building. A collective gasp spread through the crowd. Ty suspected the fire had reached the stock of liquor.

  The dark shadows and chaos of the moment hampered attempts to find specific people, but Ty did spot Dalton, his arms wrapped comfortingly around his wife. The two were speaking with police officers and staring at the inferno. They’d lost a lot tonight but still had each other.

  Ty hugged Connie closer. “I love you,” he murmured, his voice raspier than normal. He turned her in his arms. “I put off telling you that, waited so long to approach you, to tell you how I felt. I convinced myself that the time was never right. I was wrong.” He met her teary-eyed gaze.

  She put her fingertips over his mouth. “You weren’t wrong. Alex wasn’t here before, and I did need the time. You somehow… Instinctively, you knew that. You chose the perfect time. When I needed you both. When I needed you most.”

  Alex reached up and brushed his fingers down her cheek. “I am here now.” He stepped closer, placing a hand on her back and the other on Ty’s shoulder. “We still have time…and each other. Nothing before matters much in the grand scheme of things.”

  Ty nodded. They were here, alive, and had time to build a future together. Still, he thought of all the times he’d held back from sharing his feelings with her, times he’d watched her walk away unknowing.

  “I love you,” he repeated then shared a smile with Alex.

  “We both do,” Alex confirmed. They looked back at Connie.

  Ty said, “We’ll never leave your side without telling you that again.”

  Her soot and tear-streaked face shone with a bright grin. She wrapped an arm around each of them, pulling them into a three-way embrace. “I love you, too. Both of you, and I’ll love you forever.”

  To be continued…

  Author Bio

  Anna Leigh has been reading and penning romances for as long as she ca
n remember. After she met and married her very own real-life hero, romance took on a whole new meaning. She now knows married life can sizzle and romance can be erotic—even in her own home.

  Madison Layle avoided her childhood chores on the family farm by curling up with books, and disappearing into other worlds of fantasy, adventure, and romance. With maturity came the love of her own real-life hero (a.k.a. “my darling hubby”), and a real understanding of why her parents locked their bedroom door.

  Madison and Anna Leigh first met online through a critique group, a meeting which sparked a strong friendship and a fun partnership. Together, their writing has taken on a spicier flavor, so while their hubbies are off at work, they let their imaginations soar....

  You can visit Madison and Anna at their Web sites: www.madisonlayle.com, www.annaleighkeaton.com, or check out all the exciting happenings at Incognito at: www.incognitoseries.com