I got him to the door, then spun back. I had to put the fire out. I wasn’t letting anyone get hurt. I aimed the extinguisher again and kept spraying until the flames went out. The smoke was still thick and I coughed some more.

I heard a noise behind me and turned.

There was a shadowy outline in the smoke. I squinted.

“God, Rupert. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to help.”

“We need to get out. Now.”

“We do.”

Suddenly, he grabbed me, wrapping both arms around me.

“Rupert!” The extinguisher fell from my fingers and clattered to the floor. “Let me go.”

His arms tightened and he whirled me around. “Never.” He yanked me backward and one of my shoes fell off. I struggled against him.

That’s when I knew.

I looked up into his face. “It was you. Everything was you.”

His face twisted. “Be quiet. We’re leaving.”

30. Ro

Chapter 30

Ro

I sprinted into the lobby, Caden one step behind me. I saw smoke coming from the Summit restaurant, and people stumbling out coughing.

Chef Harvey’s stocky form staggered into the lobby. “What happened?”

“There was a fire on the grill.” He bent over, hacking loudly. “No idea how it happened. We’re always careful.” He coughed again.

Enzo and Everett jogged over. As a woman stumbled out of the restaurant, Everett caught her.

“Paramedics and firefighters are on the way,” Enzo said.

Piper appeared. “Jesus, what’s going on?”

“Tessa had a fire extinguisher,” the chef added. “She was trying to put the fire out.”

I froze solid. “Tessa’s in there?”

The chef nodded. “She was getting people out and spraying down the fire.”

Without hesitation, I charged into the restaurant and into the kitchen.

Smoke hung thick and heavy. “Tessa!”

There were no flames. Caden moved to the left and I went right around the workbenches. I pressed a hand to my mouth. The smoke was still dense.

“Where is she?” Enzo stepped into the kitchen.

“Tessa?” I spotted the blackened stove. The fire was out, but the alarm was still blaring. A fire extinguisher lay discarded on the floor. “Caden!”

He and Enzo got close.

Then I saw something else on the tiles.

One of Tessa’s shoes.

I picked it up and scanned around. “Tessa!” Where the hell was she? “She isn’t here.”

“Let’s check the CCTV,” Enzo said.

“I’ve added a few extra cameras in the restaurant,” Caden added. “I’ll pull up the feed.”

We hurried out. Hotel staff in the lobby were keeping guests calm as they evacuated them outside.

“Everett, the fire is out.” I saw the firefighters coming in, wearing all their gear. “Show them to the kitchen.”

The man nodded, his face serious. “Tessa?”

I shook my head. “We’re going to find her.”