Her gaze flew to the switches and her heart stopped. Oh, no!
She’d turned on the stove instead of the oven. How could she not have noticed it sooner? She’d been too caught up in her plans to double-check.
A plastic bowl that she’d placed on the stove this morning was half melted, releasing a thick grey-blue snake of smoke. Sticky drops covered the buttons, so that she didn’t dare touch them with her bare hands. Luckily, there were no flames.
She pivoted to the wall where her gloves hung. She needed to get that switch off and the bowl away from the stove. As she slid on her silicon five-fingers, there was a bursting noise.
She froze.
From the corner of her eye, a bright-orange light cut through the murky atmosphere of the smoky kitchen.
Darn it, she needed to hurry. She couldn’t fetch the bowl now without burning herself.
She cursed herself for ignoring Gabriel’s advice about that fire extinguisher. A spark popped from the small fire and landed on a tablecloth lying beside the dishwasher. It caught fire immediately. The flames shot up, almost reaching the ceiling.
Giada snapped out of her momentary trance and jumped toward the sink. She filled up the only container she could find without looking. A drinking glass. She poured it on the tablecloth, dousing a large part of the flames.
Her ribcage expanded a bit. Good, this is working.
She quickly refilled the glass and moved closer to the stove. Without thinking twice, she drained the liquid over the plastic bowl.
As the water made contact with the stove’s surface, a violent fizzle buzzed through the air. The fire flared up, spitting crackles and sparks all over the place. A few landed on the wooden table, while others reached the chair where Giada had folded her laundry.
The large towels swallowed the flames eagerly, lighting up into a blinding orange glow.
Giada stumbled to the floor with the force of the explosion. She bumped her head hard. She tried to lift herself to her elbows, but the pounding in her nape made her slump back. Unable to move, she could only stare at the frightening spectacle.
What had she done?
The fire was propagating at the speed of light. In her small house, most of the things were wood, paper, or other naturally flammable materials. Even most of the supplies in her workroom would do nothing but nourish this inferno.
She attempted to roll to her side, and felt a lukewarm liquid drench her back. Was she bleeding? She reached up to her head, and her fingers dipped into a large puddle.
Panic assailed her. I’m going to suffocate here if I don’t get out!
She ignored the hammering pain and turned onto all fours. She forced herself not to look at the trail of blood she was leaving as she crawled toward the living room.
If she could reach the balcony door, she could get out through the patio. It was quicker than using the main entrance, and one wall of her living room was made of stone instead of wood. It would hold the longest.
She gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward.
There was a squishing noise of brakes. Then a loud yell.
Giada’s heart leaped. It was Gabriel. He’d arrived; he could help her.
“Giada? Giada!”
She was about to scream back when a large girder, the one that artfully divided the space between her kitchen and living room, tumbled down in front of her. It landed on the carpet. In less than a second, the thick wood began to glow and dribble blaze all over the place.
The heat punched Giada in the face so furiously that she wavered, and her arms couldn’t hold her weight. She fell forward, hitting her chin.
But this time she didn’t have the strength to get up.
Chapter 22
Gabriel arrived at the small road leading to Giada’s house.
He’d done this ride countless times, but this was the first time that he actually had to watch each turn. He was afraid of getting lost. His instincts weren’t functioning. His entire body was tensed in anticipation.
As much as he tried to convince himself that this dinner was nothing, his heart, that treacherous piece of flesh, kept jumping around like a happy puppy at the thought of seeing Giada.
He rolled through the deserted street, gripping the wheel. He always thought it was a peculiar choice of Giada’s to move this far out in the middle of nowhere, but she argued that nature gave her inspiration and her commute was no longer than what it took for Gabriel to find a parking spot in front of his downtown condo.
Giada’s house came into view.
Wow, did she change her lamps? The light inside was almost as intense as if she’d lit her home on fire. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the blazing orange glow emanating from the windows.
His heart skipped a beat and his foot deepened on the gas. In a few seconds, he arrived at Giada’s yellow car. His jaw clenched as he hit the brakes. He turned off the engine, grabbed his phone from his bag, and sprang out of the car. He didn’t pay attention to whether he slammed the door properly.
The air around the house tasted familiar. Smoldering and thick.
His pulse accelerated and he bolted to the entrance. “Giada? Giada!” he screamed from the top of his lungs.
No answer.
Fear clawed through him, twisting his gut. He turned the doorknob, but it was locked. He took a step back then launched forward, kicking it with all his strength.
The mahogany door creaked but didn’t budge.
He went at it again and again. On the fourth attempt, it gave away. He pushed the door ajar, but the entryway was blocked with grey smoke, and the passage was in flames.
He needed a way inside. Giada was there, maybe already burning.
His head snapped to the fence. Yes, the patio.
He’d go around and try to climb back from there. Based on the intensity of the fire and the holes in the corridor’s wall, the fire must’ve started from the front of the house, maybe the kitchen.
The living room could still be easy to penetrate.
He raced to the back and climbed the fence. As he landed, his phone dropped to the ground. He bent to collect it and pressed call. As Bobby, the receptionist at his fire station answered, he hurriedly gave the details and his name, then hung up.
The call cost him at least twenty seconds delay, but it was necessary.
He pictured the blaring alarm in the station. His squad—maybe even Greg and Stuart if they were still there—would be leaping out of their seats, shoving glasses on and racing outside. Like a wave smashing a rock, they’d hit the trucks and come to their rescue.
Only they weren’t going to get here on time. At least, not for Giada.
Gabriel was her sole hope for survival. If she didn’t answer his yell, it meant that she couldn’t. She must be trapped, maybe even unconscious.
He jumped to the living room’s sliding door, praying Giada was still as careless about security as she used to be, and that it was unlocked.
The door moved aside with a screech, raising the hairs on Gabriel’s back.
With the protective surface gone, a boiling wave assaulted Gabriel. His eyes watered. He wiped them with his forearm and stepped inside. As his foot touched the living room tile, his head started to spin.
He didn’t know whether it was due to the lack of oxygen or the brutal flashback that swept through his mind as he glanced around.
The scene looked eerily close to that infamous night. That woman had also lived in a wooden country house, and the burning walls and chunks of wood pillars on the floor did nothing but enhance the similarity.
His heart must’ve stopped pumping blood to his limbs, because his knees became weak and his arms tingled.
No, damn it! I can’t have a seizure now. I’m done with this.
He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
Better. The shiny dots were gone from his peripheral vision and he didn’t see double anymore. He inhaled deeply, but it only made him cough. He reached for his T-shirt and pulled the he
m with all his force till a piece of fabric tore away. He put it over his nose, tying it with a brisk movement behind his neck.
He raised his left foot and stepped over a glowing piece of furniture. His shoes brushed the side of the chair and the material dissolved in ash, shooting up sparks as it rained to the floor.
Gabriel didn’t flinch when a few of the smolders touched his arm. His eyes stayed focused, scanning the room for any sign of Giada.
A weak groan reached his ears. His eyes flicked to the direction the sound came from.
His chest tightened as he noticed the body on the floor. He spurted to her, not paying attention to whether his legs were grilled by the ferocious flames.
Giada lay on her stomach, her head turned to the side. Blood seeped from a large wound on her occipital bone. But she was breathing. The movement of her back wasn’t pronounced, but Gabriel’s hand perceived it.
Relief swirled through him, and he lifted her inert body to his arms.
They needed to get out as soon as possible. The ceiling wasn’t going to hold much longer.
With Giada’s weight, it was much harder to walk carefully among the debris and fire.
His left trouser came dangerously close to the burning carpet, but he managed to step back in time.
How was he to take them out of there safely? While he was checking Giada, the curtains of the sliding door had caught fire, too.
Would they hold, or maybe drop on them as they passed?
The shrill sirens of various trucks cut through the night.
Gabriel’s heart leaped. His squad. They’d arrived.
He took courage knowing that his colleagues could attend their wounds if needed. He closed his arms firmer around Giada, hauling her head to his chest. He bowed his head and ran.
He blazed through a fiery pillar and beneath the searing curtains. He ignored the pain cutting into his flesh as the flames reached his knees and consumed the fabric of his jeans.
He only stopped once he was outside at the fence.
Giada was still unconscious in his arms, but she hadn’t died. He’d saved her. Elation swept through him, followed closely by an excruciating ache.
He peered down at his legs and realized that his trousers were on fire.
He placed Giada on the ground, then threw himself down. He grabbed all the sand he could gather and threw it on his legs.
“Hold on, buddy!”
Stuart’s coarse voice filled the air behind him. He threw a blanket on his legs, suffocating the remaining flames.
Heavy boots running, clinks of couplings being joined, and the sound of spraying water followed.
Stuart helped Gabriel stand, while another colleague carried Giada to the ambulance.
“Come on, Gabe. Lean on me. I’ll take care of you. Those wounds look nasty.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I want to go with Giada. I need to see how she’s doing.”
Stuart looked like he wanted to protest but then shrugged. “Okay, I’ll bring you to Pete then.”
Pete was already settling Giada on a gurney, checking her vitals, and preparing an oxygen mask for her.
Gabriel winced. “How is she, Pete?”
Pete bobbed his head from left to right. “She’s lost blood and her lungs aren’t good from the smoke. But she’ll live. We’re taking her to the Red Cross Hospital. It’s the nearest.” He threw an appraising glance at Gabriel’s torn jeans and burnt flesh. “You need a doctor’s visit, too. It’s best if you come with us.”
Gabriel nodded. “Just what I wanted to suggest.” He turned to Stuart, his brows furrowed. “Are you guys managing with the house?”
Stuart pointed at the three large trucks from which water was pouring on the roof. “Yes, we’ve got it. Three guys are inside checking for other potential people and the source of the fire.”
Gabriel shook his head. “There is no one. She lives alone. I was coming over for dinner.”
Stuart snorted. “I see. I hope you get to have that once you both recover. She seems lovely.”
Gabriel’s glance drifted to Giada. Despite the smeared blood on her cheeks and her messy hair she still looked beautiful. His heart squeezed at the thought of what could’ve happened if he’d arrived only a few minutes too late.
As if Stuart realized what was going through Gabriel’s mind, he patted his back. “You came in time. She’ll be fine. You did good.”
Pete put the mask on Giada, then waved to Gabriel. “Climb inside and sit. I’ll clean your wounds and put on a temporary bandage while we drive to the hospital.”
Stuart greeted them and jogged back to his squad to help.
Pete closed the door of the ambulance and they drove off to the hospital.
Chapter 23
Maria Theresa Biagi stepped into Giada’s hospital room carrying two cups of coffee and a large tray of homemade cornetti.
Giada glanced up and smiled. “Mom! Finally. The doctors told me you would be coming soon.”
Her mother’s face distorted into a grimace as she hurried over to Giada. She put her gifts on the side table, then came to sit on her daughter’s bed. “Oh, figlia mia. What happened to you? When Gabriel called, I couldn’t believe my ears.”
Giada’s stomach became hard and her breathing shallow. She wasn’t prepared for the mention of Gabriel’s name. She knew it was he who brought her to the hospital together with his squad’s paramedic. The doctors had told her that much.
But he hadn’t come to visit her yet, so she shoved aside the frightening thought of having to meet him and admit what a fool she had been. In all senses of the word. After all, she’d almost burned alive in her attempt at winning him over.
Her mother didn’t seem to notice the darkness settling on Giada’s mood because she continued, “Lighting the stove instead of the oven? Che sciocca, you’ve been! Didn’t I tell you that you should leave the culinary art to your cousin Bianca? You’re good with stone but less so with flour. I think you—”
“Mom, stop it!” Giada straightened up, wiggling away from her mother’s caressing palm.
Her head began to pound from the abrupt gesture. She swallowed, then lowered herself to her elbows.
Her mother’s mouth curled down and she squinted at her. It was her way of telling Giada that she was offended.
Duh! What did she expect? Her mother must’ve traveled overnight to get here. She’d even somehow found a way to prepare her a freshly baked breakfast. And what did Giada do? She frowned at her.
Giada bit her inner lip. She was ungrateful. Her mother was right to call her silly. She sighed and reached for her mother’s hand. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I just don’t think I can handle a life lesson right now. My wound still hurts a lot.”
Maria Theresa’s expression softened. “I understand. Sorry, I shouldn’t have called you sciocca. You just wanted to prepare a nice meal for Gabe. There’s no harm in that. I told him that too.” There was a weird glint in her eyes as she pronounced his name.
Giada’s throat thickened. Did her brother speak to their mother about what Giada had planned? Her mom was as gossipy as could be expected from a Southern Italian woman. Did she decide to intervene and maybe “delicately” hint to Gabriel about what he’d missed due to the fire?
Giada licked her lips. “What exactly did you tell him?”
Her mom’s brows shot up, a smile tugging at her lower lip. “About what?”
Giada shook her head. “Never mind. How is Gabe doing? The doctor who patched me up told me that he got burned on his legs.”
Her mother shrugged. “I’m not sure. I only spoke to him on the phone. But he said he was going to pass by today.” She scratched her chin. “And he better. At least he can fill in for our miserable family. Your dad stayed with the restaurant. Your brother couldn’t be contacted—wouldn’t answer his phone, can you believe it? Ginny’s still in Australia with Nick and Jacob. Matteo’s in Italy, and Bianca could only book a ticket for tomorrow.” She turned her eyes to the c
eiling, shaking her head. “I can’t believe life has scattered us so much. If we were still in Sorrento, this would have never happened.”
She waved her hand around the room as if to underline her point.
Giada snorted. It was typical for her mom to dwell on the good ol’ days in Italy when something went wrong. “Mom, it’s okay. I’m fine. There’s really no need for the entire family to drop what they’re doing and hurry over here. They couldn’t do much for me. In two days, I’ll be released. Thanks to Gabriel, no major harm came to me.”
Her heart gave a drum out of rhythm as the last words rolled off her tongue.
Gabriel had saved her life.
The memory of the large wooden pillar collapsing in front of her and the giant orange flames closing on her flashed through her mind, and she shuddered. She could understand much better now what Gabriel meant when he spoke about his terrifying flashbacks.
“Don’t you go thinking about what could have happened.” Her mother rubbed Giada’s shoulder. “Gabriel was there. Grazie a Dio.” She made a quick cross across her chest, then kissed the pendant of Virgin Maria that she wore around her neck.
A soft knock interrupted them.
Giada jerked up and glanced at her mother’s watch. It wasn’t time for her bandage change. It must be a visitor. And based on what her mom said, there was only one person who could be outside.
She brushed her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth the knots at the end of her curls. She wasn’t able to take a proper shower this morning because her head wound shouldn’t come in contact with water.
Her mother stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and a wide smile spread on her face. “Gabriel! Come here!” She threw herself in his arms.
Gabriel looked flustered, his mouth dropping and his eyes widening. But he patted her mother’s back. “It’s nice to see you too, Maria.”
Giada’s mother pulled back and pinched his cheek. “You…you’re our hero.”
A red color invaded Gabriel’s cheeks, lending him an innocent school-boy allure, which made him all the more handsome.
Saving The Brother's Best Friend (Gems 0f Love Book 4) Page 14
