The Hungry Heart Fulfilled (The Hunger of the Heart Series Book 3) by Shannon Farrell

he
    pleaded desperately,
    haunted by visions of her nearly going up in flames when he’d
    first met her on the Pegasus.
     
     
His hand snaked through and began to
    flail around
    for a grip on her.
     
     
“I can’t! Take the baby!"
     
     
She handed him
    Saoirse. "You
    saved her once before, remember," she said with a small wan
    smile.
     
     
Dalton stared back
    at her with eyes
    full of love. "I remember. I remember everything. Oh, Emer—"
     
     
His emotions choked
    him for a moment
    at the recollection of all they had shared, all she meant to
    him. And now his
    beloved was in danger once again.
     
     
"Come on now, love,
    come out.
    You've done enough."
     
     
"I can’t squeeze
    through,” she
    called, her heart aching and her lungs bursting from the
    thickening smoke.
     
     
“You must try,
    Emer, you must! You
    can’t expect me to have travelled
    half the world with you, thought you dead only to find you
    again, to now stand
    here and watch you die like this! I love you! Take
    my hand,
    and I’ll pull you out!”
     
     
Emer knew it was
    impossible, but her
    will to live had never been so strong as it was now.
     
     
Looking at the fire
    axe at the
    entrance to the building, she smashed the glass with her elbow
    and seized the
    weapon.
     
     
Attacking the loose
    creaking
    floorboards in the foyer which she had never got around to
    having the carpenters
    fix, she hacked at them with the last strength she possessed,
    and was at least
    able to make a hole big enough for her to slip down through. Though
    the drop was
    a good six feet,
    she landed relatively safely on her hands and knees on the
    dirt ground under
    the floor of the foyer, and crawled to the front of the
    ornamental trellis
    which decorated the porch.
     
     
A huge explosion
    signalled the
    windows blowing out, and she could see the entire area
    showered with splinters
    of broken glass. Fortunately,
    most
    of the children had already gone to the workers' cottages to
    rest, and the rest
    had ducked, so few people were injured.
     
     
“The porch roof is
    starting to go!”
    Adrian cried out, as he bundled Dalton out of the flaming
    doorway.
     
     
“Emer! Emer! We can’t leave her! We can’t!” Dalton
    shouted in anguish,
    as Adrian attempted to drag him away
     
     
“I’m here, Dalton! I’m here! Help me!”
    Emer
    shouted desperately from under the house, tugging on the
    trellis impotently in
    an effort to get free.
     
     
“Quickly, Dalton,
    she’s over there,”
    Adrian urged, pointing.
     
     
"Oh, thank God."
     
     
They tore at the
    wooden trellis with
    their bare hands as the flaming remains of the building began
    to sway.
     
     
Emer stretched her
    arm out and felt
    her wrist being grasped, then her elbow and arm as Adrian and
    Dalton tugged her
    out head first on her distended belly.
     
     
The sparks
    continued to rain down on
    them, but Emer had such severe labour pains that she could
    hardly move, let
    alone get to her feet and run.
     
     
“It’s coming down,
    get out of the
    way!” Adrian yelled. He pulled at Dalton’s sleeve.
     
     
Emer lay stunned,
    and suddenly felt
    a heavy weight crash down onto her back, as a flaming timber
    from the porch
    landed on her.
     
     
“Emer! My God.
    Adrian, help me!”
    Dalton cried, pulling the beam off Emer’s back with all his
    might though it was
    still burning.  He
    never even
    felt the pain to his hands or arms as he lifted, and clung on
    tightly until
    Adrian managed to pull Emer out from underneath it.
     
     
Then Dalton scooped
    Emer up into his
    arms and ran with her to safety, Adrian following close
    behind, as the majestic
    old building collapsed into a heap of flaming debris which
    showered sparks in
    every direction.
     
     
“My love, you’re
    safe,” Dalton
    breathed as he showered Emer’s face with kisses.
     
     
"Oh, God, Dalton,
    the baby is
    coming."
     
     
"Are you sure?"
     
     
Her reply came out
    as a strangled
    scream.