Chapter 23
WHEN THE TEXT CAME FROM the fire department to report to Kenworth’s department store at nine-thirty, Carlos panicked. Anika was there closing up. The building was almost a hundred years old. He could see the fire consuming the wood and plaster walls like a hungry dragon. Carlos didn’t want to waste time stopping at the fire department for his gear. He texted his buddy, Damon, and asked him to bring it to the store with an urgent message that people could be in danger. It was against protocol and he could get sidelined for it, but all Carlos could think of was Anika.
The sky was heavy with dark clouds and only a few pinpricks of starlight made it through the threatening snowstorm. Carlos sped through town and pulled around back at Kenworth’s. He cried out when he saw Anika’s re
