The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 400

Chapter 400 Sudden Inferno

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Laura had just grabbed a fresh gown for Quinn from the car and was hurrying back toward the ballroom when a shrill fire alarm shredded the air.

She froze. The sound was pouring out of the grand hall itself. A fire–during the annual gala?

Panic tightened her muscles. She broke into a sprint.

At the entrance, she found guests flooding out, voices pitched high with fear, while the ceiling speakers looped an impersonal evacuation message.

Staff in dark vests herded the stampede toward the exits, shouting directions above the din.

Laura stabbed Quinn’s number on her phone; the call rang and rang, unanswered.

Pick up, Quinn–please, pick up! She clenched the device until her knuckles blanched.

A trio of guests hurried past, their anxious whispers catching her ear. “How could a fire break out—and right in the middle of the company gala?”

“Could someone be taking revenge?”

“I heard it started near the lounge…”

The word “lounge” slammed into Laura like a shockwave. Quinn was in that lounge.

She lunged toward the corridor, but an arm looped around her waist and dragged her back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Weston growled. He steered her toward the main exit with long, determined strides.

“Let go!” Laura fought his grip. “Quinn is in that lounge. I have to get her!”

“Running in helps no one,” he said. “The professionals are already on their way. Your job is to

stay safe.”

“And what if they don’t know she’s there?” she cried. “If I’m on site, I can tell them exactly where Quinn is!”

If anything happens to Quinn, I will never forgive myself.

If only she had never coaxed Quinn into attending this glittering gala, Laura told herself, none of this would have happened. Quinn would have stayed home, far from the smoke–filled

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Chapter 400 Sudden Inferno

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corridors and the roar of alarm bells now echoing through the hotel. Even the decision to wait in the lounge–Laura’s idea, and hers alone–now felt like the hinge on which disaster swung.

Weston tightened his grip on her trembling shoulders, meeting her frantic gaze with a lawyer’s cool steadiness. “Laura, with Quinn’s skill set, if a real fire broke out, she’d have more than enough sense and strength to get herself out. You charging in would only slow her down- maybe even get her hurt.”

Yet the reassurance slid off her like water on glass. Survivors streamed from the ballroom in smoky spurts, gowns streaked with soot, but Quinn was nowhere among them. “Then why haven’t I seen her walk out? Why can’t I reach her phone?” Laura’s voice cracked, each word snagging on a half–swallowed sob.

With every unanswered call, her heart plunged deeper into dread.

She wrenched against Weston’s hold, desperation drowning propriety. “Weston, let me go! I have to find Quinn–this is my fault, I told her to wait in that lounge!”

A new voice sliced through the chaos. “What? Quinn’s still inside the lounge?” Leander barked, disbelief and alarm colliding in his eyes.

Laura spun. Leander stood only a few paces away, tuxedo askew, shock painting his features stark white beneath the glow of emergency lights.

“Yes. Her gown was drenched in wine, so she ran there to change.” Laura’s eyes brimmed. “I keep calling, but the line’s dead. I can’t find her–can’t find her at all.”

The words tangled together until syllables dissolved into a raw, helpless whimper.

“Weston, let me go! I have to get her…”

Weston’s hand flashed, a precise edge striking the nape of her neck. Her protest cut off mid- breath. She sagged, unconscious, into his waiting arms.

He stared down at the tears still wet on her cheeks, the weight of his choice pressing like iron

on his chest.

If Quinn comes to harm, Laura may never forgive me.

But letting her dash into a burning maze was unthinkable.

All he could do now was pray that Quinn’s quick mind and steady nerves guided her safely out.

After all, a woman like Quinn shouldn’t find it difficult to break through a wall of flame. Yet with every slow–ticking minute, Weston felt his certainty seep away.

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Chapter 400 Sudden Inferno

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