"Look at me," Mara called. "Not the ground. You've got help."
He looked at her. Cutter stood beside her, both hands ready, and the sight of two adults waiting for him was enough. Eli moved into the opening, accepted their assistance, and reached the ground awkwardly but safely. His boots sank deep in the mud, and he caught himself against Cutter's shoulder, embarrassed until Cutter simply steadied him and let go.
Ronan came through last. He dropped to the ground with more grace than Eli had managed, then stepped away from the wall and examined the gathered group. He lifted the clipboard toward Garrett, who had been waiting near the edge of the clearing. Garrett held up his own roster. The count was complete.
Sixty-three club members had left the building. Eli made sixty-four people safely outside.
For the first time all night, Ronan allowed himself to stand still for more than a heartbeat.
He had not lost anyone. Several people were wet, cold, and shaken, and a few had been injured during the evacuation, but all sixty-three people who had entered for the annual gathering were breathing the cold air of the hillside. The fact settled over him slowly, not as triumph but as something close to disbelief. He looked back at the dark east windows, at the rain sweeping across the old walls, and remembered the boy who had knocked on his door with mud on his boots.
Garrett approached. "Everyone's accounted for?"
"Everyone," Ronan said.
Garrett gave a short nod, then looked at Eli. For the first time since meeting him, the large man's expression held no trace of doubt. Eli was still trying to work out how to clean the mud from his sleeve when Garrett spoke.
"I owe you an apology," he said. "I saw a kid at the door and figured you were trouble. I didn't stop to consider that you might be bringing us the truth."
Eli looked up, startled by the directness. "It's okay."
"No," Garrett answered. "It was wrong. There's a difference."
He walked away before Eli could find another response. The exchange was so short that somebody standing a few feet away might not have realized its importance. Eli understood it better than he could have explained. Garrett had not asked to be excused. He had simply acknowledged what he had done, as though accuracy mattered more than saving face.
Ronan turned to Cutter. "Harland is down there. We leave him for the deputies. Nobody goes inside until the fire department takes control."
"He's still in the control room?" Cutter asked.
"Eli says he stayed. We treat that as unconfirmed until professionals verify it."
Cutter nodded. He had already been helping organize the evacuees into groups with the people who knew them. A small shelter had formed beneath a stand of trees, where coats were being shared and some of the motorcycles provided a windbreak. Mara and Garrett were directing anyone with a suspected injury to the nearest vehicle where they could sit out of the rain.