Her fingers brushed his elbow, then slid down the length of his arm as she tried to grab him.They finally curled around his wrist like a vice, her bodyweight and sudden halt making Adrian’s legs buckle.
He hit the roof with a gasp as she slammed into the building.Pain sliced his knees.He gritted his teeth and prayed she had the strength to hold on.
Before he could figure out how to haul her up over the edge, Turner appeared at his side.
Belly down and with one shoulder braced against the same ledge that Adrian knelt on, the man reached over the side and took hold of Samantha’s free arm.
“I’ve got you,” he told her.“Now let Croft go so he and Marsdale can help pull you up.”
Braver than any woman Adrian could think of, Samantha released her hold on Adrian’s wrist and placed her trust in Turner’s hands.It only took a second or two for Adrian and Edward to scramble into better positions from which they could grab her.
Together, they pulled Samantha up onto the roof, where she collapsed into a seated position, as though she had no energy left to stand.Kneeling beside her, Adrian drew her straight into his arms.
The moment he hugged her to him, something within him broke.His shoulders shook as he breathed her in.The heavy smell of smoke clung to her skin, her hair, and the flimsy nightgown she wore.But she was here.She lived.
He choked as he gulped down some air.A thick knot wedged in his throat made speech impossible.So he kept his face pressed to the side of her neck and just held her.
It wasn’t until several moments had passed that he realized the wetness he felt on his cheeks was tears.An uncontrollable sign of relief, not entirely dissimilar to when Alexandra was born and Samantha did not perish.
His shuddering breath made him wonder how many times he would have to endure such fear.The price of love.Made all the more inevitable by the kind of people they were — the situations they found themselves in and the threats they chose to confront.
Perhaps he should try to persuade Samantha to return to Deerhaven Manor.
No sooner had the thought presented itself than he knew she’d refuse.
Still shaken, he pressed a kiss to her brow and withdrew a little to grant her some space.“How are you?”
Her watery gaze met his.“Thankful to be alive.”
The comment made his chest tighten, ribs curling inward and squeezing his lungs.He searched her body with his gaze.“Are you hurt?”
“Battered and bruised.Slamming into that wall will leave a mark and my hands and feet got burned as well, but I don’t feel any dislocations or broken bones.”
He stared at her while fighting the instinct to give her a good shake.The woman had recently gone through hell to deliver their daughter.She’d only recently recovered, yet she’d thought nothing of sprinting to other people’s rescue.
Madness.
“If you’re ever in this kind of situation again, you get yourself to safety first and then…”
The palm of her hand settled over his cheek.“You know that’s impossible.”
Of course he did.She would no sooner be able to let others perish while she saved herself than he would.Nevertheless…
“As Kendrick reminded me this evening, we’re parents now.”He shrugged out of his jacket and helped her put it on.“Our responsibilities are first and foremost to our daughter.”
She wrapped the bulky garment around her slim frame.“I know, but—”
“Can you imagine what her future would have looked like if you had died tonight?”Adrian’s fear was beginning to shift toward anger.
“Adrian, I—”
“Alexandra needs you, Samantha.”In order to drive the point home, he added, “You know what it’s like to grow up without a mother or father.Don’t tempt fate into making your daughter share that experience with you.”
Though he did not intend for the words to be cruel, he knew Samantha felt them like a slap to her face.She physically drew back, the flint in her eyes informing him that he’d crossed a line.
Instead of lashing out, however, she asked, “How is she?”
“Fine, I’m guessing.Last I saw, Stewart still had her.”He started to rise while carefully helping Samantha back on her feet.“We should go check.I, for one, will feel better after I see her.”
