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He steels his jaw, taking Charlie and easily fitting him through the bars, holding him in his arms as I start to choke. “Go, get him away from here.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Seeing Charlie’s breaths still laboured, I reach through the bars, holding my hands on either side of Riley’s face, making him look at me as I say each word clearly and firmly. “Get him out of here. He is just a baby. He loves you and so do I, but you need to protect him.”
He blinks, realising that is the first time I have said it, that I love him, before steeling his jaw and promising, “I’m coming back for you.” I nod as he turns and is gone. Only then does my head start to feel light, my limbs heavy, my breath near impossible as I fall on all fours, the smoke making it difficult to see as I roll over onto my back, coughing and choking on the thick smoke. Riley’s screams sound like they're coming from far away as the edges of my vision start to blur, my breath stuck in my lungs.
Only as I let my eyes close, do I hear a loud crash, but the darkness has already taken me.
CHAPTER 49
RILEY
Ihate seeing her with so many tubes hooked up and a mask on her face to help her breathe. She has breathed in too much smoke, and they had to take her into the hospital. Some tests later and it turns out that she should be fine, but it's just a matter of time until she wakes up. They treat her head as well and I'm all too happy to find out that the cops have taken in Laurence and charged for assault, arson, and breaking and entering. Too bad I wasn’t allowed a few moments alone with the guy, but if that was the case, there wouldn’t be much of him to lock up. But now, sitting by Mia’s hospital bed with her limp hand in mine, I'm too grateful to have her here with me, still alive. I've survived one loss and I know I wouldn’t survive this one.
A hand comes down on my shoulder and I look up to see Danny with black smudges on his face. I think back to the image of seeing Mia lying on the floor, her eyes drifting shut, her breaths shallow and me powerless to stop it. My heart almost gave out when I saw her eyes close just as the door burst open, Danny and the guys coming in with a fire extinguisher, clearing a path to get to Mia. Danny held her in his arms as they retreated from the burning room.
I had never been more grateful for these guys in all my life. I cover his hand with my own, silent words exchanged because we both care for this girl. We all do.
CHAPTER 50
MIA
Ihear the beeping first, before my fingers start to twitch, feeling the soft fabric of a blanket over me. The voices come next. “I think she’s waking up. I’ll get Riley.”
I recognise the voice as Conner, hearing his retreating footsteps as I slowly force my heavy eyelids open, wincing against the light of the white room - hospital room - I find myself in.
My mind flashes back to the apartment up in flames, Riley calling my name as I lay on the floor. I blink, looking around, until my eyes land on a pair of brown eyes I hadn’t seen in months, ringed with tears.
“Harper?” I croak out, my throat sore, and she rises from where she sits beside the bed, tucking her hair behind her ear as she leans over me.
“Hey.” She takes my hand in hers. “Are you guys trying to give me a heart attack? First Hunter and now you.”
She looks exactly the same, her long dark hair thick with some soft curls most girls would die for, big brown eyes with thick lashes, and curves I would kill for. She has grown out her bangs a little, pushed them to the sides, making her eyes more pronounced as she smiles down at me. “Conner’s gone to get Riley. Ava made him go and get something to eat because he wasn’t looking so good.”
I furrow my brow, still sore to talk, but I force the words out, my voice sounding weak. “Is everyone okay?”
Her smile grows. “Yeah, Charlie had been checked and he is okay. Any longer in there and he probably wouldn’t have been.” She squeezes my hand again. “You saved his life, Mia.”
I allow myself to breathe, thankful he is okay and that it is all over now until I realise. “Laurence?”
She furrows her brow until she realises what I mean. “Oh, you mean the guy who tried burning you alive? Cops got him, and I think he’s going away for a long time.”
And then I breathe, sinking back into the bed as the door bursts open and I am met with Riley’s dark eyes focusing in on me as he comes around the bed, fear and desperation in his eyes as he takes my other hand, sitting beside me as I feel Harper step back, giving us space. “How are you feeling?” Riley asks, holding my hand in his against his check, welcoming the rough feeling of stubble against the back of my hand as the room continues to fill up.
Danny, Travis, and Malcom enter looking filthy, but I'm just happy to see them being okay. Conner enters holding Charlie in his arms, and I almost cry at seeing him until a small blur crashes into me.
I cry out in pain when I realise that Ava has run into the room and now holds me in a tight embrace, close to her as she says into my hair, “Thank you so much for keeping my baby safe.” Her breath catches, and I realise that she is crying into my hair, so I wrap my arms around her.
“Like I could do anything else.”
With a final squeeze, she lets go and moves away from me to return to take her baby back from her new fiancé. I smile at them before turning to Danny. “I’m sorry about the apartment and the bar. How bad is the damage?”
“Fixable,” he says simply. “A lost life isn’t, so don’t apologise for such things again.”
“How long will it take to fix up?”
He thinks. “I got some connections, so if all things go well, then it should be up and ready to go quickly. Luckily, it was only the upstairs apartment and hallway that was damaged, so it shouldn’t take as long to fix.”
