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Panicked, I waved my badge at the security officer holding back bystanders. “He’s screaming for me! I’m Bristol.”
“George, let her in,” Novie panted, catching up with me. “This is Axel Pendleton’s wife. Girl, did you run track in school? Geez.”
I didn’t respond and couldn’t laugh. I took off again as soon as George let me pass, dashing toward our motorhome and dodging anyone who thought to stop me.
“Axel!” I yelled. “Axel, I’m here.” My breathless voice was lost in the chaos. As I got closer, I saw Axel on his knees. He struggled to stand while other’s held him back. Darting to him from the side, I crashed into him, wrapping my arms and legs around his body while the men restraining him released their grasps on him.
“I’m here! I’m here,” I gasped, hugging him tight. “I’m right here.”
“Oh, thank fuck,” Troy muttered, beside us, scrubbing his hand over his worry-ravaged face.
Axel’s arms were like iron around me as he pressed his face into my neck, his whole body shaking. Tears streamed down my face as I hugged him, kissing the side of his head.
“I’m okay. I’m okay,” I repeated over and over, running my hand up and down his back. “I’m okay.”
“Oh, God. I thought… Oh my God, Bristol.” His fingers buried in my hair as his lifted his head, and I saw his tormented, tear-filled eyes. His lips covered mine, kissing me wildly with no care as to who was around us. I felt us moving and realized someone was pulling us farther from the fire and the fire crews battling to put out the blaze.
Abandoning my lips, Axel pressed closed-mouth kisses all over my face. “I love you. I was so scared. Terrified. If anything happened to you… There’s no me without you, Bristol. There hasn’t been since we were thirteen. Even when we were apart, it’s always beenwe.”
My forehead pressed to his while I was still wrapped around him, his grip so strong I wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to let me go.
“I’m right here. I’m okay. I’m fine,” I whispered to him, trying to soothe him. I wasn’t sure how long we stood like that, murmuring our love, me giving him assurances. It was a long time, though, before he set me on my feet. He still held me clasped to him, and I rested my head on his chest, over his heart, listening to the steady thump.
Novie and Huck came to stand beside us, watching as the flames were put out. Since theirs was the rig closest to ours, the one on the other side leaving earlier, I was afraid they’d end up with severe smoke damage to it and their belongings.
Huck had his arm slung around his sister’s shoulders, looking nothing but relieved.
“What happened?” Novie asked.
I shook my head. We hadn’t come back here before heading over to the vendors. Everything had been fine when Axel and I left this morning.
“There’s no way this just happened out of the blue,” Axel rasped, his voice ravaged from his panic and his tone enraged.
“Are you saying you think someone set the fire on purpose?” I breathed, pulling back to look up at him.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Has anyone seen my uncle? Or Marta?” Axel asked. “He threatened me. Has anyone seen him?”
“Axel, do you really think he’d…do something like that?” I asked.
“He threatened me—in the hauler the other day. It’s not the first time I’ve heard him threaten someone—though I’ve never seen anything happen. And I had the audacity to move on from his team then win. He has egg on his face, and he was already furious before the race even started.”
“Word is, he’s been saying all kinds of shit about you—nothing anyone believes, but he’s been on a tear this week,” Huck said. He’d sent Novie to see how bad their place was and to pack some things, if possible. They’d be staying in a hotel tonight, too.
“You kids stay here,” Troy said, reminding us he was still there. “I’m gonna go talk to the fire chief there, now that the fire looks like it’s out.”
“I’m gonna go check on Novie,” Huck said, clearly still shaken at the idea his sister could have been in the fire. “See if our place has damage.”
Axel and I both glanced toward our own RV—or what was left of it anyway. A charred burned out mess, some portions of the walls literally looking as if they’d melted.
“I’m sorry about all your stuff. Your laptop. You book and research,” Axel said, his arms squeezing me again. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“It’s just stuff,” I said, sad to lose some of my favorite clothes. But there were worse things in the world. I could have been in the RV. Or Axel could have been. We could have been sleeping… I shivered and shook my head to push away the thoughts. “Most of my notes and all my writing is saved on a cloud server.”
“I’ll get you another laptop—and anything else you want.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I have you. We’ll deal with everything else later—after we get a new rig.”
He chuckled. “We’ll probably need clothes before then. At least one set for when I let you out of bed.”
