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“There was a secure basement at the house,” she interrupts, focusing on my issue right now instead of having the spotlight turned on her. “As long as they got down there before the detonator blew, they’ll be fine. There is an escape tunnel and a car waiting for them.”
Lifting her arm, she glances at her watch.
“They might still be a while, but they’ll be back.”
4
JD
Ihave the back door of the old beat-up Jeep open long before Reid has pulled to a stop beside Aubrey's bike in the garage.
“J, wait,” he calls as I launch from the car and take off running.
I only slow for long enough to flip him off over my shoulder.
I’ve got more important things to do than stand around and have a debrief with him.
I need my dove.
Bursting into the house, I run full speed until I hear something.
And the second I do, I pause.
Alana is singing.
I’m slammed with a moment of déjà vu as the song she’s belting out registers in my head.
Needing to see her, I continue forward, trying to be as quiet as possible so I don’t disturb her mid-performance.
I stop in the doorway to the living room and just watch.
She’s not standing on the coffee table like the last time but sitting cross-legged on the couch with her head thrown back.
Aubrey, however, is staring at her like she’s just sprouted an extra head as the song comes to an end.
“Oh, come on, you can’t tell me that you don’t know the words. I had the most fucked-up childhood and even I know them.”
“I don’t know the words. I’ve never watched a Disney movie before in my life.”
“What?” Alana gasps, finally ripping her eyes from her beloved movie to stare at Aubrey.
But before she meets her eyes, her gaze lands on me.
Shock rocks through her, stopping her from reacting for a beat, but then her eyes widen and her chin drops.
“JULIAN,” she screams before the widest smile I’ve ever seen spreads across her face.
She’s on her feet and running across the couch, and Aubrey, who is unhelpfully between us, before she launches off the arm and straight at me.
But by the time I wrap my arms around her, her initial delight has gone.
“I thought you were all dead,” she wails as she wraps her arms and legs around me like a koala.
“Dove,” I breathe, tucking my face into her neck and holding her as tight as I can without hurting her. “I’d never fucking leave you,” I promise.
Her body trembles in my arms.
“It’s okay, baby. Everyone is okay.”
