Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
That would be awkward. But what other choice did I have other than standing here, waiting for an Uber? I doubted Rafe was going to let me stay here alone. “Okay.”
As he started down the porch steps, he clicked the fob on his keys. We were both thrown back against the house as the car exploded.
I knew I should be hearing the roar of the fire and parts of the car raining down, but the blast had taken my hearing. I’d lived through a number of explosions, but the unreal feeling, the sense that I was alone in a quiet bubble, unable to step outside of it, never changed. I coughed, choking on the smoke as I tried to blink my vision back to normal, and I looked for Rafe.
I screamed when he started running toward the burning car. I stumbled down the steps and tried to grab him, but he was too fast.
“Rafe! Stop! What the hell are you doing?” It was only a fucking car. Was he trying to die?
He grabbed the passenger door handle, then jerked his hand back. He was coughing and sputtering when I reached him. When I grabbed him around the waist and slung him away from the car, he fell to the ground.
“What the fuck were you doing?” I yelled.
He didn’t respond. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving. I dropped to my knees. I knew he hadn’t inhaled enough smoke to kill him, but my heart pounded with terror.
I shook him by the shoulder. “Rafe! Rafael! Are you all right?”
He coughed and turned to his side. I helped him up and pulled him toward the porch. When we were at the door, he held up a hand like he was asking me to wait. He started to speak, but a coughing fit had him bent at the waist. Finally, he got it under control and looked up at me. There was soot on his face, and his eyes were red, and I didn’t like the wheezing sound his breath made, but he was alive.
“Gallagher, did you just save my life?”
I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Zach.”
“What?” He frowned, obviously expecting my usual response.
“My name is Zach. And yes, I fucking saved you. Why would you run toward a burning car?”
“My mom’s necklace. She died, and I’ve always had, and now it’s… it’s gone too.”
“I’m sorry. We can try to get it when the car cools down.”
He shook his head. “No. It doesn’t matter now. I wouldn’t want to look at it all burned up.”
I heard sirens approaching. Someone had obviously called 911. I shouldn’t be here. I absolutely did not need to be talking to local cops. The sirens were moving closer. We didn’t have long.
Neighbors were coming out of their houses to stand on their lawns and stare. At least the fire wasn’t spreading. Thank God for the damp climate. There were some scorch marks on the side of the house, and the motorcycle he’d parked in his tiny front yard was destroyed, but otherwise, everything would be fine. At least I hoped so. I needed it to be.
“Zach?”
Damn. I loved hearing Rafe say my name. He looked painfully young and scared, and I didn’t like it. Someone had tried to kill him. I was going to find out who they were and make them pay. “Yes?”
He looked down at his burned hand. “It hurts. I… what do I do?”
He was pale, and his breathing was shallow. I was pretty sure he was going into shock. He certainly wasn’t in his right mind. I grabbed his arm and hustled him inside. “I’ll help you.”
He looked back toward the burning vehicle. “The police?”
Fuck. He was really out of it. “We’ll deal with them when they get here. We need to take care of your hand now.”
I pulled him into the kitchen, turned on some cool water, and stuck his hand under the faucet. He gasped and started to pull away, but I gripped his wrist tight, holding his hand there.
“You need to let the water run over it as long as you can.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”
I left him at the sink long enough to grab a blanket off the couch and wrap it around him. He was shivering, and his pupils were huge. He needed care, but we didn’t have time.
I laid a hand on his shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I… I think so. Sorry. I’m not usually…”
I kissed the top of his head before I thought about what I was doing, but I couldn’t regret it when he looked up at me and smiled.
“Where’s your phone?” He pulled it from his coat pocket with his good hand. “You’ve got to call somebody to help you take care of this.”
He nodded. “Right. You can’t be here.”
“I’m sure some of your neighbors have already seen me.” Why was I arguing with him? He was right. I couldn’t stay with him, couldn’t talk to the police. I shouldn’t even let the firefighters see me.