Page 98 of Blood and Thorns

Except he didn’t answer.

“Fuck!” The flames were getting closer, almost kissing his outstretched legs. I managed to pull him back an inch, but it wouldn’t be enough. Scrambling through the contacts once more, I found Caden.

He answered on the first ring.“Lang, remember you can’t speak you fucking–”

“We’re at Wok and Roll, and there’s been an accident!”

A pause, the ceiling above us cracking beneath the heat.

“Ara, why the fuck are you on Langdon’s phone?”he growled.“What the fuck have you done? Where’s Lang?”

Honestly, if I survived this shitshow, I was going to smack him for the unnecessary attitude in this stressful situation.

“It exploded, and I can’t get Langdon to move.” I tugged him once more with all my strength, but he barely stirred. “Cade, the flames are coming, and I can’t move him!”

“Hit him.”

I froze. “What?”

“Hithim. Hard.”

I slapped him, his head jerking to the side. “It didn’t work!” I cried, Lang simply continuing to stare into the fire.

“Fucking hell, Ara, hit him harder!”

This time I punched him, my knuckles aching from the blow. It knocked him to the side, closer to the flames that were threatening to consume us both.

Chapter 43

Sebastian

I couldn’t relieve the pressure on my chest, the nurses shouting as I ran through the corridors as fast I could move. I’d never felt panic like when Caden had called. His voice had been tight, urgent, barely holding it together as he’d explained what had happened. By the time I’d hung up, the ambulance had already arrived, and I diverted towards the hospital.

I couldn’t lose Langdon. Not when he’d been with me through every dark corner of my life, and I sure as hell couldn’t lose Arabella. Not now. Not yet.

She didn’t have my fucking permission to leave.

I quickly located the room, Arabella immediately jumping to stand from where she’d been perched on Langdon’s hospital bed, and just like that the crushing weight in my chest eased. My lungs able to take in a breath at seeing her unharmed.

“Are you okay?” I asked, already crossing the space so I could just touch her. Reassure myself that she was here. That she was whole.

“Langdon’s fine,” she whispered as I smeared my thumbthrough the soot on her cheek. “There was an explosion, but he’s okay.”

It took me a moment to realise I’d barely given Langdon a glance, my concentration on her. “I was asking about you.”

Her brows drew together, a flicker of confusion crossing her face at the weight of my concern. “I’m okay,” she said softly, like she wasn’t sure why it mattered so much to me. But it did. She did.

I’d already been informed about the restaurant, but I didn’t give a shit about the loss of my powder. It was replaceable, whereas Lang and Arabella were not. I finally tore my attention away to check on my longest friend, who was much cleaner and had a small cut across his cheek, as well as a fresh black eye.

“Your girl has a nasty right hook,” he signed, winking at me before wincing.

I checked her hands, finding her right red and swollen.

“It’s not broken,” she explained, wincing slightly. “I’ve already been checked. It’s just bruised.”

“Remind me to teach you how to throw a punch,” I muttered.

She laughed, the sound huskier than normal. Scratchier, and that pressure renewed beneath my ribs, but it was no longer just panic. It was something else.