Page 38

Riley

T he moment Sampson got the call that Odie’s house was on fire, we’d raced over here. But by the time we’re pulling up in front of the house, it’s a wall of flames. The fire department is fighting against them, and two officers are talking to a woman standing on the sidewalk.

Before the car is even in park, I jump out. “ Bleib, Romeo,” I order as I close the door in Romeo’s face. Tucker jumps out too, as does Beckett.

“Oh no. You don’t think she’s in there, do you?” Beckett asks.

“I don’t know. But I know I can’t just stand here and do nothing.” Rushing forward, I’m stopped by a man wearing a bright yellow uniform.

“Woah! You can’t get any closer.”

“Is there someone in there?” I demand, trying to push past him.

He holds up his hands. “Woman said she saw three people go in, but only two came out just before the fire started. We’ll go in as soon as we get these flames under control. It’s not safe right now.”

I hear nothing he says because all I can see is Jules surrounded by flames. Is she even still alive? I try to push forward again, and he shoves me back.

“You’re going to die if you go in there.”

“I don’t care,” I growl. Then, using all of my strength, I shove him to the side and sprint toward the house, with absolutely no regard to the danger I’m putting myself into. It doesn’t matter. The fire doesn’t matter.

Only she does.

“Hey! Stop, you idiot! You’re going to die!” he yells after me.

Shielding my face, I leap through the flames blocking the front door.

Fire licks my skin, but I don’t pay it any mind.

I’d walk through the fires of hell for her because she’s mine.

It doesn’t matter that we’ve known each other for such a short time.

Doesn’t matter that it’s not logical because I feel it.

In my heart. My soul. And I will give every piece of my heart to her if she’ll have it.

If we survive this.

“Jules!” I bellow. The heat makes it nearly impossible to breathe, and I have to shield my eyes as I move forward. “Jules!” I cough, the smoke strangling me just like the garrote did only a few hours ago.

“Riley!” Her scream pierces through to my heart. It’s barely audible against the backdrop of the roaring flames. “Riley!” she yells again.

I scan the room for her, but I can’t see her.

“Where are you?” I call out.

“Up here!”

I tilt my face up toward what is now a flame-covered vaulted ceiling and see Jules at the top of the stairs. They’re completely engulfed in flames, trapping her up at the top. For a moment, it’s as though the world around us comes to a stop.

I search for any way to her, but I can’t get up the stairs, and she can’t get down.

We’re moments away from the structure collapsing down on top of us.

Heat blisters my skin and sizzles against my clothing, but she’s all I can see. God, what do I do?

“You have to jump!” I yell, tears burning in my eyes. She’s at least fifteen feet above me, a fall that would be dangerous in normal circumstances. But it’s our only chance.

My lungs burn as I push my way through the engulfed living room and toward the stairs. The railing above is still intact, and Jules is standing at the very top.

“I’ll catch you.” I hold out my arms and watch with my heart in my throat as Jules climbs over the railing. Eyes wide with fear, she pauses only a heartbeat before leaping off of the ledge. Her body slams into me. I break her fall, but we both end up on the ash-covered ground.

A deafening crack fills my ears.

I roll to the side, shielding Jules with my body as part of the ceiling crashes into the floor. The stench of alcohol fills my lungs. She’s drenched in it. Which means she’s one spark away from going up in flames herself.

We have to move.

Moving quickly, I pull her to her feet and cling to her hand, but with her first step, she hisses in pain and falls forward.

I catch her then swing her into my arms.

My breathing is ragged, my eyes burning, but I keep moving forward. I have to keep moving forward.

The door is just ahead. Our freedom. Safety.

My muscles burn from exertion, but I push forward, summoning everything the smoke hasn’t choked out of me to push through and out of the flame-engulfed house.

The cold air outside smacks into me like a brick wall as I move away from the house then collapse forward onto the pavement, my lungs burning. I cling to Jules, holding her in my arms as Tucker, Beckett, and Sampson rush forward.

Jules’s head is on my chest as I lie on my back.

“I told you, Mr. Hunt,” she chokes. “You’re quick on your feet.”

Medically cleared and freshly showered, I stand on the back porch overlooking Jules’s grandfather’s estate. Romeo is beside me, eyes closed as he sleeps near my feet. He’s been glued to my side ever since I got back.

I hate that what happened caused him so much anxiety, but I plan to make him a big juicy steak as soon as we get home.

Tucker is inside the house, catching up on case notes he volunteered to handle for me, and Beckett is in Edgar’s study, going through his new will and helping put together a plan for Jules to follow now that she’s offered to help Jules sort through the legal mess her brother left behind.

Jules is inside the house, likely resting since she showered earlier.

And I’m out here, trying to figure out just how I ended up falling absolutely in love with her even as I tried everything I could not to. Above even that, though, I’m trying to figure out where I fit into her life when mine is halfway across the country.

Sampson arrested both Helena and Glen, as well as the hitman who’d been with her at the time of the fire. Glen cracked like a walnut as soon as Helena confessed to everything she’s done to protect his name, and the two of them will be going away for a long, long time.

They even filled in some blanks as far as Odie’s involvement. Which apparently included offering Jules up like an item for purchase when she’d been sixteen as a way to become the sole inheritor of the Landers estate.

According to Dodger, after she escaped and returned home, Odie used it to his advantage and blackmailed Dodger into doing whatever he needed done.

They all used her.

Each and every one of them.

My hands tighten on the railing of the porch as a fresh wave of anger washes over me.

Romeo whimpers and gets to his feet to rub against my leg. “I’m fine, boy,” I tell him then take a few deep breaths to try and steady my breathing.

Even if it still doesn’t feel like enough after everything they put Jules through, I can breathe a little easier, knowing they’re not walking free. They will never hurt her again. No one will. Not as long as I live.

“Hey there.”

Turning, I take in the sight of Jules as she steps out onto the porch, wearing a pair of dark leggings and an oversized green sweatshirt. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Better. But a bit lost, if I’m being honest.” She stops beside me, leaning against the railing.

“Lost?”

“I don’t know what to do now. Everything I’ve been running from over the last ten years is out in the open. My grandfather is gone, my brother—I haven’t even had the chance to grieve either of them. I know that Odie wasn’t who I thought he was, but it still hurts.”

“I know.”

She seems lighter somehow, like the burden she’s carried with her has lessened just a bit. My hope is that it lightens even more every single day until she no longer carries the weight of it.

“For the first time, I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Even though I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

“What do you want to do?” I ask. It’s a heavy question, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s feeling the same pull toward me that I feel toward her. Will she want to move and start over? Stay here and pick up the pieces?

“My grandfather wanted me to have grand adventures. He wanted me to be happy. And I think I want both. But above all, I want peace, Riley.” Jules smiles at me. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.”

“I know I wasn’t alone. In that fire. The flames moved. Which I know sounds crazy, but they were in front of the door, then when I got to my feet after getting free, there was a clear path between them. A place for me to walk without getting burned. I should be dead.”

She’s not wrong. Her clothes were saturated with alcohol. There is no logical explanation for why she walked away without so much as a burn. Even I ended up with some minor burns on my arms. But Jules? There wasn’t a single red spot on her.

The doctor couldn’t figure out how, but I know that God can do anything. Nothing compares to the power of blind faith. Which is what Jules had as she’d taken step after step through those flames.

“He kept you here,” I tell her. “Because you have a purpose.”

She smiles. “I’m starting to believe that, Mr. Hunt.”

“Good.” And because I can’t stand the distance any longer, I reach over and take her hand. “I never planned to feel this way.”

“And what way is that?”

“The kind of crazy in love that had me running into a burning house, prepared to lay down my life if it meant not having to live without you.”

Tears fill her eyes, and she takes a step closer. “I didn’t plan to feel this way either.”

“And what way is that?” I ask, repeating her question right back to her as I brush some of the blonde hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear.

“The kind of crazy in love that has me wanting to walk away from everything I’ve ever known just so I don’t have to ever live another moment without you.”

I can’t fight the smile that graces my face as I lean down and press my lips to hers. It’s so much more than a kiss, though. It’s the breath in my lungs. The beat of my heart. And with every passing moment, my worries about where I fit into her life slip away.

Because they don’t matter. Whatever obstacles we face, we’ll face them together.

I may not have been looking for love, but it found me.

And I’ll never let it go.

“So what do you say, Mr. Hunt? What do you plan to do next?” she asks as I pull away and rest my forehead against hers.

“I told you when we first met,” I reply with a grin. “It’s my job to take you home.”

She laughs and wraps her arms around my neck. “You did tell me that you don’t fail.”

I nearly did. I’d come so close to losing her in that fire. Leaning down again, I kiss her gently then whisper, “I will spend my life erasing your pain, Jules.”

She rests her head against my chest. “I love you, Riley.”

“I love you too, Jules.”