Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Eden
The class was nearly over when a frantic pounding rang out against the steel door at the back of the shop. At first, I thought it was the bass from the music playing over Arnaud’s bluetooth speaker as we practiced elbow strikes, but the song ended and the beat continued.
“I’ll go see what that is,” I murmured, stepping away from Simone, who was my partner for this section of the workshop. We’d spent each short water break making plans for the boudoir photo offerings.
Arnaud caught my arm gently before I made it out of the room. “I’m coming with you.”
My mouth opened, then I snapped it shut and simply nodded at him as we made our way to the door. Arnaud, dressed today in his school’s t-shirt and a pair of track pants, tipped his head to indicate I should move behind him.
Since my pulse had skyrocketed the second we stepped into the hallway, I did so without argument.
Arnaud pulled the door open, stepping toward the threshold so no one could shove past him to get to me, then said, “Whoa, hey, what’s going on?”
I peered around him to see a young teenage girl, her face red and tear-streaked.
She wasn’t dressed for the cold, wearing just short sleeves and leggings.
It looked like she had slippers on her feet.
Her hair, bleached blonde with pink tips, was pulled into a messy ponytail that had come halfway undone.
“Come in,” I said immediately, reaching toward the girl.
She jerked away like I was going to pinch her. “No! No, please, you have to hurry. I tried to stop her, I swear!”
Arnaud held up his hands in a pacifying gesture as he murmured, “It’s cold out, sweetheart, why don’t you come inside?”
“You have to get him out. You have to get everyone out,” the girl cried.
My heart turned to lead. “Get who out?”
“That guy next door. She’s lost it. I think she’s going to hurt him. Please, you have to get them all out of the building. I don’t know what she’s going to do!”
Addie came up behind us at that moment and wrapped her arm around the girl, drawing her out of the doorway. I jerked my head to meet Arnaud’s eyes, panic threatening to overcome me.
“I’m going to check on Milo,” I said, brushing past him.
“Not alone, you’re not. Adelaide, get the rest of the students out of the building and call 911. If she’ll tell you anything more, relay that to the police.”
Arnaud wrapped his hand around mine as we ran toward the back door of Dueling Dragons. It was locked, but Milo had given me a key. My hands shook so hard I couldn’t get the key in the lock, so Arnaud reached out to turn it.
Even unlocked, the door wouldn’t budge.
“We have to go around front,” I called, grabbing his arm as I started running around the side of the building.
The sight that greeted us was the stuff of nightmares.
Inside Dueling Dragons, the lights were off, but the store was lit by the eerie glow of flames licking their way up toward the ceiling, devouring shelves of books and comics.
We froze on the sidewalk, then I heard Arnaud talking into his cell, requesting immediate assistance from the fire department.
I knew he’d never let me through that door unless he was distracted, so I took advantage of him reading off the address to the emergency operator and ran for the door.
It was unlocked, but the wall of heat nearly knocked me backwards onto my ass.
“Milo!” I screamed, frantically searching for any sign of him. “Milo, where are you?”
The roar of the fire drowned out everything else, but I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and darted toward one of the display tables. Relief brought me to my knees beside Milo’s body, then I spotted the blood darkening one side of his head.
We had to get out of there. The fire couldn’t have been burning for long, but the entire shop smelled like gasoline.
“Milo, we have to go. C’mon, please, I need you to help me here,” I pleaded, trying to tug him into a seated position.
“Eden,” he whispered.
“I’m right here. We’re getting you out of here.”
His body tilted to the side and I almost lost my grip, but I managed to tuck my shoulder under his arm. He felt like dead weight—shit, we’d both be dead weight in a few minutes. A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat, but when it burst from my lips, it emerged as a broken sob.
“Love you,” Milo said hoarsely. “You have…to go.”
“Not. A. Chance,” I grunted, hauling us to our knees.
“Fierce,” Arnaud muttered as he joined us.
I heard the word, half praise and half admonishment, but I couldn’t turn my head far enough to see him until he rounded Milo’s other side. Together, we managed to get Milo to his feet, though he stumbled along like he was drunk off his ass.
“Not,” Arnaud added with a grunt, “that I approve of you running into a burning building alone.”
The laugh that escaped me was breathless and strained, but it was an actual laugh, at least. “I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”
Just as we made it out the front door, a whooshing sound roared up behind us and the windows on either side of the door exploded outward onto the sidewalk. Arnaud cupped the back of my head and bent us both forward over Milo, shielding our little huddle from the shards.
We stumbled into the street as a firetruck barreled to a halt outside the building.
The flashing lights glittered off the broken glass, striping Milo’s pale, blood-streaked face in red and blue.
Before I could ask Arnaud if we should lower him to the ground, an ambulance pulled up a few yards away and the paramedics immediately began unpacking a stretcher.
With Arnaud supporting most of Milo’s weight, I turned my face into his soot-covered shirt and tried to keep the sobs from erupting out of my chest.
“Eden,” Milo murmured as two uniformed EMTs joined us and guided him down to the stretcher.
“I’m right here.”
“Safe.” The word was barely a breath past his lips.
“We’re safe, Milo,” I whispered, squeezing his hand, but I was forced to let go when they wheeled him back toward the ambulance.
One of the paramedics returned to my side, a woman with hair a brighter red than the fire engine nearby. “You must be Eden,” she said gently. “I’m Casey. Looks like the chief wants to talk to you. We’ll take good care of Milo and I’ll make sure you know where to find him when you’re ready, okay?”
Maybe I nodded, or else she couldn’t wait for my response, because the woman hopped into the back of the ambulance as the driver closed the doors after her. I didn’t even feel myself shivering until Chief Roberts wrapped a thick fleece blanket around my shoulders.
“We’ll do this quick, Eden, and then get you back to his side.”
The story came out in disjointed fragments, as broken as the front window of Milo’s shop—again. At one point, I trailed off, staring at it, until Chief Roberts gently called my name. I blinked back in his direction, realizing he must have repeated it more than once.
“His insurance is going to be pissed,” I whispered.
The chief smiled at me reassuringly. “I’ll put in a good word for him. We’re all set here for now, Eden. I think your ride to the hospital just showed up.”
I glanced up to see Maverick and Carter waiting for me at the far end of the barricades blocking the street. Carter lifted his hand in a little wave, looking on the verge of tears, but his father’s eyes were on the scene of destruction that was Dueling Dragons.
Sometime during the mayhem, the girl who’d come to my back door disappeared. Addie said she had her arm around the kid one minute, then they heard the sirens and suddenly she was gone. Nobody in the group from Garden of Delights had recognized the girl.
Rafael, who lived a block away and jogged over when he saw the smoke, volunteered to stay there with Addie until everything was situated so I could head straight to see Milo.
Libby had already texted an update that he was in stable condition and his vitals were good, but I kept seeing those strobing lights across his face, the blood darkening his hair.
Maverick guided me to the back seat of his car so I could keep hold of Carter's hand during the drive to the hospital outside of town. Though Chief Roberts wanted me to get checked out, I’d refused to sit long enough for another set of paramedics to look me over.
There were a few stinging spots on my arms where sparks had landed, another on the back of my neck that had singed a bit of hair at my nape, but I barely noticed any of it until the chief pointed out the burns.
The ride was silent as Carter and I huddled together. When we reached the hospital, Maverick pulled up to the entrance, where Mark waited for our arrival. He leaned in, unbuckled me, and tucked me under his arm as we entered the hospital.
“They’ll go find a parking spot and meet us inside,” he said quietly, like he was trying to hold me together. “Mom and Dad are up in the waiting room on his floor with Libby while he talks to the police. He’s okay, Eden.”
“He’s okay,” I repeated.
“You’re shaking, sweetheart. Do you need a minute before we go up?”
In response, I sucked in a shuddering breath and abruptly stopped walking. Mark shifted so he could wrap his arms around me. It wasn’t the same as an embrace from Milo, but it was close enough that Mark’s steady strength seeped into me.
“He’s okay, I promise. Miraculously, there’s no skull fracture, just a concussion and a nasty ass cut. He’s awake, he’s coherent. I need you to brace yourself, because he looks like shit. He’s a little uglier than usual.”
A hiccuping laugh escaped from my lips. “Brace. Okay.”
“There’s a bandage over the stitches, but the bruising is spreading a bit.”
I nodded, trying not to picture it in my mind. We stopped for my visitor pass at security, then Mark hit the button for the elevator and slung his arm around my shoulders. Once the doors closed behind us, he gave me a squeeze.
“I know there’s been a lot going on, Eden, but I’m really pleased for you and Milo. I can’t remember ever seeing him this happy.”
“Happy lying in a hospital bed? Happy with his store in ashes?” I whispered.
Mark frowned as he turned me, his hands tightening on my shoulders. “Eden, none of that is your fault.”
“If it weren’t for me—”
“No,” he said, his tone sharp enough that my gaze jerked to meet his. “None of it. Did you hit him over the head?”
“No, of course not.”
“Did you pour gas around his barely conscious body? Did you light the match?”
“Oh god,” I whispered.
Suddenly, my limbs were trembling again, vibrating so hard that I wasn’t sure I could stay standing.
Mark pulled me against his chest, cupping the back of my head.
I couldn’t have pulled free if I’d tried—but I didn’t bother.
I dropped my forehead to his sternum and continued shaking like a leaf in his arms until the elevator doors opened.
Libby stood there, looking distinctly un-doctor-like in yoga pants and a black sweater. Her dark eyes traveled over the two of us, then she opened her arms and I found myself passed from one family member to another.
“Let it out, sweetheart,” Libby cooed, stroking my hair like I was a child with a skinned knee. “Everything is going to be fine, I promise. Milo’s doing much better than expected. He should be ready for you by the time we get to his room, okay?”
I sniffled miserably but nodded, then Mark pressed a wad of tissues into my hand and I managed a watery smile.
Libby rubbed my back, her touch gentle despite her brisk tone. “Good. Now, will you let me check out your burns, or does Milo have to bully you into accepting medical treatment from a doctor on staff?”