39. Sean
39
SEAN
T his was not the sound I had expected to hear from her.
Heavy, shaking breaths and jumbled words.
She wasn’t making any sense.
“Chloe, are you okay?” I asked, sitting up in my seat and getting worried.
Chris met my gaze in the rearview mirror, concerned.
“I’m not able to reach Henry,” Chloe blurted out between breaths.
“Okay, we’ll find him,” I said, telling myself that this situation wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it was.
“I saw it on the news twenty minutes ago. There’s a fire in his college. And I’m afraid Henry is trapped—because why else wouldn’t he answer his phone? His wheelchair can’t make it if the elevators are shut down?—”
“Where are you? Shall I send a cab for you?”
“I’m on my way to his college, but I’m stuck in traffic. I just need to hear from him. It’ll be forty-five minutes before I reach the college.”
“What’s the name of his college?” I asked.
Chloe gave me the name, and I hung up soon after, giving Chris instructions to drive us to the college.
In the meantime, I remembered that I knew someone on the college's Board of Trustees—one of my business partners, Desmond McKinley—and made a quick call. Ten minutes later, I got an update from Desmond.
“It’s a fire,” he said. “So far, no one’s been harmed, but they’re evacuating the entire campus while they battle it. They’re searching for the young man right now—Henry Nichols, is it?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling worried. “I hope he’s okay. His sister hasn’t been able to reach him.”
“Understandable since he is in a wheelchair and has possibly lost access to his phone. I’m disappointed in the college that they wouldn’t prioritize taking care of him first. I’ll speak to the dean about it once I hear back about Henry.”
“Tell them to call Chloe,” I said. “I’ll give you her number if needed, but she’s the one who needs to hear the news first.”
There was an interesting grunt from Desmond, and he agreed. “I’ll need to hear more about this sibling duo from you later.”
Thanking him, I was about to call Chloe when I looked out the window and realized we’d reached the college campus.
Flames burned through the windows of the red five-story building, and smoke billowed in huge clouds from the top of the building. Firefighters fought the fire—battling both the heat and the flames.
I got out of the car, telling Chris to wait for me in the vicinity, when I noticed the slew of fire engines and paramedics on the road.
Hoping no one had gotten hurt, I looked around at the crowd of students who had taken shelter in the track across from the college. Camera crews rushed around, and young people were on phones, anxious looks on their faces as they spoke. To the side, I could see some people being treated.
Not a single sign of Henry.
I saw a yellow cab arrive, and from it emerged a trembling, shaking, tearstained woman.
My woman.
“Chloe,” I called, and she turned.
She had mascara running down her cheeks, and her hair was not brushed, but she was still beautiful. She fixed her bright blue eyes on me while I strode up to her.
“Sean.” She uttered my name like a plea for help, and when I reached her, I pulled her to me for a hug.
“They’ll find him,” I repeated, attempting to lighten my hold on her, but she stepped away. “It’ll be okay. I bet you’ll get an update soon.”
Chloe raced up to the cordoned-off area, and I followed while she tried to find someone who would listen to her, but the police officer ordered her to step back. She didn’t obey and seemed to be evaluating the strength of the yellow tape when she began coughing from the smoke.
I gently pulled her back. “He’s right, Chloe. We can’t have you running into the fire.”
When she didn’t speak, I tilted her chin up and saw tears streaming down her face. “I can’t have anything happen to him,” she said, sounding distraught.
“Hey,” I said, placing a kiss on her hair. I looked into her eyes. “He’s fine. I promise you.”
“You don’t know that,” she said.
Her lips were still pressed together tightly when she stepped back to look at the college. Her eyes were scouring the grounds, the building, and the windows, trying to see if she could spot Henry from down here.
“Don’t worry. He’ll come out of there in a few minutes and start berating you for worrying over him needlessly,” I said, attempting to bring some lightness in my voice.
Her gaze met mine, and I could see how hopeless she felt. She must be exhausted, and I wished I could get her and Henry and take them home right away.
I put my arm around her, and we stood side by side, looking at the building. I hoped no one was in that wing, from which plumes of black smoke surged out wildly. The heat was oppressive, and ash and soot would occasionally drift our way with the wind.
Around us, people were crying, shouting, and sobbing. It was chaotic, and I caught people’s guesses for how the fire could have started. Every idea felt extreme, but it seemed the fire alarm had sounded too late, with flames already spreading, fueled by the wind. I tightened my hold around Chloe, wishing I knew if Henry was fine.
“Henry’s classes are usually held in the very same wing as the fire,” she said, her voice breaking. “I called all his friends on my way here. None of them knew where he was.”
Fuck.
I was reminded of how desolate she had been the night Lucas was missing. The night she’d admitted to me how losing Henry was her biggest fear.
She checked her phone again to see if she had heard anything, but a moment later, she tucked it back in her pocket, her body trembling. “How come no one’s got any information on him?”
“You look at the bottom two rows of windows,” I said, “and I’ll keep an eye on the top three.”
She flicked her gaze to me in surprise. “You knew—” She shook her head. “Of course you knew I was hoping for a sight of him through the windows.” This time, her expression became determined. “All right, let’s keep looking.”
“Because standing still and waiting are not things Chloe does,” I murmured, gripping her hand and rubbing my thumb over her palm.
Her resolute expression weakened for a minute. “You remember way too many details about me,” she said, not taking her eyes off the college building for even a second.
Where was that damn phone call to tell us they’d found him? It had been ten minutes since I’d made that call, and that had been ten minutes of extra stress for Chloe. Just like how stressed she might have been because I hadn’t called her for the entire duration of my conference.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you after I left for DC,” I said. “I needed some time to think.”
She looked at me briefly. “It’s okay.” After a moment, she wrung her hands, looking miserable. “I need to stop my mind from playing out every worst-case situation possible,” she said.
“What did you do while I was away?” I asked, giving her a distraction.
She paused from looking at the college to glance at the assembled students on the track. Still no Henry.
“Will showed up at my doorstep.”
Will.
The way that name burned my throat was enough to tell me what I needed to know. I was too far in now. I didn’t want that man’s name on her lips or that damn man asking for her time after what he did to her.
“I hope you told him to go to hell,” I growled out through clenched teeth.
She shook her head, still distracted. Now, my worry for Henry was mixed in with my anger at Will.
I fumed. “Did he explain himself for bailing on you that night on your supposed date?”
She hesitated. “He said he’d had time to think about it and wanted to give the date a second chance.”
The jerk. He didn’t deserve any more chances from her.
My mouth was dry as I spoke. “I hope you shut the door on his face.”
“Well, he had flowers and asked me to go out on a walk with him.”
“A walk?” I tried to curb my anger. “Did a walk change your feelings for him?”
She met my gaze, parting her lips to answer when she froze. Her phone was ringing. She brought it to her ear just as my phone buzzed with a text message.
It was a text from Desmond that simply said, Found him.
Hearing Chloe’s voice in the background rapidly changing notes and going from a low to high pitch, I texted him back a thank-you before pocketing my phone.
She sounded ecstatic when she turned around to look at me. Her eyes were not distraught anymore; they were shining.
“He’s okay! That was him on the phone. I spoke to him!” she said, sounding overjoyed, tears of happiness streaming down her face as she hugged me.
I was mad about Will showing up at her apartment, and I needed to make sure that wouldn’t happen again. But I would talk to Chloe about him another time.
Her arms went around my back, and I tightened my hold on her. I’d lose her to Henry now, when I desperately wanted this moment to last longer.
“Apparently, he dropped his phone while making his exit from the classroom. And he remembered that one of his friends was in the restroom and went searching for him. The two of them got locked in the building. They’re getting him out in a few minutes. Oh, he’s fine, Sean. He’s fine,” she said, looking up at me.
She rested her head against my chest, and I sucked in a breath. Relief, compounded with her touch, made my cock harden for her again, and I clenched my jaw and swallowed. There would be time for that later. For now, I was glad to hear the ease in her voice.
It only underscored how traumatic this incident must have been for her.
“I’ve got to tell you this: the dean called me when I was in the cab on my way here,” she said, her voice muffled as she spoke into my chest. When she looked up, I could see her searching my eyes for something. “I’ve never so much as spoken to the man, but he called me and assured me that they were doing everything to find Henry and that they’d keep me posted.”
I grunted. “As they should.”
“And now, it was the dean again,” she added. “Calling me personally to let me know that Henry had been found. He was with Henry and even put Henry on the phone to speak with me as they were getting him out.”
Her voice broke. “I haven’t been important to a lot of people, Sean. I’ve felt utterly insignificant and lonely and tired of struggling—just Henry and me for the past ten years. But that moment, after the dean’s second call, I felt like Henry and I were not alone anymore. So, thank you.”
“If you think you got that special attention because of some strange connection the dean has with me, you’re wrong,” I said gruffly, deciding to make sure my connection with Desmond and his connection to the dean stayed private. “It was all you, Chloe. You don’t need to be connected to someone powerful to matter. You matter. That was it.”
Her cheeks glistened with tears as she looked at me, surprised but nodding. “Wow,” she said, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I—I never expected that. I thought you had something to do with it.”
I didn’t want her ever questioning her worth, so I lied. “Well,” I said, running my hands up and down the length of her arms as her body shook with emotion, “I didn’t.”
“I need to get back to Henry,” she said, and I nodded.
All around us, sirens blared, and people cried and hugged loved ones. Our momentary embrace wasn’t noticed, but I needed to be careful.
I stroked her hair. “Go,” I said, stepping back.
The space between us felt like a mistake, and a longing to fill it up with her embrace again engulfed me.
She looked at me for a moment. “I wish you could come … but I need to focus on Henry?—”
“That’s okay,” I said, feeling my heart wrench. I couldn’t be involved in this part of her life, and I hated it.
My expression must have been pretty obvious because she looked torn. “I’m sorry.”
“Chloe …” I began, unwilling to walk away from her. Unwilling to accept that I needed more of her than just an hour. “Can I see you later tonight?”