“Baby, it's me.”
Oh god, I collapse to the floor in a heap, missing the rest of what he says as I suck in a huge breath. “Blake.” I feel my heart try to beat out of my chest. I never got to tell him he’s going to be a daddy and now I can’t. I don’t want him to know what he almost had if I don't make it out of here alive. “Marcus is bleeding and I can’t get it to stop,” I tell him, terrified that Blake’s best friend is going to die in my arms.
I hear shouting in the background then the sound of a car door slamming shut before he starts talking again.
“Talk to me, what's happening?”
“I managed to get him in the panic room with me, but he needs to go to the hospital, Blake, right now.”
“Okay, baby, deep breaths for me,” he urges me and I try, I really do, but there doesn’t seem to be enough air in here anymore.
“Did you call 911?” he asks, and I jump when I hear a car horn raging angrily in the background.
I climb to my feet and peer at the monitor, praying I’ll see the boys in blue any second now but there is nobody here. Even Christian is gone, although I know he’s creeping around here somewhere.
“I called 911 but they’re not here yet. Why aren’t they here, Blake?” I stutter, flicking through the buttons on the monitor to check all the cameras.
My eyes widen as I see a flash of yellow on the camera showing the sitting area. There, in the dark corner of the room, I see Christian’s evil smiling face as he holds a lit match between his fingertips.
“Can you tell them to hurry up? Christian is here, and he’s going to try to burn us out,” I tell him, watching in shock as the match drops to the ground.
I stare transfixed at Christian as he watches the flames dance. “Oh god,” I wheeze, bending and trying to catch my breath.
“Callie!” I can hear Blake screaming at me through the phone, but it sounds like it's underwater.
“I can’t breathe,” I choke out, a band tightening around my chest, squeezing my lungs so tight, I can’t suck in enough air.
Why can’t I breathe? Black spots cloud my vision as I slide down the wall to the floor, the phone tumbling to the ground beside me.
I try to call out to Blake, but my lips won't move. Numbness settles over my limbs before the darkness I had been fighting off so valiantly finally swallows me whole.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Blake
I pull up at my apartment and see my worst nightmare come to life and play out before my eyes. A cop car and ambulance pull up at the same time just as Grant arrives.
“Fuck, we need a fire crew here now!” he yells, but I ignore him and head straight toward the building, flames be damned.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Blake, wait for the fire department,” Grant snaps, snagging my shoulder, but I shrug him off violently.
“Callie and Marcus are inside. She called the police ages ago. Where the fuck were they?” I shout at him.
“There was a massive pileup on the interstate,” he answers with remorse.
I know I’m being unfair, but I don’t have time for this shit right now. I pull away but he grabs my arm again.
“You need to wait,” he orders but I yank my arm free.
“And if it were Emerson in there?” I ask, watching as his face shuts down.
“Fuck!” He looks at the building then back to me, knowing I’m going in with or without him even if I have to knock the fucker out to do it.
“You do exactly what I fucking tell you to do. I don’t need you trying to be a hero and getting yourself killed in the process. Do you know where they are?”
“In the back of the closet, in the panic room. They won't burn, but they will suffocate from the smoke as the vent is connected to the main apartment.”
I lead the way, taking the stairs two at a time with my gun drawn.
The door to the living area is ajar, thick black smoke pouring through the crack as I kick it the rest of the way open with my booted foot.
The roar of fire drowns out any other sound coming from inside. My eyes water from the noxious smoke, the heat licking over my skin. I pull my t-shirt up over my nose and press my body against the far wall, seeing that the fire seems concentrated on the right-hand side for now, but it won’t take long for this whole place to be engulfed.
I make my way toward the bedroom with Grant just behind me, but movement in front of me has me halting and my gun aiming at none other than Christian.
“I knew you’d come for her,” he says smugly before a cough racks his body. “She watched me kill her mother, you know. Stood there as I slit the bitch's throat right in front of her eyes.” He indicates to the floor to his left.
I glance over quickly, not moving my gun from its target, my stomach dropping at the sight of Brenda’s lifeless eyes staring back at me. I feel sick just thinking about the added mental scars Callie will be burdened with. As if she hasn’t already endured enough.
“The building is on fire, you stupid fuck. We will all die here if you don’t get out of my way,” I tell him, needing to get to my girl.
“Oh, I know, I’m banking on it. Callie and I would have been perfect together, but she wouldn’t come out. Something tells me she’ll come out for you though.” His face twists in disgust, before smoothing out as he looks at the phone he has in his hand.
Lifting his eyes to mine once more I see his face is now perfectly blank. The saying “the lights are on but no one's home” springs to mind.
“If I can’t have her though, no one can. Nobody gets to take what's mine.” As he looks at the phone in his hand again, his meaning becomes clear.
“Fuck, it's a bomb,” I hear Grant shout from beside me, clearly understanding what Christian’s implying.
We don’t waste time. Both of us open fire, our aim true as bullets tear through Christian’s body, making him dance like a marionette before his strings are cut. He collapses to the ground, the phone dropping to the floor beside him.
Grant makes a run for it, picking up the phone and checking the screen.
“It's not on a timer. He needed to hit a button to arm the bomb, assuming we’re correct and didn’t just shoot an unarmed man.” He snarks at me, yelling for an assist through his radio.
I don’t wait around, running to the back of the room and into the bedroom, I move straight to the closet where the air seems thankfully clearer.
I hear sirens outside over the roar of the flames and pray it's the fire department.
“Callie, Marcus,” I yell, banging on the door even though I know neither of them can hear me. I wave to the monitor with big sweeping arm gestures, but the door remains locked.
I pull out Grant’s phone that's still in my pocket and dial Callie’s phone, but it just rings and rings. I call again and again until finally, it picks up.
“Callie? Callie, it’s Blake, baby. I need you to open the door.”
I hear a mumble and a groan as Grant appears beside me with a fireman decked out in his protective gear.
“I need you two out of here now,” the guy yells but neither Grant nor I move.
“I’m not leaving without her. Callie, open the door.” Still nothing, but I swear I can hear the sound of someone breathing heavily now.
“Callie Ward, you open this door right this second or so help me god I’ll spank your ass so hard you won't be able to sit down for a week,” I command, refusing to lose her now I’m so close.
There's a loud beeping sound before the door finally opens, revealing Callie in a bra and jeans, covered in blood from head to toe.
“Holy fuck,” I breathe out, half in horror half in relief as she collapses into my arms. I scoop her up and that's when I see Marcus on the floor behind her, lying unresponsive in a pool of blood.
“Go, we’ve got him.” Grant shoves me aside to make space for him and the firefighter to get past.
For the first time tonight, I do what I’m told. I have to get Callie out of here and I can’t carry them both.
Marcus would kick my ass if I tried.
I have to trust Grant to bring him out safely.
Making my way out to the main room, I tuck Callie’s face into my shoulder, trying to shield her as much as possible.
The smoke is thicker now, making it impossible to see clearly as it billows around us. I can just make out the sound of glass shattering as the windows explode, blowing their glass outwards, likely covering the people below.
Coughing and spluttering, I try to make my way outside, completely disoriented as I cradle my precious cargo tightly in my arms. I move as fast as I can, ignoring the pain in my hip when I collide with something until I spot another firefighter just in front of me. He grabs my arm and hauls us to the exit.
As soon as we clear the building, we’re swarmed by paramedics and police. I ignore everyone, making my way to the back of one of the ambulances. One of the paramedics holds the door open for me so I lay Callie down reverently then step out of the way so they can work on her.
“Sir, can you tell me what happened?” a second paramedic asks, taking in all the blood covering her.
“I don't know,” I tell them honestly, coughing and choking as I try to speak. She didn’t say anything about being injured when I spoke to her, only telling me about Marcus.
The guy places an oxygen mask over my face, and I greedily suck in lungfuls of air.
“Looks like her shoulder was clipped by a bullet. It looks pretty superficial to me. I don’t think all this blood is hers.” The guy working on her speaks up just as Grant and the firefighter emerge with an unconscious Marcus being dragged between them, their shoulders bracing his weight.
Medics swarm them as I turn back to the guy talking to me.
“It's not all hers,” I confirm, lifting my mask, watching with my heart in my throat as they place my best friend on a gurney and lift him into the ambulance next to ours. They don’t hang around, slamming the doors closed behind them before tearing out of the parking lot with sirens blaring.
I send up a silent prayer, willing to barter away my soul if necessary, as my head bows under the weight of impending grief.
My grandmother. My best friend. The woman I love.
Please, God, just let them be okay. Take me in their place, I’ll come willingly, but please don’t take them from me.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Callie
For the second time in three months, I wake to the smell of antiseptic and the whispered words of the man I love.
“I don’t know any more than that. They won’t tell me dick because I’m not family,” he complains to someone.
“Fuck that, didn’t you guys know I’m Marcus’s long-lost brother?” Arlo butts in a moment before I hear the door to the room open and close.
I open my eyes slowly, a little confused about what I did this time to earn a stay at the hospital. I blink rapidly, my eyes adjusting to the light before Kellen comes into focus at the foot of the bed.
I turn my head and see Blake beside me, his large scarred hand wrapped around my thigh.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” I choke out, watching Blake’s head whip round to face me.
“Jesus fucking Christ, woman.” He stands and leans down over me, burying his head in the crook of my neck, breathing me in.
“What happened?” I ask him, wincing when I lift my arm to wrap it around him.
He pulls back to look at me curiously. “You don’t remember?” I look from him to Kellen and back again.
“I remember going to the doctors with Felix and Marcus—” My eyes widen as everything comes back to me like a movie being played fast forward. “Marcus,” I gasp, sitting bolt upright.
“Shh… calm down. He’s in surgery now. We’re just waiting for news.”
“June?” I ask fearfully.
He smiles a soft, relieved smile at me. “She is out of surgery and awake. She is, in a word, pissed.” He chuckles. “Noah and Felix are with her.”
I flop back, relieved, my hand moving to cover my belly. “The baby?” I ask, my eyes locked on his.
“Baby?” he questions with wild eyes before turning to Kellen.
“I’ll grab a doctor,” Kellen shouts, hurrying out of the room.
Turning back to look at me, Blake lifts a shaky hand and places it over my stomach, covering my hand beneath his.
“You’re giving me a son?” he asks, his voice filled with awe.
“Or a daughter.” I feel it's prudent to point that out.
“Oh fuck no. A little girl with your honey hair and copper eyes? She’ll have me wrapped around her little finger.” He smiles before it quickly morphs to a frown. “I’ll need to buy another gun. The guys will too. No dickhead will try dating my daughter if they have to pass through me and her favorite uncles to do so.”
“I think you might be jumping the gun a little. She is barely the size of a peanut right now.”
He presses his lips to my forehead before moving down to kiss my belly.
“Hello, peanut. I’m your daddy.”
I choke back a lump in my throat, running my fingers through his hair, wishing I had a camera so I could capture this moment and stare at it forever.
“I want ten,” he tells me, making me laugh lightly.
“Maybe we could just work on this one first, Bundy,” I answer, trying to sit up again, grimacing as my arm throbs.
“Careful, Callie, you were nicked with a bullet. Nothing major, but your arm will likely hurt like a son of a bitch for a little while.”
I nod, remembering the slice of pain as I slammed the door to the panic room shut.
I look up when the door to my room opens, smiling as Kellen walks back in with a blonde nurse about my age.
“Hey, Miss Ward, how are you feeling?” she asks cheerfully, checking something on my chart.
“A little stiff but not too bad, but I just found out I’m pregnant, and I’m worried about the baby,” I tell her fearfully.
“Okay, sweetie, I’ll let the doctor know and get an ultrasound machine, but try not to worry. Babies are surprisingly well protected in there.” She pats my arm before heading off to find the machine.
I look over at Kellen and smile. “You okay?” I ask.
He smiles, a dimple popping in his cheek as he approaches the bed. “I didn’t want to intrude on your moment.” He gives Blake a playful shove before leaning down to give me a hug. “Congratulations, Mama,” he whispers in my ear before kissing my forehead.
“Hey, asshole, keep your lips off my woman!” Blake pouts playfully.
“I call dibs on baby duty.”
“Wait, what?” I look between him and Blake, who is rolling his eyes.
“Why does our baby need protection? Oh my god. Christian got away, didn’t he?” I begin to panic, but Blake grabs my face with both hands, touching the tip of his nose to mine.
“Christian can’t hurt you anymore, baby, I swear it. He’s gone. Nobody is going to hurt our peanut.”
I suck in a shaky breath at his words and feel my muscles start to relax a little. “Okay, good. I’m sorry, I’m a mess,” I whisper, looking at Kellen over Blake’s shoulder.
“Nothing to be sorry about, Callie. It was my fault. I didn’t think.” Kellen apologizes, looking guilty.
Blake pulls back and sits on the bed beside me with his hand in one of mine.
“When I said duty, I meant teaching him pickup lines and how to throw a ball,” Kellen teases gently.
“You’re going to teach my daughter pickup lines?” I raise my brow.
He glares at me. “Daughter?” He turns to walk away, leaving me shocked. Wow, is he really that upset that I might have a girl?
“Kellen?” I question.
He turns to face me, his hand on the doorknob. ”If you’re having a daughter, I need to go and buy a new gun. Maybe two,” he tells me straight-faced before leaving the room muttering about buying a grenade or two as well.
I turn wide eyes to Blake who roars with laughte
r.
“Told ya.”
He’s still laughing when the perky nurse comes back with the ultrasound machine and a pretty red-haired doctor in tow. Knowing the drill, I push the blanket down to expose my belly and lift the hospital gown out of the way. Blake watches my movements, asking the doctor questions but my eyes stay fixed on the screen as I hold my breath.
“Okay, Miss Ward, this will be cold,” the doctor tells me as she squirts the gel before moving the wand over my still flat stomach.
Blake holds my hand in his, his grip getting tighter the longer it takes to find anything. After a few moments of silence, I feel the tears start to slip over my cheeks as I try to process everything I’ve gained and lost in one day when the thump, thump, thump sound of a fluttering heartbeat fills the room.
I swipe my cheeks and throw a beaming smile to Blake, who has tears of his own on his face.
“There he is,” the doctor tells us, making Blake look at her with a smile.
“It’s a boy?”
She smiles back but shakes her head. “It’s just a figure of speech, it's too early to see the sex just yet. What I can tell you is that everything looks good. Your baby is doing exactly as we expect during this stage of gestation, and I see nothing concerning to worry about.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, still choked with emotion.
Blake takes the paper towel she offers him and wipes the goop from my belly as I take a moment to compose myself.
“It’s my pleasure. Now, I’m happy to sign your discharge papers but if you experience any pain or spotting come straight back. Sit tight, and you’ll be out of here before you know it.” She gives my arm a squeeze before leaving with the nurse, giving Blake and me a few minutes of peace to absorb the news.
“Thank you.” He coughs to clear his throat before starting again. “Thank you for giving me everything I never knew I wanted.”
“Silly man, it's you who needs thanks. I had nothing when I moved here, and you gave me the world.”
He kisses me softly on the lips, tasting the salt of my tears before whispering, “I’ll give you the moon and stars too if you let me.”
Cautious: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Page 19