Page 202 of Protective Heroes

Caden nodded and shot off five more rounds to push back the hostiles.

Reece hauled Abigail up and they pushed deeper back into the woods, putting much-needed distance between their bullets and Abigail.

Reece tucked then behind a thicker tree than the first and covered Caden while he caught up with them.

Orange cinders burst into the air when a section of the porch caved under the strain. Several trees blocked their view, but it was still amazing and heart-wrenching. Embers danced along the air current and into the night sky. It reminded him of fireflies at the height of summer when he was a boy.

More flames licked a fiery trail up the north side of the house. At this rate, the entire thing would be nothing more than ashes within minutes.

Abigail leaned her small frame against the tree for support, her eyes fixated on her rapidly burning house. An inferno consumed her home and his gut churned at the totally blank stare on her beautiful face. Pain-filled tears glimmered in her amber eyes, yet she held them back.

She went limp against him and he wrapped his strong arms around her slight body like a shield.

“My home. I worked so hard to have a home and it’s all turning to ash, Reece.” She shook her head and then covered her mouth with her hands. Hot tears finally fell and the cold heart in his chest, the heart that broke for her earlier and now lay in tattered shreds for her pain and suffering, might as well be ashes too. The last time he’d loved his heart had been shoved back at him unwanted and abused.

But Abigail made him feel again and he physically ached for her loss as if they were his own.

He stroked a hand down her cheek. “But you’re okay, Abigail. Things and houses can be replaced unlike you, sweet angel.”

He wanted to tell her that she had become his world in the short five months they’d known her. That he dreamed about a shared life with her, and they would give her anything she desired. But could he risk that? Should he when she was so vulnerable.

“A precious gift like you can’t be replaced.” Caden echoed his words.

Gazing between both of us, life sparked in her eyes and it wasn’t the reflection of the flames. The tension in his chest eased when she leaned into Caden’s touch and then his.

Reece tamped his emotions down. They’d deal with his fucked-up issues and the fallout of losing Abigail’s house later. Right now, getting Abigail to safety was their priority.

“The hostiles have pulled back and I don’t want to stick around to find out why.”

Caden settled his hand on Abigail’s chin and turned her to face him. He placed a soft kiss to her lips and he watched as her body molded to Caden’s.

A smirk pulled at Reece’s lips.

Lucky son of a bitch. “Let’s move out. Stay between us, keep low, and stay quiet.”

Three minutes of thick brush and a few scratches later, they emerged near the main road where their extraction awaited them in an unmarked SUV.

Dane. Thank God. That man always came through.

They ushered Abigail in the back— him on one side while Caden took the other.

“We’re in. Let’s roll.” Reece reached forward and clamped a hand on Dane’s shoulder.

“Does anyone have some paper?” Abigail clasped his leg, then turned to Caden.

“What, sweetheart?”

“Paper, do you have paper? I caught the plate number on the parked van in my drive.”

“Shoot,” Dane called over his shoulder from the front seat, his finger poised over a paper bag or something.

“I only caught the first four digits. JHQ-1. Sorry. It’s all I could see.”

“That’s more than what we caught. Good work.”

She calmed and relaxed into the seat.

“What the hell happened out there, man? Anyone take a hit?” Dane inquired from the driver’s seat.

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