Page 154 of Daddy By Design

“That’s right.” I didn’t feel very strong right now, but I was going to do it for her. “On three.”

“Three. Okay.”

“One. Two. Three—” I growled as I pushed up with everything I had. My back, my shoulders, and my thighs screamed as I shoved at the display case. Something sunk into my shoulder, but I ignored that and finally, it moved a few inches. “Go!”

She scooted free just as the sirens and the heavy horn of a fire engine came closer. There was no way I could get this thing off me, but at least she was okay.

I heard Jensen yelling in the distance as fire licked up the side walls.

The smoke started to settle down to where we were on the floor. “Dahlia, get out of here.”

“Not on your life.”

“Not my life, that baby of ours.”

She slapped the floor. “Get the hell up and come with me. I love you, dammit.”

I pressed my forehead to the floor. “Ahh, hell, that’s not fair.”

“I don’t really care about fair right now, pal. I am not doing this today.”

The doors busted open as a trio of men in full gear poured into the room, shouting details about the structure.

Trick or Treat was in serious trouble, but right now, the only thing that mattered was Dahlia and our kid.

“Help me!” Dahlia popped up off the ground and waved to two firefighters. A woman and a man pushed display cases out of the way as they made their way over to us.

Another sudden crack and the Grim Reaper careened forward.

Dahlia covered her head as debris from the fire scattered around us.

“Get her out of here!” I yelled over the roar of water overhead, which was no match for the flames. Suddenly, the glass front door broke open.

Four more firemen thundered through with a hose.

“Ben, get the lady out of here, will you?”

“On it.” He scooped her up by the middle to get her off the floor.

“Wait, no.” Dahlia kicked out.

“Hellcat, get out of here. Let the professionals handle it.” I gritted my teeth as the gummy bear display dug into my shoulder. I could feel the gush of blood as my periphery started sparkling. Fucking great.

The male firefighter dragged her out the door.

I rested my forehead on the floor for a second to get my bearings. “Is she gone?”

“Yeah, she’s gone.”

“Promise?”

“What’s going on, sir? What’s your name?”

“Nolan.”

“Okay, Nolan, what’s going on?”

“This is my store. I’m pretty sure the acrylic shattered when it fell, and it dug into my shoulder.”

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