Page 43 of Saving His Sunshine

I haven’t heard her voice in a good five minutes, not since she sobbed an apology to me. That nearly fucking broke me. She sounded so scared, so small.

“Pick up the phone again, angel. Please.”

But she doesn’t pick it up again. And I don’t hear her voice. Instead, the line just beeps and then goes dead.

Fear claws at my throat. I can't get the image of flames devouring her bakery out of my head. Of Heidi trapped inside, choking on smoke.

Oh God.

I throw the phone, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turn white. If she's hurt, if that bastard... A groan rips from my lips at the thought of her trapped inside, helpless.

I know exactly how bad fires can get. I fight them every damn day. The thought of my angel caught in one, scared and defenseless, has bile rising in my throat.

As soon as I turn the corner, I see the black smoke and vicious orange flames pouring from the bakery.

No. Oh, fuck no.

I hit the gas, racing up the block as my squad turns the corner behind me in the engine, Dillon and half the fucking Sheriff’s Department only seconds behind them in their cruisers.

I screech to a halt outside the bakery, tires burning rubber, too goddamn afraid to think, to breathe.

"Heidi!" I roar, launching myself out of the truck and sprinting for the building. Heat sears my face, but I don't care. I have to get to her.

"Alessandro!" Emmett comes out of nowhere, grabbing me. “You can’t go in there, brother.”

I wrench myself out of his grip, refusing to listen. I can’t listen. I can’t stop.

"She needs me!" I shout, shoving past him as I stumble toward the flames pouring from the building.

And then I see her. She’s on her knees, her arms clutched around Rivin, both of them covered in soot. Outside.Alive.

Relief slams into me so hard that I almost drop to my knees.

“Heidi!” I roar, racing toward her as my goddamn heart threatens to crack in half. I scoop her trembling body into my arms and race away from the inferno, Rivin bounding beside us.

She clings to me, her cheek pressed to my chest. Smoke clings to her hair, her skin, her clothes. "He s-saved me," she sobs, her voice muffled against my throat. "Rivin saved me. Out the office w-window."

A coughing fit seizes her, and fear lances through me again. I need to get her away from here now. She needs oxygen and a doctor. God only knows how much smoke she inhaled in there.

"I've got you, angel," I murmur into her hair, my voice shaking as I sprint toward the ambulance pulling in beside Dillon’s SUV. "You're safe now."

Tears blur my vision as my words register.She's safe.Thank God she's safe.

“Alessandro!” Dillon shouts.

I lift my head, glancing at him. “I’ve got her.”

Relief sears his expression. He jerks his chin in a nod. “I’m going after Don,” he growls. I was in his office when she called. He knows exactly what happened.

“Good. Find him before I do.” If I find him, I’ll kill him. There won’t be any stopping me. Not after this. Not with the way I feel right now.

Dillon nods, turning to sprint back to his SUV.

I reach the ambulance and carefully settle Heidi onto the stretcher as soon as the paramedic, Steven, flings the door open for me. "I need oxygen over here!" I bark at him.

He immediately rushes to grab a mask for her.

“Get one for the dog, too,” I demand, glancing down at Rivin. He saved my whole world today. I sink a hand into his thick fur, exhaling a shaking breath. “Jesus, Rivin. I owe you."

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