Page 50 of Owning Emma

Chapter 23

SHAW

I touchedthe handle on the barn door and pulled, oblivious to what was going on around me, my thoughts solely on Emma and Roman and the feeling of waking up close to both of them last night. One moment, my fingers were on the knob, the next my body was being thrown backward with such force that I couldn’t halt the momentum.

My body landed hard against the barn’s side wall before I slid to the dirt floor, too stunned to move. The sound around me had disappeared before slowly coming back muffled, then suddenly full blast, almost too loud for my ears. I covered my ears with my hands, trying to block out the sound.

My name was called, but I didn’t know from where. All I saw was smoke and flames and subconsciously I knew I needed to move. I needed to get out, but my body hadn’t quite caught up to my mind, and I couldn’t force my limbs to move. A warmth engulfed me as a weight was slung over my chest, and it took a moment to realize it was Roman on his knees beside me as he felt my body for injuries. Was I injured? I didn’t think so. Sore, yes? But injured, I was pretty sure I could move my body parts.

“We have to get out,” he screamed, and the sound of his voice made the fog suddenly clear. I looked around, registering the situation, gaining control of my body after being stunned for seconds longer than I liked.

His arm wrapped around my back as he pulled me toward the exits, now nearly fully engulfed in flames. I sat up, stumbling, but his arm didn’t let go as he pulled me closer to the fire. I gained my strength and pushed his arm away, fumbling after him as he crawled toward safety. A beam had fallen by the entryway, flames licking up the dry wood, and crackling noises filled the air as the smoke filed our lungs.

“Go first.” He pushed me toward the beam, wanting me to go under ahead of him. I opened my mouth to argue, but he pushed me again. “Now, Shaw. Go.”

The momentum of his push had me lurching forward, forcing me to duck to avoid the furious beam. I lowered my body, using my elbows to scoot my body under the piece of wood until I made it out to the other side. From this level, I could see everyone else standing feet away, the light from the flames illuminating them in the dark of night.

Strong arms grabbed me and pulled me upward. “Roman still in there?”

Royal’s face and clothes were covered with dirt and soot and I blinked a few times. “He’s coming.”

As if he heard my declaration, his hand stretched from under the small exit, gripping the dirt as he dragged his body forward. His head poked through, and Royal took his arm and tugged, pulling him until his whole body was free. In the distance, I could hear the sirens, but all I could focus on was the man in front of me.

He used his dirty arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead, only succeeding in smearing the dirt around. “Shit. What the fuck happened?”

I wish I knew, I did. “No fucking clue.” I coughed, the smoke in the air surrounding us was making me gag. “One minute I was standing, then next I was down. My ears are still ringing some.”

His hands fell to his waist as he watched his newly constructed barn burn to the ground. Finally, when I thought he wasn’t going to speak he said, “You could have been killed.”

“We,” I corrected, we could have been killed. Hell, I suspected we were as close to death as I ever planned to get any time soon.

He looked at Royal and then me. He took the time to gaze at the few friends who were with us inside the barn, now watching from a distance away. The lights from the fire truck flashed in the distance as they drove toward us. His eyes looked intense as the fire’s reflection danced into them. “This has to stop.”

Royal slapped him on the back. “We end it. Soon.”

* * *

It took quitea bit of time before we were all cleared to leave. The cause of the explosion was ruled an arson attack, but it could be days before the details became known. Days we didn’t have. Days we didn’t want to waste hoping they would find something to put this guy away, or to let us end the situation ourselves.

It was late when we made it back to the house. I knew Roman’s mom would be awake and waiting, and I suspected that Bianca would be, too, but nothing prepared me for the look on Emma’s face when she rounded the corner, leading the other girls to the door. Her big doe eyes were wide when she saw us, and I wanted to fall to my knees in front of her and confess every single sin I ever hid.

At a loss for what to say, I blurted the first thing that came to my mind. “It’s not that bad.” I shrugged, trying to downplay the situation, “No one died.”

Despite that being true, none of the ladies in front of me seemed convinced of the fact. Dot crowded in front of us, mama bear mode fully in effect. “Thank the heavens for that!”

She licked her thumb and aimed it for our faces, like a little spit on her finger was going to clean up the giant mess of the barn fire that remained on three grown men. “Mom, we are going to shower now. Put your thumb away.”

She looked ready to cry and slightly offended. “I can’t help but see the boys you once were instead of the men that stand in front of me.”

Roman crossed his arm, trying to use his tough voice on his damn mother. “Mom. Go to bed. We can handle ourselves. This isn’t the first time we’ve had a few cuts or scrapes.”

Her eyes fell to me, and I braced myself for what was to come, but instead she waved her finger in all of our faces and said, resigned, “Fine. But in the morning, we are going to talk about this.”

We each kissed her with a promise once again that we were perfect, then we turned her back toward the hallway and nudged her. She rarely stayed in the big house any more. She had her custom little cottage that Roman built just for her. But, with both Emma and Bianca here, she thought it best to help play hostess in case Bianca needed anything.

Roman waited until his mother was out of earshot before saying, “She’s getting worse in her old age.”

Emma’s eyes zoomed in on us. “Ever thought that maybe you’re getting worse in yours and essentially giving that woman a heart attack daily.”

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