Page 122 of Branded Hearts

Pain shoots up my arm and down my back as I crash onto my shoulder, but I push through it, my focus on the little girl in my arms. She’s crying and shaking, but she’ssafe. That’s all that matters. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, a rush of relief and adrenaline surging through me.

I’ve never felt more alive, more aware of life’s fragility.

In seconds, firefighters pry her from my grasp, wrapping her in a fireproof blanket and carrying her away. The intensity of the moment lingers, the sounds of chaos and rescue efforts filling the air as I lie here on the ground—feeling the weight of what just happened.

“Fuck,” I grit out, as pain radiates through my arm when I attempt to stand. Someone grabs my shoulder, and I bark out in agony.

“Mitchell, you stupid cunt. That was fucking amazing.” It’s Daniels. Relief washes over me, but as the adrenaline fades, the pain in my shoulder sharpens, becoming nearly unbearable.

It could be dislocated. Or broken.

It takesseconds, just seconds, for everything to change, leaving us no time to comprehend what’s happening until it’s too late.

An explosion erupts nearby, the force of it causing my ears to ring and pain to shoot through my head. The blast knocks both Daniels and me back, sending us sprawling. Daniels hits the ground beside me with a grunt. Smoke engulfs us, thick and suffocating.

Muffled screams echo around us, chaos reasserting itself. I feel myself being dragged, a dull ache spreading through my body.

And then it stops.

Just like that, everything goes black.

40

Ipace back and forth in the living room, my anxiety gnawing at me as each minute passes without any word from Bradley or anyone else. “It’s been five fucking hours. What the fuck is happening?” Ibark, unable to contain my frustration.

I keep rereading the texts that have been coming in over the past hour in our group chat,‘Wattle Creek’s Finest’.

Amelia had ‘hearted’ Olivia’s text, before sending one of her own.

Her message stirs an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can only imagine the fear she must be also experiencing right now.

“Calm down, son. He’s fine,” Dad says, trying to reassure me, but his words fall flat.

“Xav, baby—” Isla starts, her hand resting on my shoulder, but I can’t handle any comfort right now.

“No! Fuck! Please, don’t tell me to calm down. I need to know where he is,” I snap, turning away from Isla to face my sister, who sits on the couch, her eyes wide with unshed tears.

“Xavier!” Mum’s reprimand cuts through the air, reminding me to control my temper, especially in front of Isla.

I turn back to Isla, the one person who’s supposed to ground me, and see her shock. “Isla, I’m sorry. I’m just... fuck!” I exclaim, my fist colliding with the wall beside me, the impact making a noise but causing no real damage.

Instantly, I regret my outburst, especially seeing Isla hold her bump with another hand on her hip, watching me with concern in her eyes.

“It’sokay, Xav. I understand, baby. He’s fine. Bradley is amazing at his job,” Isla reassures me, her words barely registering as questions swirl in my mind.

Why does he do this? Why does he put his life on the line every day? Why did he choose this path? Why couldn’t he just stick to the farm? Then none of us would be here, worried sick about him.

Fucking hell, Bradley.

As I think this, the news reporter appears on the TV, reporting live.

“I’m standing about one-hundred-fifty metres away from this scene that continues to unfold. We have three casualties who have perished in the fire, fifteen still confirmed to be injured,”and behind her, I can see the fires continuing to spread, but it’s mentioned that firefighters and all units have managed to contain two house fires out of the three.

Her voice continues, loud and clear.“We currently have two police officers down.”My heart drops.

No.Fucking no way.

He’s fine. Hehasto be.

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