Page 121 of Blood and Buttercups

“Okay,” I say breathlessly, grabbing Olivia’s arm and yanking her with me.

When our massive guard starts to follow, Noah asks, “Sir, were you inside while the fire was going?”

“No, but?—”

“Then you need to stay out of the way while we see to those who might have inhaled smoke.”

The man’s face scrunches up, but his eyes travel over Noah’s uniform. After several tense seconds, he gives him a curt nod.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I whisper as we walk, relief making me shaky. “Your avatar turned gray while you were in New Castle, and Ethan said?—”

“Yeah,” Noah growls. “I found the real Colin locked in a closet.”

“Is he okay?” I gasp.

“He’s going to need that support group.”

“What happened to your phone though?”

“I busted it during the fight.”

A paramedic greets us when we’re close to the ambulance—a paramedic who’s not a paramedic at all.

I gape at my brother, wondering how they pulled off this charade. “Are any of these people actual first responders?” I hiss to Noah.

“Most of them are.”

“How…?”

“I told you—Cassian knows people.”

“Handy,” I say dumbly.

“Yeah,” Noah grunts. “And now I need to go in there and help him. He’s inside, looking for Ethan.”

I grasp his arm. “You can’t go in there—don’t you see the smoke? The crazy vampire set a real fire.”

Noah gives me a cocky grin before he lowers his visor. “I got this.”

“Wait…”

But he’s already jogging toward the mansion.

“Come on,” Max says urgently. “Get in.”

Olivia goes first, and I follow, and then Max locks the doors behind us.

“Take a seat on the gurney,” a maybe-paramedic says.

Max leaps into the driver’s seat moments later, and we’re off, making a hasty getaway in an ambulance, of all things.

“You two breathing okay?” the paramedic asks.

“We weren’t even close to the fire,” I tell him, and then I gesture to his uniform. “Are you legit?”

“I am, but the ambulance belongs to Cassian. My name is Carlos.”

He’s slender, not much taller than me, probably in his mid-thirties, and he has a friendly smile.

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