Page 96 of The Devil's Scars

He was holding a wrapped little bundle tight against his chest. He was coughing, tears streaking tracks through the thick layer of soot on his face. He was running like hell, like a man running from death.

And he looked… bright. Glowing.

Like an avenging angel. He’d never looked more destroyed, more fierce.

He’d never looked more beautiful.

“Jesus fuck!” Holt grabbed Keira and ran over to Zoe, who had fallen to her knees with her arms outstretched. He shouted over his shoulder, “Down, man… down on the ground! Guys… help him!”

Without a word, Scars dropped. Zoe lost sight of him as Keira lay silent in her arms, just caught glimpses of the man that she loved through the legs of his brothers as they peeled off their clothes and surrounded Scars, as they started to pat him with their shirts and jackets.

His back. His legs. His hair.

“What….” she croaked, her mind not engaging, still trying to figure out if her daughter was breathing, half-hearing the sirens wailing closer and closer. “Wolf… what are they…”

“They’re dousin’ the flames,” Wolf said tersely. “Stay here, Zee. Stay with me.”

“They’re…” She shook her head, her fingers trembling as she held her palm against Keira’s mouth, praying for an exhale. “I don’t…”

“He’s burnin’, baby girl.”

“No,” she said shaking her head, blank and dazed. An EMT appeared out of nowhere, gently lifted Keira out of her arms and started CPR, and she looked at him in confusion. “But…”

That was when Scars began to scream. And Zoe knew, knew with everything that she had, that her beautiful, shining avenging angel had just had his wings burned right off him.

He was on fire.

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