Page 63 of The Oath We Take

And along with the hiss of flames being extinguished, I hear the distant roar of bikes.

19

EMBER

The world doesn’t make any sense right now, so I cling to the only thing that does.

Atom.

Black smoke tars the exterior wall, water races to the drains, and there’s too much piercing noise that hurts my ears and flashing lights that do little to ease the pounding in my head.

But the way Atom mutters words of reassurance and kisses the top of my head stops the pain in my chest from spilling over completely.

We had to move when the fire truck arrived. Now we’re at the back of the lot, Atom’s back up against the fence, and I’m sitting across his lap, trying to make sense of the wreckage.

I’m not one for praying, but I find myself repeating the same phrase.

Please don’t let it be as bad as it looks.

The roar of motorcycles gets louder and louder.

Any minute, I’m going to have to put on a brave face and get up from this safe corner Atom has created for us because my father is going to march in here and take over if I let him.

For once, I understand why.

Someone wanted me to die tonight.

But here, in Atom’s arms, I know they can’t get to me, and that singular thought allows me to breathe.

“Thank you for coming to find me,” I say eventually.

“I’ll always find you, Em. No matter where you are, no matter what trouble you’re in. I’ll get to you. I promise.”

Atom tips my chin and kisses me. He’s taking a risk. Any of the firefighters or even Tanner Radcliffe could tell my father. And while I want him to know just how much I love the man holding me, tonight is not the night.

“My dad’s here,” I say as the bikes pull up away from the fire trucks.

Atom nods. “I know. Your dad is going to be too busy losing his shit to worry about the fact I’m holding you because you just had the shock of your fucking life.”

“Ember!” Dad’s voice is louder than everything else.

Atom puts his hand over my ear, smushing my face against his cut. “She’s over here.” His chest reverberates beneath my ear as he shouts in reply.

“Jesus,” Dad says, dropping on his knees next to Atom and me. “Are you okay, Em?”

“I’m okay,” I say finally. “Shook up. But alive.” Tears sting my eyes. “Look at my bar, Daddy.”

I haven’t called him that in years. I don’t know why it just slipped out. But I reach for him, and he takes me, and he fists his hand into my hair and holds me so tightly, I can barely breathe.

“You’re safe. We’ve got you. And I’m taking you to a doctor.”

I shake my head. “I’m okay. But…God, this is going to be such a big mess to clean up.”

The tears I thought I had under control spill over again. Big fat ones that I can’t seem to stop.

“There’s gonna be an investigation,” Dad says. “The club will board it up for you until you’re told you can reopen. You can come stay with me until then.”

I shake my head. “That’s not safe, Dad.”

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