Page 69 of Cautious

I hear a mumble and a groan as Wade appears beside me with a fireman decked out in his protective gear.

“I need you two out of here now,” the guy yells, but neither Wade nor I move.

“I’m not leaving without her. Callie, open the door.” Still nothing, but I swear I can hear the sound of someone breathing heavily now.

“Callie Ward, you open this door right this second or so help me god, I’ll spank your ass so hard you won’t be able to sit down for a week,” I command, refusing to lose her now I’m so close.

There’s a loud beeping sound before the door finally opens, revealing Callie in a bra and jeans, covered in blood from head to toe.

“Holy fuck,” I breathe out, half in horror, half in relief as she collapses into my arms. I scoop her up, and that’s when I see Marcus on the floor behind her, lying unresponsive in a pool of blood.

“Go, we’ve got him.” Wade shoves me aside to make space for him and the firefighter to get past.

For the first time tonight, I do what I’m told. I have to get Callie out of here, and I can’t carry them both. Marcus would kick my ass if I tried. I have to trust Wade to bring him out safely.

Making my way out to the main room, I tuck Callie’s face into my shoulder, trying to shield her as much as possible.

The smoke is thicker now, making it impossible to see clearly as it billows around us. I can just make out the sound of glass shattering as the windows explode, blowing their glass outward, likely covering the people below.

Coughing and spluttering, I try to make my way outside, completely disoriented, as I cradle my precious cargo tightly in my arms. I move as fast as I can, ignoring the pain in my hip when I collide with something. I spot another firefighter just in front of me. He grabs my arm and hauls us to the exit.

As soon as we clear the building, we’re swarmed by paramedics and police. I ignore everyone, making my way to the back of one of the ambulances. One of the paramedics holds thedoor open for me, so I lay Callie down reverently, then step out of the way so they can work on her.

“Sir, can you tell me what happened?” a second paramedic asks, taking in all the blood covering her.

“I don’t know,” I tell them honestly, coughing and choking as I try to speak. She didn’t say anything about being injured when I spoke to her, only telling me about Marcus.

The guy places an oxygen mask over my face, and I greedily suck in lungfuls of air.

“Looks like a bullet clipped her shoulder. It looks pretty superficial to me. I don’t think all this blood is hers.” The guy working on her speaks up just as Wade and the firefighter emerge with an unconscious Marcus being dragged between them, their shoulders bracing his weight.

Medics swarm them as I turn back to the guy talking to me. “It’s not all hers,” I confirm, lifting my mask and watching with my heart in my throat as they place my best friend on a gurney and lift him into the ambulance next to ours. They don’t hang around, slamming the doors closed behind them before tearing out of the parking lot with sirens blaring.

I send up a silent prayer, willing to barter away my soul if necessary, as my head bows under the weight of impending grief.

My grandmother. My best friend. The woman I love.

Please, God, just let them be okay. Take me in their place. I’ll come willingly, but please don’t take them from me.

Callie

For the second time in three months, I wake to the smell of antiseptic and whispered words from the man I love.

“I don’t know any more than that. They won’t tell me dick because I’m not family,” he complains to someone.

“Fuck that. Didn’t you guys know I’m Marcus’s long-lost brother?” Arlo butts in a moment before I hear the door to the room open and close.

I open my eyes slowly, confused about what I did this time to earn a stay at the hospital. I blink rapidly, my eyes adjusting to the light before Kellen comes into focus at the foot of the bed. I turn my head and see Blake beside me, his large, scarred hand wrapped around my thigh.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” I choke out, watching Blake’s head whip around to face me.

“Jesus fucking Christ, woman.” He stands and leans over me, burying his head in the crook of my neck, breathing me in.

“What happened?” I ask him, wincing when I lift my arm to wrap it around him.

He pulls back to look at me curiously. “You don’t remember?” I look from him to Kellen and back again.

“I remember going to the doctor’s with Felix and Marcus—” My eyes widen as everything comes back to me like a movie being played fast forward. “Marcus,” I gasp, sitting bolt upright.

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