Page 67 of Montana Falls
I swallowed the nerves in my throat and shook my head, trying to get rid of my worry.
“No, Misha is talking to Darius right now, but I have Kody and Logan, and we’re by the car. Delilah looks pale, but she is normallysowhite, like a ghost, so I don’t think there is anything wrong there.” I offered Delilah the best grin I could muster, pretending everything was fine.
Humor worked for Price in bad situations, so I figured I could give it a try because he always made me feel better and I just wanted to help the poor girl to stop crying.
“Does she have any-” Retta started to ask questions, but she was cut off and I didn’t hear the last of her sentence.
An explosion ripped through the air like a thunderclap, a deafening roar that drowned out everything around me. The ground shook violently beneath my feet, and before I could even comprehend what was happening, Kody was on me, tackling me to the ground.
I hit the dirt hard, his weight crushing me into the cold earth as the blast echoed through the trees and I dropped my borrowed phone into the dirt. My ears rang, the sound of theblast reverberating inside my skull like a bell that wouldn’t stop. There was nothing but noise, heat, and the acrid scent of burning wood. My lungs seized, struggling to catch a breath as the dust and debris rained down around us and a handful of screams and panicked roars hit my ears.
For a few agonizing moments, I couldn’t think—couldn’t breathe. Everything was disorienting, like I was floating underwater, trapped in the shock of it all. My chest heaved as I tried to pull in air, but my mouth tasted of dirt and smoke.
Then the ringing in my ears started to fade, and I became aware of Kody’s arm still draped over me, his body shielding mine from the worst of the blast. Slowly, painfully, I lifted my head and blinked the dust from my eyes, desperate to work out what the fuck had happened.
The cabin was on fire. Flames licked at the shattered remains of the structure, thick black smoke billowing into the sky like a dark, poisonous cloud. The sound of crackling wood filled the air now, and the heat radiated outward, making my skin prickle.
“Kody,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from the smoke and dust. I pushed at him, trying to get up, and he rolled off me, groaning slightly as he did. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, grimacing as he dusted off his pants and shook away the dust from his face and hair. “I’m okay,cica.Are you?”
“I’m fine.” I wasn’t. I hurt like a bitch all over and the back of my head throbbed with where I’d smacked it on the ground, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
We both scrambled to our feet, and the full horror of the situation hit me when I saw that there was almost nothing left of the structure, and something rather important was missing from the group of my people, who were in various stages of distress on the ground.
Logan was fine enough, and so was Delilah. Misha, Kellan and Aiden were stumbling to their feet, all of them seeming reasonably well, if not filthy. But I couldn’t see anyone else, and I wasn’t sure who’d got out when the cabin had set aflame.
“Guys!” I shouted, my voice breaking as I started running back toward the burning wreckage. Kody was right behind me, and together we raced through the clearing, dodging bits of debris and smoldering wood. “Price?! Lincoln?!”
As we neared the cabin, I spotted movement through the smoke. Relief flooded through me when I saw Price, an unconscious Widow slung over shoulders as he limped away from the wreckage. Lincoln was right behind them, coughing but otherwise looking unharmed.
“Thank god,” I breathed, my heart pounding in my chest as we reached them and I ran straight at Lincoln. “Are you okay?!”
Lincoln crushed me against his body, his hug like a balm to my panic. “We’re good, princess. We were out of the building before it went up.”
“Speak for yourself.” Price coughed as Kody helped him with Widow. “I’m gonna need you to kiss me better later, gorgeous. I have loads of paper cuts and bruises that are gonna need close attention.”
“Take Widow to the car, and we can discuss kisses later – once we have been to a hospital and things are calm.” I snorted.
Relief at such a normal comment from Price surged through me, overwhelming the shock and fear that had been gnawing at my chest. But before I could revel in that feeling, a scream of my name from Ruby sent my stomach dropping and my entire world crashing down. Then it only doubled when she yelled for Aiden too, and I turned sharply, scanning the area until my eyes landed on her.
More importantly onBeau, lying on the ground near one of the cars, clearly having thrown himself in front of Ruby in theblast. His arm was cradled against his side, his face twisted in pain. Blood covered half of body, flowing freely from the large piece of jagged wood that stuck out of his ribs.
My heart seized in my chest, and without another thought, I rushed over to him, dropping to my knees beside him, my hands hovering over his bloody form and burned arm. The skin was angry and red, blistering in some places, where it had completely torn through his shirt.
“No, no, no, no.” Panic engulfed me as I watched his blood flow. “Tío, please don’t be hurt. You can’t be hurt.”
“Diamond.” He breathed, voice calm even if it was laced with pain. “I’m okay. I’m not dying; it looks worse than it is.”
“You’re not dying?”
“No.” He promised, before I barked orders at everyone to get to the cars and go to the hospital nearby as I continued to flutter uselessly by my uncle.
I didn’t even realize I was crying until Aiden handed me a handkerchief from his pocket with a silent smile that softened the worry in his eyes just a touch.
“He’s fine, kid. Don’t stress – he just needs a couple of stitches and he’ll be back to barking orders and being a menace in an hour.”
Beau tried to smile at me too, but I could see the pain in his eyes and something far worse that told me he wasn’t okay.
