Page 84 of When It Reins
“Hey, Hero. You doing okay?” Mick notes Juniper’s sleeping form and whispers the words.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, wishing we could get released. This hospital’s policy for release is apparently twenty-four hours, but I am aching to get home. Or to Juniper’s apartment.
My home is officially no more.
“Any updates?” I ask, looking between the two.
They look at each other with wary expressions, and I frown, wishing I could read minds. “What is it?”
“Well, the police took all of your weapons in the basement,” Logan says, flinching when I let out a whispered curse.
“You can get them back eventually,” Mick says. “I got in there before they could find anything too damning.”
“Luckily, everything in there was registered.”
Mick and I exchange a glance, fully knowing what I was saying. He gives a subtle nod before continuing. “Did you get to talk to her about what she saw?”
I frown. “What she saw?”
Logan sighs. “Man, this is going to piss you off, so I need you to stay calm.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Juniper gave a statement to the sheriff before she saw you,” Mick starts, shifting on his feet.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I apparently don’t keep my voice level enough, and Juniper stirs awake, glancing around to see where she’s at. When she sees me, her body relaxes, and she smiles. “Sorry, Starling. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s fine.” She then notices Logan and Mick. “Oh, hi. I didn’t know you were here.”
“How are you feeling, honey?” Mick’s tone softens to a level I’ve never heard before as he looks over Juniper. Thankfully, the blast didn’t break any ribs, but she was left with some pretty bad bruising from where she hit the floor.
“I’m okay, Mick.” She smiles politely and sits up in the bed. I tightened my grip around her waist, holding her to me.
“Junie, we were just telling Mitch about what happened before the fire,” Logan says, using the nickname her sisters frequently use.
“Oh, right.”
“Tell me.” I squeeze her, my eyes latching onto her face. She blushes with the attention, but I don’t look away, and neither do the other two.
“Well, I went to your house and used the spare key, and I was waiting for you to get there.”
My heart pounds in my chest just hearing those words, hearing that she was comfortable enough to waltz into my house like it was her own.
It may as well have been. Everything I have is hers for the taking.
“Tori called me to chat, and we were on video chat.” She flinches. “Shoot, I should call her.”
Logan reaches out and pats her hand. “Thea talked with her, honey. She’s the one who called us and made us call 9-1-1.”
“Oh, right. That’s good then.” Juniper shakes her head. “Anyway, we were on the phone when I heard something shatter in the kitchen, and when I got there, there was this can on the ground and this hissing sound.” She takes a deep breath and says, “I turned and ran, but I wasn’t fast enough to get completely out of the house in time.”
My entire body goes rigid, and anger pulses at my temples. My skin turns to ice as I realize what she’s saying to me.
Someone lit my house on fire.
With Juniper inside.
“Anyway, I was glad to find out no one else got hurt. They say you ran in after me and hauled me down the driveway.” Juniper smiles at me, and I can tell from the way she’s forcing herself to be calm that she’s doing that for my benefit.
