Page 104 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“Easy.” A strange but sturdy hand clasped his shoulder and readjusted his facemask. “Just breathe deeply and relax. You’re going to be okay, kid.”

Something shifted against his other side, and he realized it was a body. A trembling, curvy, feminine body. Tess. When her fingers grabbed ahold of his, he finally did relax and tried to turn her way.

Her beautiful blue eyes appeared with tears streaming down her cheeks, and it struck him that he’d messed up. He’d left her outside. By herself.

But she must’ve already forgiven him because all she did was smile. “You came back to me.”

Jonah nodded, wanting her to know he always would. As long as his heart kept beating, he’d find his way back to her.

He glanced around. They were sitting on the ground leaning against a tree while paramedics, police, firefighters, and news media milled around the area between crying, shocked bystanders. Noticing the paramedic who’d been lingering at his other side, he nodded to the man, silently thanking him for his help.

The EMT nodded back with a smile. “Looks like you’re in good hands with your little ladies here,” he said, nodding toward Tess and then Bailey, who Jonah hadn’t noticed before. “I’m going to go check on some of the others. If you need anything, just wave us over.”

When Jonah gave him the thumbs up, the guy took off, half-walking, half-jogging to help more people. Staring after him, Jonah felt the itching need to stand up and assist someone too.

“Damn, Abbott, you totally scared the shit out of us, you know that?” Bailey plowed into him and clamped her arms around his chest. He wasn’t sure how to apologize, so he patted her shoulder, and she gave a watery laugh before slugging him. “Thanks a lot, asshole.”

He rolled his eyes. Only Bailey.

Across the way, more firefighters led a few coughing people away from the building. A cool evening breeze, smelling of charred wood, wafted over him, sticking his damp shirt to his chest.

“We need more oxygen over here,” a desperate voice called. “Are there any tanks left?”

Jonah fumbled to rip the mask off his mouth. “You can use this one.”

“No!” Tess squeezed his arm and sent him a warning scowl. “You still need it.”

“Don’t worry. I feel better already. Besides, I can’t hold you how I want with this damn thing on.”

When she finally relented, he handed it over to the waiting fireman. “Thanks, man.”

Jonah nodded and yanked Tess into his arms. She clutched him hard and buried her face into his chest as he burrowed his nose in her red curls and hugged her back. When he smelled smoke in her hair, he pulled away.

“We’re going to have to take another one of our special showers as soon as we get out of here. You smell awful.”

She blurted out a laugh before bursting into a fresh wave of tears. “I love you so much. I can’t believe I almost lost you again.”

“Never,” he promised. “Never again. I love you too much to go anywhere.”

“Hey, there’s Aubrey,” Bailey cut in, pointing.

Realizing he’d forgotten all about his roommate, again, he zipped his attention up and saw Aubrey laid out on a stretcher that sat outside next to the open back door o

f an ambulance.

When he struggled to rise, Tess clung to his side and kept her shoulder under his arm as if she knew he needed to use her as a crutch. But what surprised him more was when Bailey appeared at his other side to do the same thing. Wrapping his arms around both girls, he limped with them to his friend.

Tears streamed down Aubrey’s blackened face. “You saved my life.” As he sobbed between wheezes, he reached out and grasped Jonah’s hand. “I love you, man. I love you.”

Jonah nodded. “Yeah,” he said as he tugged Tess closer to him. “You too.”

She pressed her cheek to his shoulder and set her hand over his heart.

“There!” A girl’s voice called, breaking into Jonah’s reunion with his roommate. “That’s the guy who saved my life.”

Jonah had no idea he was the subject of her attention until a male voice interrupted. “Young man.” Jonah glanced up just as a bright light blinded him. “I’m Charlie Martin with Channel Nine,” the voice continued, “and this is my daughter you saved tonight. Can we have your account of what happened?”

Jonah lifted his hand to shade his eyes before he noticed the microphone in his face with the logo of a nearby television station on it. The hand wrapped around the microphone led up an arm until he focused on the face of a man he’d seen on the evening news almost every night.

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