Page 19 of Where Broken Wings Fly

“L-Lola.”

“Where did you learn that name?”

“We’re looking for home,” Arianna whimpers.

“Home?” the man echoes.

The car jolts as it hits a bump in the track, causing me to let out a shrill scream. Suddenly, breathing becomes even more difficult. Air slips through my fingertips as I try to suck it in and fail. I’m drowning on dry land.

He studies my breathing, his pale eyebrows drawing together. “Something’s wrong.”

“What is it?” another voice replies.

The blonde-haired beast lowers his ear to my chest, listening to the wet, pained gasps slipping past my parted lips. He pushes Arianna away so she can’t watch me struggle.

“She has fluid in her lungs, I think. Hurry the fuck up.”

“We’re nearly there. Doc’s ready and waiting.”

A rough, calloused hand cups my jaw as the big guy leans in close, a single breath separating our lips. He watches me with frantic eyes, unable to help as I slowly choke.

“You’re clearly a fighter, so don’t give up on me now,” he implores. “You’ve got a beautiful girl here who needs her mother.”

“Look… after… h-her,” I choke out.

“That’s your goddamn job. Keep your eyes open. She’s not my kid or my problem.”

The last thing I see is him staring down at me with the hellfire of an avenging angel, his steely, intimidating facade cracked by a hint of fear.

I lose grip of the world and let my eyes slide shut, safe in the knowledge that if this is my deathbed, I got Arianna out of the hellhole of her childhood.

CHAPTER 5

ZACH

FOREST FIRE - BRIGHTON

Pacing the length of Lola’s warm, fire-lit living room, I fist my cropped caramel hair and curse the cruelness of the world. It never ceases to fucking amaze me.

The little girl, Arianna, is finally asleep. She whimpers with her eyes glued shut, the odd tear still pouring down her cheeks. Without her mum here, she’s struggling to settle.

Killian holds her tiny, slim frame against his chest, glaring at the tears like it will stop them from falling. No amount of glowering is gonna make this situation any better.

“Why is she still crying?” he murmurs. “I fucking hate seeing it.”

“You shouldn’t have given her the sleeping pill. They’re not for kids, for fuck’s sake.”

“She was hysterical, Zach. It was for her own good. I halved it to be safe.”

Poking the flames crackling inside of Lola’s wide, open fireplace, the mantelpiece lined with family photographs, I fight the urge to smack him around the face. When it comes to other human beings, he can be so fucking dumb.

“She watched her mother nearly die. No shit she was hysterical.”

“I didn’t want to let her scream and suffer,” he points out.

“Drugging kids isn’t good parenting.”

Killian’s eyes narrow. “Good thing I’m not her father then, isn’t it?”

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