Page 92 of Pomegranates and Olive

"Don't worry, darl. They'll get him out."

The firefighters arrive, lights flashing and sirens blaring, followed by the paramedics. Aydin grabs a paramedic who assesses me, tending to the worst of my burns, and straps an oxygen mask on my face.

Ginny's voice is raw with emotion. "Do you know what happened?"

"There was someone there. I saw someone..."

I look over at what is left of the restaurant, where there are now two fire trucks and teams battling the fire. Aydin and Ginny's beautiful restaurant is a fiery wreck.

Luca finally reappears, looking as awful as I feel. I've seen him come home after a shift and have seen the look of devastation on his face many times, but this time it’s personal. My heart is in my throat. "Did you find him?"

Luca kneels down to examine my burns. "He's with the paramedics now. They want to take him to the hospital, but he's a stubborn prick and is refusing to be loaded into the ambulance."

Amid my struggle to breath I feel an overwhelming wave of relief that not only is Deniz alive, but he’s clearly no worse for wear if he’s giving grief to the medics.

"Thank God! Is he okay?"

"He's got a concussion, some burns, but he’s still in one piece. He was actually smart to get into the walk-in."

"The door was jammed by debris, but once they were able to move the blockage, it opened easily," Aydin continues.

Luca nods in agreement. "Lucky for him, he has a hard head."

Aydin chuckles, slapping Luca on the back. "Definitely."

Ginny throws herself into Aydin's arms and gives a soggy sniff. "What's left?"

"That old building is made of stone. It's survived a lot worse than fire over the years." He kisses her gently on the top of her head. "We'll rebuild,askim, don't you worry."

"Any idea of how it started?"

Aydin shakes his head, but Luca side-eyes me. Ten years working as a firefighter? He definitely knows what started it. "Not 100% sure, but I could smell an accelerant. Petrol is my guess with a Molotov cocktail as the delivery system. It's cheap, efficient, and it's easy to come by."

Ginny’s eyes are wet with fresh tears as she realises their business was targeted. "By whom?"

"What about that guy that was at the bar earlier!" My voice is muffled by the oxygen mask making my croaky voice all the more difficult to understand, so Luca and Aydin bend down toward me. "He was at the restaurant last night talking to the two blondes, and I saw him arguing with Deniz the other night as well."

I turn to Ginny. "Remember, hon? The guy at the bar in town?"

Rosie shakes her head. "It couldn't have been. He was dancing with Deniz’s lady bits all night."

Aydin scowls in my sister’s direction and her face reddens at her gaf. “Are you talking about my cousins?"

Colour me shocked, they really are cousins!

"He was definitely with them… your cousins… until we left."

"What time was that?"

She couldn't meet his gaze, instead looking over at Luca guiltily before focusing on her feet. "Not sure."

Aydin now turns to me for answers. "Did you see himherethough,Liv? Were you at the restaurant?"

"I… I…"

How would I know, I was too busy having sex with Deniz to notice someone setting fire to the restaurant.

"I was on Tora…" Another coughing fit hit me and Ginny helps me roll to my side so I can vomit. “There was someone. I couldn’t see who… it was too dark…”

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