Page 99 of Forbidden Wish

“Yeah. Away from the chaos out front.”

If the fire was small, no big deal. Authorities would put it out and everyone would move along. Maybe the Manzani people would extinguish it; they wouldn’t want anyone poking around.

Except the fire alarm was still going. This was an old building. The electrics were probably shot. Turning off the alarm may not be so easy. At least, she hoped that was the explanation.

Seeking the back of the building took them to a loading dock, perfect to sneak out and down the back path while sirens blared behind them. Slipping into an alley, she followed Sersha, followed their intention, stuck with the momentum. She didn’t look back.

She should’ve looked back.

THIRTY-FIVE

THEY GOT THE SURVIVOR to the hospital. Staff were so overworked and harried, they didn’t delve deep. They’d skipped over finding her. Randomly. In the street. No story here, as it were. Marseille didn’t add any details. She didn’t say anything and went with a nurse.

“She’ll be okay,” Sersha said, sitting next to her in the waiting area. “At least she’s free of the Manzanis.”

Would it last?

“They’ll just take someone else,” she said, her forehead landing on the heel of her hand. “Why did I think I could stop this?”

“You’re doing something. You saw the pattern when no one else did. Would it have been better for anyone if you ignored it?”

“I haven’t helped Yvonne, have I? We didn’t find Janine.”

“Look, I…” Sersha shifted to angle her body toward her. “Shit goes on in the world. We can’t stop all of it. We help when we can. What you did tonight, it meant something to Marseille. Even if she’s the only woman saved, it’s better one than none. The Carlyle was full of desperate women. Full of women who once dreamed of a future and now just barely make it through the days. Kidnapped or not, we can’t save everyone.”

“Does that mean some people are beyond saving?”

“That means some people don’t want to be saved. You can rush into these situations full of good intentions, but people are who they are. We can’t live their lives for them.”

Lachlan had said the same thing, a similar thing. In a lot of ways, the siblings were complete opposites, as tonight had proved. In others, they were exactly alike.

“Some people never know safety,” she said, reality weighing her conscience. “They never know choice or opportunity.”

“No, they don’t.”

“How do you help those people?”

“Do the best you can. Be the best you can. And be open to putting yourself out there. In a non-relationship type way. Don’t be fooled that disappointment won’t follow though. More people than not will let you down.”

“You persist. The McLeods persist. Your family does so much good. You’re respectable, wholesome people who make a huge difference to—”

Sersha laughed. “No wonder my dad loves you. That’s exactly what he wants the world to see. He’s a man in power, a man as fallible as any other. He’s not perfect. None of us are.”

“You try.”

“So do you. What do you think tonight was?”

Sitting straight, she shook her befuddled head. “You take it all in stride. How are you so calm?”

Shrugging, Sersha sank against the back of her chair, observing the room. “You build a kind of tolerance to it. We weren’t in any real danger.”

The ambulance bay doors burst open. Someone was wheeled in as the paramedics reamed off facts and figures. Such purpose. Such simple complexity.

“You committed a crime tonight,” she whispered. “You started that fire.”

“And? Got us in, didn’t it?”

“Your father is a cop, every man in your family—”

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