Page 89 of Catch My Fall
“Thanks for this, Ray. We really appreciate it,” I say, too weary to even force a smile.
I hated having to disturb him in the middle of the night, but with nowhere else to stay, no clothes, belongings or any cash to hand, he was our only option. Just by being here is putting him in danger should anyone have followed us, but I was careful on the drive over here that we weren’t.
“Don’t mention it. You can stay as long as you need. The guest room is set up and there’s some fresh towels and some spare clothes if you want to shower and change.” Ray looks over at Sierra. “Sorry, honey, an old t-shirt two sizes too big is the best I can do until I can get yours washed and dried.”
“It’s fine, Ray. Thank you.” She wraps him in a hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek before heading upstairs.
“Jesus, Al. What the hell are you involved in?” Ray asks as soon as Si is out of earshot.
“A lot of shit. Stuff you’re better off not knowing about, but the break-in wasn’t random. We were targeted by the same guy who hurt Sierra. He’s one nasty son of a bitch and he’s not going to stop until we stop him. His guys almost killed us tonight, and the house…” I swallow thickly. “The house is destroyed.”
His eyes sadden at that last part as my heart squeezes. Seeing the house where the best memories of my childhood resided ripped apart from the fire, destroying almost everything inside, hurts me more than I care to let on.
But as much as I loved that house, I love Sierra more and her safety is the only thing of importance to me right now.
He pulls me in for a hug, patting me on the back. “You go on up and take care of your girl, son. I’ll see you in the morning. Leave your clothes at the top of the stairs and I’ll get them cleaned.”
“Thank you,” I say, and after telling him goodnight, I join Sierra in the bedroom. She’s sat on the edge of the bed waiting for me, and the second I step inside she lunges, crashing into my full force, her arms locked around my neck.
I guide her legs around my waist and carry her back to the bed, sitting down so she’s straddling me.
“Are you okay?” I ask, brushing a brittle strand of hair from her face.
We both smell like sweat and smoke and covered in a layer of blood, soot and dirt, but I don’t care.
“It’s not the first time I’ve come close to death. It should probably scare me more than it does but…”
“The guy in the bedroom? You did that?” The dead body lying on the bed where we had sex only a couple hours before didn’t go amiss as we tried to escape.
She stiffens in my arms. “He was one of the ones that hurt me in that basement. He gave me this scar,” she touches the scar on the side of her face and my teeth grind. “I shot him in the leg and we fought. I punched him in the throat and managed to get free then shot him in the neck. I should feel bad for taking his life but I don’t. The bastard deserved it.”
“I’m proud of you, baby. You did well.” I press a kiss to her forehead.
She doesn’t ask about the other three that broke in, and maybe she doesn’t want to know. I came across two of the bastards as I descended the stairs, fighting two on one until the bigger one went upstairs, the guy Sierra killed.
I managed to get a shot in to the first guy’s chest and roll him off me before I was jumped from behind. This guy took a little more work. Whereas the other one was younger but lacked the muscle, this one was older, beefier, skilled, probably ex-Army or something who received the same training I did in the Forces. He gave as good as he got, but there was no way I was letting him live.
The last one I found in the kitchen, I shot him in the back of the head, and it wasn’t until a ball of fire sent my flying back against the wall that I realised he must have turned on the stove and left the gas leaking out. By that time, the kitchen was already ablaze.
“Oh god, Alec, the house…” she sighs, tears filling her beautiful hazel eyes.
“It’s just a house. Houses and everything in it can be replaced, maybe not photographs and keepsakes, but the one thing that can’t be replaced is you.”
My throat locks up as everything that’s happened tonight hits me full force. All of the emotions slams into me like a freight train. I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Fuck, princess, I… I almost lost you tonight. I thought it was happening all over again, just like with my parents.”
Her soft hands cup my face. “Alec…”
“I didn’t think I’d be able to save you. For a moment I was that terrified twelve year-old boy again, unable to save my parents.”
She wraps her arms around me, burying her face in my neck. “I’m okay. I’m here. I’m never leaving you.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that, princess,” I say, my voice muffled by her hair that fans my face.
Lifting her up, I carry her across the hall and into the bathroom where I take my time stripping her soiled clothes away from her body before doing the same with my own.
In the shower, we wash each other, the hot water turning black as it swirls down the drain.