Page 85 of Living with Fire
Before she can fully lift her head, there’s a louder sound that has her jumping against me, then cowering against my chest. Her eyes are wide with fear as she looks at me. “Nate…”
“You need to stay right here,” I tell her, grabbing her hips to lift her off me.
I hate that I’m not giving her the comfort I know she needs, but if that asshole, or someone else, is trying to get into the house, she needs protection before comfort.
Savanna is on her feet at the same time I am. Another noise comes from the front door, and I look around the bedroom doorway down the hall in that direction. I’m not a guy who keeps a bat around, let alone firearms, but right now I wish I were. Doesn’t mean I don’t know how to throw a solid punch, which is going to have to suffice.
With one more look at Savanna, I tell her to stay in the bedroom before I’m slipping down the hall. I stop just before I can see the front door, peeking around the corner to ensure it hasn’t been opened yet, and then I dart across to the dining room where I grab one of the chairs.
I get back to the front door just in time for it to open and a body to walk through it. The chair is over my head and coming down towards the intruder when a second body walks through the door and catches the leg with lightning reflexes before it can smash into anyone.
“Nate!” Brody yells.
“Whoa!” Liam ducks, his arms flailing when he spots the chair looming overhead. He glowers, “What the fuck?”
If it weren’t for Brody, the chair would be on the ground right now as the horror of what almost happened dawns on me. Then anger swells. “What the fuck, you guys? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Are you shitting me right now?” Liam says as Brody takes the full weight of the chair and sets it down. “You took off like a bat out of hell and didn’t come back. Then we find out from Bryn you left, and Savanna was gone. You wouldn’t answer your phone. What did you expect us to do?”
“So you break into my house?” I seethe at them.
Logically I know my anger is misdirected, but that isn’t stopping me from lashing out. There are too many things roiling through my body and mind to find control.
“I have a key, asshole!” Liam spits back, taking a step towards me, feeding off my energy. “And you need to get that front door fucking fixed because it’s a bitch to open.”
No one ever uses the front door, so I haven’t bothered looking at it. “Not exactly on the top of my priority list.”
“Okay, enough. Both of you,” Brody says, stepping in between us, a hand coming to each of our shoulders. “We were concerned, man. That’s all.”
It’s not like Liam and I were going to exchange blows or anything but leave it to Brody to step between us and play referee. It’s not often any of us get truly snippy with each other, but emotions are running high for me, and to Liam’s credit, I did just about take him out with a chair. I close my eyes and scrub my hands over my face, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. I get it. I would have done the same thing.
“I know.” Dropping my hands to my sides, I look between the two of them. “Sorry. There’s a lot going on.”
Like they coordinated it, they both look at the chair sitting there.
“No shit,” Liam says, then glances around the place. “Where’s Savanna?”
She must have been standing right at the edge of the hallway because at the sound of her name, she steps around the corner, her arms wrapped around herself. My heart aches. Her face is ashen and distressed; I’d love nothing more than to see that beautiful smile of hers even for a second.
“I’m here.” Her voice, meek and small, is a nail to my chest.
Brody and Liam both turn, take one look at her, then turn back to me, jaws set, eyes hard.
“Whose ass are we kicking?” Brody says, and it’s so out of character for him that I laugh. Even more than me, Brody is the guy that steps between fights, he doesn’t get into them.
“Close the door,” I tell them, then stride over to Savanna, wrapping my arms around her shoulders to pull her into me.
I take a moment to breathe in her scent, the fruity sweetness washing over me, filling me with strength. I feel like I’ve been put through the wringer tonight, between adrenaline, fear, and relief. I need a moment to collect myself.
Pressing my lips to her ear, I whisper, “It’s okay. We’re going to get through this.” I’m not sure if it’s to convince her, or myself. “I think we should tell them what’s going on, though.”
She stiffens in my arms, pulling back. Indecision battles in the gray pools of her eyes and I realize she hasn’t fully changed her mind about leaving. My heart cracks inside my chest. I thought when she threw herself into me it meant her decision was made. That she would stay and deal with this.
“Sav,” I breathe, my head shaking. I release my hold from around her, my hands coming to rest on her shoulders. “Please. Don’t leave. Don’t run.”
“Nate…” she whispers. I’ve never before heard my name said with so much conflict. It guts me. More than even the terror I saw in her minutes ago.
“Please,” I beg, taking her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “Stay.”