Page 58 of Heart Like Yours
Maybe waiting in the truck was a bad idea.
Every second that passes feels like torture as I stare at the dark warehouse. I wasn’t lying when I told Emmett that I knew better than to think I could go in with them. While I do work out daily, I have no experience in hostage situations. Logically, I know I’d just get in their way when all they’re trying to do is help get Paige out safely.
But sometimes logic is a pain in the ass.
My knee shakes and I strum my fingers on the dashboard while I convince myself to stay in the vehicle and not pace around outside. Just as I’m about to say fuck it, a loud explosion blasts from the far side of the warehouse. I yank the handle, springing from the car in an instant. My heart rate skyrockets when I see the smoke and flames lighting up the night sky.
Dread takes hold on my lungs, all the horrible possibilities of the explosion popping up. How the hell did things go from comfortable and happy to literally up in flames?
Movement from the front of the warehouse catches my eye and I’m moving before I can even think. Paige stumbles out backward, coughing as she half yells, half laughs to the personfollowing her. A baggy sweater hangs around her, swallowing her lithe frame in the fabric.
“Dude.” Paige shakes her head, disbelief lining her tone. “You’re fucking insane.”
Parker steps out the door, the first hint of a smile pulling at his lips as he drags a limp body out behind him. “What? No one’s gonna miss that car.”
Paige turns, throwing her hands up in the air in a ‘what the hell’ motion. Her eyes land on me, widening briefly before she rushes forward and flings herself at me.
I catch her around the waist, lifting her off the ground and holding her like my lifeline.
“Where did you find that guy?” she mumbles against my neck and I laugh, looking over at Parker as he drops the guy he has tied up and returns back inside.
Sirens echo in the distance, approaching closer while we hold each other. Running a hand up her spine, I cradle the back of her head in my hand. Glancing down at the, hopefully, unconscious body on the ground, I’m confused as hell.
“Brandon?” I ask.
Paige lifts her head, not bothering to look behind her and instead watches me. She nods slowly.
“He was helping your?—”
She’s cut off by a high-pitched squeal from the doorway of the warehouse. Emmet walks out, shaking his head and scowling over his shoulder.
“That bitch is psycho.”
Fury flashes through me when I see who he’s referring to. Parker follows after him and drops the hog-tied woman to the ground beside Brandon.
“How dare you manhandle me like that! I’m injured!” my mother screams.
Parker steps over her, rolling his eyes.
“You have a cut that probably won’t even need stitches.”
“You tried to blow me up!”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t kidnap people,” Parker deadpans before brushing past us. “I’ll be in the car.”
I stare down in disbelief at the woman who birthed me. All this pain was caused by someone I haven’t seen in over twenty years.
“What kind of people are you working with? I would have thought you were raised better than partnering with thugs!”
Snorting, I glance at Emmett before speaking to her for the first and only time. “That’s rich coming from you.”
Still holding Paige, I turn just as all the first responders pull up. They fan out all over the parking lot.
“You got them?” I ask Emmett and he nods.
“Get her checked out. I’ll hand these two off to the police, then we can drop you back off at your place.”
I start to walk away, but he calls after me. I glance over my shoulder and he raises a single, pointed brow.