Page 45 of Burning Escape

“He is light. And He’s not going to leave you or push you away. He’s always with you.”

“Okay.”

Then that’s what I want. I want You, God.

Light and peace flooded her body and soul, and for the first time she could remember, she slept without fear.

TEN

Orion watched Tori sleep,praying over her.

In his mind he could still see Tori hanging over the strange man’s shoulder, her arms dangling down. Lifeless. Somehow it wasn’t too surprising that it’d been the same man who’d tried to force Tori to dance with him that night Orion had arrived in Alaska. Orion had yelled and broken into a full-out sprint to take the guy down.

Which might not have been the best idea, since he’d dropped Tori in his rush to get away. Even now Orion’s shoulder throbbed in agony after tackling the kidnapper.

But he’d still gotten away.

At least Tori was safe now.

Where pain had etched lines into her face when she was passed out, a new sense of peace now smoothed her features into a slight smile and steadied her breath. She still held his hand, though her grip had relaxed and melted into his. He studied her fingers, slender and small compared to his big paws. The calluses on her palms were a testament to her determination and strength.

He wanted the chance to get to know Tori even more. To see if there was something to this…thing between them. If he’d read the room right, she’d had a pretty serious “come to Jesus” moment.

It ignited something in him that he could finally pursue and stop trying to douse.

But someone was out to get her.

And he wasn’t about to sit back and let that happen.

The door opened and JoJo walked in. “How’s she doing?” She nudged his bad shoulder.

He sucked in a breath. Couldn’t hold back the wince.

“Ry, are you okay?”

Not really. He breathed out slowly, avoiding her gaze.

“Did you hurt yourself when you took Tori’s kidnapper down? I mean, it was a textbook-perfect tackle, but he was a big guy.”

Yup, and Orion’s already injured shoulder had taken the brunt of it.

Probably how the creep had gotten away so easily. Orion hadn’t been able to hold on.

“Your silence is pretty telling. You better get that looked at.” JoJo stood over him, hands on her hips, very much looking like an older sister.

A very annoying, thinks-she-knows-it-all older sister.

“It’s fine. Just a little sore.” He let go of Tori’s hand, but he couldn’t even shrug with the throbbing pain. So much for nonchalance. “Where’s Raine?”

“She fell asleep in the waiting room. Neither of us were going to leave without knowing how Tori is doing. Now, back to the issue at hand—you’re not leaving here until you see someone. Not to pull rank or anything, rookie, but if you’re injured, we need to know.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.” He was strong enough to handle a little pain. After everything his mom had sacrificed in life for him, after everything he’d cost her, he could push through the discomfort. It was his calling to save others. Hard to do that sitting at the base.

“We’re all depending on each other while we’re fighting a fire, so I’ll make sure Jade knows. Might as well bite the bullet and get it looked at now.”

So, older sister know-it-all and tattletale too. Lovely.

A few X-rays and one exam later, and Orion was officially on medical leave complete with a sling and pain killers, the only blessing being that nothing was broken.

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