Page 74 of Waging War
More like… incredible. “She’s one lucky little girl, that’s for sure.”
The ink covering my back suddenly tingles, and for the first time in years, I feel my mom’s presence with me. It blankets the room like her ghost has somehow slipped inside, wrapping herself around the three of us.
I’m only now realizing that my birthday celebrations weren’t the only thing that went with her when she passed. My ability to truly love another person while trusting them not to leave me went too.
She would have wanted this for me.
My heart swells to know that Jules and Cassidy have chosen me to share their friendship with, and I’m going to do everything I possibly can to protect them and this tiny, innocent life.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Hazel
“Holy shit.” My hand flies to my mouth as I stare at the disaster in front of me.
What was once Lucky’s is nothing but a charred skeleton of brick and foundation.
The only light source out here is a single streetlight and the moon shining over the eerily silent remnants of the bar. The scuffing sound of my boots through gravel seems to echo louder than usual as I creep toward the hollowed entryway.
“How could this have happened?” I wonder aloud. It’s barely been twenty-four hours since my conversation with Jack, but suddenly, a sick feeling expands in my gut.
Could this have happenedbecauseof our conversation?
The scent of burnt wood is strong enough to indicate that this was a recent fire. The soot on the brick easily coats my finger when I swipe at it, and little puddles of water pool across the foundation from where someone at least attempted to extinguish the fire.
The rumbling throttle of a truck coming up the road sounds seconds before I see the headlights crest the hill.
“Shit!” I scurry around the cool, damp pavement and kneel behind one of the walls that managed to survive.
Ringing panic beats against my skull when those same headlights slide across the bones of the building. Eyes shifting over every corner, I inch toward an open archway behind me.
The truck halts just outside the barrier hiding me. A pair of feet hit the ground with a thud, and I decide whoever’s visiting a burnt-down building in the late hours of the night isn’t someone I want to be caught by.
A large shadow passes over the side of the building in front of me. The window has shattered, leaving a small open rectangle next to the spot where a door once stood.
Screw it.
I spin for the exit, but just as I’m starting to sprint, the toe of my boot jams beneath a hook of rebar, and I go down. With palms extended, I break my fall against the ice-cold foundation, but not in enough time to recover.
“Shit!” Frantically tugging my leg, I try to wiggle my boot from under the thick metal.
“Who’s there?”
The grip I have on my calf tightens painfully as I hold my breath. Whipping around behind me, I meet the gaze of the one man I’d been hoping to avoid.
“Hazel?” Three long strides are all it takes to get Ben across the space and kneeling beside me. “Christ. What did you do?”
I shove his hand away, ignoring the way my blood spikes uncomfortably at the contact. “I’m fine. Just a little incapacitated at the moment, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
I hate that it takes as little as just one look for the guy to have my palms sweating and my lower abdomen tightening. This body knows all too well what Ben can reduce it to.
The way I want to run my fingers over every sharp, delicious angle of his face has my fists balling up at my sides. I’m still pissed at him for leaving me, lying to me, and betraying me.
“Wipe that smirk off your face, Benjamin.”
He ignores my blustering and shifts beside where my leg is extended. Reaching for the rebar, he grunts as he pulls on it hard enough that, after two attempts, I’m able to slip free.
I rub the spot without meeting his gaze. “Thanks.”
