I made it to the swinging door. My eyes burned when I pushed it open, every inch of me swallowed by the heat.
An inferno.
I refused to let it become our hell.
“Rynna!” I shouted. Beside me, an avalanche of metal clattered to the floor, and I jumped back, dodging it two seconds before I became a pile of rubble right along with it.
God. It was so fucking hot. So hot, I swore I could feel my skin melting from my bones. But I pushed forward, adrenalin thrumming through me like a bullet. I screamed again, “Rynna!”
It was faint, barely discernable. But I heard something rise above the thunder. A foreign sound just to my right. Or maybe it was just some kind of sixth sense. An acute kind of awareness. A need inside that became my greatest strength.
Blindly, I fumbled that way, dropping to my knees, teeth gritted against the flames.
My hands, they searched, running over everything like the diner was written in Braille. Each bump and dip telling me to hurry. That every second that passed brought me closer to running out of time.
Then my hand, it ran over something solid but soft. Something sweet.
And I was struck with so much goddamned relief, because it was my girls huddled at the foot of the back door. Rynna was slamming a pot against the floor, guiding me.
I tried to push the heavy metal door open, but it was wedged shut, surely why Rynna hadn’t been able to get out.
I felt like my lungs were exploding, but I gathered all of me. All my love. Every devotion. Every hope.
I reared back and kicked it.
When it didn’t give, I kicked it again.
It burst open.
I wanted to shout in victory. In hope. I rushed, grasping Rynna from behind, my little girl still in the safety of her arms. I dragged them out onto the pavement of the back lot, as far as I could get them away from the fire, before I collapsed to my knees beside them.
I choked and coughed while around me voices shouted and sirens blared.
Someone was on a radio, calling for help in the back lot, three victims down.
But the only thing I could focus on was their ash-covered faces. Frankie clutched in Rynna’s arms. I didn’t want to touch them, worried I’d cause more damage, but I was certain my baby girl wasn’t breathing.
My already failing heart stalled.
Oh God, please, no.
Rynna dragged in violent, choked breaths, eyes wide, no coherency in their depths.
“Help!” I screamed. “Somebody help.”
Footsteps pounded around me, rushing in. Someone pulled me away. I fought to get back to them, but hands were on me, restraining. “Let them take care of them, man. You’ve got to let them take care of them.” Seth’s voice was grit in my ear.
I slumped forward, dropping back to my knees.
Fireman and paramedics swarmed. Working. A controlled, frantic storm.
My world spun, and one was in front of me, taking my pulse and asking me questions, if I was in pain or if I was having trouble breathing.
He just had no idea all my breaths were wrapped up in them. That I’d gladly give mine. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Everything. Just as long as they were okay.
I sat hunched over in the hard plastic chair, elbows on my knees, exhaustion in my bones. People hustled on the other side of the door that’d been wedged open a crack. But inside this room? Time had stopped. Nothing less than a mind-altering waiting game.
Dimness floated on the feigned peace, and that steady beeping of the monitor lulled me into a sense of security I was praying wasn’t faulty.
“You should go get some rest, man.”
I jumped when the muted voice hit me from behind. I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to clear the daze, and shifted to look over my shoulder.
Kale stood there in his scrubs. Dude looked just about as weary as I felt. Since the second we’d rushed through the emergency room doors, he’d been running nonstop, making sure every test possible had been run on my daughter. Ensuring nothing was missed.
He’d been up all night and all of today.
“Think it’s probably you who should be taking a break,” I told him.
He let a smirk ridge his mouth. “Nah, I’m basically a super hero. Can’t keep me down. ”
Cocky asshole.
A light chuckle rumbled from my tongue. “That so?”
“Come on, look at me, you know it is.” He was all affable grins.
I turned my attention back to my daughter. Frankie was lost to sleep, tiny body tucked beneath stark white sheets.
Resting.
Whole and right.
According to Kale, things could go south up to two days after prolonged smoke exposure.
Which left me an unwilling player in this waiting game.
But Kale kept insisting I shouldn’t worry. That she was going to be fine. That he’d make sure of it.
She’d been dosed with precautionary antibiotics and breathing treatments, and Kale promised not a single base had been missed.
I’d always known it, but it wasn’t so clear what a damned good doctor Kale was until then.
“Thank you, man,” I muttered quietly. “No way I could ever repay you for what you’ve done.”
He made a sound of rebuttal. “I was just doing my job, Rex. You know she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you and Rynna.”
Rynna.
Beautiful Rynna. This girl who’d become my orbit. My sun. My gravity.
Rynna had saved my daughter’s life. She’d put herself on the line. She fought for her. For us. She loved her in a way that was absolute.
“Almost at the cost of her own.”
Everything pressed and pulled.
This gratefulness that had taken up residence in every part of me, up against this blistering agony at the thought of almost losing her, too.
“I won’t pretend to know Rynna all that well,” he said. “But from what I do? I’d bet she doesn’t regret rushing into that fire any more than you do. Which is why I’m here. You can see her now.”
My body swayed with the harsh heave of my breath. “Can you sit with Frankie for a while?”
“It’d be my honor.”
He shuffled in, his own exhaustion making itself known. I stood and then hesitated before I reached for him. I gripped him tight, hugged him hard, hand fisted in the middle of his back. “Couldn’t do any of this without you. Thank you, man, thank you so much.”
He hugged me back, saying nothing, both of us giving a moment of silence. A moment for grief. For what might have been.
Then he stepped back. “Go. Frankie’s in good hands.”
I started for the door when Frankie shifted and released a tiny moan. Instantly, I changed directions, going straight for my daughter, who hadn’t been awake for more than a total of an hour the entire day. Kale clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll be right outside the door. Let me know when you’re ready for me.”
“Thanks.”
I slowly sank back into the chair, every inch of me glowing when I brushed my fingers through my daughter’s hair, staring down at my world.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said, so close to managing her precious grin.
I ran my thumb over her squished-up brow, my voice so low. “Hey, Sweet Pea. How are you feeling?”
“My’s froat hurts.”
Anger pulsed, but I tucked it down.
“I know, baby. Uncle Kale is working on fixing you up so you’re good as new. Better than new. You just need to get lots of rest, okay?”
She barely nodded, her brown eyes wide in the muted light. I hated that I saw fear in them. That she’d been subjected to evil and greed. I kept brushing my thumb over her brow, letting her know I was there, that I wasn’t going anywhere.
Finally, she broke the silence, her words the barest whisper. “Daddy, I gots a secret.”
My heart fisted, threatened to fail, terrified of what she might say. Of what she might have experienced during the short time Jan
el had her.
Couldn’t stomach it, and honestly, I was a little worried about what I might do. What I already wanted to do. But I held all that back, because my daughter was the most important thing, not the rage boiling inside me. “What, baby? You can tell Daddy anything.”
She hesitated, like what she was going to say might get her into trouble. “I wants Rynna to be my mommy. Nots Janel.”
I choked over a quieted laugh, blinking at my sweet girl and wondering how I’d managed to get so lucky.
Edging forward, I pressed a kiss to her temple before I pulled back to meet those wide, trusting eyes. “How about we don’t keep it a secret? I say we tell the whole world.”
I’d been terrified of falling in love. Of losing someone else. Knowing there was no place inside me left to lose. Those vacancies went too deep.
But Rynna.
She filled them. Saved my world and gave me back my heart.
Rynna.
Fucking Rynna.
Little Thief.
43
Rynna
The door creaked open. I rolled my head that direction and tried to keep the tears out of my eyes when I found who was standing there. But I couldn’t. They escaped, hot rivers streaking down my face.
“Hey . . . you’re awake.” His voice was a murmur, cautious and low. Still, the magnitude of him hit me like a flashflood. Overpowering. Overwhelming.
“Frankie?” Her name felt like fire where it grated from my raw, blistered throat.
Fear and anxiety and hope.
The second I’d awoken, I’d begged the nurse for an update, for her to tell me that she was okay, for any news.
Because the last thing I remembered was Rex standing over the two of us while I’d held on to Frankie.
Instead of an answer, she’d promised me she would let them know I was awake so someone could come talk to me.
For a beat, he stared at me, his lip trembling while that powerful gaze bore into me. Then he smiled. This slow, amazed, adoring smile. “Because of you, Rynna. Because of you, Frankie’s going to be just fine.”
More tears fell. But these were pure, unbridled relief. I released them as if I were pouring them into the heavens. Gratitude for the prayers I’d been granted.
Rex angled the rest of the way into the room, footsteps eating up the floor, the bed shifting when he gingerly eased down at my side. He brushed back the matted hair stuck to my forehead, voice cracking when he repeated, “She’s okay . . . because of you.”
All the turmoil I’d held back suddenly came spilling out.
“I should have told you from the beginning. If I had, this never would have happened. I’m so sorry.”
Rex gave a harsh shake of his head, big hand cupping my cheek. “Don’t you dare apologize, Rynna. I could accuse myself since I should have known the whole time Janel was no good. That only a fool wouldn’t have known she’d been stealing from me from day one. Our relationship, our daughter, nothing but a ploy for her to get close to me. To gain access to my accounts so she and Aaron could embed themselves deeper into my life.”
His hold tightened on my face. “But all the blame? It’s on them. What they did to both of us is on them. They’re the ones who are guilty, and they’re going to be paying for it for the rest of their lives.”
“Did they catch them?” My voice quivered.
He gave a slight nod. “Twenty miles out of town. Cargo area loaded down with cash that most definitely didn’t belong to them. Apparently, there was a tape, too, one that implicated Janel in the original embezzlement charges that Aaron went down for.”
Tone laced with the significance, Rex continued carefully, “The video was from right before Janel left and was recorded at Pepper’s, Rynna . . . in the back office. Both she and Aaron were there.”
His statement hovered in the room. Permeating. Seeping into my consciousness.
Realization settled slow. “My gramma knew,” I finally said.
He nodded. “Yeah, I think she did. Now that I got a few more details, everything makes sense. The fact your grandma was right there the day Janel was driving away, shaken up, supporting me with the blow of both Janel leaving and finding Missy on the street. I think your grandma might have scared her away, probably why Janel came back after she heard she passed.”
Sorrow bloomed, weaving through that hollow space, the loss of my gramma a wound I was sure would never go away. But in it was something sweet and tender and gentle. Knowing. Just like my gramma had always been.
Rex’s jaw ticked. “I just . . . I’m not even sure I want to know what happened that day. Leading up to that moment. And even though it destroyed me at the time, the only thing I’m doing right now is thanking your grandma for everything she did. For protecting my daughter. I might not know exactly what happened, but after Janel tried to take Frankie tonight? Pretty sure I would have lost my daughter a long time ago if it wasn’t for your grandma.”
Adoration pulled at the corner of his mouth. “All the Dayne women, saving my little girl. Both coming into our lives exactly when we needed you.”
And that spot inside? It glowed. Warmth and light.
A soft smile fluttered at my mouth, and I shifted, ignoring the pain that burned hot on my left arm. “Maybe my gramma knew it all along, Rex. Maybe she knew it was supposed to be us. Maybe that’s why she was so insistent I come back here. She had a way of seeing things long before they happened.”
He smoothed his hand over the side of my head. Comforting. Soothing. I wanted to fall into his touch. Forever disappear. “You think she knew you were meant for me?”
My smile was timid, and I gave a slight nod. “Gramma always said we’d just know. That it’d be magic when it happened. Maybe she felt that magic long before either of us could.”
“It is magic, Rynna. Frankie’s here. You’re here. We’re together. And that’s all that matters.”
As soon as he said it, he winced, and a hard gush of air left his lungs. “I’m so sorry, Rynna. About the restaurant. So goddamned sorry.”
Reaching up, I wrapped a hand around his wrist, brought his palm to my mouth and kissed him there before I tugged it flat against my beating heart. “I would have given up anything to save her, Rex. Anything. The restaurant. My heart. My life.”
I clutched him a little tighter. “And I thought I was going to. I thought both of our lives were slipping away. And then you were there. Saving me. Saving Frankie.”
His expression tightened, almost grim in its emphasis. “Maybe that’s what being a family is all about. I’ve always been terrified of losing Frankie. Knowing I would never survive that kind of loss. When it became a possibility—losing either of you—I would have sacrificed everything. Anything. Sold my soul. Lost my life. And you . . . you, Little Thief . . .”
Thumb brushing across my cheek, his head angled to the side. Those sage eyes speared me, finding their way to my soul.
“You saved my daughter, Rynna.” He blinked at me, as if he were struggling for the right thing to say. “I knew the moment I met you that you were different. I fought it and fought it while you just continued to fight for me. To fight for us. But every time our paths crossed, I knew my life changed a little more. Truth is, I was terrified to take the chance. But like you said, it’s all about taking the right ones.”
He edged in, so close that our noses brushed and his breaths became mine. “You and Frankie? You were the best chances I ever took. And I was terrified both times. But if something doesn’t scare you? Maybe it’s not important enough. You are my life. You and Frankie are what it means to be a family. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
My heart went wild, flailing against its boundaries.
He dipped in and pressed his lips to mine. So sweet. Before he pulled back, pinning me with that mesmerizing stare. “I love you, Rynna Dayne. I love you so much, and I’m not ever going to let you go.”
Love. Love. Love.
It surged and spread and flowed. Filling every crevi
ce. Every void. And my heart. I think maybe it did manage to split in two. Held in the hands of two people. Two people who’d become my center. My focus. Etching themselves into my being.
Mounting Rex Gunner’s walls had seemed impossible. Those towering obstacles insurmountable.
Impenetrable and impossible.
But my gramma had always told me that life was just one long string of possibilities.
That chances were worth taking.
And this man and his baby girl? They were worth every single one.
The Epilogues
Epilogue One – Rex Gunner
“Are your eyes closed?” I asked, unable to keep from peeking over at her. At the incredible woman who rode in the front seat of my truck.
Just looking at her had every inch of me tightening.
In need.
In want.
In this mad kind of love.
She was beautiful.
So damned beautiful she was hard to look at. Rynna was the kind of beauty that shined and blinded and radiated. Inside and out. Flush with goodness and grace. That body still my greatest temptation.
Though, I had zero qualms about giving in.
“Yes. And you put this blindfold on me.” Rynna pointed at the strip of purple fabric, like I wasn’t already well aware it was there.
I suppressed a chuckle while she continued her little rant.
“Seriously, I’m not sure what you think I’m going to see because it’s pitch black in here.” Rynna almost whined, all of it done behind the most brilliant smile, the girl biting at her lip, totally failing at trying to keep her excitement contained. “And I’m pretty sure you’ve been driving in circles, trying to throw me off. Or get me sick. There’s that.”
But she was grinning so wide that I knew she was loving this every bit as much as me.
“Hold tight, baby. Your surprise is right around the corner.”
I eased the truck into a parking spot and killed the engine. I leaned across the cab, enjoying the way she inhaled sharply when I got close to her face, the way a shiver rolled down her spine when I leaned around her and gently untied the purple silk fabric from her eyes.
Tempt Me: A First Class Romance Collection Page 63
