That made sense. How many things throughout our days were simply habit? I lifted my gaze to Beckett as he brushed the hair out of his face. My breath caught as those blue eyes seemed to almost sparkle. “Thank you for doing this.”
He shifted a touch closer. “Of course. It’s good for me to have a brush-up, too.”
“Worried about being attacked on the streets of Wolf Gap?”
Beckett let out a low chuckle. “Never know what kind of hooligans you could run into.”
That chuckle did something funny to my insides every time it sounded. As if I could feel the vibrations skating across my skin and landing low in my belly. A loud shattering sound pierced the air, breaking through my thoughts of pleasant shivers and warm heat. My head jerked around in the direction of the sound, and everything slowed.
The huge picture window had fractured, sending glass flying in all directions as a ball of flame came hurtling in my direction. I couldn’t think, couldn’t move. I just stood frozen to the spot as flames flew towards me.
A force hit me from the side, tackling me to the floor. Pain bloomed in my side, and my head hit the floor. Light flashed, and then there was nothing but the sound of crackling flames.
22
BECKETT
I rolled Addie to her side, shielding her body with mine. The sound of the explosion had me fighting the pull of memory. The sound of gunfire. The screams. Adrian’s cries for his mother.
The heat of flames licked out at my back, dragging me out of the memory. I rolled Addie, taking us farther away from the fire. As soon as there was enough distance, I jumped to my feet and ran for the blanket on the couch. I threw it over the worst of the flames, stepping on the material and tamping down the fire.
“Addie! Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
Her voice was shaky, and I turned to face her. She held a hand to her head, and blood tracked down her cheek. Panic raced through my veins, burning a trail that was a mixture of the past and the present. I stomped out the rest of the fire and rushed towards her.
As I sank to my knees in front of her, sirens sounded. At least, a neighbor had already called emergency services. I reached out to frame Addie’s face but stopped myself. “Where does it hurt?”
“I’m fine, Beckett. Really.”
“You’re bleeding,” I gritted out. “Let me see.”
Addie slowly lowered her hand, revealing a nasty cut on her cheek.
“Shit.”
Her eyes lifted to mine. “Bad?”
“You’ll be fine once we get you cleaned up. Might need some of that glue again.”
Addie let out a shaky breath. “I can handle that.”
“Did you hit your head?” I scanned her pupils, but they looked relatively normal.
She moved her head side to side, testing it, and winced. “I think when we fell.”
I moved on instinct, pulling Addie into my lap and holding her against me. She was fine. Would make a complete recovery. But right now, I needed to assure myself that she was alive and breathing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just saw those flames and—”
Addie cut me off, fisting her hands in my t-shirt. “I’d much rather a bump on the head than a face full of fire.”
Her words had me tightening my hold. “It’s not funny.”
“I know.” She pressed her unmarred cheek into my chest. “What was that?”
“I think it was a Molotov cocktail.”
Lights flashed, and the sirens cut off. Firefighters ran up the walkway. I should’ve gotten up and unlocked the front door, but I couldn’t get my body to obey.