Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Driving past the club into the back parking lot, my head turns as we drive past the chaos. There are hundreds of people gathered on the sidewalks out front, along with police cruisers and fire trucks blocking the road.
“I thought it was a small fire in one of the bathrooms,” I mutter to Sven as I swing my head back around to face the windshield when I can no longer see the front of the club.
“When you’re dealing with any kind of fire in a club like this, they evacuate everyone and every cop and fire department in the city shows up,” he says, pulling into the parking space reserved for him.
“I hope no one was hurt.”
“The alarm sounded, they followed procedure, and they got everyone out. No one got hurt.”
“It’s kinda weird that the fire was in the bathroom.”
“People rarely follow the rules. My guess is some kid was smoking in one of the bathroom stalls and either tossed a joint or a cigarette into the trash. It’s not the first time something like this has happened,” he says, shutting down the Suburban, unbuckling his belt, and hopping out. Unhooking my belt, I open the door then take his hand when he helps me down.
Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he leads me to the road then moves us toward two police officers who are trying to disburse the crowd.
“I own this—” Stopping midsentence, Sven turns and shoves me to the ground. My hands hit the concrete right before my knees do. Starting to push myself up, his body covers mine and his arms wrap around my head. People around us scream and the sound of gunfire registers.
“Stay down!” someone yells as the windows explode, causing glass to rain down on us.
“Sven!” I scream when his big body jolts on top of mine.
“Shhhhh.” His hands wrap tighter around me, and I feel the top half of his body lift an inch and I cry out.
“Don’t leave.” Wrapping my hands around his arms at my head, I hold on tight.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers gently, and tears fill my eyes.
“They’re gone!” someone close by yells, but Sven doesn’t let me up. He stays on top of me, and I notice his breath is shallow and his weight has gotten even heavier.
“They’re gone,” I whisper, digging my fingers into the skin of his arms. Rolling him to his back, I scramble to my knees, pressing them to his side as I lean over him. Running my eyes over his torso, I see his grey shirt is turning red near his ribcage.
“Help!” I shriek, pressing my hands over the wound at his side.
“Are you okay, baby?” he asks, sounding short of breath, and my eyes swing up from my hands to his face, noticing his eyes look glossy and his face is pinched in pain.
“Stay still. Don’t talk,” I whimper, resting my forehead against his.
“Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay, and so are you.” I kiss him then lift my head when a shadow falls over us. “Please,” I breathe, looking into the eyes of the firefighter across from me. Jerking his head once, his hands move over mine and he pulls them away, and then he yells at someone behind me.
“Miss, I need you to stand back,” an officer says, wrapping his hand around my bicep. Tilting my head back to look up at him, I feel tears fall from my eyes and down my cheeks.
“I need to stay with him,” I whisper, and his eyes fill with concern.
“I promise you won’t be far, but the paramedics need room to work.”
Biting my lip, I look from him down to Sven, drop my body forward, and press my mouth to his ear.
“I’m not going anywhere, but they need to look after you, honey.” He doesn’t reply or even move, but when I lift my head above his, his eyes lock on mine. “Promise I’m not going anywhere.” I lean in and press my mouth to his, holding it there as I try to control my tears.
“We’ll stay close,” the officer says as he places his hand on my back. It takes everything in me to go with him, moving away from Sven. All I want to do is lie down next to him, to absorb his pain, to make him better. Reaching down, I grab his hand, squeezing gently, feeling his fingers tighten on mine before releasing. Moving back with the cop, I watch the paramedics and firefighters swarm, blocking him from view.
“Let’s get him in the ambulance,” I hear an EMT say, and I feel my world falling out from under my feet.
“Can I go with him in the ambulance?” I ask the officer at my side as my arms wrap tighter around my waist, trying to hold myself together.
“I’ll find out for you. If not, I’ll take you.”