Page 40 of Never Alone
"Just one question—about the firefighter?—"
Noah's hand tightened on mine.
I looked down at him. His face had gone the color it went when he was trying not to cry. His mouth was a small, flat line. He was looking at the camera and trying not to, and his other hand was bunched in the leg of my pants.
I felt the cold start low and go up fast.
I heard an engine behind us.
A truck pulled into the parking lot.
The woman with the microphone glanced past me, registered who it was, and her face changed in a way I didn't have time to read.
The driver's door opened and shut. I heard boots on the asphalt.
Cole walked past her without looking at her.
He didn't break stride. He didn't say anything. He came up to me, bent at the knees, scooped Noah up against his chest with one arm—the same one-armed practiced lift he'd used when he'd carried him out of the window—and put his other hand flat on the small of my back, turning us both toward the building.
His hand on my back was warm. His hand stayed.
The cameraman tried to circle around to get us in frame. Cole turned his head.
"She said no."
It was the voice of a man who was telling you something one time and was not going to tell you twice.
"Now, get off the property."
The woman opened her mouth. Closed it. The cameraman lowered the camera a fraction.
Cole didn't wait for them to leave.
He walked us into the building.
The door swung shut behind us, and the sound of the parking lot cut off. The hallway was empty. He didn't put Noah down until we were out of sight of the lot.
"Thank you." My voice came out small. "Thank you, Cole."
Noah pressed against my hip and held on with two fistfuls of my pant leg. His face turned away from the front door we'd just come through.
"You two alright?" Cole asked.
"We're okay."
He held my gaze. His eyes were dark and steady, and he was holding something back.
"Can we talk?"
Something in me went still.
"Okay."
I led him to the stairs. Noah clung to me. He looked back at Cole twice on the way up, as though he was making sure he was still there.
I got the key into the lock on the second try and pushed the door open.
Inside, I crouched in front of Noah. He was still pale, his mouth still that small, flat line.
