Page 42 of Burning Rivalry

Lowering myself to the floor, touching my cheek to the hardwood, I closed my eyes.

Suddenly, what was left of my self-preservation broke through my oxygen-deprived brain. No. I would tell him in person, goddammit. I was not going to die here. I didn’t know if I was wheezing or sobbing or both as I dragged my body toward the door, forcing myself up on my knees to unlock it and almost collapsing from the effort. I leaned against it for a few seconds, hacking painfully before taking hold of the handle and throwing my body against the door to force it open.

The shrieking siren was replaced by another, this one getting louder as a red engine with flashing lights turned off the road and pulled into the lot. I had never seen anything so beautiful in all my life, even through my now cloudy vision.

They were here.

They would help me.

It was a good thing because I couldn’t help myself anymore, collapsing on my side beneath the awning bearing the restaurant’s name.

17

SEBASTIAN

The automatic doors hadn’t even finished sliding shut behind me when my voice cut through the room, commanding attention and wide-eyed stares from every person waiting to be seen. “Granger! Where is Claudia Granger?” I shouted.

Was I being too loud?

Did I give a shit?

I cared about nothing but seeing her since I got the call telling me about the fire and the woman found lying unconscious outside the restaurant. She had told me she was thinking about working in the new kitchen, making everything perfect for the soft opening.

Now, here I was, facing the possibility of losing her along with the new kitchen.

The woman at the triage desk waved me over, holding a finger to her lips as if that would do anything but make me more determined to scream. “Who are you looking for, sir?” she asked because, apparently, I hadn’t been loud enough the first time around.

Barely suppressed rage made my voice tremble. “Claudia Granger. There was a fire. She was brought in from the scene.”

“Of course. Wait one moment, please, and I will find out⁠—”

“You’ll find out now where she is, or I’ll go back there on my own. It doesn’t matter,” I declared, already on my way to the swinging doors leading back to the emergency room bays.

“Sir! We can’t let you do that,” the woman called out as if I’d asked for permission. A nurse exiting the ER opened the doors with her badge, and I took advantage by sliding past her.

“Claudia Granger!” I shouted, gaining the attention of nurses and orderlies who stopped in their tracks to stare at me as I searched.

“Sir?” A nurse came trotting my way, looking stern. “I can’t allow you to run through here, shouting and disturbing the patients. I’m going to have security escort you out.”

Instead of tearing her head off, I grunted, “My name is Sebastian Kennedy. It was my restaurant that caught fire.” Fuck, I could barely get the words out. “I’m looking for Claudia Granger. I was told they brought her here.”

“I see.” Her features pitched together in something closer to sympathy. “I’ll take you to her. Don’t worry. Smoke inhalation, that’s all. She was very lucky.”

That was serious enough, but in the grand scheme of things, it was the best I could hope for. There I was, imagining her badly burned. My mind had gone to the worst-case scenario immediately upon getting the call.

What I found upon entering the curtained-off area where Claudia waited on a gurney was still harrowing. Her face was streaked with soot left behind by so much smoke. The odor clung to her, almost choking me the closer I drew. Not that it would have kept me away. Nothing could have.

She breathed slowly, haltingly from the mask placed over her face, pumping the oxygen she desperately needed. A hacking cough left her convulsing. The sound and the sight of it broke through my shock, and I went to her, standing by the gurney, stroking her hair.

Her eyes slowly opened and moved over my face. A strangled cry threatened to tear itself from me. She was alive, looking up at me when I was so sure I would never speak to her again. “Thank God,” I whispered, bending to brush my lips against her forehead. “Oh, thank God. You’re all right.”

I was only able to hear because I was so close. “Define… all right…” She wheezed before coughing again. Even now, she couldn’t help but be a smartass. I was never so grateful to hear it.

“You’re here, and you’re looking up at me, and that’s a good place to start.”

“But… kitchen… restaurant…” She closed her eyes, wincing like it hurt to speak, which I had no doubt it did.

“You don’t have to say anything,” I insisted, finding her grimy hand and closing mine around it. “Nothing matters but you being safe.”