Page 94 of Break Me Not

“There's another issue. Jax⁠—”

“I don't want to hear it.”

I hung up on him, not able to take another moment of his excuses. I was losing it. Heart pounding, a sheen of sweat covering my body… I just needed to get to Liz.

It should have been a twenty-minute drive. I made it in ten.

There was a large crowd gathered, with people from the adjacent buildings, onlookers, and then reporters and news outlets. Firemen were already handling the fire, but the blaze was still going.

I parked in the middle of the road and ran out, pushing through the crowd until I saw her. She was alone, looking at her gallery as it went up in flames.

She seemed unhurt, wearing the same outfit she had on in the morning, a tight blouse and long flowing skirt with flats. I noticed she was missing the shawl she kept over her shoulders when she was in the office.

I ran to her. I couldn’t find relief until my arms were around her. She turned to me at the last moment, her face tracked with tears.

“Jax, I⁠—”

“Thank God you're okay,” I whispered against her. She started sobbing against me. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

“It's gone. It's all gone. I don't think they can salvage anything.”

I pulled away but kept her face in my hands. When she looked up at me with the most pained expression, I couldn't help but try and kiss everywhere I could reach. Her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. I was just so glad she was alive and safe.

The mere thought of losing the woman I loved so suddenly and so painfully was more than my fragile mind could handle. I’d never felt this afraid in my life. Never felt so much pain over something that could've happened.

We are so fucking lucky. So lucky. Too lucky.

“I'm so sorry. This is my fault,” I said. I could feel how much this hurt her. I could see how much it destroyed her. She looked like she was moments away from crumbling.

She was still crying when she tried to push me away.

“Jax, I need to⁠—”

“Jax?”

I turned to look at Claire. I hadn't realized she was here. I had forgotten everything else at the thought of losing Liz. Claire was holding water in her hands. She’d probably left for a second only to come back to…

My hands were still on Liz's face. She had tried to put distance between us, but I hadn't let her.

I could see us through Claire's eyes. I rushed to Liz. I brought her into my arms. I kissed her.

It didn't matter how long she’d been standing there. What Liz and I were to each other was plain to see.

“Claire, I⁠—”

I had so many things I wanted to say, but none of them came out of my mouth.

She glanced around us, looking at the people who were watching the scene unfold. We were not alone—something I also hadn’t accounted for.

Don't do anything reckless. But I had.

“I haven’t told her yet,” Liz whispered.

Fuck.

Claire slowly walked to us, her face twisting in an expression I couldn't make out.

I wanted her to do something. To say something. To scream. To hit me in the face. Something. And yet, even with the roaring flames and the sound of the fire hose running behind us and water splashing… It felt eerily silent.