Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
But even with the fear filling Salem’s eyes and the fine tremor of terror in his frame, Gregori knew there was no getting Salem out of the building until he knew each and every child was safely away. And that was why he loved him. No matter his own fear, he would always put the safety and well-being of children first.
“How long will it take you to get all the children safely evacuated?” he shouted over the alarms.
Salem swallowed hard. “Hours.”
That single word knocked the air out of Gregori’s lungs. That couldn’t be right.
“It’s the middle of winter. Too many of these kids will die if they are taken out in the cold. There aren’t nearly enough ambulances available to shuttle them off to nearby hospitals.”
Not to mention all the ones hooked up to countless machines to keep them alive. Evacuating an entire hospital was never a quick affair.
Gregori nodded and forced a smile he didn’t really feel. “Okay. You work on getting all the kids safely out of here. When they’re clear, you get out of here too. I’ll come find you. I promise.”
He released Salem, but before he could draw away, Salem grabbed his arms, his fingers like claws digging through his sweater to nearly pierce flesh.
“No! What are you doing? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to defuse the bomb.”
Salem looked him dead in the eye with a war of expressions. Unease being the most dominant one. “Can you…can you do that? You don’t have equipment or—”
“Hey, it’ll be okay. This is what I do. I’m a bomb expert, remember?” He cupped Salem’s cheek, sliding his thumb across the cheekbone. “Plus, I’ve got dragon magic to keep me safe.” As he said the words, he felt a stirring of unease considering how finicky his magic had been recently. But he couldn’t let Salem know. His mate needed to focus to protect the kids and get them to safety, which he’d never be able to accomplish if he was terrified something was going to happen to Gregori.
“But…but…” Salem stammered, his eyes darting around them at the nurses, doctors, and even police officers who were now rushing past them down the halls. “Shit. I do not like this. But you’re the most qualified here to handle it. Just promise me, if it looks like something you can’t handle, pull out.”
“I absolutely promise.”
The mage bounced up on the tips of his toes and slammed his mouth over Gregori’s in a hard, demanding kiss that didn’t last nearly long enough. Salem broke off the kiss and glared at Gregori, his hands still tightly gripping his arms. “Don’t you dare get hurt or I will be very pissed at you.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Gregori said with a wide grin.
Before they could say anything else, Salem was running off in one direction, shouting orders and generally being the amazing person he always was. Gregori knew he could only hope to do the same thing.
He spun on the balls of his feet and ran through the halls until he finally grabbed the arm of one police officer.
“My name is Gregori Valerii. I am a dragon and a bomb expert. How can I help?” he blurted out before the cop had a chance to say anything.
The irritation melted away from his grizzled face in a heartbeat and he almost looked like he was going to cry. “We’ve been looking for you!”
Okay. That wasn’t what he’d expected to hear, but it was nice.
“We were told a dragon was working here, and we were wondering if you could help with the bomb or maybe just getting people out of here.” The cop grabbed his arm and pulled him along as he continued to speak. “We got a bomb threat about ten minutes ago from a parent who lost his child back during the summer. Our negotiator tried to talk them down, but they’ve already committed suicide, leaving us to defuse the bomb.”
“Do you at least know where the bomb is?”
“Yes. Basement.”
“Bomb squad?”
His new companion grunted as he rushed down the stairs at his side. “They’re en route, but it’s going to be at least ten minutes. The team leader has been online since we located the bomb, examining it.”
Now the million-dollar question. “Does the bomb have a timer?”
The police officer swallowed hard as he looked up at Gregori. His face was pasty white, and beads of sweat were streaking down from his temples despite the chill hanging in the air. “We’ve got less than ten minutes until the bomb is supposed to go off.”
That sounded about right for Gregori’s luck recently.
He nodded and continued to race down the stairs to the basement. The officer at his side waved off anyone who tried to stop them as they hurried through a pair of heavy steel doors painted tan and covered in various official warnings stating this domain was for hospital staff only.