Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Pierce, please.” I reach out and cradle his hands in mine. “Talk to me.”
With his head hanging, he says the last words I’m expecting. “I’m the reason Trent is dead.”
I let the words soak in, trying to understand why the hell he would shoulder the blame for Trent’s death, but when nothing comes to me, I say, “You’re going to have to explain so that I can understand.”
He releases a harsh breath and looks up, his bloodshot eyes meeting mine. “The night I caught Tanya cheating on me, I was driving around to clear my head. I didn’t want to go home, didn’t want to face the reality of my situation. I left my family and job to move to the city with her, and she was fucking another guy.”
I have no idea what that dumb woman was thinking, stepping out on a man like Pierce. However, her loss is my gain. If she hadn’t done what she did, Pierce never would’ve moved home, and I wouldn’t have met him. I never would have fallen in love with him. It’s crazy how life is so similar to a game of dominos. One move can set off an entire series of events…
He clears his throat, and I pull myself out of my thoughts. “I saw the flames, so I stopped. She said a young couple lived there with a little girl.”
“Who is she?” I ask, trying to put the pieces together.
“Your neighbor,” he confesses. “She was standing outside, yelling. When I went inside, I heard you scream for help.”
His words bring me back to that night—knowing no one was there to save us. I screamed for help anyway since it was the only thing I could do.
But I was wrong. Someone was there: Pierce.
“You saved us?” I choke out, tears filling my eyes at the thought that the man I love is the same man who saved my little girl and me three years ago.
“I didn’t have any gear with me. I just ran in and up the stairs, following where the scream was coming from. You were passed out, and Jordan…” He chokes on a sob, and I can’t help but fling myself into his lap, needing to hold him and touch him. “She was coughing and crying, but it sounded weak. Had I gotten there a few minutes later…”
“We would’ve been dead.” I cradle Pierce’s face in my hands. “It’s like it was kismet. You saved us, and now we’re together.”
A humorless chuckle escapes his lips. “You’re so focused on us that you’re forgetting a huge piece to that puzzle. Yes, I saved you and Jordan, but Trent…”
Oh shit. The first thing he said. I’m the reason Trent is dead.
“No.” I shake my head. “You are not the reason Trent is dead.”
“But I am,” he argues. “As I carried you and Jordan out, the firetrucks and ambulances arrived. They started assessing the situation, but I didn’t know…Fuck!” He drops his head against my chest, shaking it back and forth for several seconds before lifting it back up and looking at me with eyes so sad, my heart cracks.
“I didn’t know,” he repeats. “I didn’t follow proper protocol. I just went straight for you and got you guys out. When they asked if anyone else was in there, I told them I didn’t know.”
“Because you didn’t,” I say, lifting his face to look at him. “You couldn’t have known Trent was in there—”
“She said a young couple!” he hisses. “That’s two people. But once I had you and Jordan, I only thought of getting you two out. I didn’t think! I just acted. If I had followed protocol, I would’ve checked the downstairs bedrooms first, and he’d still be alive.”
“Is that why you’re upset? Because you didn’t check? You can’t blame—”
“No.” He shakes his head. “No, I feel guilty because the truth is…I’m thankful I didn’t check. Had I checked, I would’ve found him asleep…”
Trent had taken a high dose of sleeping pills that night—they were found in his system. He had been stressed about finals and was popping caffeine pills to stay awake then taking melatonin to sleep at night.
“And I would’ve carried him out,” he admits. “But I wasn’t in gear, and there was no way I could’ve gone back in after getting him out.”
He reaches for my hand and entwines our fingers together, then presses a kiss to my knuckles before speaking again. “You would’ve had to wait for the firefighters on duty to arrive, and instead of Trent, it would’ve been you and Jordan who died that night.”
When his eyes finally meet mine, they’re red-rimmed and puffy, and I hate how much he’s hurting over this.
“I hate that you lost Trent,” he whispers. “But if I had to do it over again, I would choose you and Jordan every time. When I found out that it was you, I was afraid…I am afraid you’ll hate me for not saving Trent as well.”