The Billionaire’s Bride by L. Steele

34

Ava

Come on, come on, where are the two of you?

I gaze at the burning house, at the flames that leap up into the sky. The fire’s gotten even more fierce in the last few minutes. Shit, shit, shit.

It's bad enough that they risked their lives to save me. I shouldn’t have sent Baron in there…but Edward. Oh, my god, Ed. How could I have allowed him to be consumed by the fire? They are going to be okay; they have to be. The sirens wail in the distance and I close my eyes and sob. Help is on its way. It’s going to be fine, you guys. Just make it out of there. Please, just make it out.

Only when my knees touch the ground do I realize that I am praying. I clasp my palms together, stare at the entrance of the house. Come on, come on, please.

God, I am so sorry that I tempted him away from you. Please don’t take your anger out on him. Please. Let them both live. Please I beg you.

The sirens draw closer, then the fire-engine pulls up next to me. The firefighters jump out. One of them squats next to me. He’s saying something, but I can’t focus. Can’t take my gaze off the doorway. Come on, you guys. What’s taking you so long?

The firefighters swing into action. They unravel their hoses, train them on the house. A torrent of water zooms forth. Someone places a blanket around my shoulders. My thighs tremble and my heart flip flops in my chest. I stare at the doorway. Please, please, please.

"Miss, you have to move away; you are too close to the fire."

I shake off the arms that grip me. Not close enough. I am not nearly close enough. Please, you have both got to make it through. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to either of you.

I close my eyes, tilt my chin-up. Please, if you are up there and watching over us, I am sorry if I took him away from you. You know I didn’t do it to hurt you. I wasn’t being vindictive. It just felt right. Please don’t punish him for that.

More sirens sound, then an ambulance drives up and a medic jumps out. Someone’s talking to me. I ignore them. Please, please, please. I repeat the word like a mantra. If anything happens to either of them…please no, you can’t be that cruel. Please help them. Please.

A cry goes up around me. I snap my eyes open, lower my gaze to the door, to the two figures outlined against the burning inferno. I am on my feet and running. They stagger toward me and I throw myself at them. Edward catches me, then sinks to the ground, with me on top of him. "Ohmigod, ohmigod," I blubber, "ohmigod, Ed. I thought I’d lost you."

He rubs his palm down my hair and his fingers catch in a knot. My scalp tingles and it’s so familiar, so comforting, that my tears intensify.

"Shh," he holds me close, "it’s okay, I am here."

"Thank god, Baron got to you in time."

Edward kisses my forehead, "He saved my life." He glances past me, "Baron, where is he?"

"He was right here." I turn around to find he’s gone. “Wait, where did he go? Baron?” I call.

A few firemen surround us. One of them wraps the blanket around me again. "Miss," he says firmly, "we need to check him out and treat his wounds."

"Of course." I move away from Ed, who holds out his arm.

"Don’t go too far." He smirks.

"I won’t," I promise, half-smiling, half-crying. I glance around for Baron and can’t see him anywhere.

One of the medics tends to my wounds. Another attends to Edward. They place a mask over his face, then strap him onto the stretcher. I follow him toward the ambulance, glancing around again. Where the hell is Baron?

One of the medics walks past me and I hail him, "Excuse me, do you know what happened to the second man who walked out of the building?"

"If you mean the guy who saved your friend, he left."

"What do you mean, he left?"

The medic raises a shoulder, "He refused to be treated."

"But…he was hurt. How could you just allow him to leave?"

"Can’t force him to accept help, ma’am." The medic urges me into the ambulance. Shit, shit, shit. This isn’t good. It can’t be good. Why did Baron leave and without saying a word to me or Edward?

The medic slams the door of the ambulance, which sets off. I bite down on my lower lip. My fingers tremble, and I squeeze them together in front of me.

Edward pulls the oxygen mask off of his face. The medic protests and he dismisses her concern. "Just need a second," he insists.

She frowns, then nods at him.

He turns to me, "What's wrong, Eve?"

"It's Baron," I murmur, "he left."

"What do you mean, left?"

"He walked away. One of the medics saw him leave. He literally just took off, without saying a word to me. Why would he do that, Ed?"

Edward draws in a breath. "Maybe," he says carefully, "maybe he's telling you by his actions what he can't say in words."

"You mean," I swallow, "you mean, this is him saying goodbye?"

He reaches over and takes my hand in his, "You knew this was inevitable, Eve." He weaves his fingers with mine. "One of us was always going to come away empty-handed."

"It’s not fair." A tear runs down my cheek. "I love him, Ed. I love both of you."

"I know." He tugs and I sink down on the floor of the ambulance. I place my head on his chest. He flinches.

"Shit," I mutter, "you’re hurt."

"Nothing I can’t bear," he assures me. "I love you, Eve." He runs his fingers down my hair.

I turn my nose into his chest, breathe in the scent of smoke, of cut grass and testosterone. My belly trembles, my thighs clench, yet the emptiness in my chest gapes. More tears well up and I swallow them down. "I love you too, Ed."

A day later, I park the Aston Martin in front of my house. Edward had wanted to drive, but when I’d pointed out that he was on painkillers to combat the burns he'd suffered, he hadn't protested.

His wounds hadn’t been extensive though, thank God. All in all, we had escaped with minor injuries, considering how serious the fire had been.

Within hours of arriving at the hospital, the rest of the Seven had turned up, wives in tow. The men had huddled in conversation with Edward over the next few hours, while the women, including Isla, had kept me company.

I’d sensed their curiosity about the situation, though none of them had asked me where Baron was, and for that, I was grateful.

It seems he made my choice for me… Which is fine. I had told him that I loved Edward, after all; and I do. I am happy to be coming home with him, right?

But why couldn’t he have told me that face-to-face? Why did he have to leave without a word? I had tried calling him, but had only gotten his voice mail. I'd tried texting him, but he hadn't replied.

None of the Seven had heard from him either.

He had disappeared on his friends once before… And apparently, he is doing it again now. Does he just want to lay low for the moment? Away from me…and his friends. He had returned to his life and now, thanks to me, he had decided to go quiet on them again. Shit, I curl my fingers around the wheel.

"You, okay?" Edward turns to me. He’s wearing a black T-shirt, a jacket on top, and jeans with his usual shit-kicker boots. I am still getting used to seeing him in such normal clothes, I guess. With his hair long enough to brush his collar and the makings of a beard clinging to his chin… He looks so different… So rough. So not like the sleek, powerful man I saw slicing through the pool that day. He’s the same…yet not. And I know I caused the change in him… And it's thrilling, but also…a little bit overwhelming. Does anyone want to take on the onus of changing someone else’s life that completely? Had meeting me caused him more harm than good?

"Don’t," he mutters. He reaches out, places his palm against my cheek, "Don’t overthink it."

"Yeah." I glance away and he pulls his hand back.

"It’s safe for you to go back home, if that’s what you are worried about."

Ed had told me that the man he’d almost killed—Anton was his name—had given them more information on the men who were behind the attacks and my abduction. With Archer’s help, they had tracked down the men as they had been about to board a flight to Sicily. The men had confessed to all the attacks on me, including kidnapping me then setting the building on fire before leaving. They said that they were only following instructions. Their goal had been to send a message to the Seven, to stop enquiring after the Mafia.

They should have known that everything they did would only strengthen the resolve of the Seven to go after whoever was behind the attacks.

In this case, the Seven had made the decision to hand the two men over to the police, along with the third man, who is still unconscious. While the Seven prefer to stay away from the cops on most occasion, this time, they felt it was the best way to put the men behind bars long enough for them to not be a threat to us anymore. Of course, Ed mentioned, they have a contact in the police force who helped them to put the men away with the least fuss possible.

Of course, they do. The Seven are nothing, if not powerful and resourceful. They take care of their own. Which is why I don’t understand why they’ve decided to allow Baron this time away? I mean, aren’t they concerned that he might be upset enough to do something that he shouldn’t?

I turn to Edward. "I am not worried about my safety," I murmur, "I know you guys have dealt with my…" I swallow, "my attackers."

Yeah, it is still difficult to say that aloud. Given a choice, I’d prefer to forget about how they’d ambushed me, then broken into my studio, and ultimately, kidnapped me and left me, restrained, in a burning building. Thankfully, there are no other lasting injuries, though the last two nights I still haven’t slept properly. Which is to be expected. It had been an emotionally traumatic experience. And this, despite the fact that I had been so sure that the guys would get to me.

I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them after the incident. I had been kidnapped and held for a few hours. They had been kidnapped and held for closer to a month. The kind of scars they both carry… Are, clearly, so much more intense.

"Then what is it…?" he murmurs. "You can tell me, babe."

"It’s..." I close my eyes, "It’s nothing."

"It’s something."

How can I tell him, that while I am happy to be with him, a part of me misses Baron? Somehow, I had not thought that he would leave. While I’d chosen Edward…technically... I hadn’t realized that’s what I was doing, and I hadn’t completely comprehended that it meant losing Baron. Shit, why do I feel so...forlorn? Like I lost something vital, something I didn’t know had ended, until it was gone.

"It’s Baron, isn’t it?" Edward blows out a breath, "You’re thinking of him."

"No," I lie, "it’s just…everything over the last few days has been so much to take in."

I sense him peruse my features and I turn my face away. If I meet his gaze now, he’ll see exactly how little truth there is in what I am telling him.

I push open the car door and walk around to the curb. Edward steps out. His ankle is bandaged, and he has a cane to help him walk. It’s just a sprain. The burns on his back are more serious and will require daily visits to the burn unit for debridement.

I tuck my handbag under my arm—a new handbag that Isla had gotten for me. She’d also helped with packing my clothes at Edward’s house. Archer had packed up some of Edward’s things and helped transfer everything to my place.

I’d asked him about Baron, but Archer had confessed that he didn’t know where Baron was. He’d told me that he was moving Baron's things into storage. That's when I'd asked him for Baron’s home address—and he’d revealed that Baron had left the city. Temporarily, at any rate.

Which is good. It's good that he’s away, that there is no temptation to go check on him.

No, I have Edward. The man I had fallen in love with first. This…is everything I had hoped for. So, why am I not happier?

I reach for Edward’s backpack and he scowls at me. "No woman’s carrying my load."

"Of course, not," I mutter. "God forbid, you admit to actually needing someone’s help."

"Eve," he scowls, "that’s not what I mean."

"Hmm." I turn away, as he heaves his pack on his shoulder, then takes a step toward me.

"I know how you can help me," he says.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He holds up his arm, points at the space next to him. "Come 'ere."

I notch myself under his arm, and he leans on me. I wrap my arm around his waist, take some of his weight. Gah, he’s too heavy, but I am not going to say anything.

"Happy?"

I scowl up at him and he chuckles.

"Shall we go inside?"