She took a deep breath. She could do this. There was no reason to be this jumpy. It was just a phone call and a package. Nothing to hurt her. “Okay, I’m hanging up now.” She turned to glance at the package one final time as she hung up the phone.
Shoes, she needed shoes in case she needed to run. Racing to her room, she grabbed her sneakers and a pair of socks. She’d put them on upstairs. As she entered the kitchen, the phone rang. Nathan was quick. She passed the table and was almost to the stairs when the explosion hit.
Something knocked her in the back and sent her flying through the air. She landed facedown at the base of the stairs, her face hitting the floor hard. Her head spun. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire. She coughed and realized that smoke was filling the air. Was the house on fire?
Digging her fingers into the floor, she dragged her body toward the front door. There was no going back through the kitchen. She thought about her laptop and moaned. It was certainly destroyed along with all of her new work. Which wouldn’t matter at all if she didn’t get out of here. It was getting harder to breathe and she coughed again.
The door seemed to be getting farther away rather than closer. Still, Emerald persevered. One inch at a time, she pulled herself closer to safety. When her hand hit the door, she almost cried in relief. The handle seemed a long ways away, but she pulled herself up, ignoring the agony in her back. Wrapping her hand around the knob, she turned and tugged. It didn’t open. She tugged again, harder. Frantic now, she pulled again and again until a little voice in her head reminded her that the front door was locked. Jackson made her keep it locked at all times when she was home alone.
It was hard, but she forced her hand away from the knob and found the locks and turned them. Her head was spinning and something was in her eyes. She swiped at them and stared at her hand when it came back bloody. A siren rang out in the distance and she knew that Nathan was coming for her.
Determined now, she grabbed the doorknob, turned it and pulled. The door came back with such force it hit her. Moaning, she dropped back to the floor. Fresh air hit her, reminding her of what she needed to do.
Shoving her shoulder against the screen door, she pushed it open, all but toppling onto the porch. She lay there totally spent, half in and half out of the house. Just as the world closed in around her, she thought she heard someone calling her name.
Chapter Sixteen
Terror unlike anything Jackson had ever known flooded his veins as he raced toward the house. He’d been on his way home for an early lunch when he’d heard the explosion. He’d started to run when he saw the smoke and knew it was coming from the direction of the house.
Yanking his cell phone from his back pocket, he dialed the house. It rang and rang, but no one answered. Swearing, he disconnected and dialed Nathan’s number.
“Emerald!” his brother’s voice barked into his ear.
His gut clenched. “No, it’s me. There’s been an explosion at the house. Call the fire department and get out here.”
“I’m almost there and the fire trucks are just behind me. Emerald heard from the stalker. He’d sent a package to the house addressed to you.”
Bomb! Neither of them said it even though both of them were thinking it. “Just get here,” Jackson snapped as he cut off the call.
He ran faster than he’d ever run in his life, his long legs eating up the distance. He practically flew through the orchards, past row upon row of apple trees, his feet thudding heavily against the parched ground. If Emerald were dead… He couldn’t even finish the thought. His chest felt hollow, his legs like rubber, but he ran.
He broke from the fields and sped across the yard, taking the stairs in one leap. Smoke billowed out the back door, thick and oily. Ignoring it, he yanked aside what was left of the back door and plunged into the kitchen. Coughing, he tried to see, but the smoke obscured his vision. “Emerald!” He called her name again and again as he felt his way around the room.
He ducked into her room, but it was empty. Stepping into her small bathroom, he grabbed a towel and plunged it in the sink as he turned the cold water tap on full. When the towel was soaking wet, he held it over his head and mouth and hurried back into the kitchen.
Jackson dropped to the floor and began to search. He heard the crackle of fire but ignored it. Nothing mattered but finding Emerald. His hand hit the doorway leading to the stairs. Maybe she’d made it upstairs. “Emerald!” he yelled and then went into a spasm of coughing.
He continued to move forward, sweeping his hand out around him as he went. He paused when he thought he heard something. “Emerald!” he called again and then listened. There it was again, a soft moan off to his right.
Scrambling as fast as he could, he made his way to the front door. Lying halfway in and out of the house was Emerald. Blood covered her back, making him sick to his stomach.
“Emerald? Sweetheart?” He tossed away the almost dry towel as he rolled her over, wincing as he saw the smeared blood on her face and forehead. He knew it was dangerous to move her, but he didn’t really have any choice. He had no idea how bad the fire was, but the smoke itself was a hazard.
Picking her up, he stumbled into the grass as Nathan swerved into the yard and came to a screeching halt. His brother jumped out and hurried toward him. “Is she all right?”
Jackson shook his head and coughed. “I’m not sure, but I couldn’t leave her in there.” He sank down into the dirt with Emerald still clutched tight in his arms.
A multitude of sirens filled the air and within minutes the entire yard was filled with fire trucks, police cars, an ambulance and the vehicles from every volunteer firefighter in the area.
Jackson didn’t care about the fire. The only thing he cared about was the woman being gently loaded onto a stretcher. He held her hand tight, refusing to let it go. Harry Flynn, the paramedic on board, didn’t even try to stop him from going with them, but just told him to stay out of his way. Jackson hunched down on the bench across from her as Harry worked on her back. It seemed that the cuts on her face were superficial and most of the blood was from her nose. Jackson winced as he imagined the force with which she must have hit the floor.
Emerald moaned and he squeezed her hand tighter. “It’s okay, Emerald. I’m here.”
She moved her lips and he leaned closer to hear her. She licked her dry, chapped lips and tried again. His name was more of a breath than a spoken word, but he heard it, felt it, right in the center of his chest.
“I’m here,” he told her again. Reaching out, he brushed her hair out of her face. She was lying on her stomach so he could only see part of her face. What he could see was battered and smoky, but to him she was still beautiful. All that mattered was that she was alive and that she would recover.
Two hours later he was sitting in a corner of the waiting room with his head bowed and his arms resting on his legs. His hands were clasped and he was doing something he hadn’t done much of in years—he was praying.
He’d had way too much time to think in the last two hours and he’d faced some pretty hard truths. He loved Emerald. There was no two ways about it. He didn’t care if the house burned to the ground as long as she was okay. He’d have rather died in there today with her than to live without her. He released the death grip he had on his hands and rubbed one of them over the back of his neck. Man, he had it bad.
He also loved her enough to protect her and then set her free. Whatever it took to make her happy was what he wanted. It was enough. It had to be because it was the only choice he had.
He looked up when footsteps approached, but it wasn’t the doctor. It was his family. He wasn’t surprised to see them all here and stood as they approached. Nathan and Abel looked grim and concern was written all over Erin’s expressive face.