The last thing Jacob had told him before Mårten had put away his phone and lined Tyrone up in his gun sight was that a Seattle police unit had arrived and parked behind the taxi, with two more on the way, and they should be heading in his direction at any moment.It was a five-minute run from the car park down the secluded path to the clay pits.So where were they?Why weren’t they here already?
As if in answer to his thoughts, a few moments later, someone dropped a piece of heavy clothing over the top of them and began wrapping them in it, making sure all the flames were indeed out.Mårten glanced up and saw a uniformed cop using his police-issue jacket as a fire blanket.
“Stay on the ground,” the cop ordered.“We need to make sure it’s completely out.”Another cop was making his way across the clearing, removing his coat as he came.The first officer took the jacket and said, “Tell Harman and Tarismin to bring as much water as they can find.Then, call in the paramedics.I’ll check on the other guy.”Mårten assumed the cop meant Tyrone, but they would find him dead.He knew his aim had been true.
Summer whimpered and pushed him away.“It’s okay, baby,” he soothed.“Just lay still.We’ll get you some help as soon as we can.”Mårten knew he hadn’t been able to protect her completely, and now he needed to check how badly she’d been burned.He braced himself and gently rolled her onto her back, using the police jacket to keep her off the earth.First, he checked her feet and her lower legs, which were most affected by the burning dress.He winced, but forced himself not to look away.All of her lower limbs were an angry lobster-red, with some blistering around her ankles, but none of the skin was broken or blackened.He was no doctor, but these looked like second-degree burns at worst, and he drew in a deep breath of relief.They were bad, and she would need hospitalization, but it could’ve been a lot worse.
Working his way up her body, he lifted what was left of her charred dress at around mid-thigh to check that the burns didn’t extend further up her torso.Then he checked her bare arms, which were singed and red, but the skin wasn’t even blistered here.He wasn’t proud of himself—he hadn’t been able to protect her absolutely like he’d wanted to—but she was alive and she would make it through, hopefully without too much trauma and scarring.Finally, he let himself look at her face, smoothing the hair away from her brows, and brushing the dirt from her tear-stained cheeks with his thumb.He stared deep into her eyes.God, she was beautiful.Alive and beautiful.
“You came,” she said simply.“You’re supposed to be on another continent, and yet when I needed you…” More tears brimmed in her eyes.“She sat up and threw her arms around his neck.He didn’t know what to say, so he just held her.
A few moments later, an officer arrived with bottles of water and began fussing over Summer’s legs, pushing Mårten out of the way.“I’m Constable Harman,” she said.“We need to get these burns cooled,” she added matter-of-factly, as if treating someone who’d been set on fire by a madman in the middle of a national park was an everyday occurrence.“Paramedics will be here soon.”
“Oh, Mårten, your hands.”Summer’s exclamation took him by surprise, and he glanced down at his palms, astonished to find they were red, raw and blistered.He hadn’t even noticed he’d been burned, had felt no pain at all, because he’d been so worried about Summer.It must’ve happened when he’d beaten the flames out around her legs.
“Looks like you’re going to need treatment too, sir,” Constable Harman said, opening another bottle of water and handing it to the first cop to pour over his palms.He knew he’d also need treatment for his stab wound; it felt like the stitches had busted open as he leaped over the flames, but that could wait.He wasn’t going to traumatize Summer again by lifting his shirt and letting her see the blood that was certain to be there.Instead, Mårten sat back and let the police officer administer to him, locking his gaze with Summer over the top of Harman’s head.There was relief, and gratitude, and something else in her dark brown eyes.
There was so much he wanted to convey to her.So many things he wanted to explain.But he had time now.Tyrone was no longer a threat, and Mårten was determined he was staying in America until Summer heard what he had to say.Heard him and, hopefully, felt the same way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
NIKKI CAME BUSTLING into the room carrying two blankets and two glasses of water.She put the water down on the side table nearest to where Summer was sitting on the couch and then proceeded to flap around with a blanket, placing it gently over Summer’s lap.Then she did the same to Mårten, who was ensconced in the single armchair next to her.
“Is there anything else I can get you?”
“You’ve done more than enough, thank you,” Summer said with a genuine smile.
Jacob came to stand in the doorway, a big grin on his face.“Look at the pair of you, like an old married couple of invalids,” he joked, but Summer could see the affection hovering behind his eyes.It was his way of telling them he was glad they’d both survived.
Nikki was still flitting around them, repositioning Summer’s blanket and opening the window a crack to‘let in some fresh air’.
“Come on, we’re going out.These two will cope for a while on their own.They need some space,” he added, gently taking Nikki by the arm and leading her out of the room.
Mårten and Summer sat in silence as they listened to the other couple fuss about getting shoes on and grabbing handbags in the hallway, before Nikki called out, “See you in a couple of hours.Text us if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Mårten replied.Then the front door clicked shut and they were finally alone together.
“It was so lovely of Nikki to let us stay for a few days,” Summer commented into the silence.
“I’m not sure we had any choice in the matter,” Mårten replied, tilting one corner of his lips up in a sardonic grin.“I think if you’d insisted on living at your place, she would’ve just come around and kidnapped you in the middle of the night.”
“Either that, or she would’ve moved in and slept on my couch,” Summer agreed, also with a twitch of her lips.Nikki’s heart was in the right place, she hadn’t wanted Summer to spend her first few days out of hospital alone in her little flat.And so she had presented the idea that the spare bedroom Summer had used earlier was still vacant, and she would be nursing Mårten with his bandaged hands anyway, so she may as well look after both of them at the same time.Jacob had backed her up, agreeing that the best place for Summer while she was recuperating would be at their house.Summer was still struggling to get around with both legs bandaged, and she was also taking some powerful painkillers.Who knew burns could be so painful?
Summer could barely walk from one end of the house to the other, and she certainly wouldn’t be jogging or riding a bike any time soon.But it could’ve been much, much worse.Mårten was nearly as badly off as she was; he had very limited use of both hands.Nikki had demanded that he stay in Seattle with her and Jacob for the next few weeks.Until he could prove that he was mostly independent and could handle everyday tasks, like getting dressed by himself, or even the simple task of using eating utensils.So they were both spending their invalid days being pampered while Nikki waited on them hand and foot.
While Nikki was doing this out of the goodness of her heart, sometimes Summer wondered if the other woman didn’t also have an ulterior motive.Such as keeping Mårten and Summer under the same roof for as long as possible.Summer suspected that Nikki was still playing matchmaker, even now.
“How are you feeling?”Mårten asked, rising from his chair and coming to sit on the couch next to her.His leg brushed hers as he sat, and the little hairs along her arms and on the top of her thighs rose to attention.His touch still caused an electric charge to run through her every single time.
“Better today,” she consented.“The nurse said I’m healing well.She said I might start using the waterproof bandages in a day or two.”Which would be great, because it meant she could at last shower herself.Having to take a bowl bath every day to get clean was not Summer’s idea of fun.Nikki had arranged for a nurse to visit once a day to check their wounds and make sure they were on the path toward healing quickly.
“How about you?”She pointed to Mårten’s hands.It was still a struggle to see his poor hands and not feel terribly guilty; he’d been burned trying to save her.If she’d just listened to him in the first place and stayed in Sweden, none of this would’ve happened.Mårten had never once saidI told you so, however, and she was grateful for his lack of righteousness.He’d also re-opened his fresh stab wound in his rescue attempt, and it had to be stitched again, with the doctor giving firm instructions not to exert himself in any way for at least two weeks.Mårten had given the doctor a rueful smile and made the promise, but Summer had her doubts about whether he would keep it.The man was infuriating sometimes.
Mårten lifted his left hand.“This one is good,” he said and flexed his fingers to show her the movement he now had in that hand.Only two of his fingers remained bandaged, with a thin white swathe still covering the flashy parts of his upper palm.
“This one is going to take a little longer.”He grimaced.Mårten was right-handed, which made his injury all the worse.
Summer hadn’t viewed the damage to his hands since Saturday, four days ago, when they’d been blistered and an angry red.If they were anything like her burns, the blistered areas would still be weeping, and the red areas would be peeling as new layers of skin were laid down.
