Pain flashes in Ronan’s eyes as they flick up to meet mine.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He reaches out to cup my face. “Does it hurt,Tine Bheag?”
“I…” My face crumples, my mind and body too overcome with exhaustion to even offer him an answer.
“Try not to move too much, okay?” He looks calm, though I can see the concern on his face.
Blood drips down the side of my face and floods my mouth, so I’m sure I look pretty beaten up. But cuts can be stitched up. What I need to know is if my baby is all right.
“Ronan,” I gasp. “The baby?—”
But Ronan’s no longer paying attention to me. Instead, he turns to look over at the smoking wreckage, and before I can even open my mouth to scream, he starts to sprint toward it.
“Ronan!” Brennan yells.
“I’m getting him out!”
Brennan’s eyes widen. “It’s going to explode! Have you got a death wish?”
I can only watch, frozen, as Ronan dives back into the smoking wreck.
The smoke is so thick that I can barely make him out as he fights with the driver's side door.
I’m half climbing out of the car to go after him, but Brennan’s arm locks around my waist, holding me back. I try to fightagainst him, but my limbs feel like lead, and I don’t have the energy to push him off.
Then the screaming starts. It’s so loud that my head throbs, though that might be from where I hit it against the window as the car flipped.
Where is it coming from?
Oh god, it’s me. I’m the one screaming, but I can’t seem to stop…
Suddenly, through the smoke, Ronan emerges, dragging a half-conscious Stephen behind him. Blood drips down his temple, and his leg is bent at an odd angle, but he’s alive. For now, at least.
I sag against Brennan’s arms, my throat raw and dry.
“Call the others!” Ronan calls out. “We need a medic. He’s no use to us dead!”
“Fucks’ sake.” Brennan drops one of his arms from around my waist to reach for his phone. “Ciara, get back in the car?—”
I take my opportunity to break free from Brennan’s hold and sprint toward Ronan, throwing myself against his chest.
He gasps as I knock the air from his lungs, but then his arms are around me, crushing my body against him.
Everything hurts, and my head spins, but I don’t care. All I want is to stay in the safety of his arms and never let go.
I take in his scent, now tainted by the smoke, but still feeling like home. “You could have died.”
“But I didn’t.”
I pull back and smack him on the chest. “You could have been blown apart! What the hell were you thinking?—”
“I was thinking I need him alive. So we can finish this, once and for all.”
Ronan takes my wrist and brings it to his lips. kissing the inside of my wrist, and my anger melts away at the contact.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was the mole?”
“Because I didn’t know, not until Tamara called me.” He moves to cup my face, swiping his thumb over my lip. It comes away bloody, and a crease forms between Ronan’s brows as he looks down at it.
