“Well?” Victor’s gruff voice broke the silence like a hammer.
“Well what?” I asked.
Victor grunted. “Are you going to explain what I saw back there?”
My mind flickered back to the heat, the smoke, the flames. The overwhelming sense of panic seeped back into me. I groaned and rubbed my temple. “I don’t know.”
Victor exhaled and crossed his arms. His voice was stern, but kind. “Take your time. It’ll come back to you.”
The pressure of the question drove into my skull and I felt myself begin to panic again. Victor must have noticed a change, because he glanced at me and interrupted. “Hey. Don’t get anxious. You’re safe now.”
“I know,” I murmured. “I mean… I don’t know. I don’t even know who you are.” Our eyes locked, then my gaze drifted down his jawline to his collarbone, then to his strong biceps. A flash of memory came back to me. “Are you the one who saved me from the fire?”
Victor only nodded.
I blinked in appreciation. “Thank you.”
“It’s my job,” he grunted. “There’s no need to thank me.”
His gruff aura gripped me like a claw. He intimidated me, and at the same time, I wanted to be closer to him. I wanted toknowhim.
“Still,” I said, more meekly than I meant to. “I would have died without you.”
Victor looked away.
“Your name is Victor, right?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then, thank you, Victor.”
“Liam, is it?”
The way my name rolled off his tongue, short and thick, like a growl, made my muscles tense. “Yeah.”
“Don’t thank me again.” He stood like he was about to leave. “We're fire fighters. That’s what we do.”
I shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to say. “Okay.”
Victor exhaled. He ran a hand through his thick brown hair. “Are you safe?” he asked suddenly.
“I think so,” I said, looking myself over.
He let out a throaty sigh. “I don’t mean – I meant, why were you alone in that shit scrap of a building?”
“I lived there,” I said simply.
“Why?” he grunted.
I paused and held my head in my hands. That awful dull throbbing was back. “I don’t know.”
Heavy footsteps approached as Victor came to my side. He towered over me, his shadow looming like a great beast.
“Does anyone know?” he asked quietly.
Fear flashed in my chest. “Know what?”
His lip raised, just slightly baring a canine tooth. “Don’t play dumb.”
