Riya was failing to keep her tears at bay. She put some cash on the bar and hopped down, as she nodded to Daniel. “I should go.” Her voice cracked.
Daniel looked concerned. “You sure you’re okay? Listen, Riya, I’m not sure what happened there, but it’s not your fault. We like to blame ourselves for things, but it usually isn’t anything we can control.”
She could unload her fears onto Daniel right now. He was a colleague, a friend. She just couldn’t bear to say the words out loud. She shook her head. “Thanks, but no.”
Daniel nodded. “Katie mentioned you were trying to get together a mentorship program for new women recruits. Kind of guide them through the process. She’s really excited about that.”
This was the most ridiculous thing she’d heard all day. Her, a mentor. What had she been thinking? She let out a derisive laugh. “Yeah. No. I don’t think I should be mentoring anyone. Katie’s fabulous, though. She should do it. I’m out.”
The tears were ready to burst out of her. She turned before anyone could see and marched out the door.
The morning dawned early, bright yellow sun taunting her at six o’clock as she mounted her bike. She hadn’t really slept: she had basically been waiting for the sun to rise so she could see in the daylight what the fire had done to Dhillon’s clinic.
Of course she cared about him. She didn’t even bother to tell herself that she didn’t. Denying those feelings was getting too hard. And denying them wasn’t making them go away. She’d just have to accept that she was completely in love with the one man who would never be able to love her back.
She parked her bike in the lot, and her heart sank. The sun revealed what the streetlights and moon could not. The clinic had been built decades ago, so the walls hadn’t burned down. But everything else had. The brick walls were scorched, the ceiling partially intact, the occasional beam still offering a modicum of support, but the rest was blackened, broken, burned debris. Gray and white ash covered everything.
Dhillon’s clinic was all but gone.
Her heart broke for him. His dream had indeed turned to ash. She analyzed as she walked closer to the remains. Most of the structure was destroyed, but a few beams still stood. Burned desks, monitors, supplies—nothing appeared usable.
“Hey.” Dhillon startled her as he appeared from inside the wreckage. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was standing on end. He was still in his scrubs. He hadn’t gone home yet.
Her instinct was to go to him, wrap her arms around him and tell him it would all be okay. He could start over, design the practice the way he wanted it. But he wasn’t hers. He didn’t need her.
Correction. He didn’twanther.
She couldn’t speak. He just stared at her. “Thank you. For pulling me out.”
She nodded. “It’s my job.”
“What happened in there, Riya? I have to know.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, Tristan was able to get Coco and London. But Nala ran to the back.” She looked away from him. “Hetal went after her. When we arrived on the scene, Tristan was just exiting the building. Lieutenant Ambrose and I entered. I found you, unconscious. A wall of flames separated me and you from Hetal and Nala. Lieutenant Ambrose jumped the flames and got to her, but not before she was burned.”
His beautiful features transformed from shock to anger as he listened to her account.“You.”
Riya nodded in agreement, willing the tears that burned behind her eyes to go away.
“I knew she was in there, so I had to get her out. We heard a bark, and I tried to go, but I passed out,” Dhillon said. “Hetal was trying to save Nala.Youmade her think she could save those animals. You. With your stories of heroism.” His voice was still smoke-gruff, but Riya heard him loud and clear.
“I’m sorry,” she choked out over her tears. Those two powerless words were too little, too late.
“Why are you here, Riya?” he demanded.
“I, uh, came to see how bad the damage was.” Riya couldn’t meet his eye, but she couldn’t stop looking at him. “You’ll have to rebuild.”
Dhillon shook his head, without looking at her. He picked up what looked like a monitor and threw it down in disgust. “There’s nothing here that’s worth keeping.” He finally raised his eyes to her. “I’ll have to start over completely. New building, everything.”
“The walls are still good.” She didn’t sound convincing, even to herself.
He glared at her like she was ridiculous, his hollow eyes now fierce with fury. “That’s what you have to say? ‘The walls are still good’?”
Butterflies invaded her stomach. She cleared her throat. “How is she?”
Dhillon stood tall, harsh lines defining his face. He folded his arms across his chest and turned away from her to study the rubble. “She needs grafts, there’ll be physical therapy...scarring.” His voice drifted off as if he couldn’t process what was happening. “I don’t know.”
He flicked his eyes to her for a brief second, then looked away. “What’re you really doing here, Riya?”
