Blake holds up her hands and backs up a step. “You two need to chill.”
Levi turns to me. “We should have Hudson check her out again.”
I nod my agreement, Blake scoffs.
“I’m fine,” Blake asserts as she crosses her arms.
“Please,” I beg.
“Give us some peace of mind,” Levi adds.
Blake concedes, lets out a reluctant breath, and nods. Then points her thumb over her shoulder toward the ambulance as if she already knows the next person Levi needs to see.
Santiago.
I love the man like a brother, but Levi and Santiago are different. They make each other happy, and that’s all I want for them.
Levi is up and in the ambulance before I can blink.
Blake takes a shaky step forward, and I scoop her up in a bridal carry. When she doesn’t resist or complain, something inside my chest just clicks.
She’s in my arms.
She’s safe.
When we close the distance, we find Santiago sitting in the same spot I was in just two weeks ago. Levi sits at his side, holding Santiago’s hand in his lap. Hudson sits across from Santiago, wrapping his hand in a white bandage as Santiago holds a clear mask over his nose and mouth. His face is gray beneath the soot.
“Whoa,” Hudson holds up his hand. “One at a time.”
I nod in acknowledgment. “What’s the diagnosis?”
“I’m fine,” Santiago grumbles, removing the mask from his face.
Levi forces Santiago to put the mask back in place. “Hush.”
“Mild smoke inhalation and first and second-degree burns. He’ll need to change these bandages every twenty-four hours. I recommend continuing the oxygen through the night, and tomorrow he needs to go in and see a real doctor.”
Levi sits up straighter.
Hudson quirks a brow. “A doctor for humans. Not animals.”
Santiago pulls on the mask again. “Why are you telling them all of this instead of me?”
Levi pushes the mask back. “Because he knows you won’t listen to him, so we are going to be the ones who make sure you’re following his instructions.”
Santiago sighs, shaking his head.
“But he’s going to be okay?” Blake questions Hudson in a small voice, her fear coming through.
“Definitely,” Hudson answers.
Blake sags in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Now that that’s taken care of,” I start, “what the hell happened here?”
Blake’s voice only shakes once as she fills us in.
When she gets to the chain.
