The room remained unbearably silent until it was broken long minutes later by a cry I’d only heard a handful of times in my life. The familiar comfort of my mother’s soft hand landed on my cheek as she dropped her head to my chest and sobbed. “Oh, my baby boy. Thank God you’re okay.”
I hugged her with my arm that wasn’t holding the oxygen mask to my face. “Sorry I scared you, Mom. Just a little smoke inhalation,” I rasped and started coughing again.
“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Copper grumbled.
“Right,” I agreed and fell silent, but I couldn’t release the tension from my body, and Mom picked up on it immediately. I wasn’t one to sit back and watch while others handled things, even when I could barely move without hacking up a lung.
Mom pointed an accusatory finger at Copper and Batta. “You two aren’t helping him by sitting there like bumps on a log. What’s happening right now? Did they get the fire under control? Any idea what caused it? Have the police been called? Did somebody let Tiny know so he can start getting the security reports together?”
Copper grinned and shook his head. “Leigh, he’s only been awake for a few minutes, and he was fighting with the staff for half of ‘em.”
Mom whirled around and glared at me. “Jonah, why on earth would you try to fight the staff? Wait, don’t answer that.”
Batta sat forward and answered for me. “He was a little disoriented when he regained consciousness and was demanding to know about the girl he saved.”
“You saved a girl?” Mom asked.
I nodded slowly and waited for one of the guys to fill her in on what they knew. None of them knew how close we came to not making it out of that house, and I hoped none of them ever would.
“Yeah, as soon as he got the alert on his phone, he ran next door and found the girl on her bedroom floor. They were on the ground outside of the house when the trucks got there,” Copper explained.
“I thought you said it was the rental house,” Mom said, her forehead scrunched in confusion.
Understanding washed over Copper’s face and he clarified, “Sorry, Leigh. We recently bought the property next door to the one Judge is renting. It was that house that caught on fire, not his.”
Mom turned back to me with a mix of anger and pride on her face. “Jonah,” she sighed. “I love you, Son, but I think this is the closest you’ve ever come to giving me a heart attack.”
I squeezed her hand in apology. She knew good and well there was no way I wouldn’t help someone in need, even if it meant risking my own life.
After that, the room fell silent as we waited for news about River. And we waited for a long time. I tried my best to keep my eyes from straying to the clock so I wouldn’t know exactly how much time had passed, because the longer we waited, the more worried I became.
Finally, Kennedy came back, looking like she was ready to fall over herself. “They’re keeping her overnight for observation, but she’s awake, and it looks like she’s going to be okay.”
“Can I see her?” I asked.
Kennedy nodded. “They’re discharging you now. As soon as she’s moved to her room, I’ll take you to see her.”
Chapter Eight
River
I was only granted a few minutes of peace once I was transferred to my hospital room before the door opened and a host of people filed in one right after the other. Some I knew, others I’d never seen before, but one I owed my life to.
“Jonah,” I said and my voice cracked with emotion. “Thank you.”
He stepped forward and took my hand. “You doing okay?”
I nodded and swallowed over the lump in my throat. “Yeah, all things considered. How about you?”
“I’m okay,” he said hoarsely, and I automatically kicked into nurse mode.
“Did someone look at your throat?”
His brows furrowed, and he turned to Kennedy.
“Yes, they did. He had the same workup as you,” she assured me.
“So, uh, who are all these people?” I asked, eyeing the strangers gathered in my room.