“I’d be nervous with my nephew in there without adequate supervision and visibility. What if something happened to him where no one could see?”
I’d be nervous, too. Once they put those windows in, if they couldn’t fix it, I’d have created a space where anything could happen. Parents would think their children were safe, but in those hidden corners, anything could happen where no onecould see. People like Brian knew exactly what they could get away with and where they could do it without getting caught.
I couldn’t let that happen. Not in my library. Liam would understand.
“Fine. Just one second.” I jogged over to the desk and jotted down a note telling Liam I was going to the sensory room. He’d be back any minute, and he could come meet me inside.
My stomach clenched. I shouldn’t go. Didn’t want to go. I knew this was a bad decision. Liam would be mad; disappointed even. I hated that, but I couldn’t let my worries, or his, endanger the children who came into my library. Besides, I wasn’t going to be alone in there. If anything, I was better hidden if Snake Eyes came looking for me.
I left the note on the desk and put the stapler on it to hold it in place. “Okay, let’s go.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Liam
I fidgeted in line, shifting from one foot to the other, a nervous tell I never usually had, but it was killing me to be here. The line had been long to start with, and now that it was almost my turn to buy Jenna her damn coffee, the woman ahead was insisting that her indecisive children could order for themselves. It was pushing me past my breaking point. I needed to get back to Jenna.
I shouldn’t have left her, but I couldn’t say no. Jenna was trying so hard to be brave when she was so clearly terrified. If coffee made her feel better, and it was so close, how could I deny her?
I glanced through the window toward the library for the hundredth time, letting myself believe the delusion that if I could keep a watch out for a dark SUV, I could still help Jenna even from here. It was better than giving in to the urge to abandon the coffee and go back to her empty-handed. It was small, but she needed this. It meant normalcy and independenceand asserting herself. I knew it was killing her to feel all that slipping away. She needed me to take care of her emotionally as well as physically, and right now that meant getting her a coffee.
There was also her disappointment when I’d refused, and the way she’d lit up when I agreed to go. Maybe it made me a love-struck fool, but God, I’d do almost anything to make her smile like that.
I watched the cars driving past the library, fixating on a gray SUV coming up too fast to the yellow light.
Shit. A gray-haired woman was shuffling toward the curb. I was already on the move before she stepped into the crosswalk, and I pushed through the door just as the screech of brakes ripped through the air. A moment of silence hung heavily before the screaming and shouting started, with people running to the woman lying motionless.
I caught the attention of a woman watching from nearby. “Call 9-1-1.” She nodded quickly and pulled her phone out while I gave her the address and told her what to say.
“Paramedic. Let me through.”
The woman was moaning, and as I approached, she started writhing, clearly in intense pain. Her left leg was rotated outward and hiked up, textbook indicators of a severe hip fracture, traumatic enough it allowed the surrounding muscles to pull the bones out of alignment, and potentially enough to cause internal bleeding. My stomach dropped as I glanced at the library, but I put on my most professional smile before I looked back at the woman and placed a firm, gentle hand on her shoulder. “Hi, ma’am, my name is Liam. I’m a firefighter. You’re alright, but I need you to stay still for me. What’s your name?”
She blinked up at me, her eyes unfocused. “Mary,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Hi, Mary. I need you to stay absolutely still. An ambulance is on the way.”
“I—” Mary started weakly, but she was cut off by shouting above us.
“I didn’t hit her! She just walked out of nowhere and fell!” The driver of the SUV stood over us, one hand grabbing his hair, the other gesturing accusingly at Mary.
“Sit on the curb,” I directed, pointing him away from Mary and away from his car. It looked like he was right that he didn’t hit her, but his reckless driving sure as shit had scared her and caused her fall. That wasn’t my problem, though. I’d give my report, and the cops could sort it out.
“It’s okay, Mary. You’re doing great.” I checked her pulse and squeezed her hand reassuringly, even as my own heart was pounding. I could use those cops and an ambulance here right about now. Cars were honking and trying to drive around us. Mary was still trying to move. The driver was still standing there, blaming Mary. And I had to get back to Jenna.
I looked toward the library, helplessness and fear washing over me. I’d already left her alone for too damn long, and it would take longer still before I had backup, but she’d read me the riot act if I left Mary lying here. I wasn’t waiting a second longer than necessary, though, so after all this, I’d have to go back to her sans coffee.
I’m sorry, Firefly. Please stay safe.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Jenna
Daniel typed a four-digit code into the lock and opened the door, gesturing for me to go in ahead of him. The door closed behind him with a click, and the music grew louder. We were in a narrow space between the newly constructed walls of the sensory room and the temporary wall that separated the work area from the rest of the library. I hadn’t seen inside since they started working, and even in my rush, I paused to admire the sensory room entrance, a zigzag maze opening, perfectly designed to keep anyone from being locked in or out.
“This looks great.”
“Go in.”