the air. He covered Megan with his body and ducked his head.
“What do I do?” Naomi looked in horror at the spot where Verna was.
Jeremy stood by her, holding her hand. “You’re doing it. Just stay with Megan.”
“Emma!” Megan cried as she tried to push Chuy off her. “I have to get Emma.”
The thought screamed in Naomi’s head and slammed her chest like a sledgehammer. An image of a cute little girl with red hair, freckles, and chocolate-stained lips flashed before her eyes. She looked frantically at Jeremy, her eyes wild.
He squeezed her hand, eyes glistening, and shook his head.
“No. Stay here. I’ll get her.” Chuy scrambled to his feet. “Where is she?”
“Second door on the right. Towards the back of the house. Hurry, please, hurry!” Megan cried.
“Chuy, don’t!” Naomi screamed as Chuy leapt to his feet and headed for the burning house.
Jeremy tackled her by the waist when she attempted to run after him.
“Let me go! Let me go! It’s Chuy!” She kicked out, trying to escape his grip.
“You can’t do this,” he grunted as she continued to struggle against him.
“He’s my family. Please, please let me go,” she cried, tears streaming down her face. He was too strong for her, and he wasn’t budging.
Slowly, he turned her to face him. Fiery shadows danced on his tense face. His eyes flicked between her and the house. He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and gazed intently into her eyes. “Stay with Megan. Whatever happens,
She nodded as she choked back the lump in her throat and watched Jeremy fly into the house.
Naomi turned at the sound of Megan gasping and crying. She stayed on the ground clutching her stomach and mumbling Emma’s name over and over.
Naomi circled Megan, twisting her hands as she fought a war within herself. She was torn between wanting to calm Megan and wanting to run inside the house. She knew it was her job to stay with her. She had been given direct orders. Every fiber of her being wanted to disobey them and go protect Chuy, her own flesh and blood, at any cost. It was eating her up, having to protect the woman she had once loathed and being forbidden to help her own family. She could only hope that Jeremy would help Chuy and Emma.
Naomi inhaled sharply as a sudden thought crossed her mind.
Curling her fingers into fists, she banged them against her thighs. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? And she’d let Jeremy go in there! Who was he there for? Chuy? Emma? Maybe it was Megan’s aunt.
She glanced at the spot where the older woman lay. She jerked her head away as bile rose in her throat at the sight of the poor woman.
Guilt gnawed deep within her. What kind of angel was she? She couldn’t believe she was hoping someone else would die, just so Chuy would be safe.
Sirens screamed in the distance, and she prayed for them to come faster. She stared at the front door, where the flames grew larger.
“Come on, Jeremy. Come out with them. Please come out,” Naomi prayed.
Fire engines emerged from the distance. Within minutes, they came to a halt near them.
Megan got up and ran to them. “They’re still in there. My Emma is in there! She’s just a little girl. Please get her!”
Just as two of the firemen ran into the blazing house, Jeremy stepped out.
Pained eyes locked with hers.
She felt herself failing as the world collapsed around her. Flashing lights of the fire engines shrank into tiny specks of light as the darkness took over. Sirens and the yells of the firefighters merged into one sound that muffled until there was nothing but white noise whistling in her ears. She wheezed, struggling for air as a sea of pain washed over her, drowning her. She reached out, desperate to hold on to something, anything to keep her from falling further into the darkness. A pair of strong arms found her and held on to her tight as she sank to her knees and wept.
12
“Place the bags over there,” Jane instructed the young man carrying two of her suitcases. “Does Mr. Prescott have the Dallas paper?”
“I’ll have it brought to you, Ma’am.”
“Thank you,” she said as he walked out the door. She should have known Luke would have everything she needed ready for her. Why wouldn’t he? The size of his house staff could rival that of all the boutique hotels in the area.
It wasn’t the first time she’d stayed in Luke’s sprawling Dallas ranch home. Although this time, she would’ve preferred to stay at a hotel, especially since she was back in Texas specifically to make her announcement to run for president. She was surprised when Luke insisted that she stay with him. He didn’t seem at all concerned that the media would accuse him of seeking congressional favors.
She still hadn’t decided what to do about Congressman Keith’s bill. She had a funny feeling it was why Luke insisted that she make her presidential campaign announcement in Gardenville rather than Austin, the state’s capital. He wanted her to see the families who would be impacted by the bill if it passed.
She sighed. Luke had never pressured her like this before. Voting down the bill must be really important to make him act like one of the hundreds of lobbyists who hounded her on a daily basis. It was so unlike him, and she wondered if there was more to it than just business.
Just as she was about to take off her shoes and relax, there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door. “Yes?”
“Mr. Prescott is waiting for you in the library,” said a young woman who stood at the entrance. “He would like to go over details of the presidential announcement in Gardenville as soon as possible.”
“Of course.”
“Oh, and here is the paper you requested.” The woman handed her a copy of the Dallas newspaper.
Jane skimmed the headlines. She felt a knot in her stomach when one caught her attention.
“Ma’am?”
She blinked and looked up at the woman. “Tell Mr. Prescott I’ll be there in a moment.”
She nodded and closed the door.
Jane pulled out her reading glasses and sank to the plush sofa. Scanning the paper, she inhaled sharply when familiar names appeared.
She folded the paper, tucked it under her arm, and headed out of her room toward the library. As she walked down the stairs, she wondered if Luke knew anything about this and if maybe they should move to a
