him carrying a child out of a fire with the inferno behind him and the title proclaiming him The Phoenix had been framed, hanging on his bedroom wall.
Sean’s hands shook, and he forced his thoughts back to the investigation. Lock it down… I gotta lock it down. He could tell Jonas was hovering but kept quiet. Hours later, when the apartment had been processed, he stepped out into the hall. His gaze shot to Harper’s blackened hole of an apartment and he reached out to grab the doorframe, uncertain his legs would hold him upright.
A hand clamped on his shoulder, and without looking, knew it was his partner. Once they walked down the stairs and outside, he finally sucked in a deep breath of cold air, clearing his head.
“Go on and get out of here,” Jonas said. “Terrance will drive me to the lab.”
Uncertain of his voice, he nodded. Taking a few steps toward his SUV, he stopped and turned, capturing Jonas’ attention. “Didn’t end the way we hoped, but we fuckin’ did it.”
Jonas grinned. “Hell, yeah, partner.”
“Thanks… for everything.”
Throwing a two-fingered salute in the air, Jonas jogged to Terrance’s truck.
Sean made it to Harper while she was still in the hospital. When he walked in, he found her surrounded by his family and her friends, and he wondered if he would ever get the image out of his mind of his brother carrying her out of the building.
She looked up from the bed, most of the soot cleaned from her face, but the dark bruise on the side of her head had his rage boiling. As soon as her eyes met his, she smiled, and his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. He barely cast a glance at the others, moving straight to her, pulling her into his arms.
He sat on the edge of her bed and relished the feel of her body crushed tightly to his, but the smell of smoke in her hair brought back the fresh horror. “Babe—”
“Sean, I’m fine. Honest,” she assured, her voice hoarse. Pulling back slightly, she held his gaze and then pressed her lips to his.
A throat clearing ended the kiss much too soon for him, but when he looked over his shoulder, he spied a nurse ordering everyone out. They all obeyed, but he simply lifted an eyebrow and the nurse smiled.
“She’ll need to stay overnight for observation.”
He nodded and while the nurse prepared Harper for the trip to another floor, he stepped out of the room and into the arms of his mother.
“Don’t worry about anything, Sean. Just take care of Harper and then get her home tomorrow. The girls and I’ll come over to bring some food.”
He pulled back and smiled his appreciation. “Mom, thanks, but you need to give us some time. I need to let her know what happened at her apartment.”
“But, we can just—”
“Sharon,” Colm said, gently tugging his wife into his arms. “Sean and Harper will be fine. We’ll get food to them tomorrow evening.”
Lifting his chin in thanks, he hugged Tara, Erin, Caitlyn, and Sandy, then went back to claim Harper.
35
Several days later, the sun peeked through the slits in the blinds, giving evidence that a new day had begun. Harper woke slowly, breathing a sigh of relief that it was the weekend and Sean had the day off.
His warm body was pressed against her back, the light snores giving proof of his sleep. She knew he was exhausted… worrying about her and wrapping up the case against Daniel.
Daniel. Oh, Jesus. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a few seconds, the image of him standing in her apartment revealing who he really was. And then the image of Sean sitting her on the sofa, her hands in his as he gave her the news about Daniel’s death. She did not cry… not right away. It was too surreal. And her choking fear mixed with self-preservation had her glad he had been stopped.
It was later, in the middle of the night, when the realization dawned that the man she had considered to be a friend had not only been the serial arsonist, but had tried to kill her. That was when the shakes and tears came.
Thank God for Sean. He had held her, rocked her, talked to her, and comforted her until she finally found sleep again. And each time she woke, he repeated his actions, his love easing past the fear, rage, and sadness.
The day after the fire, he had sat