“Roman, get out!”he roared into his comm piece as he scooped Summer into his arms with Chloe in hers and continued his forward motion toward the back door, bursting through it with his shoulder.
They’d barely cleared it when the house exploded behind them.As the force of it propelled them through the air, Ashton could feel heat singeing his exposed skin.He twisted his body to the side so he wouldn’t crush Summer and Chloe as they landed.
His arms wrapped more tightly around them, his hands covering Summer’s who was covering Chloe’s head.He felt his shoulder pop out of socket as they slammed against the ground, but immediately turned so the girls were on top of him.
It took him a second to get any words out.“Are you two okay?”
He felt Chloe wiggling between him and Summer as she struggled to get up.His eyes met Summer’s.She nodded.
He grimaced as he forced his shoulder to move to untie the gag from Summer’s mouth.She stretched her jaw, then lay back against Ashton’s uninjured arm.
Chloe just got up on Ashton’s chest and started wiggling, laughing.
“Ma, Ah-ta.Ma.Ma.Ma.”She kept hitting the fingers of her two tiny hands together.
“I think she wants you,” Ashton said as he let the girl wiggle.“She’s saying Mama.”
“Oh no,” Summer responded, shaking her head.“She’s sayingmore.That signal she’s doing with her hands is a little piece of sign language I taught her.”
“More?”Ashton asked.“More what?”
Summer laughed and threw her arm around them both.“I think she wants you to blow up another building.”
Ashton just pulled them both closer.
Chapter Twenty
The next couple of days went by in a blur for Summer.
It was amazing what money could do to ease the way when you wanted quick repairs done to a condo.Especially when you were talking about the type of money Joe Matarazzo had.By the time Summer got back home from the hospital the day after she and Chloe had been taken, the front window had been replaced and the entire place had been cleared out and cleaned as if the shooting had never happened.
Joe also had a new and much more advanced alarm system installed.One that still worked even if the house’s power was cut.Heck, it might work even after a nuclear holocaust.
Summer, Chloe and Ashton had spent last night in the hospital.Ashton had dislocated his shoulder getting them out of the house and had some burns on his skin that had been exposed—the back of his neck and part of his arms and hands.
Nothing serious.Unbelievably.
Summer and Chloe had been kept overnight just to confirm there was nothing in their systems that would cause any long-lasting harm.Both of them were fine.There was no way Summer was going to allow Chloe out of her sight, so she’d been glad the hospital had worked with them, bringing a crib from the children’s ward so Chloe could sleep next to Summer.
Summer hadn’t liked being away from Ashton, but figured he could take care of himself.He probably wouldn’t wake up scared and crying like Chloe might.
Although he would have good reason if he did.
That was the second time Ashton had gotten her and Chloe out of a burning building safely.Summer just prayed it would never happen again.
She’d felt so helpless there on the couch, unable to communicate with Ashton, afraid he would walk too close to the couch and Damien would shoot him.
But Damien hadn’t been there at all.
Thank God Ashton had figured it out in time, because Summer sure hadn’t.She’d known Damien was playing Harper, using him, but she hadn’t thought Damien would actually try to kill the other man.
Although from what she understood, Damien hadn’t actually succeeded in killing Harper.Harper was still alive.Barely.
But Damien had killed young Tyrone Marcus in the explosion.Summer brought a hand up to her face to wipe away the tears at that thought.He’d been so excited about the possibility of joining the SWAT team.
“Hey, you okay?”She felt Ashton’s hand trail up her side, then along the arm she’d raised to her cheek.
She and Ashton had left the hospital together yesterday morning.Neither of them could stand the thought of being away from each other, so when they’d heard Joe had graciously rushed her condo’s repairs, Ashton had just come home with her.
