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As if in slow motion, his steps thudded as he got closer.
Darn it. Run, Wren. Run.
Finally, my feet unglued from the floor, and I sprinted toward him.
A deafening boom erupted behind me. A huge wave of pressure hit my back and knocked me into him. I ducked my head at the unmistakable sound of shattering glass. A million sharp stings pelted my skin like a swarm of bees attacking me. Mag's arm wrapped around my waist and suddenly I was spinning, falling. My knee hit the floor with a rough smack, and his weight on my body forced the air from my lungs. Blackness clawed at the corners of my vision.
Pop-pop-pop-pop.
Mag's lifeless body fell to the floor.
Suddenly I was a helpless child watching a shooting unfold before my eyes. Mag was dead. Someone killed him. No!
"Magnum!"
"I'm here." His deep voice came from behind me, and I exhaled a huge sigh of relief.
My panic subsided as I slowly came back to consciousness. His chest rose and fell against my back. His ragged breath puffed in my ear for several seconds as the commotion settled. Crackling and sizzling sounds around us fizzled out, and the smell of acrid smoke filled my lungs.
"Jesus." He carefully lifted his body off mine. "Come on."
More gently this time, he turned me over and managed to work an arm behind my back and another under my legs. He lifted me and carried me bridal style to the back door. He checked the alley first and then rushed to set me down in the back seat of the Jeep. "Are you injured?" he asked as he looked me over.
I just stared at him. He was definitely alive, but for a moment back there, I was sure he was dead. "I thought someone killed you."
He checked my back quickly. "We have to get out of here before I can help you." He closed the door and raced to the driver's seat. We pulled out of the alley and sped away. The rattling of the seat hurt my back, and I had to sit forward to prevent it from rubbing.
Mag made a phone call as he drove. "Small explosive device detonated at the Song bakery in Chinatown. No fatalities."
No fatalities. He wasn't dead. I wasn't dead. We were both alive. It was just a hallucination that he'd died. He was alive.
"The system activated the cops. Need someone there to answer questions and refer them to me. I'm en route with Wren to Echo House." His voice was agitated, but he was focused and speaking clearly. He shared a few more details that I didn't even understand before he disconnected.
Dust and dirt covered all of him. Blood dripped from his face in several spots. "You're bleeding."
He wiped at his cheeks. "I'm alright."
"I didn't even know you were here. What happened?"
"Looks like someone came up to the front door, breached it, and threw in an explosive device."
"Oh. I thought I heard gunshots."
"Nope. No one there. They ran before it detonated."
He made a few more phone calls as we drove out of the city.
"The deliveries. I need to receive them."
"I'll have someone there, but the shop isn't opening in the morning."
"Right." Of course the bakery couldn't open in the morning. "Please ask whoever is there to give the baked goods to the homeless shelter on First Street."
He turned and looked at me like I was talking nonsense. "Don't worry about the rolls right now."
He was right. Our injuries were the priority, but out of habit, I just focused on the bakery. It was what I knew. "If they don't sell, we donate them." I sounded a little like a robot when I spoke, but I was truly worried about the wasted food at that moment. Maybe it was a distraction from the reality of what had just happened.
He nodded curtly and made another call asking for someone to receive the goods. He reluctantly asked for the donation to the homeless shelter and rolled his eyes as he ended the call. It was a small thing, but it made me feel better in the chaos.
