“Nan! Dr. Martin! We have to make sure they are okay.” She looked to Jared, but he wasn’t moving; he was staring at the book.
Reluctantly, Mina moved away from him to grab the book. She opened it up to the last page and ran her fingers across the beautiful picture of a dragon fighting a giant. “Who was she?” Mina whispered.
“A dragon,” Jared answered. He touched the page tenderly, almost lovingly.
Mina touched his cheek with his hand and wiped away a stray tear. “No, who was she to you?” He wouldn’t look at her.
“Probably the only one who ever really cared about me.” He pressed his lips together firmly and she could see that he was steeling himself, getting ready to hide behind his stony mask.
“That’s not true.” Mina pressed her forehead to Jared’s, trying to comfort him. “I care.”
He opened his eyes wide at her admission, and she was sucked into his beautiful grey eyes. He closed his eyes and waited on baited breath as if savoring the moment. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and looked at the book. “She was my Nanny,” Jared admitted. “She raised me since I was a kid, until I was banished. I was like a son to her.
“Why did she try to scare me?”
“I think she thought you had the Grimoire, and like most Fae, she’s not real fond of the Grimms. But I didn’t even know she came to the human world, she must have come here shortly after I did. I was as surprised as you, when she came crashing through the door.”
Mina nodded silently and stood up, pulling him up with her. She began to walk toward the stairway pulling Jared behind her. Once they were on the stairs, she realized that she was still holding hands with him. She tried to pull away, but Jared held onto her hand firmly.
Not seeing any reason to let go, they walked hand in hand down the stairs. On the second floor they were met by firefighters who escorted them to safety. The parking lot was chaos, filled with fire trucks, ambulances, police, and hospital staff.
It seemed the fire had been contained to the fourth floor and everyone had been accounted for. Everyone except nurse Diedre. Mina sat on a stretcher and was tended to by an EMT. Jared sat next to her, refusing to leave her side. It wasn’t until Mina saw the tour bus and a frightened Brody and Peter waiting impatiently behind a police line that she remembered them.
She ran across the parking lot, and Brody ducked under the police tape and ran to meet her. She wasn’t prepared for Brody’s enthusiastic reception when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“You’re okay? You aren’t hurt?” He looked at her and pulled her into another embrace. “I can’t tell you how terrifying it was to know you were in there. And when you didn’t come out with Nan, I feared the worst.”
Looking up into his deep blue eyes, she could see the worry etched deep in them and something else. She didn’t have time to think because he leaned down and kissed her. Startled, she froze for a moment before enjoying the kiss. It was soft, tender, and beautiful.
A loud clearing of the throat interrupted them. They broke apart to confront an angry Jared.
“Excuse me, but Dr. Martin is awake and asking a lot of questions. Also, they are about to transfer Nan to another hospital. I think you should get over there, if you know what I mean,” Jared hinted.
Mina grabbed Peter’s hand and dragged him toward the ambulance. She begged the staff to let them have a few moments with Nan before they transferred her. The EMT wasn’t amused, but since Nan wasn’t injured and wasn’t going anywhere, he nodded.