When Haynes arrived, he found only Foreman holding Keen. Ste was nowhere


    in sight.


    "Foreman!" Haynes rushed forward. "You got him out. Where''s Star?"


    Foreman''s lips thinned into a displeased line. "She insisted Joshua was still in there and went to find him."


    Haynes''s dark eyes flickered. "Joshua isn''t... here?"


    Something in Haynes''s tone struck Foreman as odd, but his mind, clouded by jealousy and anger, didn''t dwell on it.


    "Star is convinced he left her toe rescue Keen," Foreman said with a scoff. "But we''ve been all over this ce and there''s no sign of him. We don''t even know if he showed up at all. For all we know, he got scared of Gibson''s retaliation and took off."


    Just as the words left his mouth, a cold, unfamiliar voice cut through the air.


    "Took off? Is that the kind of nder you usually spread about Joshua, Mr. Richards?"


    Foreman turned to see a handsome young man ring at him.


    "Who are you?" Foreman demanded.


    "A friend of Joshua''s," Harold said with a sneer. "If Joshua had run away, Mr. Richards, why would I still be here?"


    Foreman''s expression tightened for a moment before smoothing back into a neutral mask. "I never saw him at the scene. Who''s to say if he was ever really here?"


    Before Harold could retort, Jake, who was standing nearby, suddenly snapped his head toward the burning warehouses.


    "Mr. Gardner!"


    Ste was staggering toward them, a man slumped over her back. She was gritting her teeth with the effort.


    Foreman''s pupils contracted. The man on her back was Joshua.


    Though lean, Joshua was a tall, grown man. It was hard to fathom how someone


    as slender as Ste could carry him out of that inferno.


    Jake started forward to help.


    "Stay back!" Ste yelled, her voice raw. "Get away! That building''s about to blow!"


    As if on cue, a deafening "BOOM" ripped through the air, followed by a searing wave of heat.


    "Star!" Haynes and Foreman shouted in unison, their voices swallowed by the concussive st.


    Silence descended slowly, the world returning to a state of muffled calm. Ste was the first to stir, her ears ringing and her head spinning, Despite being so close to the st she was somehow uninjured.


    She looked down and realized why.


    At some point, Joshua had wrapped himself around her, his body bing a


    shield. He had absorbed the full force of the explosion.


    He looked fragile and broken. His face was ashen, and he seemed as though he might shatter at the slightest touch. Something warm and wet dripped onto her hand Ste nced down and saw it was blood, flowing from Joshua''s body. His ck shirt was soaked through whether with sweat or blood, she couldn''t tell.


    A tidal wave of panic crashed over her.


    She had seen Joshua in so many states: cheerful and bright, silent and withdrawn ruthless and cold. She''d ever seen the unnerving, ocean-deep intensity in his eyes when he looked at her. In hecmind, Joshua was practically invincible.


    She had never, ever seen him like this.


    And she had never imagined that he could die.


    Her eyes burned, turning red. A tremor she couldn''t control shook her voice.<fn3da0> Th?s chapter is updated by Find[?]ovel</fn3da0>


    "Joshua... Joshua!"