A Muse Her

Chapter 40

Mateo sat shivering and rocking back and forth inside the service tunnel beneath the bridge with tears rolling down his cheeks while Willem performed CPR on Maia.

They barely made it out of the car before the bomb hidden in the well of one of the tires blew up. Maia went into shock when the car started filling up with water and panicked when he and Willem struggled to break the car windows to get out.

Mateo clenched his eyes shut at the memory of that terrifying moment. The sound of police sirens were still blaring overhead and he could hear the crowds of people still gathered near the spot where the car fell over the edge.

Guilt ravaged Mateo's mind as he listened to Willem trying to get Maia to breathe again. This was his fault. He never should've brought her here with him. He knew there was a chance something could happen like this, but he always thought it would've been something he could protect her from, but instead she nearly died in what should've been a fatal accident.

Maia choking and sucking in a panicked breath tore Mateo from his thoughts as he scrambled across the ground to her.

"Mateo," she croaked, reaching for him.

"I'm here," he said, gathering her in his arms and pressing his face against her wet, mangled hair. "I'm right here." He kissed her head. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she whispered, shivering as she curled her fingers into his shirt. "We're okay."

"Yes we are, but that wasn't an accident," Willem said, wiping a hand over his brow as he slumped against the tunnel wall. "I don't know how that bomb went undetected or when it was planted in the car. I'm sorry, Your Highness. I messed up tonight."

"It's okay, Willem. If you didn't act as fast as you did we wouldn't have made it out," Mateo said, rubbing Maia's damp hair between his fingers. "Is there a service room down here? Maia needs a blanket or warm clothes."

"I-I'm f-fine," Maia said with her teeth chattering. "G-give Willem a m-moment."

"No, you're not," Mateo said, caressing her cheek. "You're freezing and you don't have any shoes."

"I'm sure there's a service room not too far into the tunnel," Willem said, wincing as he stood. "I need to call Lars and tell him we're alright, but we're going to be down here for a while. I don't want anyone, but him, to know you've survived at the moment."

"W-why?" Maia said as Mateo hooked his arm under her legs and stood. "Everyone's going to think we died."

"That's the point," Mateo said, holding her close as he followed Willem down the dimly lit cavern. "We need to figure out who's behind this even though I have a good idea who it was."

"You think it was Jorien?"

"I do or Arnaud Haro. Either way, I don't think my brother is innocent in this attack."

"My thoughts exactly," Willem said, punching in a key code on a steel door. The light on the keypad turned green and he let out a sigh of relief as the lock released. "There should be an emergency phone and hopefully the bridge workers keep their medical supplies stocked."

Mateo sat Maia on the small couch in the corner of the room while he searched through the cabinets for something to keep her warm. He tugged out a thick safety jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before he shrugged on a jacket too.

"How long are we going to hide out in here?" Maia said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I have to at least tell my sister I'm okay. She's going to be freaking out when she sees the news."

"I know, but hopefully we won't be down here for long. There's a safe house we can go to in the countryside," he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. "Once we get there we can tell your sister you're safe."