Valerie Thorne’s POV:

There was nothing but darkness around me.

I didn’t know if I was in hell or still alive, but when I opened my eyes, there was darkness all around me. My head ached with heavy pain, which made me feel I wasn’t dead, at least yet.

I tried to speak, but my throat felt too dry to move. Heavens. Where was I?

As much as I could remember, just as Jeremy had tried to give me space to get out of there, a blast had happened. Then I didn’t know what happened next, but when I ...