Burning Up

group burst into the waiting room.
    Amber’s parents, Emmett realized as Ria greeted them in a flowing burst of Mandarin, clearly trying to stave off their panic. The couple sat down on Simon’s other side, asking Ria more questions. She shot Emmett a grateful glance as he continued to talk to Miaoling and Alex in a low voice, telling them about life in the pack, anything to take their minds off what was happening in the room only a few feet away.
    They asked him all kinds of questions, but he knew they’d be unlikely to remember any of it come morning. Still he talked, giving them the distraction they needed, as Ria did the same with Amber’s parents. Simon spoke to both his wife and mother-in-law, and Amber’s parents, in turn, obviously trying to stay strong for his family.
    But Ria was the glue, the quiet strength that held everyone together.
    His leopard growled in pride.
    Forty minutes later, there were tears of happiness, not sorrow. Amber was pronounced stable—though she’d have to stay in the hospital a bit longer than usual—the baby was a squalling ball of red-faced anger, and Jet was grinning like a fool.
    “What’re you going to call her?” Ria asked after everyone had piled into the room and reassured themselves that both mother and baby were fine.
    “Joy,” Jet said, touching one gentle finger to the baby’s cheek. “That’s what she is—our Joy.”
    “It’s a beautiful name.”
    “Yeah. Amber wants to use Nana’s name as a middle name.” He drifted to his wife’s side as if drawn there, curling his hand around hers. Though her face was lined with tiredness, Amber smiled. “Hey you.”
    Ria began to nudge everyone out of the room.
    Half an hour later, Emmett used Simon’s car to drop off Amber’s parents, along with Alex and Miaoling, since none of them were in any condition to drive, before returning to pick up Ria and her father. Simon got into the passenger seat, as Ria slid into the back. Emmett could feel the older man’s focus on him as they drove and it was no surprise to hear Simon say, “Ri, go inside. We’ll be in in a moment.”
    Ria looked from one man to the other. Emmett shook his head in a slight negative when she went to open her mouth. Pursing her lips, she got out and entered the house. Emmett glanced at Simon. “I’ll take care of her.”
    “She’s special,” Simon said, looking him straight in the eye. “We lost a baby girl to a late-pregnancy miscarriage a year after Jet was born. We weren’t the same after . . . but then Ria came. She healed us. She’s our heart.”
    Emmett nodded, fully comprehending the sheer depth of everyone’s terror at the hospital tonight. “I understand.” And he did. Because she was his heartbeat, too.
    A pause. Then Simon opened the door and got out. “I’ll send Ria to you. Save you sneaking up the wall.”
    Emmett winced. “Um . . .”
    Simon’s lips curved. “Ask me sometime about how I used to get into Alex’s room when we were high school students.”
    Emmett was still grinning when Ria slid into the passenger seat. Before she could say anything, he started up the engine again. “Think your dad would mind if we took the car for a spin?”
    “No, but where are we going?”
    “For a little ride.” Putting the vehicle into hover-drive, he took them out of the city, and through the red arches of the bridge that had been there so long, the world couldn’t imagine San Francisco without it.
    Ria sat back, releasing a sigh. “I’m so glad everyone’s okay.”
    “Even me?”
    “Even the idiot who got himself shot up when I specifically told him not to.”
    The leopard batted playfully at her sharp response, delighted by her. “Just checking.” Passing the main lookout on the other side of the bridge, he drove up a “secret” route that all the high schoolers knew about.
    “Hey, where does this go?” She twisted around. “I’ve never been up here.”
    “Mink, you must’ve been one hell of a good kid.”
    “I admit my nerdiness with pride.” She made a choked up sound of surprise when she saw four other cars parked at the top, all of them a good distance from each other. “You brought us to a make-out spot?”
    “How else was I supposed to get my hands on you?” Parking the car at the end of the dirt lot, he slid away the manual controls, then reached over and undid Ria’s safety belt. “Come here.”
    Laughter danced in her eyes as she shifted over to straddle him, knees on the seat on