TWENTY-TWO KIERAN

It feels like the entire world is collapsing around them.

The sky is alight with at least twenty different jets and helicopters, their engines thunderous as they roar through the night sky, carrying god knows who away from the scene of this crime. Kieran has always thought fire would sound like it was crackling, the same way that a bonfire in the backyard sounds, but all he can think of is the waterfall on the other side of the island, how it sounds crashing down against the rocks, so loud you can hardly hear yourself think over the rumble of it.

They only barely make it out of the mansion before the fire catches up with them, but even then, there"s not a second to waste.

It follows them eagerly as Kieran yanks Miles along behind him, dashing along paths that he can only half remember as panic crawls up his throat. He knows his hand is too tight around Miles" wrist, but he can"t loosen his grip. If he somehow lets go of Miles, he"s convinced he"ll lose the man to the blaze.

Time seems to slow the further they get from the mansion, Kieran"s lungs burning as the smoke starts to catch up to them, curling through the air before the flames can nip at their heels. The forest seems to stretch on forever, and Kieran"s vision starts to blur the longer they run. He doesn"t know if it"s from panic or exhaustion or smoke inhalation, but he doesn"t care. As long as he can get Miles out, he doesn"t care if he winds up with pneumonia or disfigured with burn scars.

As long as he doesn"t lose his grip on Miles, it"ll all be ok.

He almost cries in relief when the tree line suddenly breaks and tosses both of them out to stumble on the fine, soft sand. Even then, he doesn"t stop running, tugging at Miles as the air becomes fresher and the heat begins to die down to something tolerable.

As soon as they make it halfway to the waterline, Miles crumples, yanking Kieran to a stop.

Kieran panics, turning back, horror flooding through him as he thinks of all the awful things that could be happening, but Miles is just sitting there, wearing the most heartbroken expression Kieran has ever seen on another person. Tears slick his cheeks, and he"s shaking, his eyes fixed on the inferno that blazes along the roof of the mansion.

"I"m sorry," he sobs, his shoulders shaking as he wails, his entire body trembling. "I"m sorry, I"m so sorry."

Miles continues to choke out apologies as Kieran falls to his knees beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Miles gasps out pained breaths, incoherently stumbling through words as he clenches his fists in Kieran"s blazer, burying his face into the man"s shoulder. Kieran"s heart aches, his breath hitching as he fights back his own tears.

He wants so badly to break down, to just lay next to Miles in the sand and wrap him in his arms, to hold him close until this is all over, but the fire is getting closer still, eating through the forest, and he"s still so scared that he"ll somehow lose Miles through all of this.

That"s something he won"t make through.

So he takes a deep breath, rubbing a soothing hand over Miles" back, and he does his best.

"I know," he whispers, letting Miles clutch onto him and sob. "You tried so hard. There"s nothing more you could have done." Miles presses closer to him, and Kieran feels a tear drip down his cheek, his heart breaking at seeing Miles hurt so much, feeling how shaky his breaths are. "You made sure he knew someone cared about him in the end."

Miles almost screams at that, his breath punching out of him with an agonized wail, but he nods against Kieran"s chest. It almost seems like he"s desperate to believe that he did the right thing, like he needs Kieran to convince him of it.

So Kieran keeps talking, tells Miles how brave he is and how proud of him Kieran is, how grateful he is that they both made it out of there alive, that Miles managed to help so many people tonight. Miles is still shaking and sobbing, but Kieran manages to get him back on his feet, and they stumble down the beach together, both of them exhausted and numb from shock.

Kieran doesn"t know how long they walk, or even how many times they trip over the uneven sand and almost fall, clinging to each other for balance and stability, but they eventually make it back to the bungalows.

They"re both bleeding and covered in soot, and people surround them as soon as they come into sight. Isabella, Ethan, Dakota, Octavia, several medics; all up in their faces and making Kieran dizzy. It"s overwhelming, and all he can actually focus on is Miles, still trembling as he pulls away from Kieran"s hold, standing still on the beach, his own arms wrapped around him as the fires blaze in the distance.

Relief makes an appearance when Kieran sees the other victims of the Lizard game bundled in blankets and being consoled by the cast and crew. It seems like everyone is on the phone with someone, and Kieran vaguely remembers calling Hendricks and Burke.

It feels like so long ago now, and Kieran starts to shiver as shock properly starts to set in. Someone drapes a blanket over his shoulders, but all he can do is look at Miles, hoping the man can see in his eyes everything that he wishes he could say. He almost manages to get what might have been a word out, but the roar of a helicopter overhead cuts him off before he can start speaking.

He looks up, realizing that there are several choppers, all coming down on various parts of the island. One touches down not even a hundred feet from them, and Kieran watches as Hendricks and Burke rush out, two teams in tactical gear following them.

The teams disperse along the beach and rush into the forest, surrounding everyone protectively.

Hendricks and Burke are followed by several other agents in suits, and they pull everyone away from Miles and Kieran, leaving the two of them alone with the men.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, Callahan?" Burke asks harshly. "You were told to stay in position and wait, not go rushing in to save the day. Both of you could have died."

Kieran just looks at him blankly, not having enough energy to even get angry. He feels like he"s been hollowed out, and he"s pretty sure the only thing that could get him to do anything but shake right now is Miles. Miles doesn"t move either, just staring down at the sand at his feet. His blanket has slipped off his shoulders. Kieran wishes his body would listen to him so he could pull it back up. Kieran feels colder than he"s ever felt in his entire life, even with the warm air and the blaze of the fire. Miles is probably freezing.

"We"re glad you"re both ok," Hendricks says, putting a hand on Burke"s shoulder and shooting him a glance. "We need to get statements from you both, alright?"

"Why do you need statements?" Kieran asks, confused and off-center. "Didn"t you record everything? Did the equipment break again?"

Burke clicks his tongue against his teeth impatiently, but Hendricks speaks before he can get a word out.

"It"s just procedure," he assures, "everything was recorded from both of you. But we still have to go through all the red tape. I"m sure you understand."

Miles and Kieran both nod in agreement, and Kieran sees that Miles" movements look just about as robotic as his own feel. Hendricks turns to face Miles, Burke taking a step closer to Kieran.

"Alright, you want to tell me what happened tonight?" Burke asks, pulling a little recorder out of his pocket and pressing a button.

Kieran doesn"t answer immediately, watching as Hendricks places a hand on Miles" shoulder and leads him further away. His hackles raise instantly, and he glances back at Burke, frazzled and on edge.

"What the hell is going on?" he grits out. "Where is he taking Miles?"

Burke places a hand on Kieran"s shoulder, gripping tightly to keep him from darting off to follow Miles.

"Calm down," Burke instructs firmly. "He"s just getting Mr. Rivera"s statement. Now, I need you to tell me what happened tonight, Mr. Callahan."

Kieran glances back over his shoulder, but Miles and Hendricks seem to have come to a stop, and they"re not too far away. Kieran can get to him if he needs to, he"s not too far away to keep Miles safe.

He shakes his head to try to get his thoughts to calm, but it doesn"t work very well.

"We went to the dinner party," he starts, feeling almost like the memory of it is old, like he"s struggling to actually remember it. "Miles performed, we ate, he went outside to get some air. I went looking for him after a while because I was worried. We…had an argument."

Kieran grimaces at the memory, knowing that Hendricks and Burke probably got an unintentional front-row seat to their tryst in the garden. Burke doesn"t push, just lets him take a second and compose himself again.

"I came back to the bungalows, and I realized Miles hadn"t come back with everyone else at the end of the night. That"s when I called you two."

Burke nods, fixing Kieran with a scolding look, but it doesn"t have much of an effect. Kieran glances back to Miles again, seeing him sitting cross-legged and crying as he talks to Hendricks.

"I ran to the mansion, and the gates were closed, so I climbed over them," Kieran recalls, slipping into his memory almost like he"s recalling plot points from a script, like none of it even happened to him. Nothing feels real until the memory of seeing Miles in that clearing. "I ran up the driveway and Blackwood was there with a bunch of other people in Lizard masks—he told us about this creepy painting the first time we were at the mansion. They were playing the game from the painting, or some version of it, I guess."

"How many people were with him in the driveway?" Burke asks. "Did you see any of their faces?"

Kieran furrows his brow in thought, shaking his head.

"I didn"t see any of their faces," he says, "just what they were wearing. There were ten people, maybe? Plus me and Blackwood? So twelve, I think."

"Alright," Burke says. "What else?"

"Blackwood told me I had to play to find Miles," Kieran says with a scowl. "He said if I didn"t find Miles, he would. I followed him into the woods, and there was a clearing like the one in the painting. Miles and ten other people were there, and they all had their hands zip-tied behind their backs." Kieran shudders at the memory of seeing Miles" face. "A woman cut everyone"s zip ties, and they ran off into the woods. Blackwood said we could grab weapons and give everyone a head start, so I grabbed an extra mask."

"Why an extra mask?" Burke asks, looking puzzled.

Kieran shrugs, glancing back at Miles again. He"s standing now, Hendricks handing him a bottle of water. He looks a little more stable, and he meets Kieran"s eyes, smiling weakly. It"s such a relief to see him smile that it almost makes Kieran dizzy.

"It was in the trunk, and I figured if no one could see his face, they wouldn"t realize he wasn"t a player and it would be easier to get him out," he explains. It"s not the best idea he"s ever come up with, but it worked pretty damn well. "I found him, pretty much by luck, and he insisted on going back to try to save everyone. We got more masks and pretended to be playing. Whenever we found one of the victims, we gave them a mask and told them how to get out of the forest and to the bungalows."

"So you decided to go back and endanger yourself further instead of keeping the two biggest assets the FBI has in this case secure?" Burke scoffs, rolling his eyes.

Kieran finally feels a stab of annoyance at that, glaring at Burke.

"Yes, actually," he sneers. "We decided to make sure we got as many people out as we could instead of waiting two hours for you to get your asses here. You can thank Miles for being stubborn and making sure anyone other than the two of us made it out tonight. "

Burke sighs, looking at Kieran disdainfully. He shakes his head, but waves his hand, indicating for Kieran to continue.

"He wanted to go back for Phoenix, too," Kieran says, his tone shifting to mournful. "He was Blackwood"s right-hand man. Miles tried, but…Phoenix is the one who blew the place up. Blackwood made it out. We only barely made it out of the forest without getting caught in the fire."

"Alright," Burke sighs, looking over Kieran"s shoulder and nodding his head off to the side. "Stay here for a minute, I need to talk to my partner."

Kieran nods, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He still feels cold, but it"s starting to thaw. Maybe they really will make it out of this. He turns as Burke steps off to the side, huddling together with Hendricks and talking in hushed tones. Miles looks wrecked, absolutely exhausted, and Kieran wants to wrap Miles up in his arms and never let go.

They stare at each other for a long moment, Miles raising his hand in a shaky wave, and Kieran smiles, returning the gesture.

Once this is over, they'll need to talk. Kieran will apologize for what happened in the forest and come clean about his feelings. And if Miles doesn't feel the same way, at least things will finally be clear between them.

Hendricks and Burke split up, and Kieran shifts his attention to Burke as the man steps over to him again.

"We"re going to be getting everyone off the island for now, but we"ll need you to keep your phone on and be available for a while," Burke says, and Kieran starts to nod.

His attention is immediately pulled away when he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He turns his head, his heart stopping in his chest as he sees Miles being ushered onto the closest helicopter. Miles is looking at him with wide, sorrowful eyes, even if he"s smiling down at Kieran.

"Where are you taking him?" Kieran demands, already stepping toward the helicopter and tossing the blanket off his shoulders.

Burke grabs him by the arm and yanks him to a halt. Kieran whirls on him, hands clenched into fists.

"Where are you taking him?" he shouts, stepping right up in Burke"s face.

"Calm down, kid," Burke tells him, which is not at all conducive to calming him down. "He"s in the most danger. He saw the faces of all the players. We"re moving him somewhere we can ensure his safety for now."

Kieran doesn"t have time to argue before he hears the chopper lifting off, and he turns helplessly, taking another few steps forward as it hovers in the air, slowly rising away from the ground. Miles is still looking down at him, and he raises his hand in another sad wave. Kieran feels his heart shatter into a million pieces, his eyes wide with frantic terror as he just stands there and watches the helicopter disappear into the night sky.

As soon as it"s out of sight, he crumples, his entire body shaking as he sits himself down on the sand. He feels cold and alone and terrified.

He was supposed to be able to protect Miles, and now Miles is gone, and he has no idea where they"re taking him. Even if their separation is just for tonight, Kieran can"t help but feel like he failed, and anxiety about not being able to see Miles right here in front of him knots in his stomach.

As soon as he sees Miles again, he"s never letting go.