Chapter 12 - Cayden
"Okay, who wants to clean the toilets? And I don't want anyone to groan because it has to be done." Ayden asked as he stopped by the island in the kitchen. He crossed his arms, looking around at all of us who were there.
"I'll do it," I said, throwing my hand up.
Everyone looked at me with a concerned expression, and Miles leaned forward across the counter from me. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head somewhere? Do we need to call someone?"
I scuffed, giving him a look. "Why would you ask that?"
"Because you're off," Ayden said. "You agreed to clean not only the stove, deep freeze, and microwave but also helped out with paperwork, which you hate. So, what gives?"
"And no one just agrees to clean the toilets," Owen added. "We all know how nasty they are, and no one likes to clean them, and the only reason we have to clean them is because Ayden won't hire a cleaner because if we make the mess, we clean it.
I rolled my eyes. "Jesus, I'm in a good mood. God forbid I agree to do a little extra because of it."
"We see that, but why?" Miles pressed, tilting his head. "Did you fuck around with your sister's best friend? Is that why? Did you finally have some happy time alone?"
I scowled at him. "No, I did not. Who the hell calls it happy time?"
"Anyone that has a child and doesn't want them repeating sex around the house," Lucas said with a shrug as he walked into the kitchen opening the fridge.
"We're getting off-topic. Do you want the toilets cleaned or not?" I asked.
"You didn't answer the question. Did you sleep with her? Or did you dream about doing so?" Miles asked. "I'm normally in a good mood after a good dream."
"No," I growled back. I was clearly lying, but that wasn't the point. I was in a good mood because Riley had been happy during our run. She looked like a different person when we collided, laughter filling the air. And I got to hold her for a moment. And during that moment, I felt so close to her. There were no walls to break through, no lies going on. It was just us.
I was trying to forget the next part and just focus on her being happy.
"Okay, everyone has things they need to get to rather than picking on Cayden," Ayden said, waving his hand.
The guys snickered, and Thomas sat next to me. He poured himself a cup of coffee. "I'll clean the toilets."
I glanced at him. "I can clean them."
He made a face. "So, what is really up with you?" Thomas said, setting his phone down.
"Why does something have to be up?" I asked.
"Because you agreed to clean the toilets," Thomas said. "I wouldn't agree to that even if a woman was blowing me."
I rolled my eyes. "Riley and I went for a run yesterday and had a good time."
"A crush on your sister's friend? You sure that's a smart idea?"
I remained quiet for a moment before I sighed. "She's my mate."
His eyebrows went up. "Damn, really? What are the odds of that? How long have you known that?"
"I've known it since we were younger. I've never done anything because she's my sister's best friend and she's four years younger than I am. I never wanted to force that on her when she needed to focus on growing up."
Thomasnodded his head. "I get that. So, what are you going to do about it then? You guys aren't kids anymore, and four years means nothing when you're an adult."
I had no idea yet. "I'm not sure. She and April were only going to stay for a short time, but I think she wants to stay. I want her to stay. She's old enough now that I don't have to hide how I feel about her. And….if I'm being honest…I think she feels the same."
I kept seeing the way her face grew red once she realized she was naked underneath me. She hadn't been embarrassed right away. There was a moment when we were both comfortable.
"And how would your sister feel about that? I can imagine she'd had some feelings about her best friend and brother getting together."
That was still unknown. April and I had a good heart-to-heart on the phone, but I didn't know how she would feel if she found out that her best friend and her brother were mated for each other. She would likely be pissed that neither of us told her. I doubt she would want to add that to everything else she was dealing with.
"I have no idea. We've been getting along, and I would hate to ruin it with something like this. But god… I've avoided doing anything with her for so long. Is it wrong to want her?"
Thomas shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Wanting your mate is natural. Fighting it is what's hard. I just can't believe you've been fighting it this long. How is that even possible?"
I took his words in, and I knew that Riley and I would need to talk about this if we wanted to see if this would work or not. There was no real reason we couldn't besides maybe how April would feel about it. But either way, we needed to speak about it.
Thomas stretched and groaned as he did. "You thinking of bringing her to the Christmas party?"
I had thought about it. April said she was going to be back so they could both go. It would be a nice way for his sister to meet everyone, and maybe I could talk to Riley alone for a moment. That was if April was going to be here, but she kept pushing her return.
Before I could answer, the alarm blared, and everyone jumped. We all looked at Ayden who quickly gave an order. "Everyone suit up."
The phone rang, and Thomas moved over, grabbed it, and answered it. He nodded as he took in the address.
"345 West Lincoln Street. House 1780."
I felt my entire body tense at the address, and Ayden looked at me. "Cayden, move."
I blinked, suddenly feeling like my heart wouldn't beat. My legs wouldn't move. I knew that address. I had been to that address.
"Cayden!" Ayden barked my name, and I looked at him.
I swallowed. "That's the house that Riley and April were renting."
I watched as Ayden took my words in and walked over. He placed his hand on my shoulder, his eyes softening slightly. "Then you need to get moving and keep your head on," he said.
Right. There was a fire, and we needed to get there. I couldn't freeze up now. I nodded and hurried after the guys, trying to keep my head focused. Just because there was a fire didn't mean Riley had been there. She could have been out. It happened more often than you thought. A fire occurred while everyone was out of the house, and they didn't even know until we called to inform them about it.
We suited up and got into the truck quickly. I kept telling myself over and over that it was going to be fine. Riley wasn't going to be there. She was probably out shopping or went out for a run.
But as we pulled up, I noticed her car in the front and felt a tug. I snapped my gaze towards the house, knowing she was inside. I felt it deep in my gut.
"You stay out here," Ayden said, stopping me as I tried to push past them.
"No!" I snapped back. "I'm going in."
"If Riley is.."
"If Riley is inside, I need to make sure she's okay!" I growled back, pulling on my helmet.
Ayden narrowed his eyes, shaking his head at me. "Cayden! You need to use a calm head. If you can't, you have no business being there."
"I have a calm head," I growled back at him. I stared at him to prove my point, and Ayden pointed toward Thomas. "You go with him. Everyone else, the hose."
I tightened my helmet and turned, heading for the house. Smoke forced its way out of the busted window, and the fire snapped in the windows. My stomach churned, unsure of what waited inside.
"Cool head!" Ayden said through the helmet. "Fire is in the entire house. Neighbors called it in. Said there was yelling inside before the fire."
Fuck.
We stormed up the stairs, and I kicked the door, which swung open. It was unlocked.
I stepped inside, smoking pouring out of the doorway, and heat blasted over us. I could feel it through my gear, and I started to sweat.
I scanned the living room, finding it empty, but I could see there had been a fight. A busted vase was on the ground, and flowers littered the floor. Clothes were everywhere, as if someone had taken a suitcase and thrown everything around. The fire burned at the curtains and the ceiling. A loud creak echoed around us, sending a shiver down my spine.
"Living room is clear," Thomas said through the mic. "But we need to move fast."
"Bedrooms are this way," I said, pointing. I walked down the hallway, and the fire moved along the ceiling toward us.
We walked down the hallway, and I took the bedroom to the right while he took the bedroom to the left. I scanned, finding the room empty.
"It's empty," I said.
"Mine too," Thomas said. "Maybe it's empty."
I shook my head, stepping back into the hallway. I walked down towards the bathroom, and my heart stopped beating as I pushed the door open. Riley lay on the ground, tied to the cabinet door of the sink. I stared at her with so many emotions mixed together: fear, anger, confusion, rage, and worry.
I leaned down, ripping the cabinet off its hinges, and hoisted her into my arms. I turned, running into Thomas in the hallway.
"We need an ambulance!" I yelled into the mic, carrying her into the hallway and toward the living room. I tightened my hold on her as we hurried out of the living room and through the doorway. As we stepped outside, we heard the sound of a crash, and a blast hit us. Thomas and I nearly stumbled as we heard something large giveaway.
Outside, I ripped my helmet off. "Riley! Talk to me! Riley!" I shook her as I hurried away from the house towards the fire truck.
Owen stood waiting with an air mask. I quickly laid Riley down, pressing the mask onto her mouth. I felt my hands shake as Owen placed his fingers on her neck.
"She's breathing. It's weak, but it's there."
I felt like a wave of relief hit me, and I felt fear bloom. I didn't know what happened, but it wasn't an accident. Someone left her tied up in the bathroom.
I untied her hands from the tie that was holding her to the cabinet door, rubbed at her hands, and saw a bruise forming.
I looked her up and down, and my eyes widened as I noticed red marks around her neck. I reached up, rubbing my finger along them. Pure rage filled me as I stared at them.
"This wasn't an accident," Owen said. "Jesus Christ, what the hell happened in there?"
"I don't know what happened, but I'm going to find out," I said, rubbing a finger over her cheek.
"Ambulance is three minutes out," Ayden said, stopping next to us. "The guys have most of the fire out. You guys are extremely lucky that roof held up for as long as it did."
"I'm going with her to the hospital," I said. "She needs someone, and I need to call my sister about this."
Shit. April. She was going to lose her shit when she heard about this, so much for keeping Riley safe.
Ayden nodded. "Okay. You can go with."
"I wasn't asking," I snapped back, unsure why I was getting short with him.
Ayden stared at me. I could see he wanted to say something back, but he held in whatever he was going to say. He simply nodded before he looked at Owen. "I'm going to check on the guys. Keep us posted on how she is."