Chapter 23
Easton
The call came just after midnight.
I’d been upstairs in my old room at the farmhouse, lying across my old twin bed that no longer quite fit me, pretending to study a blueprint draft for a house remodel in Boise that Jett sent me.
I wasn’t really reading anything. My mind kept drifting back to the taste of Lila’s pussy, and how her body had pressed against mine.
Dating … God help me.
The last time I’d been on a date was in high school, and that’d been an abject disaster.
We’d been sort of going steady if that’s what you’d call it.
She went to my baseball games and we’d kissed under the bleachers, but then one night she’d asked too many questions about being a foster kid, and I’d freaked out on her.
She told all her friends about it, and that was the last time I’d thought about trying “dating.”
Since then, I kept things casual—just hookups and superficial meetups. But Lila? She wasn’t like that. She was special, and I couldn’t treat her as if she were anything less.
Still, leaving her there at her house and not staying the night had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
Maybe we could have gone for another round.
Just thinking about it made me hard. Lila had been everything I had imagined, all soft and pink.
Her moans were sweeter than anything I could have dreamed.
When my phone buzzed against the nightstand, I grabbed it quickly, not wanting to wake Maggie. Wade’s name lit the screen.
“Yeah?”
His voice was clipped, urgent. “East, you need to get down here. It’s Lila’s place. House fire.”
I shot upright, blood already roaring in my ears. “What?”
“Neighbors called it in a few minutes ago. Engines are already on scene. I’m heading there now. Thought you’d want to know.”
“Yeah, I want to know. Fuck. I’m on my way. Thanks for the call.”
Clicking off my cell, I shoved it into my pocket, pulled on my boots, and struggled to put on a jacket. My heart raced with panic, and as I tried to avoid the third stair down that creaked when you stepped on it.
Maggie was asleep in her room, and I couldn’t just leave her without notice.
She had been doing much better over the past few weeks, but we were still worried about her.
She had at least another three weeks in her hard cast. I scribbled a quick note on the counter in case she woke up.
Then I texted Chloe. I knew my sister had worked all day, but it couldn’t be helped.
Then I was gone, gravel spitting under the truck’s tires as I tore down the dark country road.
The drive into town was a blur. The only thing I saw was Lila’s face, flushed and dazed from her orgasm, the way her eyes sparked with excitement during book club, and the constellation of small freckles that spread in the corner of her right eye.
The idea of losing her—after finally letting myself touch her—had my chest clamped so tight it hurt to breathe.
By the time I swung onto her street, red strobes lit the night. Fire trucks lined the curb, their hoses snaking across wet pavement. Smoke rolled low and thick, curling above the roofline of the little blue cottage. My stomach dropped hard. This was bad.
I parked half on the sidewalk and ran, my boots slipping on slick asphalt. “Where is she?” I barked at the first firefighter I saw.
“She’s across the street,” he shouted over the roar of water pounding against flames.
Relief punched through me so fiercely my knees almost buckled. Reversing direction towards Sage’s, I spotted them. Lila was wrapped in a blanket with my sister crouched at her side, hair wild, eyes wide with worry.
“Lila.” Her name ripped out of me.
Her head jerked up. Even in the chaos, her eyes found mine. She looked pale, shaken, streaked with soot, but alive. Thank God.
I didn’t stop until I was in front of her, my hands gripping her shoulders like I could anchor her to the ground. “You hurt?”
She shook her head, her lips trembling. “I … no, the house is on fire.”
My thumb brushed ash from her cheek before I could stop myself. “Yeah, it looks like it is.” I hauled her against me and brushed a kiss against her mouth. Sage’s eyebrows were already near her hairline, but I didn’t care.
“Sage, you okay?” My sister nodded, but I knew she was shaken too.
This was a big event in our small town. Then I realized what I’d just thought.
Our. Wow, when did I start thinking like that again?
“What the hell happened?” My voice sounded rough.
I forced myself to focus on what was important.
Lila was okay. Everything was going to be fine compared to that.
Her eyes darted to the cottage, where flames licked at the eaves of the back porch. The fire department was pumping a steady stream of water over it and into the mudroom.
“I don’t know. After you left, I went over to Sage’s, and then I decided to stay here.
” Those eyes of hers settled back on me mournfully.
“Everything was fine when I went to sleep. I’m sure everything was off.
Gram was paranoid about that stuff. She would always double-check things like the stove.
By the time I realized, the back porch was already completely on fire… it spread so fast.”
I swore under my breath. A hundred things didn’t add up.
Houses this old had sketchy wiring, sure, but this…
this felt wrong. When I’d come and checked things out a couple of weeks ago, I’d walked through the mudroom and back porch.
This little house was old. Decades old, but there hadn’t been anything like old refrigerators or anything out there.
Lila had some hooks for coats and some cubbies for shoes in the mudroom, but that was it. It was a small space.
Behind us, Wade jogged over, rain plastering his hair to his forehead. His jaw was set tight. “You’re lucky you woke up when you did.” He cut me a look, heavy with meaning. “Investigators will comb through in the morning. We’ll see what they find. Cole is here already, but he’ll take a look again.”
My fists clenched. “Someone set this.” There was no doubt in my mind that it was intentional.
“Potentially.” Wade’s face was grim as he looked over at Lila and Sage huddled together. “We’re looking at possibilities.”
Lila’s sharp inhale twisted my gut. She pulled the blanket tighter around her, eyes wide. “You think…?”
“What I think is you need to be more careful from here on out,” Wade said quietly. “We’ll conduct our investigation and do everything by the book, but I’m going off our initial suspicions. We’ll know more soon.”
For a long moment, the only sounds were the rush of water and the crack of the back porch as its wood gave way. My gaze stayed fixed on Lila. Her eyes were already glassy. This was the second time she’d had someone come at her at her house, where she thought she’d be safe.
I crouched lower, forcing her to meet my eyes. “You’re staying with me tonight.”
Her mouth parted, stunned. “What?”
“You heard me.” My tone left no room for argument. I couldn’t stand for her to be anywhere else but somewhere I knew she’d be safe. “The farmhouse is big.”
Sage stood, bristling. “She was going to stay with me.”
“I appreciate that,” I said without looking away from Lila, “but this wasn’t random.
If someone wants her gone, we’re not taking any chances.
The farmhouse has more of us there. Safer.
Besides, if this person has been in the neighborhood, they may have seen Lila at your house.
” I gave Sage a pointed look. “As a matter of fact, it’s probably a good idea for you to move back to the farmhouse for a few days or stay at one of the cabins on Kipp’s land.
” Sage crossed her arms defiantly. I knew I’d have a fight there.
Lila opened her mouth, maybe to argue, but her voice broke. “I don’t want to put Maggie through that. She’s recovering.”
“Maggie would skin me alive if I let you sleep anywhere else tonight,” I said flatly. “So you’re coming home with me.” Where she belonged.
Her chin trembled, and for the first time since I’d known her, I saw her in a completely new light. Normally, Lila was full of light. She was witty and funny. This version of her was scared and almost fragile. My chest cracked open at the sight of it.
“Alright,” she whispered finally.
I exhaled slowly, giving in to the urge to pull her into my arms right there in front of everyone. I shrugged off my jacket, wrapped it around her shoulders, and tucked her close to me until her shivering subsided. “Come on, sugar.”
Wade clapped my shoulder. “I’ll take statements from neighbors. Lila, I’ll come up tomorrow. You get her out of here.”
I nodded once. Then I guided her away from the blaze, my hand steady at the small of her back, a silent promise she wasn’t facing this alone.
As I opened the truck door and helped her climb inside, her eyes met mine again.
Raw, searching. I had no idea how to explain it, but in that moment, I knew one thing for sure.
Whoever was trying to hurt her would go through me first.
And if they tried, I’d make damn sure they regretted it.
My wipers thumped a steady rhythm, but it didn’t cover the sound of Lila’s uneven breaths.
She sat rigid in the passenger seat, swallowed by my jacket, staring out at the blur of headlights on wet pavement.
This was a side of her I hadn’t seen before.
Normally, she was all sass and laughter.
The Lila I knew was confident and shared that brightness with the world. It hurt to see her shaken.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, trying to focus on the road, but my eyes kept darting over to her.
“Not yet.” She shook her head, her voice breaking a little.