Chapter 46
46
ASHER
As we all stared after the car that had sped into the distance, my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and checked the screen. It was Parks. Perhaps there was an emergency at work, or he needed cover for someone else’s shift.
“Hey boss,” I answered.
“Asher.” His voice was strained. “Are you home?”
I frowned. “No, why?”
If he needed extra manpower, I could get there quickly anyway, but I’d prefer to have a few minutes to talk over the morning’s events with Summer first.
“We’ve had reports of a fire at your address.”
The word didn’t compute. “I’m sorry, what?”
Parks heaved a sigh. “Either someone is pranking you, or your house is on fire.”
“Fuck. I’ll be there soon.”
I hung up and shoved the phone back into my pocket, then, without pausing to explain, raced toward my car. A flurry of movement in my peripheral vision let me know that Summer was only a couple of steps behind me. I pushed a button to unlock my car and threw myself into the driver’s seat.
“What is it?” Summer asked as I started the engine and pulled onto the road almost as quickly as the other vehicle had earlier.
“Fire at my place,” I said shortly.
I was aware of her making a phone call, but I focused solely on the road. As we turned in the direction of home, I noticed for the first time a plume of smoke rising through the falling snow.
I slowed down a little as we entered the township, but I was still going too fast as I took the roads that would lead me home. A siren wailed behind me, and I pulled over to allow the fire engine to pass, then followed quickly behind. We arrived at the same time.
I leapt out of the car and stared, hardly able to believe my eyes. Flames had engulfed the front porch and were licking at the roof and around the sides of the house. As I watched, the front window, which had only just been repaired, cracked from the heat.
My stomach sank. Somehow, I’d hoped that Parks had been wrong, or that perhaps some of my teammates had been responsible for a prank call—although I should know better than to think them capable of that.
“Asher,” Summer breathed. “Oh, my God.”
Even from a distance, there was no escaping the heat of the fire. Fortunately, it seemed to be centered around the porch and the front door. I doubted it would spread much further. Especially not when help had arrived so quickly.
The fire crew were already unspooling the hose and directing the water at the house.
Parks strode over to us. “Is anyone inside?”
“No,” I said automatically, then froze. “Fuck. Cookie.”
“Your cat?” he clarified.
“Yeah. I shut her in this morning before I left, and I locked the cat flap.” Fuck, why had I done that? I’d wanted to stop her from going out into the cold, but I should have considered what a safety risk it was to trap her in there.
“We’ll see if we can find her,” Parks said, giving me what was probably supposed to be a reassuring nod before returning to his crew.
“That’s good, right?” Summer said, grabbing my arm. “Why do you look so worried?”
“They won’t risk themselves for a cat,” I explained. “It’s protocol. We’re not even supposed to risk ourselves for a person if the situation is dire.”
She blanched. “Is this dire?”
“No.” I shook my head, not taking my eyes off that burning door. Emotion clogged my throat. “But I don’t want to rely on them to save Cookie either.”
That fluffy demon meant more to me than I liked to admit, and it was my fault she was in danger. I couldn’t lose her like this.
Without pausing to ask Parks’s permission, I rushed past the fire engine and snatched up a fire retardant blanket. Someone shouted, but I raced around the side of the house, already fishing in my pocket for the key to the back door.
It briefly crossed my mind that opening the door would create a pressure change that could cause the fire to spread faster—or explode. I stopped. I couldn’t do anything that might endanger my friends. But then I heard scratching on the other side of the door. I knelt, and through the translucent plastic, Cookie looked at me with big, frightened eyes.
Damn. I couldn’t leave her.
Perhaps a small pressure change would be less dangerous. I didn’t have to open the door to get her out. A small hole would be enough for me to pull her free.
I bashed the door, hoping to scare Cookie into backing away a few feet, and then I bunched the flame retardant blanket around my fist, using it to protect my knuckles, and punched the cat flap. My knuckles throbbed on impact, but the cat flap didn’t break.
I stood and bashed the door again to keep Cookie at a distance. I swung my foot back and kicked the cat flap. The plastic snapped, creating an opening in the bottom half. Quickly, I dropped to my knees and yanked out the broken shards of plastic.
Once they were gone, I reached through and grabbed Cookie by the scruff of her neck. I dragged her through the opening and into my arms. She meowed plaintively and I buried my face in her fur, trembling all over.
“You’re okay, girl,” I breathed, nuzzling her. “You’re okay.”
Thank fucking God.
I carried her around the side of the house. Out the front, Summer hovered halfway up the drive, apparently as close to the fire as she was willing to get.
“You idiot!” she cried as I approached. “You scared the life out of me.”
A pang of empathy twisted my gut. If she’d been the one to run toward a burning building, I’d be freaking out too.
“I’m sorry.”
Her gaze dropped to Cookie. “She’s okay?”
“Seems to be.” The cat tried to pull away, but I held her tight. “Stay put. You’re not going anywhere until the fire is out.”
The door had crumbled, except for its timber frame, and only one corner of the building was still burning. Parks was supervising as two firefighters worked to subdue the flames, but then he turned toward me, and I could’ve sworn I felt the force of his glare through his helmet.
He stomped over and removed the helmet. Yeah, that was quite a glare. Too bad I was too shaky for it to have its full effect.
“You should have let us get your goddamn cat,” he growled, tucking the helmet under his arm. “I don’t care if you’re used to fires. You’re not geared up, and you haven’t been trained to handle them. Don’t do it again.”
I ducked my head, still cuddling Cookie. “I won’t.”
Parks nodded toward the cat. “I’m glad she’s all right.”
Two cars skidded to a halt on the road beside my property. Liam spilled from the driver’s seat of the front one, and other Braddocks emerged from within. Liam raced over to us, his eyes wide.
“What happened?” he asked, breathless.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He put his hands on his hips and watched as our colleagues doused the last of the flames. “Did you leave an appliance going? The oven, perhaps?”
“No. Nothing.” I was absolutely certain of that. As a result of my job, I was ridiculously conscious of fire safety.
Parks grimaced.
“What?” I asked, noticing the expression.
He sighed and smeared a soot-blackened hand down his face. “I could be wrong, but the burn pattern makes me think an accelerant was used. The fire concentrated in very specific areas.”
“Shit.” It seemed like Summer was right. Someone was out to get me.
“We’ll get an arson investigator in,” he said, and looked at someone behind me. I turned and saw Nate striding toward us. “Possible arson. Joint investigation?”
Nate nodded. “You got it. Any casualties?”
“None that we’re aware of.” Parks’s phrasing reminded me that there was always a possibility that whoever had done this had gotten themselves injured in the process.
“Asher?”
I stiffened. That was my mum’s voice. I spun around and, sure enough, she and Dad were hurrying along the fence line. Deep lines of worry creased her face, and she moved faster than I’d ever seen, opening her arms and dragging me into an embrace that knocked the air from my lungs.
“My baby!” she cried, releasing me so she could check my body for damage. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay.” I tried to smile, but my lower lip wobbled. I leaned over and kissed her cheek to cover my distress.
“What happened?” Dad asked, echoing Liam’s earlier question.
“That’s what Parks and I need to figure out,” Nate said, saving me from having to answer.
Mum paled. “Are you saying you don’t know what caused the fire?”
“Not yet,” I admitted. Summer pressed against my side, and I dipped my head to murmur in her ear. “I’m beginning to think you might be onto something.”