“Your turn! Come on!” one of the firemen shouted back. I took one last look at Noa’s bedroom before climbing down the ladder. I didn’t even remember hitting the ground. All I could remember was the firefighters rushing past me toward the house with the water hose before I stumbled over to Noa in the back of the ambulance. She was sitting on the stretcher with an oxygen mask on, her eyes wide and wet from crying.
“I’m so sorry, baby…” I cried, wrapping my arms around her and dropping beside her. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s gone,” she whispered, voice cracking between coughs.
“I know. I know.”
“We’ve got her.” A paramedic touched my shoulder and pushed me aside. They lifted the stretcher and loaded her into the ambulance. Someone started asking me questions and tried to put a damn mask on my face, but I wasn’t worried about myself. I just kept watching her breathing through that mask, thanking God that I had made it in time.
I couldn’t sit still. I kept moving from the plastic chair outside of Noa’s room to the waiting room window. No matter what I did, I couldn’t slow my thoughts. Every time I blinked, I saw flames. I saw her lying there with an oxygen mask on her face. This shit was unreal. She’d lost nearly everything, and I nearly lost her. If I hadn’t gotten there in time, she’d be gone.
I stood from the plastic chair and made my way back to her doorway, peeping through the window. The doctor was currently in the room, checking her oxygen. Teagan sat near her bed, head in her hands. Just like me, she’d been retracing every step, probably wondering what she could have done differently.
Watching from the hall, I felt so useless. She was awake, breathing, talking, but the tubes and monitors made her look defeated. I’d pulled her out of a burning house and still couldn’t shake the feeling I hadn’t done enough.
“How you holding up?” My sister’s hand landed on my back. Jess, Ron, Zy, and baby Nyla showed up not long after the ambulance. I appreciated them being here. Noa needed the support.
“I’m straight. Just ready to get her out of here.”
“You did good, baby brother. You got her out in time.”
“House gone, though.”
“We can replace things,” she said quietly. “People, we can’t replace.”
I heard her. I did, but it didn’t stop the feelings that were swirling through me.
“Ron’s over there talking to the police and the fire chief. I thought you might want to hear what they said.”
I nodded as I turned toward the hallway. Ron stood near the door, whispering with the firefighters and the cops.
“Go,” Jess insisted. I nodded and made my way into the hallway. They all looked up when I got close. I could hear the last part of the chief’s sentence as I joined them.
“We’ll have investigators look at it, but it doesn’t look accidental.”
I frowned.Doesn’t look accidental?“Excuse me, chief. What does that mean exactly?”
He exhaled, placing his eyes on me like he’d already explained this. “The burn pattern and where it started don’t quite match a kitchen fire or wiring. Looks like somebody set it.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. The idea of somebody doing this on purpose while she was inside hit me like a damn gunshot to the chest. Somebody had tried to kill Noa?
“Somebody?” I finally replied. “You saying somebody did this on purpose?”
“Fire seems to have started near the back door.” One cop nodded. “We’ll confirm once the lab tests come back.”
“That’s crazy.” Ron let out a low whistle. “Like I said, officers, we have cameras all around the property. We’re more than willing to provide the footage.”
“Perfect. We’ll be in touch to get the footage, and we’ll keep you all posted once the investigators have more.” They turned to walk away.
“Her ex was here earlier today or yesterday. He threatened her.” Teagan’s voice came out of nowhere. Everything stopped, and everyone turned to look at her. No one had even noticed her leave Noa’s room.
“Her ex? Tell us more.” The cops froze mid-step.
“Yeah. He showed up at her house when we got back from the airport. He was mad that she’s in a new relationship now. He was yelling, talking crazy. I never thought he’d try to hurt—” She stopped herself as her voice cracked. I stared at her. That was news to me. No one ever mentioned Noa’s ex stopping by.
“You didn’t think I needed to know that?”
“I didn’t know this was gonna happen, Quade. Noa and I handled it. He left… I…” Her eyes darted between the cops and me. The air suddenly felt heavy. I had never caught a body before, but that was about to change. I glanced at the officers and the fire chief as they exchanged a look.
