Chapter Sixteen
“Well,shit, we went from the frying pan into the fire, possibly literally.” I stared at the now black screen of the laptop and thought about the last things Troy had told them about Parker. “Do you think he was serious about what he said about Parker or do you think he was making it up to get back at us?” I got up from Connor’s lap and walked over to the laptop to close the lid.
“I think he was telling the truth. He would never know Parker’s name on his own, and it sounds just like that asshole to expect everyone to know who he is when he introduces himself. We were together for almost a year, and I never saw Troy serious like that. I think this was sort of a wake-up call for him. I hope he does make some changes. I don’t think he was ever really happy. Maybe he can use the next few years to get himself together and figure out what to do with his trust other than blowing it on parties and shoes.”
“There is nothing wrong with fashionable footwear if you can afford it.” Taylor chimed in as he packed up one of the cameras. “And I agree with Connor, that guy looked like someone had busted his balloon and dropped his ice cream cone all at once. He was sad and meant what he said. He wanted us to be forewarned. Now, we have to decide what we’re going to do about it because we for damned sure don’t want anyone to get hurt and Parker sounds like he’s going off the rails.” He stood up from the bag he had just packed with equipment. “So now we need a new plan. I for one want a chance to pop Parker in the face, too.”
“Well, I think we might need to head over to the building and look around to see if there’s anything we can find that could cause a problem,” Rhett suggested.
James chimed in then, “I agree, but I think we should talk to the inspector first and see what he has to say. Ladd, didn’t you say it was Jeff? Okay, I’ll give him a call in the morning and see what he has to say. Now, if you guys will excuse me, I just got back from New Orleans this afternoon, and I need to get a few things done.” He pulled out his phone and looked down at it for a second. “Hey, I need to ask you guys about something. Do you guys know anything about a new app on my phone?” He held up the screen and showed us the newest dating app that had just come out. “I realized it was on there last night when I had to move a few apps around. Anyone have anything they want to tell me?” He looked at every one of us with his best Uncle James’sI’m serious as fuck, now spilllook. Finally one of us caved.
“I did it,” Remy chimed in, raising his hands like he was under arrest. “But I do have to say I had the best intentions, and Rhett agreed with me.”
Rhett gave him the evil eye, “Way to throw me under the bus, you bastard.”
“Guys, what the hell!” Uncle James was pissed, his face was turning red, and his eyes got more gray than blue. “I don’t need an app to get a date, and I don’t need any help. I do all right on my own, thank you very much.”
“Uncle James, listen for just a second. We’re not trying to say you’re hopeless or that we know better, we just want you to get out there and try. In our own way, Rhett and I are looking for someone. We have wildly different ways of doing it, but we are. Ladd’s found his perfect guy, it looks like. Taylor, well, I’m actually not sure what Taylor’s doing.”
“I’m doing the hot maintenance guy in my apartment complex actually, thanks for asking.”
“Alrighty then, thanks for sharing, Taylor.” Remy flipped him off and continued, “What I’m saying is we just want you to be happy, and maybe this app might be a way to go about it, but it’s not the only way. Just, give it a look and see if you find anything interesting.” He winked at Uncle James and then hugged him. “We love you, Uncle James, and want you to be as happy as you’ve made us.” Remy waved to everyone, then left. God, he could be an asshole, but I kept forgetting that beneath all that metal and ink, he was still that sweet kid that was always trying to protect his family from the world. In a way, he and Connor had a lot in common.
We all agreed to reconvene the next morning to talk to the inspector about Parker, and Connor and I left to go back home. All I wanted was to snuggle up to my dragon, my protective boyfriend, and be thankful that we could finally focus on a future together.
* * *
I was sound asleep,and then I wasn’t. Something had caused me to wake up, but I couldn’t seem to focus, I felt too foggy to figure it out. I rolled over onto my side to see if whatever it was had caused Connor to wake up, too. I could smell something, but I wasn’t sure what it was at first. I tried to open my eyes to see Connor, but it burned when I tried. Then the coughing began, and I finally forced my eyes open and saw hell.
The bedroom was full of thick smoke, and I could see flames licking up outside the windows. There was a fire against the outside wall of my house!
I reached over and tried to wake Connor, but he only groaned and tried to roll away from me.
“Connor!Connor! Connor, please wake up we have to get out of here!”
He finally opened his eyes, but he wasn’t completely lucid. I slapped his face and pushed him to get him up. “Connor, we have to get out of here. Please! I can’t pick you up, babe, please!” He finally sat up and seemed to get a foggy grasp of reality.
“Ladd? Ladd, what’s going on?” he asked in a slightly slurred voice. He tried to focus on my face, but then the fire caught his attention, and he looked toward the window. “Holy shit, there’s a fire! Let’s go!” He locked his hand on my wrist and tried to pull me off the bed toward the open bedroom door. He was weak though and lost his grip on me. He was having a hard time standing, falling back onto the bed when his legs gave out. I knew I was going to have to get both of us out of here. He wasn’t making it out by himself, and there was no way in hell I was leaving him. I threw my shoulder under his arm, throwing my other hand around his waist and used all the strength I had to hold him up.
“Come on, Connor, I’ve got you, big guy, but you need to move with me. We’ve gotta get out of here, now!” I swiped both of our phones off the bedside table and shoved them into the waistband of my sweatpants. I moved us toward the bedroom door, and Connor shuffled with me putting a large part of his weight on my slight shoulders. He was heavy as hell, but the adrenaline rushing through my veins gave me strength enough to support his massive bulk and get him into the hall. As we passed through the bedroom door, I shut the door to keep the smoke limited to the bedroom, at least for now. The fire was outside my bedroom, so as we got further down the hall toward the front door, the air cleared some and we could breathe easier.
I located Penny by the front door wailing to get out, and I picked her up on our way out the front door. I gave a longing look toward my library and prayed neither the fire nor the inevitable water would damage my collection. We ran away from the carriage house toward the main house and let ourselves in, putting Penny in one of the guest rooms. I called 911 and made the report. I hoped like hell they got here quick, but I was so relieved I had been able to get us both safely out of the house.
Uncle James met us on the front porch after Connor had told him the news, and he’d opened the gate for the fire trucks to get in. “My God, Ladd, Connor, what happened? Is Penny safe?” He looked like he was about ready to run over to the house to rescue her.
“She’s fine, James. I don’t know what happened. All I know is that I owe Ladd my life. He woke me up and had to practically drag me out of there. The smoke was horrible, but it was only around the back of the house. When we got to the front, it was much better.”
“Whatever caused it, was right outside my bedroom windows. I saw the flames out the window, and it was already eating away the outside walls. If it hadn’t been brick, I don’t know if we would have had time to get out.” My God we could have died. I just found Connor, and I could have lost him in an instant if I hadn’t been able to wake him up. We weresafe, but we almost weren’t. Why would fate be so cruel to give me my wish come true and then take it all away in the most horrible way possible? I started to panic at what had almost happened and how horrible this could have been. My breathing sped up, but the smoke in my lungs made me start coughing uncontrollably. Connor held me close as we stood on the front porch watching the flames slowly take over my home, much slower than I would have thought, but faster than I wanted. I felt my anxiety closing in even more as the flames danced up as high as the live oaks surrounding the property. The sky looked like hell on Earth, and I couldn’t get rid of the idea that I had almost lost Connor to that hellfire. I reached for my ring and started counting, but it wasn’t enough this time. I felt a full panic attack creeping up on me, so I chanted in my head over and over that I had absolutely no control over this situation. I was safe, and I was lucky.
Connor saw how distressed I was becoming the longer we watched. He pulled me around, so my back was to the fire when he felt me start to shake. He gripped me tight to let me know he had me and whispered in my ear, “Shhh. It’ll be okay, babe. We’re okay and not hurt, thanks to you. Everything else can be replaced. As long as you’re okay, nothing else is important.”
His words were like soothing aloe on a burn. The low calming rumble in my ear helped drown out the growing hiss and roar of the devouring flames. I tucked my head close to his chest and tuned out everything but the rise and fall of his chest against my forehead. I concentrated on matching my breathing to his and tried to drown out the shouts, sirens, and noise all around us. When the fire trucks arrived and even when they finally left, I was still held tightly by my Connor, the only place I felt safe tonight.
Many hours and many tears later, it was all over. The fire inspector was going to have to do a full investigation, but she was sure the fire was arson. They found evidence of an accelerant outside my bedroom window and most of the damage was to the backside of the house. Connor and I had been checked over by the paramedics and cleared, but we were warned that if we developed trouble breathing in the next few days, we would need to head to the hospital. Connor held me through it all.
The only good news was that the fire had really only damaged my bedroom, bathroom, and the guest room. They had managed to keep most of the water concentrated on the back of the house as well, so my library and living room hadn’t seen much, if any, damage. Small miracles. It might have seemed silly to be so worried about books, but I cried when I found out most of them would be fine with no damage. The night caught up with me at that point, and I clung to Connor, letting my fear and sorrow finally surface now that the threat was gone. As James talked to the fireman in charge, Connor picked me up and carried me to James's guest suite. I felt so cold all of a sudden and knew it was shock setting in. I wasn’t unfamiliar with the feeling. Connor lay us both down on the big poster bed, covered us both with the blanket at the end of the bed and held me close, sharing his warmth. “Try to sleep, babe, I’ve got you.” I didn’t know how long I lay there listening to the faint sounds of activity still going on around my wreck of a house, but eventually, I did finally manage to drift off.
I woke up feeling dirty, sweaty and my eyes felt like they had actual rocks in them they were so gritty. Connor was just coming out of the shower when I woke up, hair wet and towel slung low on his hips. It said a lot about my mental state that I cataloged how he looked but didn’t really react to it.Must still be in shock.
