"I don't know what he's doing. I had no idea he would blow the place up." She looked up, and her eyes met Thario's. She reached out and grabbed his arm, throwing it over her shoulder. "I can help you."
Griz stepped away. “You going to be okay?”
Thario nodded. “Yes. Go help Sharp.”
He was alone with Calla and was in no position to help her if Brent came around the side of the house. Following the doctor's orders would have meant he'd stayed home and rested. Getting tossed to the floor by a bomb exploding in the next room hadn't helped.
“Let’s get you somewhere you can sit,” Calla said.
“Thank you.”
“What happened in there?” Calla asked.
"I was going to open a door to one of the rooms, and he activated something that caused an explosion."
She shook her head. “He’s such an ass. I’m sorry you got mixed up with him.”
"Hey, it's okay. I should have been more cautious, but if I had been, we never would have come around, and you'd still be trapped with him."
A shiver worked through her as they made their way across the street, and she helped him lower to the sidewalk where he could lean against a low wall.
The sound of sirens grew louder. Someone had called the authorities. This was going to be a mess to sort out.
He met Calla’s gaze and held it. Her blue eyes were flecked with green and were mesmerizing. Something twisted through him as he held her gaze. He swallowed hard as he tried to shake the feeling, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.
Calla cleared her throat. “Thank you for showing up. I don’t know—” Her breath hitched. “Sorry. Thank you.”
He didn't mean to touch her face, but he couldn't help himself and cupped her cheek, stroking the soft skin with his thumb. Without thinking, he leaned in just an inch and then caught himself. It wasn't the time to kiss her. He couldn't do that.
He cleared his throat and sat back. “It’s okay. We’re here to help.”
“I don’t have anywhere to go. I guess I’m homeless now.”
He'd dropped his hand from her face, so he didn't do anything stupid like pull her close for a hug. He did squeeze her hand. "We know people who have resources. We can find you a place to stay."
“What is your name?” Calla asked.
“My friends call me Thario.”
“What about other people? What do they call you?”
Thario didn’t normally tell people his real name. Not that he was trying to hide it, but the people he worked with didn’t needto know his name. But with this woman, he wanted her to know. “It’s Stephen Nolan, but I really do go by Thario. No one has called me Stephen in a long time.”
“Okay, it’s Thario then.”
The fire department arrived, and the men were pulling the hose. One of the people on the truck saw them and raced over.
“What happened?” the fireman asked.
Thario met the man’s gaze. “It was an explosion. There might be more ordinances in the house. We don’t know. The homeowner is gone. He ran off.”
“Oh.” The guy turned and took off, rejoining his team.
“This is bad,” Calla said.
“Did you know what he was doing?”
She shook her head. “He kept me in the dark. I knew he was doing illegal stuff, but I had no power.”
