Alicia shrugged.
Callum and the newcomers met in the middle of the yard.Grace wished she could read lips.The gestures and head nods were all they had to understand the conversation.The group walked into the house, Callum leading the way, as two additional county vehicles pulled up.
One man inside poked his head out the front door, gave a signal, and returned inside.
“No one’s running around like my house is burning to the ground.”
Grace sniffled.“Maybe he put it out.”
“Maybe.Oh, God.Grace.”
She followed Alicia’s gaze.Blood trickled over her knuckles.
“You’re bleeding.”
She rolled up the sleeves of her flannel pajama shirt.
Alicia’s jaw hinged.“Sherlock destroyed you.”
Now that Alicia mentioned it, Grace’s arms and chest burned.She opened the visor and inspected her neck and chest.Dozens of claw marks crisscrossed her skin.“Don’t worry about me.I’m fine.I’m worried about you—”
“Callum’s coming out,” Alicia said.
She glanced up as Callum and a fireman headed toward the car.He gestured to them.
“Guess he’ll let us out of the car now.”Alicia glanced at Grace’s hands.“We need to clean you up first.”She held up a finger.“There are tissues in the glove box.”
The two men waited.Argos and Toto pressed their faces against the window.Sherlock jumped onto the center console.
“No tissues.”Grace shut the compartment.“Callum doesn’t look happy.”
Alicia let out an exhausted breath.“I’m not happy.”
Guilt rolled over her again.“I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t break my window and burn my house.I’m sending Dominic the bill, and that asshole, with all of his money, can pay to redecorate my entire place.”
“You have a more positive attitude than I would have.”Grace mopped the back of her wrists on her pajama pants.
“I haven’t seen the inside.Maybe with everything charred and covered in fire retardant foam, I’m going to sing a new tune.But for now, your ex-husband will redecorate my house with all of his fuck-you money.The bastard.”
Grace didn’t know how, but she laughed.“A fuck-you redo.”
“More like a fuck-him, but yeah.Oh, boy.That man of yours wants us to get out of the car.”
“He’s not my man.”
“Whatever he is, he has a glower that’s hard to ignore.”
All of him was hard to ignore.
They left the car running for the pets to stay in the air conditioning and joined them.Grace didn’t know what to do with her arms and neck.Now that her adrenaline had slowed, the cat scratches burned and stung.Trickles and dribbles of blood smeared over her skin.
Callum made introductions, and both men noted her scratches.The fireman whistled.“There must be an unhappy cat in the car.”
“Unhappy would be an understatement,” Alicia said.“The fire is out?”
“Believe so.My people are inspecting, but it seems like your friend contained the situation.”
