Page 49

“Hello, this is Captain John Grier with the Baton Rouge Fire Department,” a voice says from the phone and I sit up, staring at the screen with a scowl. “I’m calling for Isabelle Hutton in regard to an incident that occurred earlier this afternoon. If you could give me a call back at your earliest convenience, that would be appreciated.”

What?

A wave of unease rolls through me as the possibilities race through my mind. I meet Diego’s eyes and he pulls me close, pressing a kiss to my forehead, as he presses the button to return Captain Grier’s call. With my heart racing, I cradle my belly and pray that whatever he has to tell us will get us one step closer to tracking down Luca and ending this once and for all.

Chapter Eighteen

Isabelle

It’s all gone.

When Diego called Captain Grier back a little over an hour ago and he explained what was going on, I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t. It was impossible to wrap my mind around what he was saying but now, as I stand in front of the smoldering shell of what used to be my home, the reality that I’ve lost everything crashes into me. There were countless photos of me, friends, family that spanned years and now, they’re just gone. Priceless mementos that I had collected over the years that I can never get back. Every single thing I owned was in this house, except for the one bag of clothes now at Diego’s, and I’ve lost it all. Tears sting my eyes and my hands shake, my mind flipping through each single room and cataloguing everything in that space like a mental tally of the things that were ripped away from me today. But I only get as far as the downstairs guest bedroom before my knees give out and I sink to the ground.

I have nothing.

It’s all gone.

What am I going to do?

As my mind spins with questions, I remember a photo album that I kept on a bookshelf in the living room. The Christmas after I turned seven, my mother gave me a Polaroid camera. I absolutely loved it and I carted that thing around with me everywhere, snapping shots of my sister and me. She was one of my only friends back then, the only person who really understood me and I took so many photos of the two of us, photos that were in that album and photos that I’ll never get back. My chest aches as a tear slips down my cheek. Firefighters are still milling around the scene and Diego is behind me with four of his brothers but I don’t care who sees me crying right now. I can’t stop the tears and I can’t bring myself to give a shit as I jump to all the things I’ll miss the most.

In my jewelry box upstairs, there was a ring given to me by my mom but it had originally belonged to her mother. It was the ring my grandfather gave her when he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. I can still remember sitting in her lap as a little girl, listening to her tell the story of how they met and fell in love with tears in her eyes and a big smile on her face. Then Papa would come in and they’d just stop and stare at each other with so much love in their eyes that I was convinced their story was a real-life fairy tale. When Papa died of a heart attack when I was eight, Lita was absolutely heartbroken. She died just three months later and I was always convinced that living without Papa was just too much sorrow for her to bear. After the funeral, my mom gave me the ring and a note, telling me that Lita had wanted me to have them. The note was tucked into my bedside table drawer upstairs and more tears flow because I have no hope that it was saved from the fire.

“Can you guys go run a perimeter check?” Diego asks and I glance over my shoulder as Logan, Chance, Maverick, and Ink head toward the woods to check for any signs of danger. As soon as Diego hung up the phone with Captain Grier, I was off of his lap and throwing clothes on my body. I needed to get down here as soon as possible and see the carnage for myself but Diego stopped me, concerned this was a trap. And as much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I’d seen a show years back about how when someone is targeting first responders, they’ll make a bomb go off and when everyone rushes in to help the injured, they blow the second, bigger bomb and kill as many people as they can. Turning back to my home, I suck in a breath and my stomach flips as I wonder if that’s what is going on here.

What else would Luca’s motives be?

Break me down?

Scare me?

He’d already done both of those things but it hadn’t gotten him any closer to his end goal of taking me out and with me locked behind the safety of the compound wall, he couldn’t get to me.

But out here…

“Come here, baby,” Diego whispers, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet again. As we turn back to the house, he wraps an arm around my waist to support me. I can feel his gaze on me, watching me carefully before he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my cheek. “I’m sorry.”

I turn into him, shaking my head. I can’t say that it’s okay or that I’m okay because right now, I’m not, and I’m not going to lie to him. His other arm wraps around my body and he presses his lips to the top of my head as I bury my face in his chest. The woodsy, spicy scent that I’ve become addicted to lately envelops me.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

I nod. “I know.”

“Then, talk to me, Mama,” he says, cupping my cheek and forcing my head away from his chest so he can look into my eyes. “Cause I fucking hate seeing you like this. Tell me what I can do to make you feel better right now.”

“You can’t, Diego. I’ve lost everything,” I whisper, my lip wobbling as more tears fill my eyes. A tortured look flashes across his face and he pulls me into his body again, pressing another kiss to the top of my head.

“Not everything. You’ve still got me and you’ve got our boy,” he says, placing one of his hands on my belly. “And you have this club. All these people love you, Iz, and they’ve got you.”

I nod again. “I know.”

“Let’s see if we can go inside and find anything that we can salvage.”

“Is it safe?” I ask, jerking back to look up at him and he glances over at the tree line. I follow his gaze. Logan steps out of the brush, giving Diego a nod. Chance comes next, emerging from the back of the house before giving us a thumbs up. Maverick and Ink follow, moving away from the tress on the other side of the property. They both nod and Diego turns back to me.

“Let’s see if we can find Captain Grier.”

We turn and scan the crowd but it’s still chaos. There are two fire trucks parked in the yard, close to the house and at least ten men roaming around in gear, checking to make sure the blaze is out and things are safe. A man steps away from a throng of people and glances our way before going to confer with a few of the firefighters. When he finishes, he starts coming toward us and Diego grabs my hand as we close the distance between us.