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“Mr. Rodriguez,” he says when we reach each other. “Miss Hutton.”

“How bad is it?” I ask, staring up at my house behind him. From the outside, it looks demolished but I’m holding onto a tiny, minuscule piece of hope that the inside looks better than this. Captain Grier sighs.

“I’m gonna be honest with you… there is nothing salvageable from the first floor. The fire started in the kitchen and the floor was doused in gasoline which made it go up quick. It didn’t help that whoever did this trashed the place pretty thoroughly before he lit it up. It gave the fire lots of fuel to get going very quickly. You have any idea who would want to do this?”

Diego nods. “We do. She’s been staying with us for protection after an incident two weeks ago but we can talk later and trade details if you’d like.”

“Yeah, that’d be great. I’m going to need it for my report.”

My mind flashes to what Diego said about the other report going missing and I squeeze his hand. “Do you think you could send us a copy of that before you submit it?”

“That’s highly against protocol,” he replies, his gaze bouncing between the two of us. Diego sighs, looking up at the house as indecision lines his handsome face. It’s almost like I can hear what he’s thinking now as he tries to decide if it’s safe for us to trust Captain Grier with this information. As far as I know, though, it’s just the police department that’s been dealing with corruption, not the fire department. Why would Luca even need a rat inside BRFD anyway? Unless he calls them to burn bodies for him…

The man from the alley rushes to my mind and I shudder.

“Reports have been going missing around this case,” Diego finally admits with a sigh. “We’d like to keep our own records… just in case.”

Yeah, just in case I end up dead somewhere.

Captain Grier nods. “I’ll send it off to you first then.”

“Thank you.”

I turn back to the house, looking up at the second floor where my bedroom is as I think about Lita’s ring again. It doesn’t look as severe as the bottom floor but it still looks badly burned.

“What about the upstairs? Was there anything up there that made it through the fire?”

“Things weren’t as bad up there,” Captain Grier says, glancing up at the second floor himself. “If you let me know what you’re looking for, I can have one of my guys go in and look for it.”

I shake my head. “Oh, no. I can just go up there and get it myself.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but you can’t. It’s not safe, especially in your condition.” He glances down at my belly and disappointment rushes through me as I place my hand at the top of the bump.

“What about me?” Diego asks. “Could I go up and get it for her?”

My gaze snaps to him in surprise. Captain Grier just told us it wasn’t safe and yet, he’d still go up there and search for my Lita’s ring for me? Why? I mean, I know he’s promised time and time again to protect me and our baby but this goes above and beyond the call of duty. He glances down at me, flashing me a reassuring smile and I turn back to the house as confusion swirls through my mind.

“I suppose I can let you go up but be quick and watch where you step.” He points to me. “You need to stay on the bottom floor.”

I hold my hand up in surrender. “I got it.”

Captain Grier walks off to talk to his men and Diego turns to me, pulling me closer as he cups my cheek and brushes his thumb over my skin. God, why does it comfort me so damn much when he does that?

“Tell me what you need me to get.”

I suck in a breath. “There was a jewelry box upstairs on my dresser and there was an antique ring inside with a giant white stone in the middle and gorgeous filigree on the sides.”

“Okay, I’ll find it.”

“Also,” I call, grabbing his arm as he tries to walk away from me. “There was a letter from my grandma in the bedside table. It’s written on pink paper and it’s one of the last things she ever gave me. I don’t know if it made it through but if it did, please find it.”

“I’ve got it, Mama,” he says, kissing my hairline again. “You want to check out the first floor or hang out here while I go look?”

My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I glance back at the house. Indecision wears on me. Do I really want to see the home I painstakingly spent years turning into an oasis burned to ash? Can I even handle that? Turning back to Diego, I’m still torn but when he takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine, I feel marginally more equipped to handle this whole thing.

“Let’s go in together.”

He nods, pulling me into his body one last time and pressing a kiss to my hairline as he cups my cheek with his free hand. “Behave.”