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Ford leaned against the wall. “That’s the million dollar question.”
“One I don’t have the answer to,” Rios continued. “I don’t know if my dad did something to him or if he’s just a racist son of a bitch who sees a brown man as a convenient scapegoat.”
“Fucker. Nobody with that kind of prejudice should be in any kind of position of power.”
“You’re not wrong. We’re not going to fix a broken system. But I do have some insight into my sister.”
“Lay it on me. I’ll take whatever advice I can get.”
He leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees. “She’s somebody who takes everything on herself, and she’s gonna be taking this pretty hard. This was all shit she was worried about before she got involved with you, so it’s just pressing on existing fears. If she tries to push you away, don’t let her. Stand your ground. She’s stubborn. All of us are. If you really want to be with her long-term, then you’ve got to be patient enough to weather that.”
Waiting? Hell, it felt like I’d been waiting for Caroline Carrera my whole life. What was a while longer? Especially now, when I knew what it was to be with her. “I can do that. I can give her the time she needs and just be here on the other side when she’s ready.”
“Good. Now go to bed yourself. You look like you’re about to drop.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d already been dragging from the adrenaline crash after the fire. Having a second round from my confrontation with the chief of police hadn’t helped.
“What about keeping tabs on the girls? I know we slacked off on that, but now…”
“We’ll take care of it,” Sawyer said.
And I had a moment to realize that Rios and his friends were a true unit. They operated together the same way I did with my fire crews. As a team. Or in their case, a family. They’d take care of their own.
Reassured by that, I hauled myself around to my side of the house and made my way upstairs. Though every step felt like moving through quicksand, I took the time to shower, washing away the remnants of smoke that still clung to my hair and skin. All my burns woke up and screamed at the lukewarm water. Gritting my teeth, I got through it, refreshing the burn cream and bandages before preparing to fall into bed.
But I couldn’t make myself do it. Not just yet. Stepping out on the balcony, I strode around to Caroline’s door. If she’d been just a tenant, this would cross a line. Probably. But she wasn’t just a tenant, and I couldn’t rest until I saw she was okay. Peering through the gap between the sheers she’d hung over the French door, I saw her curled up on the air mattress, her damp hair curling across the pillow. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, easy rhythm. Sleeping.
Reassured, I trudged back inside and collapsed onto my bed. Sleep took me under fast.
Gasping for breath, I stumbled through the thick, choking smoke, the searing heat of the flames wrapping me in a hellish embrace. “Caroline!”
The fire roared like a living beast, hungry and merciless. I stumbled on, the fear of not finding her a knife in my gut.
The dining room was fully involved, flames dancing with a terrifying frenzy up the walls, across the ceiling. Each step was a battle against the heat that threatened to consume me. My skin felt like it was melting, the bandana over my face useless against the smoke that clogged my lungs.
I pushed through to the kitchen, the door hot to the touch. The flames reached for me with greedy fingers, a wall of fire blocking my path. The heat was unbearable, a physical force that pushed me back.
The sound of Caroline’s voice was faint, a ghostly whisper over the crackling fire.
“Caroline, where are you?” I choked out.
Smoke blurred my vision, and my eyes streamed. I couldn’t see her. Couldn’t figure out where the screams were coming from. Everywhere I turned was more flame, and I realized that the fire had closed in, cutting off any exit.
I hadn’t found her, and now we were both going to die.
“Caroline!”
“Hoyt, wake up. I’m okay. I’m safe. Wake up.”
I rocketed out of sleep, already reaching toward Caroline’s voice. And there she was, kneeling beside me, one hand on my shoulder. My arms closed around her. Real. Alive.
“You’re okay. You’re okay.” I gasped it over and over, my voice ragged.
She wrapped around me. “You got me out. I’m fine.” The rasp of her abused throat was music. “You were having a nightmare.”
That pulled me the rest of the way out of the dream. Judging by the angle of the sun, it was much later in the day. Was it the same day? Or had I managed to sleep into tomorrow? Had she? We’d gone to bed separately. She’d shut me out.
Remembering that, I loosened my hold. “What are you doing here?”
