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“Shit.” I followed her and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket before she could get to the sidewalk. “Would you wait?”
“I need to see.” The tears were back.
I had to ignore them for now. Someone had to think about her safety because she sure wasn’t.
Two men shouted for us to get back.
“This is my house.” She started forward again.
I hooked an arm around her waist and hauled her up against me. “Teagan, it’s not safe to go in there.”
“I need to see.”
A man wearing half of the usual gear waved off the two younger firefighters. “I’ll take it from here.” His face was sweaty with dirt dug into the smile lines around his eyes and mouth. “Ma’am, we’re checking for structural integrity. I need you to move back.”
“What happened?”
“We won’t know exactly until the arson unit takes a look.”
“Arson?” She sagged against me.
I curled my arm around her more securely. “Unattended fires always require an investigation.” Attended fires too usually, but I wasn’t getting into that now.
The man nodded and tipped his head. “And you are?”
“Dallas. Former Ranger.” The man’s eyebrows rose. “A few of my old unit buddies ended up joining up with the Boston FD.”
“I’m McCain.” He turned his attention to Teagan. “Well, ma’am, your friend is right. Once we find the reason for the fire, we’ll be able to give you more details. We have the fire out, but there’s a fair amount of smoke and water damage. The fire was centralized in the front. Kitchen, living room, and some of the hallway.”
She buried her face in my shirt, her fingers bunching it as she gripped me tight. She still wasn’t making any sounds. Just shuddering silently.
“Anything salvageable?”
“Hope she has good insurance.”
Teagan’s nails dug into my chest.
“Dallas.”
I turned at the clipped male voice I knew all too well. “Great.”
Teagan looked up at me, her lashes starred with tears.
“Chuckles is here.”
“His name is not Chuckles.” She took a step back from me, dashing away the tears.
I grunted.
All at once, Teagan seemed to pull herself together. I wanted to believe it was because she wasn’t close to Noah. That she could let down her guard with me in a different way than she would in front of outsiders.
But another part of me wondered if there was more.
Noah cut his way through the small crowd gathered across the street. She headed for him and he caught her into a quick hug. My hands tightened into fists.
McCain cleared his throat. “We should be out of here in the next hour or so. She won’t be able to go in until tomorrow at the earliest.”
I nodded. “Thanks, man.”
