Letting out a growl of frustration, I punched my pillow. Rho’s face played in my mind on repeat. It was like a slideshow of torture. The first image was those gorgeous hazel eyes full of hurt. But the second was far worse. Want made the gold in them spark and swirl as need parted her lips.
“Fuck.”
I never should’ve said yes to dinner. I should’ve blown her off and shut that door fast and hard. But I hadn’t. And she’d somehow managed to slip past the defenses I’d so expertly built over the past two years.
My phone rang from the nightstand. The first tone had my blood turning to ice. The device rarely rang, and sure as hell not at three in the morning.
I grabbed it, jerking the charger cord free. Seeing Shep’s name on the screen only drove my panic higher as I struggled to hitaccept.
“What happened?” I demanded.
“Need you at Rho’s.” I heard the strain in my friend’s voice. He was trying to hold back whatever emotion was trying to break free.
“Talk to me,” I ordered but was already moving, pulling on joggers and a tee.
“There was a fire at the Victorian.”
“Tell me she’s okay,” I growled.
“She’s fine,” Shep assured me. “It didn’t get close to the cottage. The fire department has it out now. It was pretty contained to the part of the house that was burned before, so it didn’t spread.”
My footsteps faltered as I reached for my keys. It was hard to get something that had been burned before to burn again. It didn’t make any sense. And that had my gut churning. “Be there in ten.”
I hung up before Shep had a chance to answer. Slipping on my sneakers, I jogged out to my truck.
I made the typically fifteen-minute drive to Rho’s in eight. Fire trucks were everywhere, along with sheriff’s department vehicles and Shep’s familiar silver pickup. I parked next to him, jumped out, and slammed the truck door behind me.
Striding across the gravel drive, I ignored every firefighter and cop, searching for one person only. The moment my gaze locked on her, all the air punched right out of my lungs.
Rho had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and Biscuit’s leash looped around one hand. Her face had gone completely pale, devoid of any color at all as she stared at her surroundings. But she wasn’t truly seeing. It was as if she was in a trance.
I crossed to her on instinct. Not a damned thing could’ve kept me away. I came to a stop in front of her, but Rho still didn’t react. Lifting a hand, I squeezed her neck gently. “Look at me, Reckless.”
She blinked a few times, her focus finally coming to me. “Anson?”
“There she is.” I searched those hazel eyes, so much duller than I was used to. “You okay?”
Rho nodded. “We’re fine. I just—what are you doing here?”
“I called him,” Shep cut in.
My hand dropped instantly as I turned toward my friend.
Shep’s eyes narrowed on me, but he quickly shifted his focus to Rho. “Thought it wouldn’t be bad to have our fire-restoration expert on hand.”
Rho’s brow furrowed. “It’s the middle of the night. You shouldn’t have woken him up.”
“Yes, he should’ve,” I growled.
Her gaze cut to me, and a little fire returned to those eyes. “It’s ridiculous. It’s not like you can do anything about this tonight.” Her shoulders slumped. “Maybe the house is cursed.”
Shep moved in then, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. “It’s not cursed. We’re going to figure out what’s going on and fix it.”
My back teeth ground together as heat prickled my skin. But it wasn’t from the fire that was out now. This felt a lot like jealousy. Because some part of me wanted to be the person with his arm around Rho. Even though I knew I couldn’t be.
Just then, another truck pulled up, and Nora and Lolli were out in a flash, running up the porch steps. They surrounded Rho, pulling her into hugs and then guiding her and Biscuit inside the cottage.
The moment the door closed, Shep crossed to me. “Trace is waiting for word from the fire chief. Come on.”
