“What?” Shep asked, instantly on edge.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Not yet.”
But I couldn’t help but wonder. What if someone had set that fire all those years ago? And what if they’d come back to finish what they started?
21
RHODES
After much prodding from me,most of our breakfast crew took their leave. Trace had required my promise of texts every time I moved from one place to another, in addition to me enabling a danged app that let him track my location. But no matter how stifling, I knew it came from a place of love. Just as I knew Fallon’s hovering did.
I leaned a hip against the counter. “You’re going to work now, and so am I.”
Duncan had texted early this morning, telling me to take the day off, but I’d assured him I’d be in, just a little later than usual.
Fallon’s face screwed up. “I think you should rest today.”
“If I lie around here all day, I’m just going to stew about everything that happened. I need to keep busy.”
Her lips pursed as she seemed to mull over my words. “Then I’ll come with you. Hang out with you and Biscuit.”
The pup lifted his head atthe sound of his name.
“Fallon, are you trying to play bodyguard?” I asked, a smile tipping my lips.
She let out a huff. “I can be intimidating if I want.”
The laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop it.
Fallon scowled in my direction. “Well, that was just rude.”
I held up both hands. “I have no doubt you could kick a man in the balls when he least expected it, but you don’t exactly give off menacing vibes.”
Fallon radiated the gentlest energy of anyone I knew. Because she was. An empath through and through, she took on the emotions of everyone around her. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t tough. If you hurt someone she cared about, watch out.
“Do I need to get Kye to give me a face tat?”
I choked on another laugh. “Maybe a dagger by your left eye?”
Her lips twitched. “How aboutkillin big letters across my neck?”
I pulled her into a hug. “I love you. You know that, right?”
Fallon hugged me back, hard. “I was so scared when Mom called me last night. It was just like all those years ago.”
Shit.I hadn’t thought about how this might be triggering for Fallon, too. She’d almost lost me back then, and this would have brought it all back. I squeezed her tighter. “I’m okay. Promise. Trace’ll figure this out, and everything will go back to normal.”
I said the words as much for myself as for Fallon, needing to believe it, too.
“You’re right. He won’t stop until he finds this asshole. And I’m going to bust his balls when Trace brings him in.”
I released Fallon, my brows raising. “Vicious little thing, aren’t you?”
She grinned. “See? Intimidating.”
I chuckled. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
I wasn’t giving Fallon any other options because she needed to go to work. She had a ridiculous caseload with Child Protective Services, and even one day out would mean her working triple-time the next day.
