I nodded to indicate that I was ready to enter what was left of my home. The fireman led the way, and I followed with my hopes up. I didn’t expect much to have survived the fire, but I was keeping my fingers crossed on a few items.
The stench of smoke was thick. My lungs grew heavy as I tried to take shallow breaths. Everything was covered in a thick layer of soot. Every single surface was layered in black.
I walked through the house feeling numb. Numb was good. I had reached my emotional capacity for the week.
Everything was ruined. The television was a melted mass of crap along with every other electronic and appliance on the main floor. The framed picture of Shaz and me was shattered on the floor, burnt to oblivion. Logically, I knew the photo could be reprinted. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like it was a bad omen.
My bedroom was what I wanted to see the most. I hurried down the stairs as fast as I could safely go. My clothes were soot-stained garbage. I didn’t care about that. What I really needed to see was the locked box I kept in the bottom drawer of my dresser. I yanked the charred drawer open, fearful the box would be ruined or missing.
It was right where I’d left it. I easily found the key on the ring with my car keys. I could have wept with relief when I saw everything inside it safe and untouched.
I ran my fingers over the smooth surface of Kale’s cross. I was ecstatic to see it was ok. Alongside it was the small velvet bag that contained an amulet from Lena. Through the bag, I could feel it, a little piece of stone that vibrated with deep earth energy, calling to my wolf.
I relocked the box and shoved it into my shoulder bag. Other than the picture of Shaz and me, these two things meant the most. Everything else could be replaced.
A brief look in the garage revealed a Jaguar that stunk to high heaven of smoke. A detail job might not be enough. Raoul’s car spent a lot of time in the garage; I didn’t drive it much. It had still smelled like him. His scent had clung to the interior, sealed inside because the doors so rarely opened. I hated that I liked it. That scent was gone now, burnt away with the rest of what had once belonged to Raoul.
A conversation with the fireman revealed that they couldn’t determine where or how the fire had started. I knew, of course. Supernatural fire wasn’t so easy to trace. He gave me some information about what my options would likely be in this situation. Rebuild the house starting with the salvageable framework still standing or tear it down and sell the property. I needed some time to think about it.
* * * *
A few days had passed since the fire. I had been lying low at Arys’s house, pondering possible outcomes of both the Lilah predicament and the FPA investigation. If the FPA discovered Kale and I had killed Abigail Irving, what was I going to do about it?
There was also the matter of Kale’s disappearance. I had yet to hear from him. He had been known to lock himself away with random women at The Wicked Kiss for days at a time, but this was different. I could feel it.
After leaving the remains of my house, I ventured out on a two-hour trip to the store. I was exhausted and looked forward to the escape I would find in sleep, but I needed to start reorganizing my life. New underwear was a good place to start.
Arys had been faced with the reminder that, though I was nocturnal, I was still a daywalker. He’d paced the house like a cat in a cage, spouting several reasons why I shouldn’t go out alone even though the sun was up. Vampires and demons were trapped as long as the sun was in the sky. Lilah posed no threat.
I returned to Arys’s house in the early afternoon. Dropping my bags in the kitchen, I abandoned them and headed for the bedroom. It wasn’t going to be easy to stay with him. I adored every moment I spent with the man, but I was used to having my own space. A pang of sadness had me feeling sorry for myself. I missed my house.
Arys was buried beneath a mass of bright red sheets. It was too hot for anything heavier. His brow was creased in a frown, and he clutched the pillow tight in one hand. I hadn’t been having the greatest dreams lately either.
I stripped down nude and climbed between the sheets. My dark vampire lay next to me, deep in the strange slumber of the undead. I stroked a hand absently through his silken hair, hoping to find comfort in touching him.
The window was so well covered that it was impossible to tell visually that the sun was up. I stared around the dark room, seeing nothing, my thoughts on overdrive. I contemplated what I should do with the remnants of the house. Selling the property and moving on was the best option, yet letting go of it was too hard to imagine.
I waited for sleep, begged for it. I slipped into that hazy in-between state and floated in limbo. Soon enough, I descended into a deep slumber, then my phone rang, jarring me awake. Arys stirred, and I rushed to silence it. I was hopeful that it would be Kale.