“Holy shit, Ember! Are you okay? I just heard about the fire and came right over.”
I jump when Levi pulls one of my hands away from my body, Bam making a noise deep in his throat. The simple touch is enough to knock the shock out of me, and I jerk back, dropping the contents I had been clutching for dear life on the ground.
He bends, ignoring my outburst, and picks up my purse, followed by the frame. The same frame I had just replaced when he had shattered it a few weeks before. He looks at the image, the one of Nate and me, and I see his jaw tick.
“Can I help you?” I hear Liam question, his voice full of authority as he walks back over, handing me my phone.
Levi stands and turns to look at Liam. “You can’t. I’m checking on Ember here.”
“It’s okay, Lee,” I interject before things get weird. “Levi is just an old … friend of mine. He works with the Hope Town Fire Department and was just checking on me.”
“Is that so? That’s mighty nice and all, Larry,” Liam sweetly says. “You just happen to be driving by?”
At Liam’s question, I look over at Levi and notice that he isn’t wearing his uniform. Instead, he has on a nice polo shirt and jeans.
“It’s Levi.” His nostrils flare and he stands a little straighter. “I had stopped by the station, actually, on my way home and was there when the call came in. Not that it’s any of your business.” He adds the last part under his breath, but I know Lee hears him because he gets a cold look in his eyes.
“Actually, Levi, it is my business. Not only because I carry this,” he stresses while pointing to his badge, “but also because Ember is a close friend.”
I ignore them, not interested in their macho bullshit, and look over at my house. They almost have the flames under control, and it looks like it didn’t move far from the back half of my house. I take a deep breath and try to calm my frazzled nerves, but that all goes to shit when I hear the sharp scream of tires protesting. I look up and see my father jumping from his truck and rushing over, my mom not far behind him, and jerk my eyes to Liam.
“That wasn’t the call I asked you to make,” I accuse.
He holds his hands up, ignoring the man still standing next to the open doorway. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to get my ass handed to me because I picked the wrong order when it comes to the men in your life. Your father is scary as fuck, and I know he can kick my ass.”
“He isn’t who I wanted here,” I hiss.
“Yeah, well the one you wanted here I imagine isn’t far behind.”
I narrow my eyes, and he just rolls his. “I have a wife, Em. You can’t intimidate me with that look. Not to mention, Molly puts you to shame.”
At the mention of his daughter, I feel some of my anxiety ebb, just in time for my father to take my shoulders and spin me until my nose is pressed against his chest.
“Are you okay,” he huffs.
“Oh my God, baby!” my mom screams in my ear when she joins the huddle.
“Shit, Emmy, not so loud,” my father scolds before pulling me back and looking down at me. “You’re okay?”
“I’m okay, Dad. Just … in shock, I think. Bam got me out of the house before the smoke had even hit my bedroom.”
He continues to look at me, his dark eyes probing as he makes sure my words are true. I can feel my mom fidget nervously as she watches them work to put the remaining flames out. He looks down, assessing me for injury, I’m sure, before pulling me back into his hold.
“Who the fuck are you?” he snaps, the sound grumbled against the ear he has pressed close to his chest.
“Levi Kyle, Ember’s boyfriend.”
“No, he isn’t! Ex! EX-boyfriend. We broke up almost a month ago!” I yell, my mouth muffled against my dad’s chest. I try to turn around, but my father just holds me tighter against him.
“You’re mistaken.”
I shiver, the malicious tone in my dad’s voice something that I don’t often hear, but it never fails to cause me to tremble in fear. I’ve never had that tone directed at me either, and it’s still scary as hell.
“Excuse me, I misspoke,” Levi tries again. “We recently had a separation that I had been hoping to rectify.”