Page 38 of No Broken Promises

I rip my heart out of my chest with those words and have nothing left to say. I sit there, silently waiting for her to say something… anything at all that might alleviate the pain. When she finally opens her mouth to give me an answer, the living room window explodes inward.

Parker’s startled shriek fills my ears as I spring into action. Everything fucking explodes around us with shards of glass landing everywhere, scorching as they land on my shirt and burning their way through it and into my skin. I push Parker onto the ground, pressing my body over hers, protecting her the same way I know Daisy will be protecting Nox upstairs.

“Did someone just throw a fireball through my window?” Her words are short and winded, probably because I am squishing her into the carpet. “Where’s Nox?” She starts to shove at me, and I have to scramble to get off her before she clocks me in the face. “What the hell just happened?”

“Yeah,” I answer. “I’m pretty sure they did. Nox is upstairs, Parker, remember?” Out of everything there is to be worried about, Nox isn’t currently one of them. Daisy is with him, and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe. It’s literally what she’s been trained for.

The fire starts to spread, the liquid from the glass having spilled onto the floor and splashed the wall. I grab the blanket off her couch, smothering the flames before they can catch onto anything else.

Parker groans on the floor, rolling around as she tries to get up while I keep putting out the fire.

“Why would someone throw a fireball through my window?” She clutches the back of her head and walks toward the stairs to check on Nox, wavering slightly with each step she takes.

While I pull out my phone to call it in, I shake my head. “I don’t know. But we’re going to find out.”

16

PARKER

Flashing red and blue lights fill the night air around my house. Somehow, Nox doesn’t even seem to care that someone tried to burn our house down. He doesn’t even twitch when I burst into his room, ready to face the worst.

“Look at all the cool trucks!” Nox laughs and races around our lawn, winding around firefighters and cops alike, having the time of his life. “One day, I’m gonna be a firefighter!”

Both Remy and Linc stand a few feet away from me, talking quietly among themselves. When they hear Nox’s announcement, I have two pairs of irate eyes staring directly at me.

“Not gonna happen,” Linc retorts. “My nephew isn’t gonna be a nozzle jockey.”

Remy snorts in agreement. “We’ll fix it if you won’t.”

I, having absolutely nothing against the fire department, wisely choose to keep my mouth shut. Especially since I can see Jake, the sheriff of Birch County and my uncle, getting out of his car and crossing the lawn.

“What the hell happened?” he practically roars. Not at me, but at Remy. “You’re supposed to keep her safe.”

My spine bristles at that, and I turn away from the charred front of my house to glare at Jake. “Excuse me!” Disbelief and unmitigated anger filter through my brain and down to my mouth. “Why do I need anyone to keep me safe?”

Jake rolls his eyes, not wanting to engage in that particular topic of conversation. I can’t blame him. Anything he says right now will be the wrong thing, and I am adult enough to admit that I am feeling pretty petty.

Instead, I try a different tactic, lacing my question with saccharine sweetness as I bat my eyelashes at him. “Why are you asking Remy about it?”

Linc takes a step back, out of firing range. “Don’t fall for it. She’s doing that thing. You know, where she tries to trap you.”

Jake snorts. “Do you honestly want me to answer that, Parker Jane?”

A hot flush steals up my cheeks, and I put my hands on my hips in defiance. “No.” Then I turn back to my house, where the fire department is finishing up whatever they are doing.

“You can’t stay here,” Jake says needlessly.

“Uncle Jake!” Nox screeches to a halt in front of the older man and throws himself onto Jake’s legs. “Did you see? Mom and Uncle Remy almost died ’cause our house caught on fire.”

My cheeks flame even brighter at Nox’s ability to throw me and Remy under the bus. When I look over at the man in question, he doesn’t seem to care about anyone knowing. Not only that, but no one has even the slightest bit of shock in their expression at his announcement.

“Am I missing something?” I ask the group as a whole.

One of the firefighters walking by stops, his helmet slightly askew. “Yes. Definitely.” Then he laughs and keeps going, but he calls back over his shoulder, “Just kidding!”

“Shut up, Kevin,” Jake calls out. “Mind your business.” Then he turns his attention back to us. “Who’s the officer on her case? Care to tell me what we know?” Again, he looks at Remy for an answer, and I have had enough.

“I’m over here,” I tell him irately. “Me. Your niece. I’m the one who owns the house. The one who had a fireball, which I’ve now learned is technically a Molotov cocktail, thrown through my window. You should be asking me.”

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