Page 117 of Ruthless Beasts

I could tell he was fighting not to move, not wanting to wake Bellamy, even for the current circumstances. "How is she?"

"Devastated. The fire team is there now. I'm taking Drew and Max over. Adam said to take you too. But if you'd rather stay..."Please stay,I wanted to beg. Something deep down in my soul suddenly felt the importance of it.

"I'll go." He wiggled a little, extracting himself from our girl before sitting up. "Give me five minutes."

"If you'd rather?—"

"I want to go," Ace growled. "Mimi is like family to us all, you know. I may not be as connected as you are to her, but I'll help any way that I can."

"I'll wait outside then." I gave one long look at Bellamy. "She's so fucking pretty."

"Shhh." He glared. "You'll wake her."

I held my hands up in surrender and whispered, "I'm leaving."

I sent Max and Drew a message, waiting for a response before I went outside and waited. The cars were already pulled close, a plus for us being lazy earlier when we returned from shopping. When everyone gathered, we left for Mimi's, my stomach balling the further we got from our estate.

"I don't like this," I finally blurted out, glancing at Ace in the passenger seat.

"Do you want to stay back? I can go," he offered.

I wish it was that easy. But I couldn't leave him to handle Mimi and the devastation alone. Mimi was my family long before I met Ace and Adam, and I needed to be there for her.

I watched the road. "I have to go."

"Do you want me to stay?" He gave me another offer.

I wish I had forced the issue earlier. "No. We can't waste any more time. I don't know how bad the damage is, but I don't want her to be alone."

"Okay." He didn't speak further. Just let me stew in silence as the pit in my stomach rumbled and rolled uncomfortably, like a warning I refused to acknowledge.

When we pulled up, the fire was still blazing, though it had mostly died down. The building was toast. If we had thought she would have something to salvage, we'd been wrong. It was crumbling on its foundation, the smoke still thick in the air. I pulled off to the side, seeking her out in the chaos.

I found Mimi hunkered under a blanket further down the street. Her face told the story of devastation as she watched her life and all she worked for disappear to ash. Above us, the sky rumbled its displeasure, and I looked up as I exited the car, taking in the angry clouds. How fucking fitting that the world would reject the misfortune of such a kind woman, screaming its displeasure for all to hear.

"Mimi," I whispered as I got closer, not wanting to speak louder and scare her.

The old woman looked up in a daze. Her hair, which was normally neatly in a bun, was sticking up haphazardly. A line of soot streaked her cheek, and her eyes filled with tears the second she saw me. I crouched down to her level and kissed her forehead as her tears fell. "It's okay, Mimi. I'm here."

She shook her head as she buried her face into my chest, and I'd never felt so helpless in my life. I wasn't sure what to say to a woman who just lost everything. What words would rectify the pain she was going through as she watched her home and her life’s work reduced to kindling and feeding the flames in front of her?

"She almost didn't get out." I tore my attention to the voice, spotting a lady a few feet away. "I'm her neighbor. You must be a son."

"I…" I paused for a moment, trying to think of what to say. Mimi never had children. At least, I didn't think so. But I sure as hell wouldn't mind calling her ‘Mom,’ since she was the woman who offered me the only olive branch she could when I was just a child. "Yes."

"You're so lucky to have her," the neighbor offered, and she couldn't know just how true that was.

I hugged Mimi tighter. "I am. I'm grateful."

"Her door was jammed. It took my husband and my son all their strength to pry it open. She’s lucky they could because the bars on the window meant she couldn't escape otherwise." My stomach sank.

"The door wouldn't open?" I was an idiot; that’s why I repeated her words.

"None of them would. That's some sturdy lock she has. She chained them from the outside even. Well, all but one at least. I guess you can never be too careful in protecting what's yours these days."

No.

This couldn't be true.

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