Page 73 of Roaring Flames

Seth shifts on the stool and pushes up his glasses with his pointer finger. “And now isn’t the time to tell her. She’s not ready.”

Hale and Gerry exchange an indecipherable glance. The latter opens his mouth, a question swarming in his eyes, but Seth plops his headphones back into place and slides off the stool. Like Lissa, he doesn’t say goodbye as he leaves the kitchen.

The sudden silence that permeates the air is stifling.

Jake breaks it first, his gaze volleying between the two men in confusion. “Can someone please explain to me what the ever-loving hell is going on? What do you need to talk to me about?And why is Izzy here? No offense, Izzy. You know I love you. But you literally told me just yesterday that you needed space.” His blond brows furrow as something seems to occur to him. “Does this have something to do with it?”

“I believe so,” Hale murmurs.

Gerry sighs and scrubs a hand down his chin. Just like the first time I saw him, he wears a leather jacket that clings to his muscular shoulders, tight jeans, and cowboy boots. His red hair is long and cascades down his spine in loose waves.

“We need to talk to the two of you. Izzy’s right to be angry with us. We’ve been keeping secrets from you. From both of you.” He pauses and then says, “Fromallof you.”

Jake’s brows lower in trepidation. “What type of secrets?”

“Let’s take this to the living room, shall we?” Hale suddenly seems older. Not just days older or even weeks, but years older. Decades. Lines bracket his eyes that haven’t been there before. “This is going to be a long conversation.”

Twenty-Nine

IZZY

Hale’s hands tremble around the coffee mug as he tentatively brings it to his lips.

“Is this about the explosion?” Jake asks, and grief momentarily flickers in his eyes.

I realize with a start that he probably knew Minnie. Was friends with her. He worked there for years, after all.

His anguish is a physical punch to the gut, and I reach across the couch to take his hand in mine. He flashes me a grateful smile and gives my fingers a squeeze.

“What happened was a tragedy—” Gerry begins.

“Did they say what caused it?” I interrupt.

God, that poor girl. She was only a few years older than I am and had her whole life ripped away from her. Did she have a family? Friends? A significant other? The twins mentioned that their sister knew her. Who else is currently mourning her death?

It could’ve been me, or Jake, or Silas, or Reid who died.

Hell, it could’ve beenallof us, if the explosion happened even a few hours later.

The realization is like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.

“They’ll look into it,” Hale assures us, reaching upwards to ruffle his salt-and-pepper hair. The strands are a little longer than they were the last time I saw him, almost as if he hasn’t gotten them cut in a while. “They think it could be a gas line explosion.”

“What was Minnie even doing there so early?” Jake asks.

“They don’t know for sure, but they suspect she left something behind. Went back early to retrieve it.”

I suck in a sharp gasp.

Didn’t I plan to return before school began to grab my forgotten backpack? Sweat trickles down my spine, and my hands feel clammy. A lead weight drops into the pit of my stomach, sluicing the meager contents around.

“But that’s not what we want to talk to you guys about,” Gerry interrupts, once again steering the conversation back on track. He leans forward to run his hands up and down his thighs. The leather crinkles, the sound ominously loud in the suddenly taut silence. “There’s a lot you two don’t know about this world. About yourselves.”

“I know…some,” I tentatively venture, flicking my gaze towards Jake.

He just appears confused, his brows drawn together.

“Know some of what?” The blond quarterback cocks his head to the side like a curious dog.

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