Page 120 of Blood and Buttercups

I back up hastily, the feel of the man’s polyester jacket still on my face, and breathlessly explain, “There’s a fire.”

Blocking the door with his largeness—and doing a fine job of it—he gazes into the foyer and frowns.

The man is enormous—easily six-four, maybe six-five, and at least three hundred pounds. It’s not all muscle, either. He doesn’t look like he’d run very fast, but if he tackled you, you’d be squished.

Deciding to believe us, he takes us each by an arm and escorts us outside.

Ethan’s staff scurries around the grounds, pulling hoses and looking a little lost. Our massive nanny barks out orders to anyone who will listen to him as he leads us away from the house and onto the grass.

Letting us go once we’re at a safe distance, he gives us a sharp look. “Stay.”

I rub my arm where his meaty paw clamped over it, making sure it’s not permanently dented. “Instead of working on obedience training, don’t you have a handy kennel you couldlock us in?” That earns me a glare, and I lift my hands in surrender. “It was a joke.”

Deciding to ignore me, he turns back to the house and crosses his huge arms.

“I take it you’re not a vampire,” I say.

“Second stage,” he answers, eyes on the pandemonium. Smoke rises from the back of the house, telling me it’s not a false alarm.

Cassian actually set the place on fire.

“So, you can be out in the daytime?” I ask the guard.

“Yeah.” He frowns at me. “I have to wear sunscreen, though.”

“Same,” I say. “What’s your name?”

His frown deepens. “Hilo.”

“I’m Piper.”

“I know.”

I try to think of something else to say, mostly because I’m nervous. But when I realize Hilo is distracted, I sneak a peek at my phone.

My heart seizes when I see Noah is still in New Castle, but now his avatar is gray. What happened to his phone? What happened tohim?

I tuck the phone away and try to breathe. Noah is a professional hunter. He’ll be fine.

I scan the property for some sign of Cassian or Max. Nothing yet.

But then I hear sirens.

“That was fast,” Olivia says.

Too fast, maybe. We’re pretty far out here for the fire department to arrive that quickly—unless someone called them before the fire got started. Which I suspect Cassian did.

Minutes later, a firetruck flies into the drive. It’s a little surreal, being on-site of another emergency less than twenty-four hours after the first. Several police cars follow it in, then an ambulance, another firetruck, and a second ambulance.

Suddenly, the property is crawling with first responders, and the chaos is very welcome. Just as I’m trying to catch Olivia’s eye to silently tell her to start creeping backward, a fireman appears at my side.

“Ma’am, were you inside while the fire was burning?” he asks.

My knees nearly buckle when I realize it’s Noah under all that gear, but he subtly shakes his head, telling me to play along.

“Yes,” I answer. “My friend and I both were.”

“We need you to sit down with one of the paramedics for a quick examination.”

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