Page 69 of Filthy Liar

Beckett wouldn’t call at one o’clock in the morning unless something was wrong, and I quickly answered it and put it on speaker.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hope the mafia prince is worth it,” she said bluntly, a sinking feeling starting in my stomach when I heard sirens in the background.

“What happened?”

She was quiet for a second, her voice softening a fraction with pity.

“Your house is on fire.”

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

RAVEN

Icouldn’t hear much over the blood rushing in my ears as we pulled up near our house in the Heights, finding it fully ablaze. There was no saving it, it was gone.

Rory was talking to BG and a firefighter, the flames casting a bright glow around the whole street. The neighbors stood outside watching, panic and grief washing through me like a tsunami.

I heard one of the guys curse as I started running towards it, not knowing what I intended to do, but I had to make it stop. Every memory of Josh lived inside those walls, and I couldn’t handle the thought of not feeling him around us.

An arm snaked out and yanked me back, a sob breaking free as I was dragged back from the raging inferno.

“It’s gone, Raven,” Diesel murmured, holding me tighter when I tried to break free. “It’s gone.”

My legs buckled as more sobs wracked my body, giving up the fight as he continued to pull me away from the fire. It couldn’t end like this, we were supposed to move home when all of this was over.

“I’ve got her,” Logan said from close by, and it registered that Diesel was no longer holding me up and it was Logan.

When had that happened?

I buried my face in Logan’s chest, letting him pull me to the ground so he could just hold me. My chest ached with every breath, and I jumped when there was a loud crash as the roof caved in.

I looked over just in time to watch Ander shove Beckett, both of them apparently mid argument, and Diesel snapped at them when Beckett pulled her gun out and pressed it against Ander’s forehead. “Hey, hey, hey! Enough!”

I couldn’t really hear them, my head was so damn loud as I returned my attention to what was left of the house. If Logan was talking, I couldn’t hear him either, so I just zoned out as I stared at the flames.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d zoned out for, but I heard someone mention bodies, just as Rory appeared beside us. She squatted to our level, her voice firm. “There’s at least three bodies inside.”

“Is one my dad?” I asked, hating how my voice cracked. I didn’t give a shit if one was, I was crying over the house, not him.

“They can’t identify who they are yet. They’re too burned to tell,” she answered carefully. “Do you have any idea who else might have been in there?”

With Viktor currently sitting in a jail cell, I wasn’t sure who they could be, but Reid spoke, his voice tight and full of pain.

“My mom.” Rory glanced up at him, his voice cracking as he added, “She moved in recently. It has to be Mom.”

I’d seen Reid hurting before, but the heartbreak on his face right now was like a punch to the gut. Part of me hoped one was her so he could be free from her bullshit, but I also knew it would destroy him.

He’d never stop loving her, no matter what she did to him.

My stupid tears fell harder as the realization sank in with him, and thankfully Zavier could grab him to stop him from falling completely as his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees beside us.

Rory stood and gave us a minute as she went to talk to BG again, probably updating him on Reid’s mom being a possible body. Ander silently joined us, dropping down beside me with a sigh.

“This has Stefano’s name written all over it. I’m sorry, Bluebird.”

All I could do was nod that I’d heard him, my eyes on Reid, who was falling apart right in front of us. I’d seen him cry before, but the heavy sobs leaving him were killing me.

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