Page 30 of Burn for Me
“Kitty, it’s Kyle. Kyle Stevens. I’m a friend of Gray’s. We met that one time at your bakery?”
“Yes, I remember, Kyle. Hi.”
“Kitty– er, are you home right now?”
This conversation seemed so strange. And it was starting to unsettle her. Should she admit she was at home? Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she didn’t reply.
“Kitty, are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m here. I–”
“Look, I know this is so random, and you don’t know me. But I need to talk to you urgently, and this is something I think needs to be said face-to-face. Are you home?”
Not really comfortable with the idea of telling him she was home, Kitty was curious as to know what brought this man to her door so early in the morning. “Yes, I’m home. Do you have the address?”
“Yeah, I have it. I’m downstairs. Can you please let me in?”
That gave her a nasty jolt. With everything that had happened, she really didn’t like the idea of a total stranger knowing how to find her. Between the weird feeling of being constantly watched and Decadence being burned down, she was more than a little unsettled by this interaction with Kyle.
She had no idea who was responsible for burning down her bakery. And despite not having any proof, she was convinced that someone had been stalking her. Surely it wouldn’t be Kyle though? She hadn’t met him until that day when he’d accompanied Gray.
Pushing her misgivings aside, she went to let Kyle in. She just hoped she wouldn’t regret it. At least she wasn’t alone in the apartment, like she normally would be. If she found herself in trouble, she could always call for her mom’s help.
Standing with the door slightly ajar, she heard the lift arrive on her floor. Kyle got out, and she watched him stride towards her apartment with a grim look on his handsome face. Whatever the reason he was there, she was one hundred percent sure she wasn’t going to like it going by that expression. As he reached her, she stepped aside to let him in.
Stepping past her, Kyle stopped. He appeared to be waiting for her to close the door.
Doing exactly that, she said, “The living room is through here. We can talk in there.” She entered the room and went to take a seat in her favourite spot. “What brings you to my door so early, Kyle?”
Lifting a hand to rub his neck, Kyle pinned her with unhappy eyes. “Are you here alone?”
Kitty didn’t like this. Not one bit. Her earlier misgivings rushing back in, she took a breath before saying, “Look, Kyle, please excuse me for being rude, but it is really early in the morning. I don’t know you very well. And I have no idea why you’re here. So just spit it out. Okay?”
“Forgive me. I don’t mean to be so mysterious, but it really would be better if you had someone here with you. I’ll tell you why I’m here in a second. Do you have someone here with you?”
‘Yes, my mom is here. But she’s still sleeping.”
“Go get her. I think you’re going to need her when I tell you why I’m here.”
“Oh god, is it Gray? Is something wrong with Gray? Tell me.” Kitty got up from the sofa and rushed over to Kyle. “Is he hurt? Where is he? Tell me!” Kitty ended on a shout.
“We got separated on calls last night, and Gray went to assist at a warehouse fire with some of the skeleton crew, since we need all hands at the moment.”
“Yes, I know. I spoke to him last night while he was on a break. What about it?”
“They finally got the fire out. Gray and two other guys went into the building to make sure they were out everywhere and to check the integrity of the structure. He would need to know that before he can go in to start his investigation.”
Kitty heard her mother. “Pussycat, is everything all right? Why are you shouting?” Spotting Kyle, she stopped, her hand reaching to smooth her hair. She pulled the lapels of her dressing gown a little closer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you had company. Is everything all right? I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“No, Mom, you’re not. This is Kyle. He’s a friend of Gray’s. He was just telling me why he’s here.”
Moving to stand beside her daughter, Elenore wrapped an arm around Kitty’s shoulders but said no more.
Turning back to Kyle, Kitty prompted, “Yes?”
Blowing a harsh breath out through his mouth, Kyle looked Kitty square in the eyes. “Kitty... I– Shit! This is hard. Sorry. It’s just– There was– An I-beam collapsed on Gray. And before they could get him out—"
“No! Don’t say it.” The words ripped out of Kitty before she even realised she’d said a word.
