Page 28 of Tuck & Roll

“Yeah, but she got out. I can see her standing across from her house with half the neighborhood. It doesn’t look like she made it out with anything but the clothes on her back.”

“Let it go for now. We’ll have to come up with another plan to get rid of her.”

He disconnected the call and tried to see the bright side of Benny’s screw up. With her house going up in flames, whatever physical evidence she had regarding Chet’s dealings at Bottoms Up was now gone. Of all the rotten luck, the woman hadn’t succumbed to smoke inhalation and died inside the house. That would have solved all of their problems. Now, he was left wondering if she’d been able to talk to Race already. Did the flash drive get destroyed in the fire? If not, did she have it on her when she got out? Did she make a copy of the flash drive to give him? Could she have dropped it off at the clubhouse already? Was there another copy she stashed somewhere? Until they could get their hands on her and could question her, they wouldn’t know for sure.

Tuck got a call from his mother this morning sharing news with him that he never thought he’d hear. Kylie’s house had suffered a fire last night and she’d ended up being taken to the E.R. She was quick to assure him that Kylie was fine and after she was released went home with her sister. He wasn’t for sure but he thought his heart might have momentarily stopped beating until it registered that she was okay.

He’d immediately hopped on his bike and sped to Beth’s house. Until he saw her with his own eyes, he wouldn’t be able to function. It took a little time, but he finally passed the gauntlet with Beth and was able to see Kylie. She assured him that she was okay, but asked if he would take her to her house so she could see it. Of course, he said yes.

Pulling his bike to a stop in front of what was left of Kylie’s house, he had to swallow hard past the lump in his throat. “Fuck me,” he mumbled under his breath. He shut his bike down and helped her off.

The whole front of the house was nothing but charred wood and the roof over the kitchen had fallen in. He rubbed his hand over his mouth while he tried to get a handle on his emotions. He glanced down to gage Kylie’s reaction to the sight and saw her shoulders slumped and her eyes looked glassy. He could feel her pain like a kick to the stomach.

“Well shit. There’s nothing left.” She absently rubbed her stomach like witnessing the aftermath of the fire was making her sick. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling. She turned to find him watching her, a sad look on her face. “Seeing it last night, I could almost pretend I was watching a movie, that it was happening to someone else. Seeing it in the light of day makes it seem so much more real.”

That was understandable considering she’d been in shock last night when it all went down. He could only imagine the terror she’d felt having been woken from a deep sleep to find her house on fire. What she must have been feeling in that moment. Damn. Now, seeing the destruction of her home in the light of day, it had to be sinking in how unbelievably lucky she’d been that she’d gotten out alive.

He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You all right?”

“Yeah. Just thinking of the million and one things I’ve got to do. Like call my landlord and break the news he lost his house last night. Call my insurance company to report my personal property and my car as a loss. I need a new driver’s license and debit card. I need a rental car or something to get around in until I can buy a new one. Oh, and I need to go shopping because I own one pair of jeans, one pair of tennis shoes, one shirt, one bra and one pair of underwear, which are all in Beth’s washer, and I’m hoping the smoke smell comes out of them.” By the time she was finished with her to-do list, she was near tears.

Tuck couldn’t stand it, she looked so pitiful and lost he had to do something to make her feel better. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest, mindful of her stitches she’d told him about on her upper shoulder blade. She clutched his shirt in her hands, resting her forehead on his chest.

“Excuse me. Are one or both of you the owners?” A man wearing a fireman’s jacket and boots called out as he approached from a few feet away.

Kylie jerked in his arms at the sound of his voice. She let go of his shirt and stepped away. He watched, marveling as she pulled herself together, bracing for whatever news the man was going to deliver.

“That would be me. I rented this house,” Kylie replied.

The man extended his hand to Kylie first. “Hi. Bob Ryan. I’m the fire investigator investigating your fire.”

“I’m Kylie Mason and this is Tuck,” she hitched a thumb in his direction.

He then shook Tuck’s hand before returning his attention back to Kylie. “I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

“Sure.” Kylie straightened her shoulders and held her breath.

“From what I’ve been told, you were home at the time the fire started. Can you walk me through what happened?”

Kylie went through how she’d woken up with the urge to use the bathroom and smelled smoke. She went to investigate and that’s when she discovered the fire was already going strong in the kitchen and living room. She told them how she’d quickly gotten dressed and was going to exit her bedroom window but flames were already coming up the side beneath it. Left with no other alternative, she’d broken her bathroom window out and crawled out through there. That’s where her neighbor and his son found her and got her to the street and to the ambulance.

Tuck rubbed a hand over his face as he got the firsthand account of what she’d gone through last night. The thought that she’d gone through all of that alone had him fighting the need to be sick.

“Do you have any idea what caused the fire?” Tuck’s voice was gruff when he asked.

“Yes. From the way it looks, it started in the kitchen on the table and it looks like an accelerant was used.”

“What? An accelerant? What does that mean?” Kylie looked from the fire inspector to Tuck, not understanding the implications.

Tuck’s eyes never left the fire inspector’s. They were both aware of what Mr. Ryan wasn’t saying. She hadn’t just been lucky last night, she’d been fucking lucky to still be breathing. “It means, while you were sleeping, someone got into your house and started the fire, babe.”

“What?” Kylie’s eyes popped wide, her brows hitting her hairline. Just as suddenly, her eyes squinted and her brow knit together in confusion and disbelief. “Someone was in my house last night? While I was sleeping? Why? Why would someone break into my house and start a fire?” The answer came to her in a rush. “Oh my God! Are you saying someone tried to kill me?”

The fire inspector’s expression was grim. Tuck could see the man was leaving it up to him as to how much he wanted Kylie to know. As much as he would love to keep her blessedly ignorant to anything bad or ugly, he couldn’t keep this from her. Her safety was too damn important to not be in the loop making decisions regarding her life. She’d be madder than hell and would never forgive him if he hid things from her.

It killed him, but he focused on her upturned face and gave it to her. “Yeah, babe. That’s the way it’s leaning.” Her body started to shake and then her knees started to give out. He barely had time to catch her before she hit the ground. “Shit.”

Mr. Ryan gave them a few minutes, then cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I need the name of the owner. I need to contact them and let them know how to get the report they’re going to need to file a claim.”

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