Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Kati

What in the world is that screeching noise?

"Make it stop." I grabbed a pillow and covered my ears in hopes of drowning out the obnoxious wailing but nothing helped. The sound simply got louder.

"Hello?"

Easton’s voice. Then it hit me. I wasn't in my own bed, or even my own house. I threw the pillow off me and snapped up to a sitting position. It was the early morning. I’d lost track of how many times Easton had made love to me since crawling into bed. Considering we didn't actually fall asleep until after two, and it felt like I was only asleep for a few minutes—one hour tops—a middle-of-the-night phone call wasn't good.

"We're on our way."

I was scrambling out of the bed before Easton finished his sentence to whoever was on the other end of the line.

Where the hell is my dress? Forget the dress. Where’s the bag I packed?

I echoed my thoughts out loud. It wasn't like Easton's apartment was all that big. I could stand in the middle of the room and see almost every corner. But my bag was nowhere in sight. Then I remembered. The run from his truck.

"We never got a chance to bring it in. Here, you can wear this."

Easton tossed a pair of basketball shorts and a shirt in my direction. I attempted to catch them but the shirt went in one direction while the shorts in another. I scrambled around in the dark to grab both. The moonlight shining in through the window only gave me so much to work with.

"What happened?" I needed to know what I was walking into.

"There was a small fire at your house."

I stopped with one leg inside the shorts and snapped my head up to find Easton's concerned gaze. "Come again? A fire?" I tried to shove the other leg inside the shorts but only managed to get twisted up. I pitched forward as I lost my balance but was stopped by Easton's strong arms around my waist before I could hit the bed frame.

"Slow down. No one was hurt. They got the fire out before it could spread, but you're going to need a new front door. Take a second and get dressed before you hurt yourself. It won't do Lucien any good if you end up in the hospital."

Easton was right. I was normally much better under pressure. I was a nurse in an ER, for Christ's sake. But those times never involved my son and the fact that my house could've burned down while I was here with Easton. Shivers raced down my spine.

Yeah, I think it’s safe to say I’m not handling this well.

I managed to get both legs inside the shorts and pulled up without further incident, and rolled them several times to make sure they would stay put. Easton and I were nowhere near the same size. Then I yanked the shirt over my head, which was about three sizes too big. I'm sure I looked like a hot mess but I didn't care. All that mattered was we got to my house sooner rather than later.

Thankfully Easton anticipated my eagerness to leave. As soon as I slipped my feet into my wedge sandals from the night before, he grabbed my hand and we ran out of the apartment. We were on the way to the house within minutes of getting the phone call.

"What was that first screeching noise I heard?" I asked.

I doubted that was Easton's ringer. If it was, the man was a heavy sleeper and needed something unbelievably annoying to wake him up. I couldn't imagine that being the case, but stranger things had happened in life.

"That was the alarm for your house. Someone threw a Molotov cocktail at your front porch. It triggered one of the sensors."

"Did a similar noise go off at my house?"

"Yup," Easton said, turning the corner onto my street. "Sorry, but I'm pretty sure it woke up your neighbors."

Shit, shit, shit. This was not the classy walk of shame I had planned for returning home.

Holy hell, the entire block was lit up. Red and white lights flashed from the four fire trucks parked haphazardly across the street. Blue and red lights were mixed in where two police cars sat among the chaos, and several of my neighbors’ front porch lights only further added to the scene. It looked like the middle of the day rather than the early morning that it was.

I shrugged it off because really, the damage was already done. I hopped out as soon as the SUV came to a stop and weaved through people, not caring if I needed to push them out of the way to get to my son. I found Lucien and Lyla sitting in the back of an ambulance. Both were wrapped in a blanket and Nolen was watching guard.

"Lucien!"

When I was ten feet away from the ambulance, my son launched himself into my open arms. The tears I hadn't realized were there raced down my cheeks. I hadn't noticed until that moment how much taller my son was than me. It was more him holding me than the other way around.

"Please tell me you're okay?" The question came out muffled, with my face buried into his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Mom. We got it out before it could spread into the house."

"What do you mean you got it out?"

It was Nolen who stepped up to answer. "It's a good thing you had two fire extinguishers in the house. Lucien and Lyla were quick to grab them. You'll need a new door but these two saved the day."

I pulled away and looked up at my son. Somehow he looked older at that moment. Two black streaks covered his one cheek and I could smell smoke clinging to his clothes as well as another scent I couldn't identify. Maybe the stuff from the fire extinguisher? I had never been in the vicinity of one going off, so I couldn't be sure.

I reached for my best friend's hand and pulled her into our little family huddle. For the longest time, it was just the three of us.

"I'm so glad you both are okay."

"We're fine." Lyla coughed. "I could've done without that loud squeal jarring me from my sleep but it gave us the warning we needed. Once Nolen yelled that there was a fire on the porch, I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the kitchen and Lucien was right behind me getting the one from the closet. Our boy showed how well he handles himself in an emergency. You would've been so proud of him."

My best friend's voice was hoarse. I'm assuming it was from either the smoke she inhaled or the fumes of the fire extinguisher. I had heard those things left a nasty taste in your mouth if you had the unfortunate chance to inhale it.

"I'm glad they were useful. Pretty sure you laughed at me when I purchased the second one for the closet. Something about being paranoid."

"I did laugh at you but it turns out you were right like usual. No need to relish in your need to be overprepared."

Lyla and I laughed, but hers turned into a coughing fit.

"Do you need to go to the hospital to get checked out?"

Lyla waved me off. "I already signed my refusal. Lucien, on the other hand, had to wait for you to arrive. The EMT said we’re fine. It's from the extinguisher but we didn't inhale that much. Water and rest is all we need."

I wasn't so sure about that, but I knew Lyla would never put Lucien in harm’s way. She loved him just as fiercely as I did.

The blare of a ringing phone caught my attention. Nolen mumbled his apology before stepping away to answer it.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you." I pushed my son's hair out of his eyes. I could still feel Easton's presence behind me, but I was doing my best to ignore it. The closer we got to my house, the guiltier I felt. “I should've been home to protect you, not out enjoying myself.”

"Mom, stop!" Lucien grabbed my hand and cradled it in his own. "This wasn't your fault and don't you dare apologize for going out for one night to have a life. You deserve it and this better not stop you from doing it again."

"You mean you didn't miss me?” I whined. “We used to spend every moment together. What happened to my little boy?"

Lucien rolled his eyes and I had to chuckle. It was such a teenage response. "You're my mother, so sure, I'm going to miss you, but not as much as I miss you having a life. You've waited long enough. Don't you think it's time you did things for yourself? You're not getting any younger, ya know. Did you or did you not have fun tonight before Nolen called?"

I chewed on the side of my lip. It was one of the best nights of my life. Easton was everything I didn't know I was looking for in a partner. I had been happy to live out the rest of my life without finding someone. Slowly, Easton had changed that for me.

"I had a lot of fun," I finally whispered.

Easton stepped closer and placed one hand on my side. It was just enough to tell me he was there for support but not overwhelming me. I was glad he had waited to step forward. This man was so damn in tune with my feelings it was a little scary.

Lucien's lips tipped up into a boyish smile. "I'm so happy for you, Mom." He looked over my shoulder at Easton. "Thank you for keeping your word."

"I'll always keep my word when it comes to the two of you."

A throat clearing kept me from the sappy response that was on the tip of my tongue. Damn this man. He was turning me into a lovesick fool.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I thought you would want to hear this." Nolen stepped closer and first locked eyes with Easton. They seemed to share some kind of silent conversation before turning to me. "I just got word that Alejandro didn't make it. He died from complications of the stabbing."

Did I really just hear that right? Did one of my dreams finally come true? I glanced at my son first. Relief was written all over his face. Next, I found my best friend. Her excitement matched mine. But when I looked at Easton, the reality finally sank in.

What did Alejandro's death mean for Lucien? Would people stop coming after him now that the man who contributed to his existence no longer lived?

I sure as hell hoped so.