I ushered her inside. Instead of twisting her fingers free, she covered our joined hands with her other one. The tremors made me hold on tighter. “It’s going to be okay. The firemen are there already.”
She shook her head mutely. She didn’t start sobbing. It was way worse. Big soul-killing tears dripped down her face.
I couldn’t stand seeing her cry.
I pulled her into my arms and she linked her hands around my back. “I can’t lose my house.”
“Those brownstones are built to last. Let’s just go see what’s what, okay?”
She laid her cheek against my chest. “You’re right.”
It seemed like an eternity later when the doors opened. I took her hand again and we crossed the lobby. Terry was waiting out front, my gunmetal Charger running at the curb.
“Everything all right, sir?”
“I hope so. Thanks, Terry.”
The older man stepped back with a curt nod.
I opened the door for Teagan and she quickly got inside. I gave Terry a stiff smile before I climbed in, never more glad that we had a private garage than right this moment.
I gunned it down Columbus and took every side street I knew to get through midtown. Luckily, it was somewhat slow for traffic in the city. Not that there was any time where things were actually at rest in Manhattan. But getting to Brooklyn swiftly at this time of day was going to take every bit of maneuvering ability I had.
I passed cabbies, cut off cars, and probably had a string of curses following me out of town. Teagan was furiously scrolling on her phone.
I punched it under an overpass and nearly sideswiped a Beemer as I cut across three lanes to get to the turnoff for the FDR. I just had to pray that there wasn’t construction for days.
I thumbed my in-dash hookup to my phone. “Call Lila work.”
Teagan’s head whipped toward me.
“Babe, we gotta call her.”
She nodded silently.
“Mr. Dallas, I’m a little busy.”
“Yeah, well, it’s only going to get worse.”
The line went silent for a moment. “Have you heard from Ms. Daly?”
“That’s an affirmative. She’s right next to me.”
“I need to speak to her. Now.”
“You’ll have time to interrogate her later.”
“That is not my intention.” I could practically see Teagan’s spine stiffening.
“I know about the club, Lila. And Teagan has plenty to tell you about that, but we have a bigger problem.”
“What could be bigger—never mind. Nothing would surprise me at this point.”
“Yeah, well, hold your ass.”
“Mr. Dal—”
My mom would box my ears, but I talked over her anyway. “We’re heading to Teagan’s place in Brooklyn. It’s on fire.”
Silence. “Excuse me?” Lila’s voice lashed out.
“Yeah. I don’t know much more than that. One of her neighbors called, and we’re headed there. Maybe you want to send someone to meet us?”
“Is Teagan with you?”
“Yes,” Teagan answered without inflection. “I can’t get more details right now. My neighbor isn’t answering me.”
Lila’s tone gentled. “We’ll help any way we can, Teagan.”
My eyebrow spiked. Lila didn’t let out her softer side too often. I stepped on the gas and weaved in and out of the crush of traffic.
Teagan grabbed the edge of the window then reached up for the oh shit handle and shot me a look. Instead of fear, there was a grateful smile. She dropped her phone into her lap and reached across to touch my hand on the shifter.
I downshifted and the V8 engine roared and shot us forward again.
When neither of us said anything, Lila spoke again. “I’ll contact our security unit and see who we can get out there.”
“Thanks.” I hit the end button and caught Teagan’s hand before she could pull away. “It’s going to be all right.”
She nodded and kept her hand under mine until I had to shift again.
It normally took me nearly an hour to get to Teagan’s place, but I shaved a good ten minutes off of that. Her street was blocked off by a couple of fire trucks and squad cars. I found a spot around the corner and parked. Before I could come around and open the door for her, she was already sprinting for her building.
I didn’t hear the telltale hiss of water, and it was strangely silent save for a few stern voices. My longer stride allowed me to catch up to her, but she was smaller and quicker than I was expecting. She darted around cars and people.
“Teagan,” I called after her.
She ignored me and ducked under the yellow tape they’d used to keep the nosy neighbors away.
“Shit.” I followed her and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket before she could get to the sidewalk. “Would you wait?”
“I need to see.” The tears were back.
I had to ignore them for now. Someone had to think about her safety because she sure wasn’t.
Two men shouted for us to get back.
“This is my house.” She started forward again.
I hooked an arm around her waist and hauled her up against me. “Teagan, it’s not safe to go in there.”
“I need to see.”
A man wearing half of the usual gear waved off the two younger firefighters. “I’ll take it from here.” His face was sweaty with dirt dug into the smile lines around his eyes and mouth. “Ma’am, we’re checking for structural integrity. I need you to move back.”
“What happened?”
“We won’t know exactly until the arson unit takes a look.”
“Arson?” She sagged against me.
I curled my arm around her more securely. “Unattended fires always require an investigation.” Attended fires too usually, but I wasn’t getting into that now.
The man nodded and tipped his head. “And you are?”
“Dallas. Former Ranger.” The man’s eyebrows rose. “A few of my old unit buddies ended up joining up with the Boston FD.”
“I’m McCain.” He turned his attention to Teagan. “Well, ma’am, your friend is right. Once we find
