She stood. “I do. You’re sure?”
He nodded. “I am.”
“Can I have another hug?” Reagan shrugged at him.
“Always.” He squeezed her so hard she smacked him.
“Text me when you’re home and I’ll bring you some food.” She waved at the door.
“I will.”
Carter put his phone down and glared across the room.
“Have you caught the asshole who did this yet?” asked Flint.
“No.” Carter took a deep breath. “And honestly, the police here in town don’t seem overly concerned.”
“Yeah, that’s not shocking. They’re humans.”
“Right, you know those humans.” Carter, definitely human, scoffed.
“I’m not against humans. I’ve got some great friends who aren’t shifters. It’s that having a shared police force with Spring Ridge, they tend to be more worried about human crime over there. And they let the Alpha deal with the few things around here.”
“They don’t have any idea what to do about a fireball. And since witches aren’t out, I can’t exactly tell them what it was. Then there’s the fact that the hospital told Chief Ledger that Emma is fine. They ruled it as an angry resident who didn’t want the building sold to outsiders. Case closed.”
“It’s not a resident.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Carter slammed the lid of his laptop shut. “But your Alpha has made it hard for me to get anything done in this town.”
“Yeah, he can be a bit of an ass.” Flint laughed.
“It’s no laughing matter. The guy won’t even take my calls.”
“I might be able to help with that.”
“Really?”
“He’s my cousin.”
“Of course he is.” Carter shoved his laptop in his bag.
“Once we get Spencer’s approval to move forward with an investigation, I know just the guy we need to contact.”
Carter glared. “I don’t need anyone’s approval.”
Flint laughed again. “That’s not how things work in this town. Nothing gets done without the Alpha’s seal of approval. But even after you have it, I went to school with a guy who can definitely help.”
“I need the best. I’ve got some guys on the case, but they’re not great.”
Flint took a breath. “Listen, Carter, we can take care of this together, or I can take care of it alone. I don’t get the fireball, but the second it tried to take out Emma, it became my responsibility. Do I make myself clear?” Flint’s wolf was crackling under his skin, and for sure his eyes were glowing. It was then he realized he was standing in his hospital gown, covered in little wolves howling at cartoon moons. But he didn’t care.
“Okay, Larsen. You want to solve this and so do I. I’m not sure what’s going on with you and my employee. I’ve grown quite fond of Emma, as a dear friend, over the last six months. And yes, this whole business prospect is riding on her, but I care more about her health and well-being than my bottom line. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes. We’re united on this. Give me your phone. I need to find a number.”
Carter gripped his phone and then passed it over.
After a few seconds of searching, Flint found the firm his friend from school worked at, and he dialed.
“Stone Security,” a cheerful voice answered.
“Hi, I was wondering if Oak North was available?”
“You can leave him a message if you like. He’s not in the office right now.”
“I’ll text him later.” Later. Flint didn’t like the idea of later. He wanted this solved, and now. He didn’t like the idea of Emma going back to her townhouse by herself. And he sure as hell didn’t like the idea of her going and staying with her friend on the other side of town, where he and his wolf couldn’t watch over her. Yeah, he had wanted to get away from her, but that no longer felt like a good idea in his gut. And he always trusted his gut.
21
Flint hadn’t come back into the room with her. But the doctor had ten signatures, and three hours later, Emma was loaded into one of Carter’s black luxury cars and driven home. Luckily, Daphne had headed home to her kids, or Emma would have been forced to go with her. Everyone wanted to stay with Emma. Absolutely everyone. She wanted to be alone, and with a lot of convincing, she’d gotten her way. Although the Spring Ridge cruiser outside her house made her feel a little better.
The one good thing about the entire week was her stocked refrigerator and pantry. There was more food in it than Emma would be able to eat in a week. Someone had put the load of clothes she had left in the washer on Monday morning into the dryer. Emma turned them back on again to fluff. And when she took the load out of the dryer right before she went to bed, the Hundsburg Fire Department T-shirt she’d taken from Flint had been too tempting not to put on before she crawled into bed. Who didn’t love warm pajamas, especially warm pajamas that smelled lightly like oranges?
The stupid, cranky, frustrating firefighter. Her heart thudded in her chest. But she found the silk eye mask Daphne had left and put it on, then pulled the covers over her shoulders. A week of sleeping, and she was still tired. Who knew sleeping could make you feel more tired?
She wanted to be alone. It had taken a lot of convincing to get what she wanted from her friends, to make it clear to them that she was healed. Dr. Swan said her energy looked good. New Emma didn’t go limping to someone’s spare room. New Emma pulled up her thrifted designer pants and took care of herself. She never imagined she could fall asleep, not after sleeping for days, but she did.
Her visions started off as normal. Strangers and unfamiliar places. And then the scene shifted, morphed. Instead of watching the movie, she was in it. Surrounded by it. Her skin was boiling hot. She couldn’t breathe. She wanted to cough but couldn’t. She turned her head. Flames shot up the wall. Her feet were hot. Flames. She was in a burning building. Printed curtains of hunters in red plaid surrounded by dogs and dead ducks were on fire. The door, she had to find the door. But it was gone. Four walls, no door.
