Oh, god, is she hurt?
“Yes, ma’am. Are you the owner of The Cut and convenience store?”
My eyes shut themselves tightly. “Yes, I am. What happened?” My voice was firm and steady despite the panic that was slowly building inside my chest. This wasn’t good.
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you this, ma’am, but it’s burning.”
My eyes opened and, for a long moment, all they did was stare at the wall. What? Burning? My mind tried to connect the dots, but it was like I was missing some of them. The picture wasn’t coming out the way it was supposed to. I couldn’t have heard him right.
“W-who is this?” I found myself stuttering, trying to convince myself that this wasn’t really the police. It couldn’t be. “This isn’t funny. That’s my livelihood!”
The man’s tone turned sympathetic. “Yes, I understand that, ma’am. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but—”
“Who is this?” I demanded again, this time my voice rising to a near scream. Cody heard me and was up again, lingering at his doorway as he watched me. It was his presence that made me get a handle on this. My voice was still shaky, but I kept the volume a little more reasonable. “There has to be some sort of mistake.”
“No mistake, ma’am,” said the officer. “The fire department is there now, but it doesn’t look good. You’d better come down to the station.”
After that, he said a few more things and I must have responded, though I couldn’t say what I answered with. I felt like I was walking through a haze, my body running on autopilot while the rest of me quietly freaked out inside.
At least it’s quiet, I thought idly. Cody was still lingering at the door, probably freaked out because I was freaked out.
When I finally put the phone back in its cradle, I ended up just staring at the wall. The Cut was on fire. It was burning. The fire department was there. But could they save it? Was there anything left to save? Was my whole world going up in smoke?
“Fuck!” I yelled before remembering that my six-year-old son was standing right there. I winced, fought against what felt like an oncoming torrent of tears, and then put on a brave face. Bracing myself, I turned towards Cody. “I’m sorry, baby,” I told him in a sweet voice that felt fake. “Go back to bed, okay? I’ve got some work to do tonight, but Jessie will be here for you in the morning.”
Cody didn’t look happy with my words, probably sensing that something more was going on. After all, he was six, not stupid. Frowning, he took a step out of his room. “Why do you have to work? The store is closed at night.”
Blinking in an effort to keep from crying, I made myself smile. “I just have some paperwork to do. It’s nothing you should be worrying about.”
When he still looked scared and a little lost, I pulled up my mommy panties and walked over to him. I worked hard to try to look calm and natural, but I still felt stiff. Numb. When I reached him, I knelt down and took him by the shoulders. “Everything’s fine. I didn’t mean to get so upset. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
He thought about it, then asked, “You promise?”
I nodded. “I promise. Now get back to bed.”
He agreed and I pulled him close for a long, lingering hug. Whatever happened, I’d make it work. Everything would be okay. Pulling away, I walked him back to his bed and tucked the covers in around him. I leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his forehead. “I love you, Cody. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I love you, too, Momma.”
He turned over in his bed and settled back in to go to sleep. I watched him as rage swallowed me. Maybe I wouldn’t have made the connection so quickly if I hadn’t just been dreaming of the man, but somehow I knew this fire wasn’t an accident.
It was Ethan.
That motherfucker.
Chapter 5
When I was sure Cody was asleep again, I headed back out into the hall and grabbed the phone. My cell was in the kitchen hiding in my purse, so the hall phone would do for now. With angry punches, I dialed Jessie’s number. It rang several times and I thought maybe she wouldn’t answer—it was around three in the morning—but then I heard the click followed by a muffled, “Hello?”
“Jessie, it’s me,” I began, finding myself choking on my own words.
I heard her yawn, then, “If this doesn’t involve a Chippendale’s dancer, free tequila, or a million dollars, I’m hanging up.”
“The Cut is burning.”
That woke her up in a hurry. “What did you just say?”
I swallowed and took a deep breath, doing my best to keep my shit together. “I said the store is burning. Firefighters are there now, but I don’t know how bad it is. Bad enough that the police called me at three in the damn morning and woke my son up.”