Play Mine (Brooklyn Dawn #3) - Cari Quinn Page 0,9

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 the reason for the fire, we’ll be able to give you more details. We have the fire out, but there’s a fair amount of smoke and water damage. The fire was centralized in the front. Kitchen, living room, and some of the hallway.”

She buried her face in my shirt, her fingers bunching it as she gripped me tight. She still wasn’t making any sounds. Just shuddering silently.

“Anything salvageable?”

“Hope she has good insurance.”

Teagan’s nails dug into my chest.

“Dallas.”

I turned at the clipped male voice I knew all too well. “Great.”

Teagan looked up at me, her lashes starred with tears.

“Chuckles is here.”

“His name is not Chuckles.” She took a step back from me, dashing away the tears.

I grunted.

All at once, Teagan seemed to pull herself together. I wanted to believe it was because she wasn’t close to Noah. That she could let down her guard with me in a different way than she would in front of outsiders.

But another part of me wondered if there was more.

Noah cut his way through the small crowd gathered across the street.