The Better to Bite (Howl #1)(60)

Rafe nodded and pushed me back. “Stay here!” Then he raced for the burning station.

Stay—

Bodies pushed against me. My dad caught my uninjured arm and pulled me against him. The smoke was thick now, so thick. Chaos reigned as voices shouted and folks shoved to get away from the scene. My dad’s body curled around me, protecting me, as he led me around the burning station and to safety.

In moments, I found myself standing in front of the station. “Baby, don’t come any closer to the fire.” My dad stared down at me, the lines on his face deeper than I’d seen before. “I have to go in…my people are in there. But you—please, stay out here where it’s safe.” He nodded and someone—nurse Heather—took my arm as he stepped away.

I blinked against the smoke. I couldn’t see Rafe. Couldn’t see Brent. My dad had already advanced toward the blaze, and I could hear him, yelling orders left and right.

A siren blared. The fire station was only a couple of blocks away, and I knew the truck would be there soon.

Soon enough?

Rafe burst out of the building then. He had Shirley slung over his shoulder. Jon and Cass were right behind him. Jon had Cass in a fireman’s carry and he was hauling butt for all he was worth.

When I saw them all, I started to breathe again.

The fire truck raced onto the scene. The firefighters leapt off the truck and yanked out their hoses.

The station kept burning.

Rafe put Shirley down on the grass. Ash stained her face and clothes and her wide eyes just stared at the scene around her with a kind of desperate shock.

Cass still had on her handcuffs. She wasn’t crying now. I didn’t even know if she realized what was happening.

Rafe turned toward me. His blue gaze seemed to sear me. I glanced down and saw the bright, red blisters on his hands.

“Rafe,” my horrified whisper.

“Jon, what the hell happened in there?” My dad demanded as he pulled Cass away from the deputy. “Is anyone else inside?”

Jon shook his head. Like Shirley, ash covered him. “It’s clear.” He coughed, shoving some of the smoke from his lungs.

The firefighters were headed inside the station now. The scent of fire stung my nose.

Normally, at a fire scene, the crowd gets bigger as the firefighters battle the blaze. Onlookers come out to gawk. This time, the crowd was getting smaller, real fast. The wolves were slipping away, not wanting to be seen.

Brent was gone. Mr. Knoxley had vanished.

Rafe stayed, and he stayed right by my side.

“Your office,” Jon managed to say between coughs. “The fire—it just exploded from your office.”

The office I’d been handcuffed in moments before?

It wasn’t my night.

I glanced back at the fire. Then I realized I could have been inside when the blaze started.

Huh. Maybe it was my night.

An ambulance roared onto the scene. One, then another. My dad’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Go, baby…”

The EMTs jumped out. One raced for Shirley. One headed for Jon and Cass. My dad dragged another over to me. “My daughter’s been shot, and she needs to get checked out ASAP.”

“Shot?” The EMT’s dark eyes widened. “I thought—I thought this was a fire call.”

The night was full of surprises. I motioned to Rafe. “He’s burned, he needs—”

I saw his hands and realized that the blisters were already gone.

“He needs to ride with her to the hospital,” Rafe said smoothly.

My dad frowned at him.

“Trust me, Sheriff,” Rafe told him, “I can take care of her.”

My dad’s stare measured him. “You’d better.”

Oh, this couldn’t be good. But right then, I was hurt and scared and I just wanted to get away from the flames.

Maybe that made me a coward, but I didn’t care. I wanted to escape right then.

I climbed up into the ambulance. My dad followed me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m sorry,” was his stark whisper.

I swallowed. “What will happen to her?” My voice was as quiet as his. “Please, Dad, help Cass.”

His head lifted, and he stared at me. I knew how serious the situation was. Cass had raised a weapon—been ready to fire—at a roomful of people. Sure, they’d been werewolves, but people.

I told him, “I don’t think she even knows where she is right now.” Because Cass was in shock. Grief, pain, they could drive a person right to the edge.

And beyond.

His fingers brushed down my cheek. “I’ll do my best.”

He would. That was all I could ask of him.

“Sheriff! Sheriff!”

The station burned behind him.

“Go,” I said even though I wanted him to stay with me. I was a cop’s daughter. I knew the job.

Hated it, but knew it.

He kissed my forehead, and then he eased back.

The ambulance’s siren screamed on. I shut my eyes as the doors slammed closed. Someone was unwrapping my arm. Checking my blood pressure. Asking me about the injury.

“It was an accident.” Rafe’s voice. He’d actually come with me. For some reason, I hadn’t expected that.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to see him better. He was close to my side.