Gage nodded slowly, his face thoughtful.
“You’ll need some help fixing things back up,” he said.
“You offering?” I asked jokingly, although I couldn’t look at him when I said it. What if he said no?
“Maybe,” he replied, his face serious. “Not in that apartment, though. I’d like somewhere more comfortable. You know, with space to stretch out. Maybe a house.”
“You could stay here with me.”
“And your dad?”
I shrugged, because at the end of the day, we were a package deal. “Guess that depends on what they have to say about his medication.”
“And whether Mary’s ready to give him up,” Gage said, cocking a brow. “You know, before all the fires, we were looking at maybe closing down the Nighthawks and starting a Reapers chapter in town. I’d be running the show. Could use an old lady to help me.”
Walking over to him, I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Old?” I asked. “I thought you liked younger women.”
“I like you,” he said, digging his fingers into my hair for a kiss. I was just sinking into it when a sudden, random thought filled my head and I jerked away.
“The car!” I said, eyes wide. Gage cocked a brow.
“What about it?”
“Carrie and Darren’s place burned down,” I told him, breathless. “But when I picked up the girls, I filled a bag full of their stuff. You know, jewelry and pictures and their laptop. Then I shoved it all in the trunk of the car. I need to check and see if it’s still there—maybe they didn’t lose everything after all!”
Pulling away from him, I ran out the door like a shot, headed for my Mustang. Then I skidded to a stop, because I had no fucking clue where I’d left the keys. Thinking frantically, I tried to remember those last few, panicked moments when we’d been running for the truck.
Had I left them in the ignition?
Pulling my sleeve up and over my hand, I wiped at the ash and fire retardant covering the window, and peered inside. Sure enough, there they were. Seconds later I had the trunk open, looking down triumphantly to see the bag of Carrie’s treasures. Whipping out my phone, I called her.
“Tinker?” she said, sounding defeated and exhausted. “How is your place?”
“I think we’re all right,” I told her, feeling strangely guilty for my good luck. “Darren sent me the pictures of your house, though.”
“It’s all gone,” she said. “There were a few boxes in the garage, but nothing that really mattered. I know it’s silly to be so upset over losing our things—it’s just stuff—but right now I feel sick.”
“When I took your girls by the house to grab some clothes, I went around with a grocery bag,” I told her. “I forgot all about it until now, but I grabbed your laptop and your jewelry, and a bunch of the pictures. It’s not much, but you haven’t lost everything. It’s still here, waiting for you.”
Carrie burst into tears.
“Carrie, are you all right?” I asked anxiously. She sniffled a few times, then managed to talk again.
“I’m so happy,” she said. “It shouldn’t matter so much but it does. The laptop has all our important information—you know, the bank accounts and insurance and stuff—and the thought of losing my grandma’s ring . . . I don’t even know what to say.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, holding back my own tears. “We’re going to get through this. All of us. Together.”
“Yes, we are,” she said. “I can’t believe you did that. How can I ever thank you?”
“Promise that you and Margarita will never take me out again and we’ll be even.”
Carrie laughed.
“I’m not sure I can keep that promise. But I’ll try.”
“No you won’t.”
She laughed again.
“No, you’re right. I won’t try. But I love you.”
“Love you too.”
GAGE
An hour later, I stood on the porch, watching as Tinker and Carrie pawed through the Mustang’s trunk together, laughing like it’d been a year since they’d seen each other. Guess that made sense—the past week had felt as long as a year. My phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket, not recognizing the number. I answered it anyway, figuring it might be one of the brothers on a burner.
“Hey, Gage,” Talia said. “Have to say, I liked the name Cooper better. Miss me?”
“No,” I said shortly.
“See you’re back in town,” she continued, and I looked around, wondering if the bitch was spying on us right now. “Shame about your girlfriend’s building. I was hoping it’d go up with the rest of the them, but we don’t always get what we want, do you?
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She giggled. “That next time I’ll have to plan better. You can’t blame me, though. I’ve never burned down a town before. There’s a learning curve.”
I stilled. “What did you just say?”
“That I started the fire,” she replied, her voice growing more serious. “You know, when I blew up the clubhouse—you should just be thankful I needed you out of there to set it up. Otherwise you’d have blown up, too, but I couldn’t figure out how to pull it off. Burning down the town was a nice bonus, though. Marsh says hi, by the way. He wanted me to pass along a little message.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, eyes searching the street even as I reached for my gun. Was she out there?
“He said to tell you that if we can’t have Hallies Falls, you can’t either,” she told me. “Oh, and Gage?”
“Yeah?”
“Fuck you.”
The phone went dead, and I lowered my hand, slowly sliding it into my pocket. Sociopathic cunt. Tinker turned toward me, smiling so beautifully that it hurt, and right there I made a vow. I’d protect her. Forever. Didn’t matter what happened or who I had to kill.
I’d take care of her.
I’d take care of this town, too. Cord and I needed to get together, start making plans to rebuild, because I’d be damned if I’d let them win.