She gave her head a shake, got into her running shoes, and then after a few minutes of standing there and feeling confused she heard the fire alarm go off.
Shit…what do I do?
Tristan was there an instant later. He closed the bedroom door and then closed the distance between them quickly, “Let’s go.” He touched the doorknob and then led her out onto the terrace. He reached for the pull down ladder but instead of opening it up he snapped a piece of iron off the corner and tossed it into the pool, leaving the ladder dangling by one side.
“Hold on tight, baby” He climbed over the rail and then reached for her while still standing on the ledge of the terrace. He picked her up in his arms and then hoisted her over and jumped down to the ground in a fluid motion before she even had a chance to react. She was surprised at how softly he’d landed on his feet with her in his arms. He set her down and then they quickly went inside the door that led to the kitchen and then when they got to the bottom of the staircase, they were met by Esther, Andre, and Rebecca who were hurrying toward the front door
“Everyone outside!” Tristan urged.
They all followed him out. The front area of the house was well lit. Too well-lit for Kyla’s liking being in front of these vampires.
“Is the fire in your room?” Rebecca asked him.
“It was in the hallway in my wing as well as the wing with my office. That’s why I got out through the courtyard. The fire escape was tampered with. Looks like someone didn’t want her making it out of there.” He motioned toward Kyla with his chin, then lifted his hand, showing his fingertips, which were mildly blistered from the hot door handle.
Kyla choked for a second with a bit of smoke in her lungs.
“It’s okay,” Tristan said to her, looking at her with a careful and deep stare. “You’re fine. Stay calm.”
All eyes were on her. She swallowed and nodded slowly not taking her eyes off his face.
Something smashed inside the house and within seconds she could see flames licking the windows on one of the upstairs windows that faced the front of the house. Tristan hurried her to his SUV and put her inside in the passenger seat.
“Esther, take the Jeep and drive Mr. Tsakos and Rebecca to the Four Seasons. Call and book rooms for yourself and them as well as rooms for Sam and Joe. There’s a spare phone in the glove box. It should have some charge.”
“And yourself, Sir?” Esther asked.
His phone rang from his jeans pocket. He fished it out and glanced at the screen, “I’m heading to my apartment. This is my alarm company. Yes?” he answered it and spoke for a minute, walking away from the group after shutting the door, separating Kyla from them. Then he ended the call and stood outside and talked with Esther, Rebecca, and Andre for a moment. Rebecca was waving her arms erratically, looking like she was defending herself. The conversation ended when she saw Tristan take keys off his keychain and hand them to Esther. Rebecca folded her arms across her chest and was pouting. Andre roughly pulled her toward the jeep. Then Tristan reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handed Esther a credit card, then he got into the SUV with Kyla. The Jeep pulled away with the three in inside.
A dark car pulled up and two younger guys in suits jumped out and rushed toward Tristan. Kyla guessed they were the guys Joe said he was sending over. Tristan spoke to them for a minute and then they got back in the car and pulled away.
Tristan got in beside her, turned the ignition, and reversed the vehicle until they were a few hundred feet from the house. Then it occurred to her all of her worldly goods were up there, getting burnt into nothingness.
“The master suite wing has reinforced walls. Most of the house has been renovated and upgraded since I moved in to include passive fire protection. Any area that catches fire will typically contain the fire in that part of the house,” he said, “There’s fire in two hallways, the guestroom next to our room, and in my office. It should be contained fairly well to those areas.”
She looked at him, confused.
He gave her a weird look, then said, “I set the fire.”
“You set the fire? Why? And where are Joe and Sam?”
“They are out dealing with Julia. Then Sam is dealing with Joe.”
Kyla gulped.
“I set the fire so I could move the location for tomorrow’s party.”
“You what?” she was shocked.
His gaze was steely, his mouth twisted with a look of disgust, “Two reasons. One, it gets Andre and that little BITCH out of my face.” He took a deep breath and seemed to regain composure, “Two, it gets the party out of the house. After what’s happened today I’m not taking any chances. Today gave me a glimpse into what tomorrow night might be like for you. Not worth the risk. I’ll move the event to a hotel. Public is much safer for you than here. They’ll all be on their best behaviour there,” he reached over and took her hand into his.