Page 107 of Wild Embers
I nod again.
“Everything will be okay. We can replace anything that was in there,” Levi assures me.
“Okay,” I return in a whisper.
“Do we know how this happened?” Walker questions Tad.
“I’ll know more once I can get a closer look.” Tad points his thumb toward my car.
Walker’s gaze lingers on the side of Tad’s face as he watches the fire, perceiving something the rest of us don’t see. “But you have an idea.”
Tad nods. “The driver’s side window looks broken.”
“Which means…” Walker prompts Tad to explain further.
Tad expels a rigid breath. “It might have been intentional.”
“Shit.” Levi curses next to me.
Tad advances into the fray, and Walker spins toward me.
“He could be wrong.” I proclaim in hope.
Walker shakes his head. “Tad has good instincts for investigating fires.”
“Maybe the broken window was an accident.” I try again.
Santiago returns to my side, taking hold of my other hand. “Bear is fine,” he comforts me. “Walk?—”
Walker angles his head, directing his question toward Santiago. “Was the window broken when you left?”
“It wasn’t.” Santiago’s response dispels my optimism. “But?—”
“It could have been a rock.” I try one more time.
“Hey, Walk?—”
Walker gives me a flat look. “A rock picked itself up and jumped through your car window?”
Narrowing my eyes, I quip, “Stranger things have happened.”
“Walker Maddox!” Santiago yells, causing me to flinch.
“What?” Walker’s tone sounds put out.
Santiago shifts his weight from side to side, and my focus bounces between them. Walker’s eyes scrunch while Santiago’s dart to the side.
Their wordless conversation has my jaw clenching, but Levi has no problem following their cues.
“Oh, shit,” Levi curses again, then the attention of the three of them shifts to me.
My brain rattles, scouring for the meaning, but then the fog lifts. Levi, Santiago, and Walker all know when I figure it out.
I drop Levi and Santiago’s hands and pretend to fix my hair, pretending to be completely unbothered.
But I’m not fooling them.
Walker’s voice is almost threatening. “Don’t you dare, Baby Girl.”
