Rattler was barking as loudly as he could and spinning around and around in a circle. “Tucker!” I cried and tried to wiggle out of Gunner’s arms.
He put me on the ground far away from the house and cupped my cheeks. “I swear to you. I will get him.”
Before I could reply, he took off and ran back into the flames. I lost sight of him as soon as he crossed the threshold, and I couldn’t stop myself from screaming their names.
A person in a cabin across the way came out. “I’ve called 9-1-1. They’re on the way.”
I didn’t respond, only yelled for Tucker and Gunner. My voice was hoarse and my throat felt torn apart, but I could do nothing but cling to the hope they would come out. A booming noise echoed over the field and shook the ground. The roof in the middle of the house collapsed. “No!” I screamed and got up to run back inside, but the man who had called 9-1-1 held me back.
Gunner came running out of the house, and I tossed the man’s hands off of me and ran to him. Gunner was covered in soot, and the fire had singed holes in his shirt.
“Where’s Tucker?” I felt as if I were being torn in half.
Gunner stopped me from running past him, and he ran around the house, yelling over his shoulder. “The roof caved and I couldn’t get past.” Gunner was far ahead of me and I was trying to keep up, rounding the house to get to Tucker’s window.
“I’ve got him.”
I collapsed on the ground as Shayla came around the corner with Tucker in her arms. She was covered in soot from head to toe, just like Gunner. She passed Tucker to Gunner’s arms and collapsed to the ground.
“Shayla!”
Chapter 34
Gunner
I laid Tucker on the ground. He was unconscious. I could’ve collapsed in relief when I heard his breaths and the beat of his heart. I rubbed his head. I had tried my hardest to battle through the flames and smoke to get to him.
I would’ve found a way, even if it meant my life.
I’d been rounding the house to break his window when Shayla came around the corner carrying Tucker in her arms. He didn’t have any soot on him, but she was covered.
Delilah checked Tucker’s breathing and heartbeat before doing the same with Shayla. “Her breaths sound shallow,” she said.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I gritted out through my teeth. I was staring down at the person that had tried to kill my family. Or just Delilah? Had her plan been to kill Delilah and take Tucker?
She had only acted the hero.
“Gunner,” Delilah said, tilting her head. She hadn’t connected the dots, but I had—as soon as I’d seen Shayla coming toward us. I’d seen her a split second before that, facing the other way, walking toward the woods.
“She did this,” I said with vehemence.
“She wouldn’t.”
“She was walking toward the woods with Tucker in her arms before we came back here. I think she was trying to kill you and take him.”
Tears clouded Delilah’s eyes just as the sirens’ wails broke through the sound of her house burning to the ground. But she and Tucker were out and safe. I lifted my arm for her to come closer to me.
She did, snuck right into my side, and we both laid a hand on Tucker. His eyes slowly opened.
“Tucker?” Delilah said, leaning over him.
“Mom?” He sat up. “What happened?”
“There was a fire,” I said, taking them both into my arms and holding them against my chest. I wished I could block the house from his view, but it was impossible to hide the orange flames against the black night sky. Rattler nuzzled Tucker. Tucker circled his arms around his neck and cried into his fur.
Delilah’s parents ran to us and knelt on the ground just before the firetrucks pulled up, followed by the ambulance and Colt’s police cruiser, seconds behind.
The EMTs loaded Shayla first then Tucker and Delilah. I waved them off with a promise I would get checked at the hospital. Until then, I was riding with Tucker and Delilah as their family member.
Her parents and Colt promised to meet us at the hospital.
“It was her,” I said to Colt before I stepped into the back of the ambulance. “I would swear it was her that did this.”
“Fire department hasn’t put out the fire yet. When they do, they’ll determine cause.”
“Fuck that,” I said.
“We have to go by protocol, Gunner. Keep an eye on things until we can get there.”
I nodded and stepped into the back of the rig, reaching out a hand to grab one of Delilah’s and one of Tuck’s.
Chapter 35
Delilah
Gunner switched back and forth between my emergency bay and Tucker’s, which was right next to mine. I was waiting on the final results of my bloodwork before being cleared. I was being treated for smoke inhalation damage to my throat, but all signs were pointing toward my being okay. I was tired and a little achy, with a major headache, but okay. I needed to get up and see Tucker with my own eyes.
He’d been unconscious. The doctor hadn’t been able to tell us why quite yet. They were running a blood panel, but his airway was clear and he didn’t have smoke damage.
Shayla was a different story. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her yet, but she’d been inside while the house was on fire. I didn’t want to believe Gunner’s claims. I didn’t want to believe she would do that, but the evidence was pointing to her. And she had plenty of motive.
A doctor rolled back the curtain, looking at the clipboard in his hand before meeting my eyes. Gunner sat on the bed next to me, rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand.
“Hello, Delilah, I’m Dr. Billings. You are free and clear to go. Please remember, if you experience any chest pains to come to the emergency room immediately. You’re young and fit and the smoke damage wasn’t too severe, so I don’t see any heart issues being a complication.”
“What about Tucker?” I asked, swinging my legs off the bed. Gunner and I stood facing the doctor.
“He is free and clear of smoke damage. However, there was a sleeping agent found in the blood panel. Is he on any medication?”
“Sleeping agent? No, no medication.”
“The dosage should’ve knocked him out for hours. To be frank, I am surprised he’s awake right now. With the amount still in his system, I would expect he’d be asleep.”
“What?” I asked. “That’s impossible. How would that happen?”
“That’s something that I can’t answer, and I will turn over my findings to the police. There is a police officer and a firefighter here to speak with you. I suggested we let you see Tucker before they start in on the questions.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. Someone drugged Tucker? Why? Was it Shayla?
“Thank you.” My voice was hoarse and clogged with emotion.
“I would like to keep him overnight, as a precaution.”
I nodded. “Okay, I’ll fill out whatever you need, but I need to see him right now.”
I stepped around the doctor and flung the curtain back to reveal Tucker sitting up in his bed. He was propped against the pillows, looking tired.