Page 29 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

Thomas stretched and groaned as he did. "You thinking of bringing her to the Christmas party?"

I had thought about it. April said she was going to be back so they could both go. It would be a nice way for his sister to meet everyone, and maybe I could talk to Riley alone for a moment. That was if April was going to be here, but she kept pushing her return.

Before I could answer, the alarm blared, and everyone jumped. We all looked at Ayden who quickly gave an order. "Everyone suit up."

The phone rang, and Thomas moved over, grabbed it, and answered it. He nodded as he took in the address.

"345 West Lincoln Street. House 1780."

I felt my entire body tense at the address, and Ayden looked at me. "Cayden, move."

I blinked, suddenly feeling like my heart wouldn't beat. My legs wouldn't move. I knew that address. I had been to that address.

"Cayden!" Ayden barked my name, and I looked at him.

I swallowed. "That's the house that Riley and April were renting."

I watched as Ayden took my words in and walked over. He placed his hand on my shoulder, his eyes softening slightly. "Then you need to get moving and keep your head on," he said.

Right. There was a fire, and we needed to get there. I couldn't freeze up now. I nodded and hurried after the guys, trying to keep my head focused. Just because there was a fire didn't mean Riley had been there. She could have been out. It happened more often than you thought. A fire occurred while everyone was out of the house, and they didn't even know until we called to inform them about it.

We suited up and got into the truck quickly. I kept telling myself over and over that it was going to be fine. Riley wasn't going to be there. She was probably out shopping or went out for a run.

But as we pulled up, I noticed her car in the front and felt a tug. I snapped my gaze towards the house, knowing she was inside. I felt it deep in my gut.

"You stay out here," Ayden said, stopping me as I tried to push past them.

"No!" I snapped back. "I'm going in."

"If Riley is.."

"If Riley is inside, I need to make sure she's okay!" I growled back, pulling on my helmet.

Ayden narrowed his eyes, shaking his head at me. "Cayden! You need to use a calm head. If you can't, you have no business being there."

"I have a calm head," I growled back at him. I stared at him to prove my point, and Ayden pointed toward Thomas. "You go with him. Everyone else, the hose."

I tightened my helmet and turned, heading for the house. Smoke forced its way out of the busted window, and the fire snapped in the windows. My stomach churned, unsure of what waited inside.

"Cool head!" Ayden said through the helmet. "Fire is in the entire house. Neighbors called it in. Said there was yelling inside before the fire."

Fuck.

We stormed up the stairs, and I kicked the door, which swung open. It was unlocked.

I stepped inside, smoking pouring out of the doorway, and heat blasted over us. I could feel it through my gear, and I started to sweat.

I scanned the living room, finding it empty, but I could see there had been a fight. A busted vase was on the ground, and flowers littered the floor. Clothes were everywhere, as if someone had taken a suitcase and thrown everything around. The fire burned at the curtains and the ceiling. A loud creak echoed around us, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Living room is clear," Thomas said through the mic. "But we need to move fast."

"Bedrooms are this way," I said, pointing. I walked down the hallway, and the fire moved along the ceiling toward us.

We walked down the hallway, and I took the bedroom to the right while he took the bedroom to the left. I scanned, finding the room empty.

"It's empty," I said.

"Mine too," Thomas said. "Maybe it's empty."

---