Page 126 of Serving the Mogul

“You’re in shock,” he said in a flat, hard voice. “Take a breath.Now.”

As his fingers closed around my upper arms, I did as he’d ordered.

And suddenly, the impact of that call slammed into me.

“James…” Fear punched into me, hard and fast.

He pulled me to his chest. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll handle it. We’llhandleit.”

But all I could think was,how?

Forty-Six

Tina

“Tina,there’s a fire on your street.”

Thirty-four minutes had passed since Dina said those words.

James had taken the phone from me and turned on the speaker so he could talk to Dina. His concerned gaze had held me the entire time.

“Dina, it’s James. What’s going on?”

“Tina’s place is on fire. It’s on the news. It looks bad. The firefighters are trying, but…I’ve been calling you for almost a half-hour, Tina. I was so scared.”

“My home is on fire,” I said softly, looking at the clock, willing the car to go faster. How long did it take for a fire to destroy it all? Would I stillhavea place to live?

“Tina.”

James’ voice was low but steady.

It anchored me.

Reaching out blindly, I took his hand.

“It will be okay,” he said, his words pulling my attention. The lights on the dashboard reflected on him, highlighting the planes and hollows of his handsome face. He shot me a quick look, then kissed the back of my hand. “Itwillbe okay.”

“Will it?”

He squeezed my hand. “Yes. We’ll handle this, Tina,” he said as he slowed for the road to my subdivision.

My eyes were drawn to the smoke billowing up in the sky as if a bomb had exploded. There was so much of it. As we approached, the dull orange glow became obvious.

“Is it still burning?” I asked, tugging my hand from James’ to grip the seat.

“I don’t…” His voice roughened, then trailed off.

As he turned into the small, quiet subdivision where I lived, my stomach twisted. He didn’t need to answer. I could see for myself. Small flames licked up into the sky. He cranked the steering wheel to make the final turn, and sirens of another fire truck came screaming onto the street.

It was obvious to me before I even saw it.

“My home’s gone,” I murmured, a hollow feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

James didn’t respond. There was really nothing to say and he must have understood. I was grateful. I didn’t have the energy to take on anything new, even the simple task of having a conversation. He reached over and rubbed my neck. His fingers soothed the skin above the delicate chain of the necklace-styled collar he’d put on me so recently.

“Are you ready to go look?” he asked after several long minutes had passed.

I hadn’t realized we’d stopped.

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