Page 37 of Fortune's Ashes
‘Do you need another cushion?’
‘Lukas,’ I said, faintly exasperated, ‘I’m fine.’
‘I know that. But I want to make sure you’re completely comfortable.’
From the other room I heard his phone start to ring. ‘I couldn’t be more comfortable. Stop fussing. You should answer that, it might be important.’
‘Not as important as this.’
If he was going to be like this for the next seven months, we were going to have a problem. ‘Lukas, answer the damned phone.’
He rolled his eyes, but at least he did as I asked. I sighed happily and nestled deeper into the sofa. This was great.
Lukas strode back into the room with his phone glued to his ear. ‘Are you sure?’
I glanced up, registered the look on his face and frowned. His eyes flicked to me and what I saw in them sent a bolt of alarm rippling through me. I pushed back the blanket and sat up.
‘Is anyone inside?’ he asked. He spoke quietly but there was a darkness in his voice that terrified me. He listened to the answer, then said, ‘We’ll leave straightaway.’ He hung up and gave me a long, worried look that was completely out of character.
I sprang to my feet. ‘What?’ I demanded. ‘What is it?’
‘There’s a fire,’ he said, without taking his eyes off me. ‘A big one.’
‘Where?’ I swallowed. ‘Where is it, Lukas?’
His response was instant. ‘Supe Squad.’
ChapterFourteen
Lukas didn’t argue when I ran to Tallulah instead of waiting for one of his sleek vamp cars to appear. Tallulah was as much a part of Supe Squad as I was, so she had to be there too. I threw myself into the driver’s seat while Lukas crammed himself into the passenger seat, and we took off at high speed.
While I put my foot down on the accelerator, Lukas called Fred. ‘He’s not answering.’
‘Try Grace,’ I bit out, navigating a turn at high speed.
Lukas located the number. His shoulders relaxed when somebody answered and I breathed out in relief. He turned the phone onto speaker so I could listen in. ‘Is DS Grace there? It’s Lukas Horvath.’
Liza’s voice filled the air. ‘No, Lord Horvath. He’s gone off to the sticks somewhere with Fred on a case.’ She sounded surprised that Lukas was calling but her tone remained professional. I briefly closed my eyes. She hadn’t heard yet.
‘He’s not at Supe Squad?’
‘I don’t think so, not unless he’s returned and is writing up a report before coming home. When he gets back, I can have him phone you.’
Supe Squad was less than a minute away. ‘Liza,’ I said aloud.
‘Emma? You’re with Horvath?’ Her voice changed; the realisation that something was wrong was starting to hit her.
‘Supe Squad is on fire.’
‘What?’
‘We’re on our way there now.’
‘Is Owen inside the building?’ Her voice rose, shaky terror colouring each word. ‘Emma, is Owen there?’
‘I don’t know.’
I heard her gulp. ‘Is the fire bad?’
