Page 113 of Fight or Flight
I’m saved from having to continue the conversation as Felix and Killian come up to us.
“Where’s Shane?” Felix asks, looking around.
“Inside.” I tick my chin at the house.
“Should he be alone right now?” Felix looks at the house apprehensively. “He said he was okay, but is he?”
“Probably,” Jax says.
I nod, but a heavy feeling settles in my stomach.
He was trapped in the fire for about five minutes. That’s a lot of time to be inhaling smoke, but not necessarily enough time to be dangerous.
But then again, smoke inhalation wasn’t the reason he was practically catatonic when I found him.
“I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he’s fine,” I say, not missing the look my brother gives me.
“What happened in there?” Killian asks. “When you went in to get him?”
“Not sure,” I tell them. “But the door was locked.”
Jax and Killian exchange a look.
“Could it be because of the fire?” Felix asks. “Like, could the heat or flames have fucked with it, and it locked by accident?”
“It’s possible, but the fire was on the other side of the room. It never got even remotely close to the door. And it was nowhere near hot enough in there for it to affect the wiring.”
“It’s possible someone else in the house has access to one of the master keys,” Jax says thoughtfully.
“Which means someone either stole one of the master keys, or I’m not the only one with an unauthorized copy anymore,” I say.
“Do you think it was set?” Felix asks.
“The fire definitely started in the electrical outlet, but I can’t be sure if it was electrical or just made to look like it was. Either way,somethingis going on. I just don’t know if it’s arson or if it was a bunch of unrelated technical errors, but I’ll bet anything I have, including his life,” I hook my thumb at Jax, “thatsomeonefucked up and depending who it is, there’s going to be a cover up.”
“So noble of you to offer up my life for your theory,” Jax says dryly.
“Hey, I’m putting my stash of spare body parts on the line to prove my point,” I tell him. “Put a little respect on my sacrifice.”
“What about Shane?” Killian asks before Jax can say anything. “How did he get locked in? And if you were able to put out the fire, why couldn’t he?”
“No clue, but he was pretty disoriented when I found him. And he was definitely in shock, so I don’t think he was thinking all that clearly.”
I still haven’t told anyone about the fire that killed Shane’s siblings, and I have no idea why not.
“Here.” Jax pulls off his sweater and t-shirt in one go. “Trade with me. I’ll pretend to be you and talk to whoever wants your side of the story.”
“Hashtag twinning,” I say as I pull off my t-shirt.
“Really? I haven’t heard that in like, a decade,” Felix says as Jax and I trade clothes.
“What can I say? Busting through doors to put out fires is making me nostalgic.” I shoot Felix a grin and pull Jax’s shirts on.
Jax uses his hand to mess up his hair a bit, then pushes it back from his face the way I usually wear it.
“That never gets any less crazy,” Felix says, looking between us. “It’s like looking at two Jaces.”
I shoot him a quick smile and sweep my hair to the side like Jax usually wears his. Then, I let the smile fall from my face and give him my best “Jax” look.
