Page 57 of Rage's Redemption
Ezra allowed himself a chuckle. There had to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
On that note, Ezra’s phone rang. He picked it up and answered it. Ezra’s gaze swung to Chance as his face set in fury.
“What?” Chance demanded when Ezra hung up.
“Someone set Dana’s house on fire. That was Bill Hawthorne. They’ve put it out, but it already appears to be deliberate, and there’s a lot of damage. If this isn’t just the icing on the fuckin’ cake.”
“Shit,” Chance murmured, his gaze sweeping Dana.
“Shit, indeed,” Ezra replied.
Chapter Twelve.
Dana
I gazed in horror at what was left of my home. The Fire Chief, Bill Hawthorne, had met us there and was explaining something to Ezra. But the shock of my house being burned down was immense. It was eight hours after the attack on Marissa and the offices. I’d been giving statements for several hours, and Ezra had driven me back to Rage and forced me to have a nap and a shower. Then, Ezra ordered pizza before he told me about the vandalism and the fire.
At first I’d misunderstood what he was saying and said that it was fine. Everything could be repaired or repainted. Then Ezra’s words sank in. Fire. Burned. Severe damage. When I’d got over the initial shock, Ezra explained that Bill would be waiting for us. As we closed on the house, I saw grey wisps of smoke in the air, but it hadn’t prepared me for what awaited me.
One side of the house was fully gone, and it was a miracle the other half remained standing, as smoke and water had severely damaged it. I could see into my bedroom and living room and knew I’d just lost almost everything I owned.
“Dana, do you have insurance?” Bill asked gently.
“Yes.”
“Honey, you’ll need to give them a call,” Ezra said.
“Yeah.”
“The arson investigators are pretty sure it was deliberate,” Bill explained.
“Any idea who?” Ezra questioned.
“Not yet. RCPD is collecting footage from cameras down the street. We’re hoping they caught a strange car or something. Whoever did this meant for everything to burn. The house was doused in gasoline.”
“Anything else going to happen?” I asked no one in particular.
Bill Hawthorne’s face creased in sympathy. “You’ve had a rough few weeks, sweetheart.”
“Tell me about it. Is it safe to collect any items?”
“No. We think it will collapse in on itself. We’re leaving a couple of people here in case it does. Plus, making sure nobody tries to steal anything either,” Bill said.
“Ain’t much left worth stealing,” I commented.
Sadly, my gaze caught on something in my bedroom, and a wounded sound escaped.
“Baby?” Ezra asked, squeezing me tightly.
“That’s Grandma’s blanket, the only thing I have of her,” I choked out.
“Bill, can we…?”
“No, Ezra, I’m sorry. I’m one hundred per cent certain the building isn’t stable,” Bill answered regretfully.
Numbed, I turned to face Ezra. “Could you take me home? Or wherever, as I don’t have a home. I can’t deal with this on top of everything else.”
Ezra swooped and wrapped his arm around me.