Seconds later, the dock and Walter’s boat were engulfed in flames.
“Diablo!” I called. He looked between me and the dock before deciding to come back to me.
“Holy shit!” Byte said as he joined me in the back yard.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Come on. We need to move back. I don’t know how much gas is in that boat.”
“Lead the way. Do you want me to call it in?”
“Yes. I’ll call Phoenix, then Daphne.”
“Call Daphne first. If they haven’t already seen the flames, they probably will soon.”
“Good point,” I said and tapped Daphne’s name.
“Is everything okay?”
“Not really. Your dock is on fire.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what happened. The person we were chasing took off in a boat, and then your dock went up in flames.”
“Is Diablo okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s right here beside me.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Stay at Byte’s house for now. Byte’s calling the fire department. I’m sure the police will show up and want to talk to you, but I’d rather you wait there until some of the club arrives.”
“Should I—” She was cut off by a loud explosion that echoed through the phone. “What the hell was that?”
“I think it was your dad’s boat. We moved around to the front in case that happened. What were you about to ask?”
“I was going to ask if I should call my dad, but obviously I should.”
“Yes, do that. And stay there until me or one of the guys come get you.”
“I will,” she promised. “Please be careful and please keep Diablo with you. I’ve heard too many stories about police shooting the family dog because they didn’t like the way it barked at them.”
“I won’t let anything happen to Diablo,” I promised. “Do you have a command that will make him stay with me?”
“Heel. Tell him to heel, and he will stick to you like Velcro.”
“Got it. Call your dad while I deal with this.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
I ended the call and started to call Phoenix, but Byte stopped me. “I’ve already called him. He’s on his way with a couple of brothers.”
“I can’t believe this shit.”
“Yeah, I don’t think any of us had an exploding boat on the bingo card.”
“What was the fucking point of setting the dock on fire? What could that possibly accomplish?”
“I have some thoughts on that, but let’s discuss it later,” he said and glanced at the time on his phone. “We should hear Phoenix’s pipes in about thirty seconds and the sirens in about two minutes.”