I didn’t time him, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was around thirty seconds later when we heard the sound of multiple bikes approaching. “How in the hell did you do that? Are you tracking his bike?”
Byte laughed. “I live right down the street. I know exactly how long it takes to get here from the clubhouse. As for the sirens, I’m familiar with their response time from when Flint almost got his head blown off in my driveway.”
To my surprise, Ink was the first one to arrive, coming to a stop in front of Daphne’s house. He turned off his engine but didn’t get off his bike. Instead, he raised his visor and yelled down to us, “Are the girls at Byte’s house?”
“Yes, they are.”
“I’ll go stay with them.”
When he reached for his keys to start his bike, I shouted, “Wait! Take Diablo.”
“What?”
I was already jogging toward him. “Take Diablo with you. Daphne’s worried about him.”
“If he eats me on the way there, I will come back and haunt the fuck out of you.”
“He won’t eat you. Daphne said to tell him to heel, and he’ll stay right beside you until you get to her.”
Ink sighed and climbed off his bike. “Fine. Come on, Diablo. Heel.”
I laughed when Diablo literally pressed his body against Ink’s leg. She wasn’t kidding when she said he would stick like Velcro.
Ink looked down at Diablo, then back at me. “He’s the weirdest dog I’ve ever met.” With that, they started walking to Byte’s house, looking like they were competing in a three-legged race.
Phoenix, Badger, Flint, Shaker, and Dash arrived next. “Ranger’s on his way to the girls.”
“Ink’s headed down there now.”
“I told him we had it under control, but he said, ‘None of you fuckers can outshoot me, so I’m going to watch over my grandbaby and our new friend, Daphne.’”
I shook my head and laughed. Ranger was fiercely protective of his family, and he wasn’t wrong—he could outshoot all of us.
“Let’s see what’s happening back there,” Phoenix said and walked to the side of the house. He let out a low whistle at the sight. The entire dock was engulfed in tall flames that danced toward the sky.
We were staring at the disaster when two fire trucks and three police cars arrived. As the firefighters got out and started preparing their equipment, Phoenix clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go tell them what we know.”
I didn’t want to talk to the police. Just the thought of it reminded me of the last time I had to speak with them—when I had to tell them what happened at the diner, over and over. I honestly don’t know how many more times they would have made me tell the same story if Phoenix and his friend, who happened to be the chief of police, hadn’t stepped in.
“Chuck,” Phoenix said and extended his hand. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Chuck pointed across the lake. “I live over there. I heard the explosion and saw the flames from my kitchen window. I was going to call it in myself when I heard the call come across the radio. I figured I’d ride over here and see what was going on.”
“I’m glad you did. There’s more to this story than this one incident, but I suppose we should start with this one.”
“It’s never something simple with you boys, is it?”
“Afraid not. We can usually deal with simple on our own,” Phoenix said.
“All right, tell me what happened tonight.”
I opened my mouth to tell him when Walter and Buck came to a screeching halt in front of Daphne’s house. They both jumped out of the truck and headed toward us at a fast pace.
Chuck changed his stance and placed one hand on his gun.
“It’s okay,” Phoenix said. “That’s the dad and uncle.”
“How bad is it?” Walter asked, though it sounded more like a demand.