Gabby immediately locked the door and turned on the alarm. “Come sit down. Can I get you a drink or something?”
“Thanks, but I don’t think I can sit,” I admitted and started to pace.
“That’s okay. You do what you need to do,” she said sincerely. “You said Dice was chasing after someone?”
I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. “Yes. We were walking home, and I guess he saw someone, or Diablo did. They both stopped at the same time. Diablo growled, then they took off running. He sent me back here to get Byte. Ionly glanced back once, but I’m almost positive I saw someone running through my back yard. I shouldn’t have left him. What if something happened?”
“No, you did the right thing coming back here. If something happened, Byte will be there to help him, but I’m here to tell you, those boys can handle themselves. I know it’s hard to wait, but I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
“What if he gets hurt?”
“I’m not going to lie, sometimes they get hurt,” she said gently. “But then they get better. Dice is a strong man, but he’s smart, too. He won’t jump in blindly. His moves are calculated.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying he wouldn’t chase after someone if he didn’t think he could catch them. And he wouldn’t risk his own safety to keep chasing them just for the sake of catching them.”
Before I could respond, my phone rang, and Dice’s name was on the screen.
“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—” My question was interrupted by a loud explosion in the background. “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,” I 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,” he 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.”
“What was that noise?” Gabby asked as soon as I ended the call.
“Whoever was at my house set the dock on fire. They think that noise was the boat exploding.”
Gabby jumped up and hurried to the kitchen to look out the window, and I was right behind her.