Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 144

CHAPTER 89-2

After nearly an hour, the firefighters finally started pulling back as the fire was contained.

The depot was badly damaged, but the surrounding buildings had been spared. Nobody had been injured and that should have been enough to make me feel relieved, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how deliberate it seemed.

The shop had been targeted with rumours and now the club’s towing depot had been targeted with fire.

Someone was escalating. And they were getting bolder.

By the time the firefighters finished, the sun had disappeared below the horizon.

Most people expected everyone to go home. They didn’t. Instead, Mason walked into the damaged building and started moving debris.

Derek followed him and then Hunter and then several of the employees so i stood there staring at them.

“Are they seriously rebuilding tonight?” I asked and Jace nodded.

“Apparently.” Jace said.

I watched Mason drag a damaged shelf outside.

“This thing is going to fall apart.” Mason said.

“Probably. We’ll build a better one.” Derek said as he looked over and Mason laughed.

“That’s the spirit.” He said.

I couldn’t help smiling. The destruction was terrible, but the response to it was something else entirely.

Nobody sat around blaming each other. Nobody packed up and walked away. They rolled up their sleeves and started working.

I joined them and Jace immediately frowned.

“You don’t have to.” He said.

“I know.” I said.

“Paige.” He said.

“I said I know.” I said and he sighed.

“You really don’t listen.” He said.

“Not when you’re wrong.” I said.

I grabbed a pair of gloves and started clearing smaller pieces of debris and Mia arrived a little later with coffee and food, and the workers gathered around the side of the building to eat.

Someone made a joke about Derek looking terrible after being covered in soot, and everyone laughed but

CHAPTER 89-

Berck pointed toward them.

“Keep laughing, and you’re cleaning the entire floor.” Derek said so Mason grinned.

“You’re terrifying.” Mason said.

“I learned from Paige.” Derek said and I laughed.

“That’s my legacy.” I said.

The night became strangely peaceful despite the wreckage around us.

People talked. They worked. They ate and they made plans.

+25 Points

The depot had been damaged, but the people standing around it refused to let that damage become their identity.

I watched Jace help lift a heavy piece of timber, and something inside me shifted.

This was why they survived. Not because they were stronger than everyone else. Not because they never lost. They survived because they refused to stay down.

When we finally stepped back from the building, I looked around at the piles of debris and the people already discussing repairs.

“They’re incredible.” I said and Jace looked at me.

“They are.” He said.

“No matter what happens, they keep going.” I said.

“That’s what we do.” He said and I leaned against him.

“I think I’m starting to understand.” I said as he wrapped an arm around me.

“You belong here.” He said and I looked at him.

“You keep saying that.” I said.

“Because you keep forgetting.” He said and I smiled.

Then Derek suddenly called from inside the office.

“Jace.” Derek called out as his voice carried something different this time and Jace straightened.

“What?” Jace asked.

“Get in here.” Derek said.

We followed him through the damaged entrance, and he stood beside a computer covered in dust.

“We found the security footage.” Derek said and Jace stepped closer.

“Anything useful?” Jace asked and Derek nodded.

“Maybe.” Derekj said.

2.3

CHAPTERB

+25 Points

He clicked through several recordings until one appeared on the screen. The footage showed the depot Trom the side entrance.

A motorcycle entered the frame and it slowed near the building. Then it stopped and my stomach tightened.

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