42. Vic
Chapter 42
Vic
C amden and the other EMT on scene gently got me settled with a blanket and an oxygen mask.
Aside from being a bit lightheaded, I was fine. But Noah was fussing over me. He was far more concerned with my well-being than his home and belongings, which had literally gone up in flames.
He wouldn’t leave my side. He sat on the back bumper of the ambulance with me, wearing a matching oxygen mask and draped in a blanket like mine. His care included some bandaging on his arms and legs for the burns he sustained while rescuing me and sweeping the rest of the building. Every minute or so, he’d squeeze my hand, as if to remind himself that I was still here.
The blaze had spread to the post office next door before the firefighters could get it under control. My heart cracked wide open as I watched them battle the flames. This was all my fault.
I’d never been as terrified as I was when I woke to find flames licking across the floor of my apartment.
After the absolute humiliation at the bar, I’d put on my pj’s, taken a melatonin, and gone to bed. It was only when I heard a cracking sound that I woke up.
Drowsy and disoriented, I’d stumbled into the living area. With no clear path to the door, I’d pushed the table against the kitchen window so I could climb out, but it wouldn’t budge.
I’d opened it the other day, desperate for a bit of a breeze when I was making pasta, so there was no reasonable explanation for why it was jammed.
As a crowd of neighbors gathered, shame washed through me. Between the incident tonight and the fire, I wasn’t sure the citizens of Lovewell would be interested in having me around.
Noah sat next to me, a steady, silent presence. Thank God Tess was at his mother’s. Just the thought that she could have been in danger made me sick with panic.
Officer Fielder, who was talking to Chief Mitchell, turned and strode our way. He had basic questions for us. Thankfully, Noah took the helm and answered most of them. He went through the details of being up listening to a podcast and smelling smoke, then rushing down to my apartment. With each word, my heart raced faster and my stomach roiled more violently. How could this have happened?
“The door was barricaded when you came down the stairs?” Officer Fielder asked again.
“Not barricaded.” Noah sighed. “Someone had jammed it. I couldn’t tell with all the smoke, so I went in with an axe.”
The police officer raised his brows.
“Someone was trying to hurt Victoria,” he gritted out, his free hand balled into a fist on his lap. “You need to find this motherfucker.”
Officer Fielder held up his pen. “Once I have the details, son, we can take the next steps.”
“She was trapped in her apartment. Someone deliberately set a fire,” Noah shouted, his chest heaving.
I put my hand on his arm and lowered my oxygen mask.
“My windows wouldn’t open, either. And the fire ripped right through the kitchen. Someone set it deliberately.”
My stomach sank as details started coming together. Could Denis have been responsible? He was an entitled jerk, but he didn’t have it in him to hurt someone like this, did he? I easily could have been killed. Noah too.
“Ma’am, have you been the recipient of any threats lately?”
“Yes,” I said softly.
Noah put his arm around me, giving me his strength.
“I received several threats from Denis Huxley.”
Officer Fielder’s eyes bulged.
“He threatened me earlier tonight. At the Moose.”
Jaw flexed, he scribbled in his notepad. “Why?”
“Business conflicts.” I left it at that for now, not knowing how much I should reveal. I needed Parker to help navigate this. I’d been trying to help, trying to do the right thing, and I’d almost lost my life.
“He has been harassing Victoria for a while,” Noah growled. “I have no doubt he’s the one who did this.”
The police officer hummed noncommittally, his attention fixed on his notebook.
Noah went rigid and stood, towering over him. “Denis Huxley tried to kill people tonight. It’s a miracle my infant daughter wasn’t home. If she had been…” He clenched his fists, his whole body vibrating. “This isn’t a joke, and it’s not a mystery. We know exactly who did this and why. So do your fucking job.”
Officer Fielder looked up, his brows lowered. “No need to talk to me like that. I know you’re shaken up.”
“I’m completely in control.” Noah’s voice was stony. “The citizens of this town are in danger. Get your officers, investigate the scene, call the state police, call the FBI, for all I care. But go do your job and lock that motherfucker up.”
Officer Fielder, looking far from rankled by the events of tonight or Noah’s demands, calmly continued to jot down notes. “The fire inspector will make a report. Then we’ll take photos and collect evidence. I know you’ve had a terrible scare and you’ve lost your homes. I’m truly sorry for that. I’ll walk the perimeter, take some photos. Please remain here so I know where you are if I have further questions.”
When Noah was seated again, his whole body heaving with angry breaths, I leaned my head on his shoulder.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said.
My stomach twisted painfully. Denis hadn’t just hurt me. He’d hurt Noah too. The single dad who loved his baby so much he never wanted to put her down. The man working so hard to overcome the terrible trauma he’d experienced.
And I’d put him and Tess at risk with my recklessness.
“I’m so sorry.” I buried my face in his shoulder. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have taken that stupid thumb drive.”
He straightened, his muscles tensing. “Shit, the drive. Where is it?”
“At the food pantry,” I whispered. “In a locked file cabinet.”
I hadn’t wanted it in my apartment after Parker had told me to hold on to it. I knew it was valuable. But I didn’t think it was worth burning a building down over.
A second fire engine pulled up, this one with Heartsborough emblazoned across the side. My stomach sank. If they were calling in reinforcements from other towns, then the fire was bad .
“It’s okay,” Noah said, as if sensing my shock. “It’s just an apartment.”
My apartment. The home I’d created for myself. The cozy, peaceful space that had welcomed me when I arrived, hurting and alone. Gone in an instant.
And Noah. God, the way he’d busted down the door to save me, then insisted on making sure no one was in Dylan’s place.
I wanted to hug him and slap him and make him promise never to take a risk like that again.
I’d gone to bed feeling worthless and pathetic. Now, after coming so dangerously close to losing my life, it all seemed so ridiculous. I’d been so afraid of facing my family, of facing my failed marriage, that I’d made Noah pretend to be my boyfriend.
And worse, I’d gone ahead and fallen in love with him and his daughter.
Like a pathetic pick-me woman who was so desperate for affection, I forced my way into their lives.
I’d come to Lovewell to start over. To become a version of myself I could be proud of. But lying to the town, dragging Noah and Tess into all my baggage? That was far from the best version of me.
And now I’d destroyed his home. I’d destroyed Tess’s crib and all her clothing and toys. All the memories the two of them had made here.
Noah pulled me closer. “This is not your fault.” The man had become a mind reader. “All that matters is that we’re safe.”
It didn’t feel that way. I always felt safe in his arms, but right now, with a blanket draped over my shoulders and an oxygen mask in my hand, while our homes burned in front of us, I felt more vulnerable than ever.
After we’d been cleared by the EMTs and Willa, who’d come over to do her own examination, we headed for Noah’s truck. The only thing either of us wanted right now was to set eyes on Tess.
Matt, one of the full-time firefighters, walked over with his helmet under his arm.
“I found this.” He held out Tess’s plush Olaf. He was a bit sooty, but otherwise intact. “Strangest thing.” He shook his head. “So much destruction, but this toy was fine.”
He held the snowman out to Noah, and as if on cue, it said, “I like warm hugs,” his creepy voice even more disturbing after he’d survived the fire.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “How did Olaf survive?”
“He’s possessed by demons,” Noah said, tossing the snowman into the back seat.