Chapter 3 Dare
THREE
DARE
Iclosed the boxes, and before I put them in a bag, I grabbed the black marker pen and scribbled on them both.
Property of Zachary Hensley, it read when I was done.
“There. Now he has an excuse not to sell them,” I told Lookah, and he pressed the bottom part of his head against my leg, bunching up his ears and begging to be petted.
I wasn’t a monster, so of course I scratched behind his ears and patted his ass before making my way out to the truck, yawning.
It had been a long day already and it was barely even ten, which was exactly why I needed a dose of Zach’s pumpkin spice latte and a heavy dose of his smile to get me through the rest of the day. Plus, I couldn’t help but wonder what goodies he’d be selling today.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking of him yesterday.
The way he was dressed. The way he’d looked at me.
The joy on his face when I gave him my pies.
He’d never looked more adorable. Although, that was what I thought every time.
At this point I had to accept I had a major crush on him and instead of fading with time it was only getting stronger.
Nevertheless, it would have to stay a crush. Even if it pained me to leave him behind every time. Even if I would have loved nothing more than to wake up next to him every morning.
That was how it—heartbreak—started. It was a cruel mistress, and I wasn’t going to let it lure me back in its embrace again. Never again.
I parked at my usual spot at the end of the waterfront but even before I applied the parking brake I could sense something was wrong. It was in the way people walked around, the way they whispered to each other and the way they shook their heads.
I jumped out, my heart leaping out of my chest and that was when I smelled it. The distinct acrid smell of burned rubber.
I ran. I didn’t know why but I ran so fast I didn’t even bother locking the car. My chest felt heavier and heavier the further along I got until it threatened to make me collapse before I reached my destination.
And there it was. Zach’s truck. The Wandering Bundt. Or what was left of it. There was yellow tape all around it. Two firefighters and a man in a suit stood in front of it, staring at a clipboard as if there wasn’t an entire mess right behind them.
“What the hell happened?” I asked, my voice a barely comprehensible grumble.
All three men looked up at me and pressed their lips together. One firefighter put his hand up to stop me, as if I was trying to go past the yellow tape.
“I’m sorry, sir. There was an incident. I’m afraid the business is closed,” the firefighter said.
“Yeah, no shit Sherlock. I can see that. Is Zach okay? What caused this?”
“The owner of the business is perfectly fine. He wasn’t in when the fire happened. I’m afraid we’re not at liberty to discuss the investigation,” said the other firefighter who didn’t look a day over eighteen.
“Investigation? So this was deliberate?”
I should have felt relief. I should have been happy Zach was okay. But something crawled up my chest. Something dark and toxic, and it threatened to make me explode.
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t say anything at this stage,” said the barely legal firefighter and I huffed, turned around and marched right back to my car.
They might not be able to enlighten me, but I had a pretty good idea who could. After all, whatever destruction happened on the island always carried his signature.
I got to Cotton Beach so fast the whole ride there was all but a blur. I’d probably broken a few speed limits, but I didn’t care. The more I thought about what happened—what had been happening on this island for over a year now —the angrier I got.
I all but leapt out of the truck and stormed into The Outpost, Wyatt’s bar with a seaside view, mouthwatering burgers and danger guaranteed. Especially if anyone decided to associate themselves with that man.
“You!” I shouted at him, and he turned around to stare at me from behind the bar. “What have you done?”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes and cocked his head looking at me like a clueless idiot, but he was anything but. You didn’t end up a Lieutenant Commander of a SEAL Task Unit by being clueless or an idiot.
“Dare,” he croaked. “Wh-what are you—” he started but even the sound of his voice made me feel sick.
“You and your stupid fucking war on this island. How many people’s lives do you have to put at risk before you put an end to this, huh? How many?”
Wyatt put the dish towel down on the counter and leaned forward.
“What are you talking about? They all know what they signed up for. They all know—”
“They know shit. You’re not in the Navy anymore, Wyatt.
You don’t have the benefit of an amorphous, impersonal, indirect enemy.
This is real life, where real people are pitted against a dangerous organization that you don’t have the power or the skills to stop no matter what you think.
” I could feel my voice getting louder and more growly with each sentence and yet I didn’t have the wherewithal to stop or calm down.
How could I when Zach’s truck was gone? What if he’d been inside? What if he was the target? What whoever did this went after him again? Maybe they were trying to send a message or maybe they simply wanted the young baker dead.
“I think you’ll find we’re close to bringing them down,” he said and I glared at him.
“So what? What’s the point of bringing those assholes down if you’re going to put everyone’s lives in danger? You say they know what they signed up for, but what about all the innocent people caught in the crossfire?”
“I don’t—” Wyatt started when Autumn appeared by his side and put her hands on his shoulders.
“I think Dare is referring to what happened to Zach,” she said and immediately something lodged in my throat making it hard to breathe.
“What happened to Zach? Is he okay?” I asked her.
“He’s fine. He’s okay. It’s just his truck…” she replied and I huffed.
“Yeah. Today it was his truck, tomorrow it will be him. What did you do?” I turned my attention back to Wyatt who stared back at me in absolute silence.
“What happened to Zach had nothing to do with Salieri,” Autumn said.
“Who the fuck is Salieri?” I asked.
“The man who runs the show,” Wyatt said.
I huffed.
“And you don’t think he’s behind it? How is that possible? Who else would burn Zach’s truck to the ground? What reason would they have?”
Why couldn’t Wyatt have settled back on his home island and retired like normal people did?
Why did he have to go up against a criminal organization and invite all my old colleagues and teammates to join him in this dangerous game?
Why couldn’t he let go and simply be? Run his bar, do whatever the fuck he did these days and just leave those fuckers alone.
Yes, the crime syndicate based on this island was ruthless.
Yes, they needed to be stopped. But this wasn’t the way to do it.
Not when people came on this island to find a home, to make friends, to find the love of their lives.
That wasn’t how it was supposed to go. You couldn’t pit civilians against a dark organization and guarantee everyone would come out unscathed in the end.
“We’re trying to find out but it’s definitely nothing to do with us,” Autumn said again.
“Then why the fuck was Donovan there yesterday if not for protection?”
“Because Zach saw his ex here last week and Teddy wanted to be sure he was safe while he was taking time off,” Wyatt mumbled between his teeth.
“What? His ex? What does his ex have to do with all this?”
Autumn shrugged.
“He won’t say. Probably a bad breakup. The guy sounds like a stalker. We think that’s who set the fire, but we can’t be sure yet.”
Zach’s ex?
A stalker?
Shit.
This might be even worse than him getting involved in Wyatt’s war somehow.
Because this shit was personal. And far, far more dangerous.
“I need to go. I need to find him. Do you have his home address?” I asked Wyatt and his face hardened.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure—” Autumn started.
“Autumn, please. I need to check on him. I need to make sure he’s okay.”
She nodded and glanced at Wyatt before she spoke again.
“He lives in Chestnut Hill. Apartment 315. He’s Teddy’s neighbor.”
I nodded and rushed out the door without saying another word. I’d already said enough. Besides, there was nothing for me at The Outpost. Absolutely nothing and the sooner I got out of there, the better.
It was time to find Zach and make sure he was going to be okay.