Chapter 14 Rafe
RAFE
Afew moments after I sent Zach away, a plainclothes cop banged on my door, and I turned off the water.
The pain that surged through my hand made me gasp.
How could I have been so stupid? I wasn’t getting into that car.
The worst thing was, grabbing a burning piece of metal might not be the stupidest thing I’d done that night.
I took a deep breath. I could do this. I hated how I’d fallen apart in front of Zach, but I wasn’t going to let myself look weak in front of a fucking cop.
He started speaking as soon as I opened the door. “I’m Detective Robichaux.” He gestured toward my car and the motorcycle that was also destroyed. “Are these your vehicles?” He flashed his detective badge as he asked the question.
Remington told me to be as vague as possible until he got there and took over. “They were. I guess they’re not anymore.”
The detective glared at me, but I ignored him and surveyed the scene. Firefighters were spraying my car with a hose while more police officers corralled neighbors and told them to go back inside. None of them seemed inclined to listen. I’d want to watch, too, if it weren’t my car.
“Your neighbor called this in. They said you went back inside the house after it happened. Why didn’t you call 911?”
“I was in shock. I burned my hand.”
Robichaux glanced down and frowned. “How did that happen?”
I might as well tell the truth since it would be on video from some neighbor’s camera and probably some asshole’s phone. “I tried to get something out of the car.”
“After it exploded?”
“Yes.”
Robichaux huffed. “You’re lucky all you got is a burned hand.”
He was exactly as sympathetic as I expected him to be. I had no doubt he knew exactly who I was and hoped he’d be able to pin something on me tonight.
“You should have one of the paramedics look at that when we’re done here.” Not before he interrogated me, obviously, only after.
“I’ll be fine. Go ahead with whatever questions you have for me.”
“Who would want to plant a bomb in your car?”
At least he was getting right to the point. “I have no idea. Are you sure it was a bomb, not just a mechanical failure?”
He raised his brows. “Seriously?”
I shrugged. “I’m no mechanic. How should I know? Obviously, cars don’t usually explode spontaneously, but I assumed it was possible. I don’t know why anybody would want to blow my car up.”
“You don’t? You can’t imagine a single reason?”
I held his gaze, keeping my expression neutral. “No, I don’t.”
Robichaux sighed. “We can do this here and you can cooperate, or we can go down to the station.”
“I’m the victim here. Somebody blew up my car and ruined my motorcycle. And look at the damage to my house and my yard. I’m not the person you need to take to the station.”
“Then who is?”
“That’s for you to find out.”
He scowled at me. “If you actually wanted to find whoever did this, you would answer my questions.”
“I’ve answered all of them.”
I forced myself not to smile when Remington pulled up in front of my house.
The police might not think anything of being assholes to me, but Robichaux’s attitude was going to change when Remington confronted him.
I watched my cousin step out of one of the family’s black SUVs.
He wouldn’t dare get his beloved Ferrari near a fire.
He greeted one of the firefighters, shaking hands and clapping him on the back. Then he checked in with the paramedics, probably wanting to be sure no one had been injured. Finally, he started walking toward us. Another detective rushed over when he saw Remington.
“Gentlemen.” Remington held out his hand to Robichaux, then the other man who’d joined us. “I’m Remington Theriot. This is my cousin.” He glanced toward me. “What can I do to help you?”
“I know who you are,” Robichaux said.
Remington smiled. “Ah. My reputation precedes me.”
Robichaux huffed. “Yeah. Right.”
Remington narrowed his eyes, and the asshole took a step back. He might have all kinds of thoughts about my cousin, but he was going to learn quickly not to voice them to Remington’s face.
I hated that I needed my cousin to rescue me. I felt like the damn kid everybody told me I was, but I was also glad Remington was there to handle the situation.
He glanced at me again and noticed the ice pack in my hand.
“Were you hurt?”
“I burned my hand.”
His eyes widened. “Jesus. You were that close.”
I shook my head. “Mom’s necklace was in the car. I… um… I tried to get it.”
I thought he would bitch at me, but instead, he laid a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. You need to take care of your hand. Go on back in the house. I’ll send one of the paramedics to check you out.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Rafael, go back in the house.”
“We’re in the middle of interviewing your cousin,” Robichaux said. “If he’s the owner of—”
“I’m the owner of all the vehicles,” Remington said. “It’s my cousin’s car to use, but I’m the one you need to talk to.”
The other detective spoke up. “Do you have any idea who would want to blow up your car?”
“No. I can’t think of anyone foolish enough to target me.”
I fought the urge to laugh, knowing if I got started, I wouldn’t be able to stop.
I was still shocky and might tip over into full hysteria any minute.
I wanted to stick around and hear what else Remington said, but I was already going to catch hell from him once he was done with the cops, so I went inside like he wanted.
Two paramedics, a young woman and a middle-aged man, came inside a few moments later. They chatted with me as the woman cleaned my burn and bandaged my hand. When she was done, her partner gave me instructions for how to take care of it, but I only half listened.
They were both nice enough, but I wanted them out of the house. I needed a few moments alone before Remington came inside, and I was expecting more family to arrive at any moment.
When I peeked out the window, I saw I’d been right. Lorenzo and Dante were stepping out of Lorenzo’s car. Remington pointed them toward the door.
Here we go. I was going to get a lecture while a federal agent hid upstairs, a federal agent I’d just gotten off with. Zach was going to hear everything, and if he didn’t already know why I’d been targeted, he’d quickly find out I was my family’s weakest link.