Chapter 13
Willow
The first person I spoke to after arriving at my business was a fire chief. She gave me a long explanation of what happened, the extent of the damage, and all the gory details of how quickly the fire destroyed everything in my shop.
Honestly, I didn’t really hear any of it. I kept nodding my head, but most of her words didn’t stick. I couldn’t take my eyes off the burned-out shell of Unique Finds.
Everything was gone.
All the years of saving. I’d sacrificed almost every comfort. No new clothes and rarely eating out. No fancy coffee. Jina paid for most of our rent and utilities in our shit-hole apartment so I could focus on saving money for the shop.
It wasn’t just about the money. I spent two months refurbishing the store myself. Tearing out old flooring and putting down new. Cleaning and repainting the walls and putting together all the shelving.
Whenever I wasn’t remodeling, I was contacting people and ordering stock. I pored over catalogs and websites, calculating down to the last penny what I could spend and still have enough to cover operating costs if I didn’t make money right away.
After the shop opened, I worked six days a week from 9am until 8pm. I didn’t have any help because I couldn’t afford it. Of course, work never ended at 8. I still had to clean up, restock, do paperwork, and all the hundred other things that came with owning a small shop.
I’d been happy to do all of it. Everything was a labor of love.
Finally, I was going to show a profit. By the end of this year, I could start paying Jina back the money she’d invested.
Now it was all gone.
“...and after that, you can file a claim with your insurance. Do you have any questions?”
I shook my head. What questions were there to ask? Even if I got money from the insurance company, it would never pay for all of me that I’d poured into the shop.
“I have to warn you that if the arsonist isn’t caught, you could have issues with your insurance,” she said, voice full of sympathy.
Behind her, some of the firefighters were walking through the rubble and poking things, while others were rolling up hoses and chatting.
“It doesn’t matter,” I mumbled. “None of it matters anymore.”
“I know it seems bad now, but give yourself some time. The important thing is that no one died or got hurt.” She pulled a card out of the breast pocket of her shirt and held it out to me. “You can leave a message for me here if you think of any questions later.”
Wordlessly, I took the card. She said a few more things, then walked off. I went back to staring at my destroyed shop.
I didn’t realize someone was standing right next to me until they spoke. “You’re the owner?”
I jerked and turned to find an officer staring down at me with a notebook in his hands. “Yeah, that’s me. Or was me, I guess.” I turned to face the burnt-out shell, but he stepped in front of me, blocking the view.
“I need to ask you some questions,” he said. “Where were you at roughly six this evening?”
“Why does that matter?” I asked. “I wasn’t here to stop this.”
“Maybe you were here,” he said.
That confused me enough to pull me out of my self-pity stupor.
“If I’d been here, I wouldn’t have let this happen,” I snapped.
He looked delighted to have gotten a reaction from me. “Sure.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked. What was with this guy's attitude? I was the victim here!
A nasty smirk twisted his lips. “It’s just that sometimes people do destructive things to get out of debt.
They let their car get stolen because the payments are too high.
Or they leave the stove on in their home because the mortgage is underwater.
You probably weren’t making much money with a fancy clothing shop. Not in this neighborhood.”
Raw rage filled me. I wanted to punch the cop in the face, but even in my enraged state, I knew that wasn’t a good idea. I remained silent, trying hard to keep my fists at my sides.
“You girls think you can open a business, and it’ll just be successful,” he mocked. “None of you understand what hard work is.”
“I didn’t do this,” I ground out between clenched teeth. “I’d never do this.”
He tried to assume a sympathetic expression, completely spoiled by the malice on his face. “It’s okay! I understand, it was all too much for you. Admit you set the fire. Nothing bad’s going to happen to you. We just need to know. No one’s going to bother prosecuting you.”
“Murphy!” a feminine voice yelled. “What the fuck are you doing?”
We both turned to see the fire inspector I’d been talking to striding over. She looked supremely pissed and was completely focused on the cop trying to talk me into a confession.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” he snapped back, “but I’m interviewing a suspect.”
“I haven’t even finished my report yet,” she said, putting herself between me and him. Damn, I wished I’d paid attention to her earlier. This woman deserved my respect.
With her hands on her hips, she glared up at him. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. I haven’t declared this a case of arson yet.”
“But you will,” he retorted, face turning red. “Everyone can see that the fire started at the front. That area was all windows with no wiring and no bottles of chemicals. It doesn't take a genius to realize that only means one thing; someone deliberately set the fire.”
“Are we doing each other’s jobs now?” she challenged, then pointed to a security camera over the door of the shop next to mine.
“Because that means I should get off my ass to see if anyone got video from earlier. Wouldn’t that make more sense than trying to verbally browbeat this woman into a confession with your small-dick energy? ”
There was a second of stunned silence, and suddenly Murphy's face went from red to purple with anger.
“You fucking cunt,” he said, taking a threatening step forward.
Although the fire chief didn’t seem intimidated, I was freaked the fuck out. This guy was at least six inches taller than us and looked ready to beat both of us to prove a point. Even worse, it looked like no one around us noticed what was going on.
I put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back, all my earlier rage vanishing as I worried about the health and safety of this woman.
“I might be a cunt, but you’re a corrupt cop. You’re never making detective for as long as I’m around, Murphy,” she said, only letting me move her back a step. “Not after what you did.”
I was all kinds of curious about what Murphy had done, but now wasn’t the time for a gossip session.
“So, um, I might have a few questions after all,” I said, trying to pull her away from Murphy. “Maybe we could go over here and talk about it?”
She didn’t move, and he’d advanced again until they were almost touching chests. I’d been around enough volatile men to know Murphy’s next move would be to strike her in some way.
“Ma’am, um, Ms. Fire Chief Lady?” I said. Why hadn’t I paid attention when she told me her name? “I really need to talk to you, please!”
My words or panicked tone must’ve gotten through to her because she finally moved away from Murphy to give me her attention.
“Sure, Willow,” she said, expression going from ready to throw down with a guy who outweighed her by a hundred pounds to caring and sympathetic in 0.5 seconds flat. “I know I introduced myself as Fire Captain Lane, but you can call me Millie.”
“It’s short for Maleficent,” Murphy interjected, not ready to give up the conversation yet. “She’s named after a witch because she’s a bitch.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” I muttered, making Millie laugh. Of course that was the entirely wrong move because Murphy stomped towards us, one hand fisted and the other one on the handle of his gun. He wouldn’t draw it on Millie, would he?
I looked around for a brick or piece of rubble to use as a weapon and resigned myself to a night in jail.
That’s when Vie showed up. He appeared from behind one of the emergency vehicles.
“Vie!” My voice was a little shrieky, but I didn’t care. In truth, I didn’t need to yell; he was already striding toward me. He was staring at Millie, probably because I was touching her. I shifted my gaze to Murphy so Vie would know where the real threat was.
His glowing blue eyes focused on Murphy, and he moved with preternatural speed that made him blur a little. Between one blink and the next, he was between us and the furious cop.
Murphy’s expression went from annoyed to surprised at the interruption as he was forced to look up to meet Vie’s eyes. Surprise was quickly replaced with discomfort.
He tried for false bravado first. “Sir, you need to move out of my way, or I’ll make you move.”
“I’d like that,” Vie said.
Even though the quiet words weren’t aimed at me, I could feel the threat. Murphy might not know what he was dealing with like I did, but he could sense the danger Vie posed.
Vie’s voice dropped, and I wasn’t sure if I was hearing him with my ears or through our weird connection.
“I can taste the harm you’ve done. The people you’ve hurt and killed. But worst of all, I can tell you enjoyed it and craved more.”
The color drained from Murphy’s face, but he tried hard to pretend Vie wasn’t affecting him.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “But if you don’t move, I’ll charge you with obstruction of justice.”
I couldn’t help the snort that came out of me. I’d love to see Murphy try to put cuffs on Vie.
“Shut up, bitch,” Murphy said, leaning to the side so he could look at me.
Vie moved close, putting his chest against Murphy’s. “Say that again,” he hissed. “Say it to me.”
That was it, Murphy wilted. Stumbling back several steps, he put a hand on his gun as if preparing to draw it if Vie tried to move closer.
“I have to car…I mean I have to go to my car, because, uh, work. Paperwork.”
I enjoyed hearing the shakiness in his voice. With a last sneer, he turned and fled. It was only after he disappeared around a fire truck that I relaxed a little.
With the threat gone, Vie was quick to turn and sweep me into his arms. “Are you hurt?” he asked.
I melted into his embrace. “Not physically.”
Vie growled low in his throat, and I felt a wave of magic against my skin.
“I’ll take care of him later,” Vie swore.
“It’s not just him, it’s that,” I said, pulling away so I could point to the burned-out shell that had been Unique Finds. Tears gathered in my eyes as I stared at it. “Everything’s gone.”
Vie focused on the damage. “I can feel the same presence here that I went hunting for with Vengeance.”
I clutched his hand in mine. “Did you, um, you know, do your thing to him?”
Vie turned to face me, his expression determined. “Vengeance helped identify and hunt down two of the three men who destroyed your apartment. We haven’t found the third one yet, and he’s the one I sense here. It matches what I felt in your bedroom.”
I shivered. Someone hated me so much that they were willing to destroy my life, and they were still out there.
Before, I’d been upset, angry, and devastated, but now I was feeling an entirely different emotion.
I was scared.
Vie grabbed me in a fierce hug. “I’ll find him.”
The implication was clear. Vie was going to hunt him down and eat him. I didn’t argue about the sanctity of human life. Whoever had done this didn’t deserve my sympathy.
“Not right now,” I said, fisting my hands in his hoodie. “Don’t leave me yet.”
Someone cleared their throat. We separated to find Millie standing there, looking uncomfortable but determined.
“I didn’t want to leave before asking if you wanted to report Murphy for harassment,” she explained.
“Murphy won’t be a problem for long,” Vie said, making Millie’s eyes go a little wide.
“I didn’t hear that,” she said. Someone called her name, and she shouted for them to wait a minute before meeting my gaze. “Look, if you want to go through official channels, call me. Otherwise, I don’t know anything.”
“Thank you,” I said, holding out a hand. She did an amazing job of not showing how uncomfortable Vie made her.
“I’m glad you’ve got some support,” she said, nodding her chin at Vie. “But if he doesn’t work out, I can get you someplace safe.”
“What are you implying?”
His voice made Millie step back despite herself. I didn’t want my new friend to feel uncomfortable when she was only trying to keep me safe. Yes, she was my friend now. Anyone who stood up to bullies was a friend!
“Vie would never hurt me,” I assured her. “But thanks for the offer. I bet you’ve helped a lot of women.” I paused for a second as something occurred to me. “You know, if someone’s in real danger, and you can’t get anyone to help her, maybe give me a call. Vie and I might be able to help.”
Millie grinned. “This is the first time I’ve tried to protect someone, and they’ve turned around and offered to protect others.”
I grinned back. “I’ve been having a lot of firsts recently. Welcome to my club.”
“I’m sorry we met this way, but I’m glad I met you, Willow.” She managed to make herself meet Vie’s eyes. “I’m not your friend, but if you protect Willow, then we’re good. Yeah?”
Vie grunted and pulled me close. Someone called Millie’s name again, and she gave me a last smile before turning and walking away.
My phone rang. It was Jina.
“Hey, is it time for dinner?” I asked, forcing my voice to be cheerful. She didn’t need to know about the shop yet.
“I ordered pizza. After it gets here, I’m watching whatever Jane Austen movie I can find,” she said. “I don’t want to leave the room right now. Is that okay?”
Relief that I wouldn’t have to face her yet made me go weak at the knees. “Totally fine. We’ll reconnoiter at 0900 tomorrow.”
Jina snorted. “Don’t talk like that, you sound like bad movie dialogue.”
“Fine,” I said, feeling a little better after hearing her teasing words. “Call me when you wake up, and we’ll come get you. We can go to that breakfast place in Poway you like so much.”
“Yasss!” Jina said with a happy sigh. “Wait, don’t you need to open the shop tomorrow?”
A spike of pain made my eyes tear up. It was hard to keep my voice from betraying my emotions.
“I think I’m going to take a few days off,” I said. “I need it.”
“Yeah, I get that,” she murmured. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Willow. Love you.”
“Love you too,” I said, then hung up. I looked up at Vie. “I want to go home, please.”
“Anything you want,” he swore, “I’ll provide.”
If only he could magically give me Unique Finds back.
“All I need right now is you,” I said. After the words left my mouth, I knew they were true. Today was the worst day of my life, and yet I had Vie. He was my rock and my shelter.
He might be the wraith of violence, but he was also the love of my life.