Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Pandora couldn’t leave well enough alone. She flipped open her laptop and googled Axel Wright.
She found his wife’s social media profiles, most of which were set to private, though a few images were available. They had two little boys who looked just like their dad and uncle. So cute.
Then she found the obituary.
It gave the date of his death and the time and place of the services at the very beginning. And then it went into a short paragraph about his life.
Axel Wright joined the Marines at the age eighteen and served until he was killed in the line of duty. He died a true hero. He was awarded the Purple Heart. He is survived by his wife, Brenda, and two boys, Blaze and Marvin, named after his brother and father. He’s also survived by his brother, Blaze Wright, a fellow Marine, who was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal for his service. Axel was a brother to all who knew him and he will be missed.
One thing Pandora knew for sure was that Blaze did not write that obituary. He would never want his medals displayed for public consumption. It must have been Brenda.
The water turned off and Pandora quickly closed out her search and closed the computer, no closer to finding out what happened to Axel or why Blaze wouldn’t talk about it. Other than maybe it was too fresh. That she could understand.
Blaze and Axel had been best friends growing up. They were only eighteen months apart. They did everything together and she’d met Axel a dozen times. He and Blaze were so much alike, and yet so different. They had all the same mannerisms and looked nearly identical, though Blaze had two inches on his big brother and Axel had a scar on his chin. Blaze’s sense of humor was a little dryer, but Axel was a prankster, always pulling dumb jokes on his little brother.
Their dream had always been to be in the same unit in the Marines. To work side by side.
She dropped her head to the table as a horrible thought filled her brain.
If Axel and Blaze had managed to be on the same unit and Axel died during a mission they were both on, and Blaze didn’t, that would fuck with any man.
Blaze stepped from her bedroom, wearing only a towel. “Sorry. I left my clothes out there.” He pointed toward the family room with a handful of wadded-up clothes. “I’m going to have to do laundry soon. I didn’t notice a washer or dryer anywhere, so you’re going to have to tell me where the nearest laundromat is.”
“In that closet over there. But it’s a tiny machine, so be careful how much you put in it.”
“No worries.” He strolled past her in his towel. “Stay in here. I’m going to change in the family room.”
Her gaze followed him into the other room. She leaned across the table, unable to take her eyes off a fine specimen of a man. He was a little thicker in the middle than he used to be, but wasn’t everyone twenty years later? He still had a six-pack, though. But it was the scars on his body that gave her pause. There were a lot of them and some of them were fresh. She could tell as they were pink around the edges and still raised. She wanted to trace her fingers over them and ask about each and every single one.
Some were long and jagged.
Others looked as though they could be from a bullet.
A few looked like burn marks.
The things he must have seen in the military nearly broke her heart.
He dropped his towel and she let out an audible groan as she stared at his taut ass.
“Are you taking in a peep show?” He hiked up his boxers and turned.
She hadn’t moved, nor had her gaze. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Besides you still being incredibly sexy, I couldn’t help but notice all the scars,” she admitted.
“Shit happens. Not a big deal.” He stepped into his jeans and yanked up his zipper. When she’d met him, she’d been a virgin. But he certainly wasn’t and he also hadn’t been shy about his body. He walked around naked all the time. At first, it embarrassed the hell out of her, but as she fell in love with him and became comfortable in her own skin, being naked with him was as natural as apple pie.
He meandered into the kitchen and snagged the mug under the coffee machine, still shirtless. As if to taunt her with his muscular body.
She waved her finger at his chest. “Those look like kind of a big deal.”
“Not worth having a discussion over.” Glancing down, he ran his free hand over his stomach. “What would you like to do about breakfast? Because I’m starving.”
Before she could answer, her phone buzzed. She picked it up from the table and glanced at the screen. “Fuck.”
“What is it?”
“A text from Weston,” she mumbled. “Sully is two hours away from rolling into town.”
Blaze took a swig from his coffee, set the mug on the counter, and closed the gap. He rested his hand on her shoulder. “The man would be a fool to come after you the second he came back.”
“Maybe so, but you weren’t there the day the jury came back with the guilty verdict. Or when the judge handed down his sentence,” she whispered. “Sully managed to get close to me and whispered in my ear that he’d get me, that one way or another, I’d pay for what I did to him.”
“But no more threats after that?”
“None that I can prove.” She glanced up. “However, for the last seven years, I’ve had this house broken into. My tires slashed. My car vandalized twice.” She wiggled her fingers. “The only people in this town who don’t like me are Sully, Tim, and Carl.”
Blaze pulled out a chair and sat. He took her hand. “Before the rape, did they have issues with you?”
“Sully did,” she said.
“Why?”
She sighed. She’d left this part out of the story and while it had no bearing, it still made her feel like she was partially at fault. She knew that wasn’t true. Far from it. The therapist told her that it was normal to feel that way, but rejection for a rapist took a whole different meaning from a normal person. “Sully’s the kind of man who thinks he can have any woman. And truthfully, he can be charming. He’s got swagger and he’s handsome. When he wants someone, he goes after them with all he’s got and he wanted me.”
“Well, damn. Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I never went out with the asshole. He’s a ladies’ man and not my type. The problem is, Sully doesn’t take no for an answer and he kept trying to get me to go on a date. He pulled out all the stops and I kept on saying no. At first, I was nice, but then I got nasty.”
“How nasty?”
“I told him, in public, that I would never go out with the likes of him. That he was beneath me.” She shrugged. “Three weeks later, I was raped.”
“You mentioned that fire was set on purpose. Is there any way Sully could have known you were working and would be one of the first in the building?”
“My schedule wouldn’t have been too hard to find out and as far as me being the first in, I usually am. I’m good at what I do.”
“Have you ever thought that the fire was a setup? Have the cops looked into that?”
“Of course they have. No stone has been left unturned. Everyone believes those three are responsible. But those assholes have alibis and nothing can be proven.”
“How did you end up in that room alone?”
“Greg and I went into the house. We cleared the kitchen and thought we heard a voice in that back room. Greg thought he saw movement in another section of the house. We got permission to split because the fire was under control. When that beam came down and the flames got to be too much for me to handle, I didn’t have time to do anything but escape. I figured my best bet was to get out and radio once on the other side, but that never happened.”
“So, for seven years these dicks have been planning something and what has this Weston guy and the rest of the cops in this town been doing with this fucking case?”
“Trying to figure out what that plan is,” she said.
He slammed his fist on the table and stood, raking his hand across the top of his head. “Jesus Christ, Pandora. You should have told me all of this from the start, or did you forget that I was training to be an MP before I moved over to the Marine Raiders.”
“I didn’t know you were with the Raiders,” she said.
“Not the point. I was Military Police first. And I was damn good at that job. I’m also highly skilled in intelligence and covert operations. I need to be involved with more than being your bodyguard. We can’t play defense on this. If we do that, you’re a goddamned sitting duck.” He waved his hand over her phone. “Call that Weston fellow and tell him to get his ass over here, now. I want to have a word with him.”
“Trust me, Weston is doing?—”
“Just do it, Pandora. Or I will call the police station myself.” He planted his hands on his hips.
All she could do was stare at the button on his jeans, which wasn’t fascinated.
Talk about inappropriate.
Then again, Greg used to tell her she used sex to avoid emotional topics, which was true.
“Fine.” She tapped the screen, pulling up Weston’s number.
“Put it on speaker,” Blaze bellowed.
She did as instructed. It rang twice.
“Hey, Pandora. How are you holding up?” Weston asked.
“Oh, I’m just ducky, how are you?”
“Well, I’m sitting in front of Tim’s place as he prepares for a party, that fucking twit. I can’t wait to slap cuffs on him, Carl, and especially that fucktard, Sully. But Haven really wants that honor. She keeps telling me that if that prick is in her line of sight, she’ll end him and I have to constantly remind her she’s a cop. She can’t do that. But you know how she gets.”
“I certainly do and I love her for it.” Pandora couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a smile. “Listen, I need a favor.”
“Anything for you,” Weston said.
“Is there any chance you can come over? A friend of mine would like to speak to you about all of this.”
“You mean Blaze Wright?” Weston asked. “Greg called me a little bit ago and told me he was in town. Interesting turn of events. How do you feel about running into him?”
Blaze arched a brow.
She groaned. “You’re on speaker and he’s listening.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Weston chuckled. “I can come over, but I want to get someone over here first. I’m not leaving these dumbasses unattended for a single second. Right now, it just looks like they are preparing for Sully’s return, but I want them to know we’re watching. Even jaywalking will get them a ticket,” Weston said. “Haven’s on duty, so she can come sit here and watch.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Weston said. “Before I hang up, I have one question.”
“What’s that?” Pandora asked.
“Should I bring over all the paperwork on the case?”
“Yes,” Blaze answered for her. “If possible, I’d like a copy for myself so I can go through everything. Maybe I’ll find something you missed.”
“If I was a prideful man or if I didn’t care so much about Pandora, I’d be fucking insulted by that statement.” Weston chuckled. “Whatever I give you, remember, you didn’t get it from me. That would be grounds for dismissal and I like my job. It took me too long to get here and if I get fired, I’ll have your head on a platter.”
“If anything happens to Pandora, I’ll have yours on a stick,” Blaze said.
“Oh my God. Enough with the fucking chest-pounding,” Pandora mumbled. “Goodbye, Weston.” She tapped the end button. “You didn’t have to be a dick to Weston. He’s one of the good guys.”
Blaze smiled. “I think I like him.”
“I just can’t with you men sometimes.” She shook her head. “Make me French toast and bacon. I’ll be in the family room, putting away your bed.” She stood. “How was that thing anyway?”
“Awful. Horrible. I would have been more comfortable sleeping on a rock.” He lifted his mug. “Tonight, I’m not going to bother to pull it out. I’ll just crash on the sofa as it is.”
“Whatever floats your boat.” She waved her hand over her head.
“That would be sleeping in your bed with you.” He laughed.
“I guess I walked right into that one.” Only with Sully back in town, the idea of sleeping alone had her guts twisted in knots. She wouldn’t mind Blaze’s strong arms wrapped around her body all night like a protective shield. Except if she allowed that, she couldn’t be trusted to keep her hands to herself.