Chapter 17
Steel
“What did you say?”
Sheldon nodded while wiping his greasy hands on a towel. “Electrical system sabotage.”
“Whoa. Hold on. Are you suggesting someone did this on purpose?” Violet moved closer to the two of us after standing and staring at what was left of her Jeep.
“It’s possible. Of course it’s a little difficult to tell now. I could be wrong.”
He just tossed out the information that someone might have purposely set a fire that could have killed her, but he wasn’t certain of his findings? Was he kidding me?
I could tell I was off-putting to the older man since he cringed when I stared at him. “Okay. I’m no expert but if someone tampered with the system, it’s usually minutes at the maximum before a vehicle catches fire.”
“True.” He didn’t seem to have the desire to expound.
“Someone actually wanted my Jeep to catch fire,” she repeated. “Why?”
“Where were you right before you had to pull over? Weren’t you in public locations?”
Violet paled. “We stopped at one of the parks so Zorro could use the bathroom, and I scouted the area near the riverbank for photos for my project I mentioned.”
“Do you remember where?” I could tell she was rattled.
Hell, so was I. However, she could have been parked in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If the local ‘gang’ had been close, maybe they’d seen it as a test. Given the randomness of the carnage they’d been involved in, I wouldn’t put anything past them.
“I have pictures on my camera,” she offered.
“Okay. We’ll look at them later when we get back. Are you willing to put that in a police report, Sheldon?”
He tossed the rag and shrugged. “Sure, Steel, but like I said, given the extent of the fire, I can’t be one hundred percent sure. And there won’t be any fingerprints. Not with the fire retardant the fire department used and the fire and smoke damage.”
“Unbelievable,” I hissed.
“Then why bother making a report?” Her question was out of frustration.
“It might help with your insurance claim.”
I looked over at where Damon remained near a group of other vehicles Sheldon was working on. The kid didn’t need to know what was going on. “Did you smell anything before it caught fire?”
“Yeah, plastic burning.” She peered up at me with wide eyes, but they weren’t filled with fear. “Is this something that could been done long before the fire happened? Like a week and several hundred miles driven?”
Sheldon huffed. “No, ma’am. Depending on the method used, the insulation would have frayed more with the heat of the engine. You were lucky it didn’t occur in the park.”
“Did you see anyone when you were there?”
Initially, she shook her head. “I heard laughter. But it was a park on a beautiful day.”
“And Zorro?”
“He growled. Don’t you remember, Mom? He was growling and you wanted to get back to the Jeep.” Damon had appeared, obviously overhearing the conversation.
Her nose wrinkled and looking at her, I had completely inappropriate thoughts. Much like I’d had even while working the fire earlier in the day.
“That’s right. I thought there was another animal close by. Why would anyone do this?”
“There’s a group of teenagers we were warned about.” Now I wanted to search my property to ensure they hadn’t laid any boobytraps.
“I’ll write up a report, Steel. I don’t know how helpful it’ll be,” Sheldon said. “I can have the Jeep crushed for you and handle your insurance company, miss.”
“Sheldon. Don’t do anything until we have a chance to talk to the police.” Someone had to protect her and her son since it was painfully obvious she didn’t have anyone.
“Sure thing,” Sheldon said.
“Thank you. I appreciate your help.” She was thoroughly bothered by what we’d heard. I couldn’t blame her. Turning away, she moved toward her son, gripping his shoulders. There was something on her mind, as if she knew a reason behind why someone would sabotage her.
As we walked out, Damon was content with skipping ahead, leaving the two of us alone. “Who are you running from, Violet?”
She barely lifted her head, her brow still pinched. “It’s not possible so it doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, maybe it does. If someone is out to hurt you, then the best thing you can do is to let me know.”
There was a pause, her entire body tensing. A small, sad smile appeared on the corners of her mouth. “Like you said. Why don’t we enjoy our evening? Okay? I might be a little hungry too.”
The woman was intoxicating, even the fresh air difficult to breathe. Not because I didn’t like or appreciate her choice of perfume, because I did.
Because I was eager to be with her when I wasn’t. Because I wanted to protect her. Because she created a level of desire that I wasn’t used to. Even my hands were sweaty as they’d been before.
She’d worn a dress that lightly hugged every curve, highlighting the very reason God had made women. Holy shit, she was stunning, the length highlighting her long legs that should be wrapped around my body.
Constantly.
Fuck. Allowing my brain to go off on tangents wasn’t a good idea.
One thing I did need to talk to her about was the dog. It would probably break my heart as much as Damon’s if the pup already belonged to someone.
She moved away from me and as soon as she did, I felt a huge sense of loss. Maybe I’d come on too strong in telling her all my woes. Hell, I hadn’t talked to anyone about how I felt or why I hadn’t been at work that day.
Sure, a couple of the jumpers knew how distraught I’d been, but sharing the ugly secret I’d been keeping with her meant I trusted her. A woman I’d just met. I shoved my hands into my pockets, watching as she settled Damon into the back of the Camaro.
I’d even wanted to impress her by driving my baby instead of the truck.
What did that say about me and about the woman with the killer long legs?
My goodness, I was far too into the girl, but what I’d told her had been the truth.
None of it meant we couldn’t enjoy tonight. Then I’d have a chat with the chief of police tomorrow about the park she’d been at. If there was any way of collecting fingerprints or other evidence, then maybe the police could put an end to this little reign of terror.
As soon as I climbed inside, I turned toward Damon. “Now, who’s up for a big, juicy burger?”
“With cheese?” he asked.
“Well, duh. What’s a burger without cheese? And you can even have bacon if you want.”
His eyes lit up just like his mother’s. “Bacon.”
“If that’s alright with your mother? Oops,” I said, laughing as I noticed her face.
“Yes, oops. But that’s fine. Let’s get going. Mama is hungry too.”
Whatever she’d been worried about had passed on the surface, but I sensed she was struggling to keep from showing any fear. What kind of asshole didn’t take care of his woman and child?
I dropped the subject.
For now.
As usual, Ziggy’s was packed. Given it was a warm June day, the outside speakers were on and classic rock was jamming through them. Which seemed to surprise her.
With her nose wrinkled, she stared at one of them as we headed to the entrance.
“Did you honestly think all we like around here is country music?” I nodded to a couple of the locals as we walked by.
“Well, this is the land of rodeos. That is pretty darn sexy, if you ask me.”
Man, when she threw me one of her overheated looks, I could instantly be putty in her hands.
“Ow. You have an uncanny ability to hurt me. I’d say you should have dinner with my brother except Kenzie might beat your ass.”
“From what I can tell, you probably made one hot cowboy.”
“Don’t bet on ever seeing that again. I was almost gored to death.” As soon as we walked inside, Damon was in awe. Their crowd was larger than usual for a Wednesday night.
“Wow,” she said. “The outside of the building is deceptive.”
“Tell me about it. They’ve built on twice since it opened. That was a long time ago. Let’s see if we can find Shannon before we grab a table. I think she has something for you.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can’t tell you or she’ll kick my ass.” I winked as I pushed our way through the crowd.
“Hey. Hey. There’s the local hero and his main squeeze.”
“Shut up, Marcus,” I snarled, using Rock’s real name.
“I’m Rock. If you get tired of this dude, I’m available.” He had one of his shit-eating grins on his face, already having consumed a few beers.
“Don’t mind him, brat. He’s a pain in everyone’s ass,” I told her.
She glanced from me back to him. “Rock? Now, what does that stand for?”
He leaned in so his head was almost on her shoulder. I could punch his face. “You’re going to need to find out.” He seemed to notice we weren’t alone. “And who is this monster of a man?”
“Damon Livingston.” Damon held out his hand.
“Well, Damon. I’m so glad to meet you.”
“Are you a smokejumper dude?”
“Damon, it’s not nice to call him a dude,” she chastised.
Rock laughed. He had the most gregarious laugh of all of us. “Young man, I’ve been called so much worse. You bet I’m a smokejumper like your mama’s boyfriend here.”
“Oh, we’re not…” both Violet and I said at the same time. She blushed. I didn’t.
I simply hungered deep inside, craving what I shouldn’t want.
Rock’s expression never changed. “Would you like to meet a couple other smokejumpers? We all tend to stay together.”
“Mom? Can I go? Please?”
She looked to me as if worried. “Contrary to his ugly mug, he’s a good guy.”
“Don’t bug them to death, son of mine,” she told him.
“Ah, Mom.” He rolled his eyes just before Rock took him away.
“Do all the smokejumpers have such large personalities?” She laughed while asking the question.
“Pretty much all of them. I think it’s a requirement to be a little weird to do the job. How about a drink?”
Violet nodded. “I think I could use one.”
“We both could. Let me introduce you to Shannon. You should watch out for her though. She’s feisty as hell.”
“You know I like the rough stuff.”
I’d be damned. She still had some sexy teasing abilities in her. “Don’t you dare say that to a man like me.”
The congratulations and ‘atta boys’ continued, which clearly amused my lovely companion. “You’re very popular.”
“Only cause I grew up here.”