Chapter 11
A soft murmur roused Aiden from sleep. He blinked in the darkness. Desiree lay pressed against his chest, her arms tucked into his heat and her nose against his breastbone. Her lithe, naked body beneath the sheets immediately stirred his cock.
The sex with Desiree had been another ten out of ten. The first night’s amazingness could have been attributed to the connection they’d felt that evening combined with need and liquid courage. Now he knew for sure it was so much more.
Not a fluke.
Maybe if he held her this tightly all night she wouldn’t escape from his bed.
Now that was a fucked-up thought. He’d never hold her down if she wanted to leave, but he hated that he was afraid to wake up and find her gone.
She owed him nothing. This was sex. Casual and consensual.
Nothing more nothing less. She had every right to run off if she wanted, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Least of all hold her in place.
If she left in the morning, he’d be really disappointed he hadn’t gotten to taste her again. Who knew if he’d ever get her back in his bed? He stroked his fingers down the cavern of her spine. She let out a sigh and snuggled closer.
Nah, she was too tired. He’d just have to hope she stayed in place for the night, and in the morning, he’d bury his face between her legs and prove to her that sharing his bed was worth it—
Buzz, buzz
He jerked toward the noise. His phone lit up the nightstand. After easing Dez out of his arms and tucking the blankets around her, he picked up the device.
He was on call, and rarely did anything happen when he was on call. Of course the night Dez slept over all hell would break loose. He grabbed his briefs from the floor, stepped into them, and swiped the green button on the screen. “Hello?” he asked, as he slipped out of the bedroom.
“Hey, Aiden. It’s Mary. Sorry to bother you so late.” The dispatcher’s voice was laced with genuine regret.
If she only knew what she was interrupting . . .
“It’s okay, Mar. What’s up?”
“We’ve got a fire on Main Street. The fire department’s taking care of it, but since it’s connected to a case you’re working on, I figured you’d want to know.”
His body tensed. “What’s on fire?”
“It’s uh . . .” She cleared her throat. “It’s Desiree Zimmerman’s store. Raven’s Nest.”
He slammed his palm against the wall. “Fuck.”
“I guess police tried to reach her but there was no answer. They got ahold of the store manager, Louise, and she’s there now.”
“All right. I’ll be right there.” He hung up and went back to the bed. Sitting on the mattress, he gripped Dez’s shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. “Honey, you need to wake up.”
She rubbed her eyes, rolled onto her back, and winced. “What time is it?”
“It’s after two. There’s been a fire at your store.”
She bolted into a sitting position. “What? Oh my god!” She threw back the covers and stumbled from the bed.
He switched on the bedside lamp and a warm yellow glow filled the room.
“Why didn’t anyone call me? I can’t believe . . . oh my god. Everything must be ruined.” A sob caught in her throat. She pulled on her underwear, then her dress, her fingers fumbling over the buttons, missing more than one on the way.
She jammed her arms into the sleeves of her cardigan and then scooped up her phone. “Crap, my ringer was off.”
He stood and held her elbows. “It’s going to be okay.”
Her brows came together in a sharp line. “No, it’s not. Books, incense, cards, crystals . . . it’s all destroyed.”
“We don’t know how bad it is yet. But you have insurance. These things can be taken care of. All that matters is you and your staff are safe.”
She rubbed her palm between her eyes. “You’re right.” Releasing a deep breath, she nodded. “Okay, can we go now? I need to see for myself.”
“You bet.” He pulled on his pants and shirt and shoved his phone in his back pocket. Then he grabbed his holster and strapped his gun on and followed Dez out of the room.
He’d said what he could to calm her. The last thing she needed was his anger on top of everything, but goddammit, when he found out who was targeting Dez he’d put his fist through their fucking face.
Ten minutes later they pulled onto Main Street.
Emergency-vehicle lights blipped over the sky in a strobing of red, white, and blue, making the sleepy town square eerily vibrant.
Orange flames licked up the top floor of the shop—if he wasn’t mistaken it was a vacant apartment unit—and black smoke billowed over the night sky. Firefighters hosed down the flames.
“Oh my god.” Dez’s choked moan cut through him.
He pulled up against the curb three stores away and she shoved open the door and ran. He hopped out and broke into a jog as well, ripping out his badge when police tried to push Dez away.
“It’s all right. She’s with me.” He circled his arm around her, pulling her to his side so she’d stay away from the fire but also so she didn’t have to get behind the barricades like the few onlookers.
The cop nodded and went back to business. In a minute, Aiden would find out what they knew. For now, Dez needed his comfort.
“I—I just can’t believe it.”
He winced at the damage. Even from where he stood, he could see into the store, thanks to the plastic that had been over the window that was now molten ash. Most of what he could see inside was black, and water had ruined what the flames hadn’t.
Turning his gaze to Dez, his heart melted like one of the books inside. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her dream was demolished, her personal space violated. Goddamn.
Could have been a fire that started upstairs, or a freak accident from something left running in the shop. Numerous things could have started the blaze, but the inkling in Aiden’s gut told him this was an act of vandalism.
After all that had happened—the window, the attack, someone sneaking inside Dez’s home? No, it sure as shit wasn’t a coincidence. And the reckless perp was moving at breakneck speed, torching as much as they could in Dez’s life before they unavoidably got caught.
The attacker was here. In Whistlemore. Right now, and possibly watching the whole fucking fiasco just to get their jollies. He pulled Dez close. “You need to hold your head high, babe. Don’t give the person who did this the satisfaction of breaking you.”
Her throat moved and her lip trembled, but she hiked her chin. “I’m going to kill them.”
He gripped her waist, turning her to face him.
“No, you’re not. But I will catch them. I fucking promise you.
This has gone too far. I want you to stay with Louise or McKenna tonight while I get to the bottom of this.
” The oral performance he had planned for the morning would have to wait.
Not that she’d want him now that her store was ablaze anyway.
She nodded.
“Let me find out what happened, okay? Louise should be here. Why don’t you ask around and find her?”
Dez nodded, folding her arms under her breasts. His stomach constricted with unspent rage. She didn’t deserve this shit and he’d been too caught up falling for her to prevent the person from starting the fire. He’d been stupid. Missed something.
He strode over to Hank. The old sheriff’s face was grim and tense. “Any leads on how the fire started?” Aiden asked.
Hank blew a breath through his lips and shoved his hands in his pockets, watching the constant flow of firefighters on the scene.
“It was arson. No doubt about it. They found the gas can in the back parking lot and signs of forced entry through the rear door. Looks like they doused the books in fuel, lit it, and ran.”
Aiden kicked a stone. “Fuck.”
“How about you? Any perps yet?”
“I brought her stepfather, Raymond Lester, in for questioning. Do you remember I put his file on your desk?”
Hank nodded, swiping his wrist over his forehead. “Yeah, yeah. He just got out of jail. Had an alibi, though.”
“Yeah, receipts. Kind of hard to fake, and they checked out with his bank. But we’re only three hours from Denver. He could make that drive in a night.”
“Not convenient, but yeah, it could be done. Especially to keep things on the up-and-up to hold an alibi.”
“I’ll bring him in again. He’s staying at the Peak’s Cove.”
“All right. Keep me posted,” Hank said, with a flick of his hand.
Aiden strode away from the scene. First, he needed to secure a place for Dez for the night. Then, he wasn’t going to stop working until the person tormenting her was behind bars.
* * *
Dez circled the scene. Still no sign of Louise. She had to be here. No way she would have gone home. Her phone buzzed in her cardigan pocket. She dug inside and stared at the screen.
Louise, thank goodness.
The little ball of worry unraveled. “Hey,” Dez said. “I’m here at the . . . store.” She gulped over the word. Could she even call it that anymore when it was mostly ash and soot? “Did you go home?”
“No, I’m sitting in my car. Can you w-walk south?”
Dez frowned. She searched the crowd. Aiden was speaking with Hank and she didn’t want to disturb him, so she turned south and headed away from the fire. The lack of heat made the chill in her bones run deeper.
“Sorry, I had to take a breather.”
“It’s fine.” Dez passed Aiden’s car. Three more were parked behind his.
She spotted Louise’s blue Toyota and quickened her pace.
The commotion faded away. A blanket of calm seemed almost reachable.
If she didn’t think about all that had been lost—the items and the store, and jobs—she’d be able to refocus.
She approached the Toyota. Louise sat in the front passenger seat . . . and someone sat next to her.
A sharp voice replaced Louise’s over the phone. “Get in the back.”
Dez’s heart stopped. Tears coursed down Louise’s cheeks, and black mascara tracks marred her normally pristine complexion.
Dez spun her head toward the crowd. She opened her mouth to scream.
“Try it and Louise is dead,” the voice said in her ear.
Dez brought her attention back to the car. The person dressed in all black and wearing a dark ski mask lifted a gun to Louise’s temple. All the blood drained from Dez’s head. Nausea tightened its grip on her stomach, squeezing until she couldn’t breathe.
Lowering her phone, she grabbed the handle and slid into the back seat. Panic crowded her mouth. The urge to scream and alert someone was so great it almost overtook her. But she couldn’t risk Louise getting hurt.
“Let her go and I’ll cooperate,” Dez said.
The car pulled away from the curb and whizzed by the store. Dez spotted Aiden searching the crowd. For her.
“Hand over your phone.”
She didn’t budge.
“Do it now.” The gun still aimed at Louise’s head made a clicking sound, ready to go off.
Dez slid the phone onto the console. The attacker grabbed the device and rounded a corner then looked at Louise. “Get out.”
“Oh heavens,” Louise sobbed. “Don’t hurt her!”
“Out. Now. You old hag.”
Dez reached forward, clasped Louise’s shoulder, and squeezed. “I’ll be fine. Get yourself to safety.” She kept the tremor out of her voice, even though part of her wanted to get out and run with Louise.
We might make it . . .
Dez lowered her gaze to the gun pointed at Louise’s side. She couldn’t take a chance.
Louise turned tear-filled eyes to her and swallowed. Then a hard glint overtook the older woman’s eyes. Her message was clear: She’d get to Aiden.
Louise opened the door and climbed out then broke into a run. The shop was only about six blocks away.
The driver yanked off the ski mask and a head of blonde hair spilled out. Dez sucked in her breath. The woman turned and slid a nasty smile her way. “Hi, Desiree, nice to finally get you alone.”
Meredith Wilkes.
She sped away from the side of the road. Dez’s head spun with the movement and the revelation of who’d been targeting her.
She sat back in her seat and clutched the door handle.
“Don’t think about jumping out,” Meredith spat, lifting her gaze to the rearview mirror. “I’ll be sure to reverse and run over your stupid ass. And don’t think for one minute Louise can get to help fast enough. It’ll take her a while to reach the police and we’ll be long gone.”
Dez narrowed her gaze at Meredith. “What do you want from me?”
The sucking sensation of fear pulled at her insides, but she wouldn’t cower from this monster.
“You’re about to find out.” Meredith flashed her another grin then stomped on the gas pedal. She sailed through a stop sign and onto Pioneer Road.
Away from civilization and into the woods.
Dez needed a plan.
Now.