Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Raidon
Thane is finally heading back from the sanctuary. He surprises me by saying he is bringing Curtis back with him. Here I am, thinking that monster would be dead already.
On the bright side, the authorities will be waiting when their plane lands to take him into custody. Perhaps that is better than letting Thane kill him.
I completely understand my mate’s need for vengeance, but ridding the world of a piece of shit like Curtis would only be a fleeting pleasure. The guy would be gone, but that’s it. He doesn’t get to take the easy way out of the shit he’s created.
Now, Curtis will have to face the consequences of his actions, even if we won’t be the ones to deliver said consequences.
He is also necessary if we’re going to shut down the sanctuaries.
His testimony will be front page news and cause an uproar.
Corbin won’t be able to keep it quiet, and it will be even more damaging that the son and brother of the biggest sanctuary owners acts as their whistleblower.
“Rhen must be asleep already. I can’t reach him,” Leon announces, pulling me out of my thoughts. My eyes are still focused on the surveillance screen.
I’m about to say something, but out of nowhere, I smell something that reeks of burning plastic. The stench is so strong that I can taste it in the back of my throat.
Half of the building, if not more, was destroyed. Everything is covered in soot, and the contents in the rooms on the lower floors is completely gone. Yet structurally, the building is still sound.
Moving the mouse, I click on the next video.
We had a rough time when the fire first broke out, but now that I search the security footage, I’m realizing that the angles for some of our cameras are terrible.
We can’t see anything. There are too many blind spots.
As I fast-forward to the correct time, Leon peers at the screen, noticing something I missed.
“Wait! Go back. Who’s that?” He points a finger at the screen and I grab the mouse again.
The rear loading dock takes up most of the image as I rewind the video a few minutes back.
I furrow my eyebrows, wondering what Leon might have seen.
I can barely make out the footage, but in the background, I notice the smoke shop on the street behind our building.
The light flicks off as the owner and key cutter opens the door to leave the shop.
“Ah, it’s just Vadum,” I mutter, about to fast-forward again when Leon asks me to rewind more. As I reach for the mouse, I notice a movement on the screen. I pull back my hand and keep watching the video.
Vadum starts walking across the road. He then stops to talk with someone I can’t quite make out because they are wearing a leather jacket and a beanie.
However, as my eyes carefully look them both over, I notice an important detail. The person Vadum is talking to is wearing thigh-high boots. That, and with what I can see of their silhouette, is enough to tell it is a woman.
My eyes follow the scene with newfound interest. What on earth is happening here? And why is Vadum acting like he’s sneaking around? I guess Leon did notice something important.
Vadum unlocks his car, and the woman hops in the passenger seat. She looks like she is in a hurry, while Vadum cautiously continues to cross the road. I furrow my brows as Vadum leans down, checks his surroundings, and pulls a hood over his head.
I hold my breath as I watch him approach the back of our building. I see security come into frame. They are doing their rounds, checking the doors and the perimeter. Vadum hides in some shrubs when he notices them.
Yeah, this is definitely suspicious behavior. Vadum waits for the security guards to finish their rounds and leave before he walks over to the huge roller door. He then pulls a bottle out from the pocket of his hoodie.
A part of me can’t believe I’m actually seeing what is happening on the screen, but I keep watching regardless of my doubts.
Vadum sets the bottle down before he starts rummaging in his back pocket, finally pulling out what looks like a key.
“Motherfucker!” Leon growls at the screen when we watch Vadum unlock the door. He then pulls a lighter out of his pocket, sets the accelerant on fire, and tosses the burning bottle onto the packing boxes and travel blankets behind the door.
Vadum shuts the door casually, as if he hadn’t just set anything on fire or committed a crime.
He quickly turns around, drops his head, and jogs back to his car.
He doesn’t bother to glance over his shoulder, completely carefree about everything happening behind him.
Hell, he didn’t even bother to check if anyone was inside the damn building, people he would have left to burn alive.
I keep watching as Vadum hops inside his car and takes off with the mysterious woman. It takes a couple minutes before the safety alarm goes off, alerting everyone to the fire.
“I bet you that’s where Harlow got the key cut when she was sleeping in the loading docks. That bastard must have cut himself a copy too,” Leon groans, clutching his hair in frustration.
“But why would he?” I ask. What motive could Vadum have to set the fire? We’ve known him for years and never had any issues. “This makes no sense,” I voice my thoughts to Leon.
Before he can say anything, I grab my phone to call Thane. But as soon as I pull up his number, I remember he is probably still on the plane. For now, the safest option is to use the mind-link. At least he isn’t driving, so I won't distract him from the road.
As I open the mind-link, Thane answers instantly, as if someone already alerted him that I am about to dump the news before I opened the link.
'What’s up? Any news on the culprit?' he asks.
'Leon noticed something on the security tape. It was Vadum. He was with some woman, but neither of us can identify her,' I growl.
Thane’s confusion comes through the bond loud and clear. The feeling is way louder than a thousand words he might have shouted.
'Vadum?' He repeats the name as if he thinks he misunderstood me. 'Have we ever had any issues with him before?' Thane quickly adds.
I try to think of literally any reason why Vadum would try to sabotage us. 'None that I know of. What do you want us to do besides report it?'
Thane hums. 'First, find Vadum. And then find out who the woman is. Are you sure she isn’t anyone you or Leon recognize?' Thane asks.
Leon pulls his phone from his pocket. I know he tried to mind-link Rhen earlier and didn’t get an answer. I watch as he calls the house phone. Still getting no answer, he tries Rhen’s cell.
I focus back on Thane. 'No idea. The woman was too far away, and she was wearing a beanie. It did look like she was purposefully disguising herself, though. She jumped in the car, Vadum set the fire, and then they drove off together,' I tell him.
'Call Rhen, too. I can’t get a hold of him,' Thane tells me.