Chapter 20
Bobby On The Beat
Dani kissed Lawson one more time before squirming down to her feet. With his strength, he could easily have kept her in the air, but he wasn’t a man to use his strength to control others. Instead, he used it to protect.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lawson took her hand and angled himself between her and Jeremy. She peeked around to see her brother-in-law slumped against the garage with his arms zip-tied behind his back.
Boomer stood not even a yard away, eyes trained on the man. Normally a gentle giant like Bibi, the shepherd appeared ready to rip the man to pieces.
Bibi had moved to stand with Dani and Lawson, always touching at least one of them. Dani ruffled her fur. “Thanks, Bibi. You and Boomer were amazing.”
Jeremy’s gaze moved from one person to the next, but always returned to Boomer. He didn’t say a word. His face was pale, and the sneering disdain she’d seen the other day was gone.
Gray stood next to Boomer, and the man didn’t look any friendlier than the dog. He scowled at Jeremy, who suddenly looked ready to cry.
Amber moved over to Dani and pulled her into a hug. Amber trembled slightly, and then she pulled her brother into a hug. Lawson wrapped his arms around them both, with Bibi shoving her head into the mix. Amber’s voice shook. “I’m so glad you’re both okay.”
Lawson’s voice was a growl. “Thanks to your call. You okay, sis?”
Amber nodded as she pulled back. Tears filled her eyes, but didn’t fall, and she smiled softly. Dani knew Amber had survived an encounter with violent armed men. Today must have brought back horrible memories for her. “I’m okay. It’s you two who were in danger. I’m glad Boomer could help.”
They all looked at the dog, who hadn’t taken his gaze off Jeremy. Amber smiled. “He’s a really good friend.”
Knox and Jolie walked up, both hugging Lawson and Dani. “Good job, guys. Glad you’re okay. Marcus Ramirez is on his way.”
Ford came out of the garage and nodded at them. “I didn’t touch anything, but there’s no danger of anything going boom, thanks to Dani.”
Lawson squeezed her. “What do you mean? What happened before I got here?”
She rolled her lips together for a second to keep her voice steady. “I was working on a new piece when Bibi growled. I shut down the welder and grabbed the phone to text you. Before I could do that, glass shattered behind me. He’d thrown a bottle with a flaming rag through the window.”
Lawson stiffened, and he turned. Before he could beat the shit out of her brother-in-law, Dani touched his arm. “Please don’t. He’s not worth it.”
“He tried to fucking kill you.”
“He failed. Thanks to you.”
Lawson kept his eyes locked on hers as he drew several ragged breaths. Then he pulled her in for another hug and held her for a few moments. She let his safety surround her.
“I figured he had to be waiting outside for me, but I still had to get us out.”
“You did the right thing.”
“I didn’t want the garage to blow up, so I put my welding helmet over the broken bottle. Then, I used one of the metal rods to slice through the cord connecting the flame to the bottle and shoved it aside while Bibi tugged at my dress to get me to move. Then we ran.”
Lawson hugged her again. “Smart, and brave as hell.”
This strong, incredible man trembled as he held her. “It’s okay, we’re all right.”
He chuckled and drew back. “That’s supposed to be my line. Did the bastard grab you when you left the garage?”
She nodded. “Bibi herded me out. She wouldn’t leave first. Jeremy was waiting.
” Another shudder ran through her, but she grounded herself with Bibi’s fur.
“Bibi barked and growled at him, but he held me between them. He was too strong, and I couldn’t get away.
I didn’t know if he had a gun or a knife, but Bibi wouldn’t let him get far when he tried to haul me away.
She herded him back to the garage, and Boomer arrived to help her.
They wouldn’t let him drag me to the car.
Then you were there, and you saved me. Thank you. ”
She swallowed hard against the emotion and snuggled into Lawson to borrow more of his strength.
He kissed her hair. “Using your welding helmet was brilliant. It wouldn’t surprise me if that move saved you and Bibi from burns.”
He didn’t say or worse, but Dani heard the words, anyway. She’d been thinking the same thing. “I’m guessing that my veto power disappears with me. He must need that merger badly.”
Lawson nodded, but when he turned back to approach Jeremy, she tugged his hand. “Don’t ruin Boomer’s fun.”
Lawson grinned, and she felt more of his tension dissipating. Beside them, Amber smiled. “Agreed. He’s trained for this, and he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to use his skills. Now that everyone’s safe, he’s having a great time.”
After a moment, Dani whispered. “Do you think my sister knew, or do you think Jeremy acted on his own?”
Lawson tugged her to his side. “I’m guessing she doesn’t have a clue. She seemed to really enjoy the conversations you’ve had. Do you think she’s a good enough actress to hide it if she’s part of this?”
She shrugged, but his words helped. “I don’t want to believe she knew anything about Jeremy’s actions. I felt like we were connecting, but I don’t know her well enough to know for sure.”
“Why don’t you call her?”
“I’m not brave enough. What if she was only talking to me to get those papers signed? Or worse, to get me out of the picture.”
Lawson rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “You’re brave enough for anything, but I’m betting the police would prefer you not to call yet. Once we talk to them, you can decide.”
That gave her a good excuse to put off the call.
It wasn’t much longer before a trail of vehicles arrived. A Phail squad car, a paramedic van, and a couple of electric vehicles.
Dani knew some of the people, and the others by reputation. Marcus Ramirez, police chief. Mitch Robison, a firefighter, and his wife Bella, an arson investigator. Lia Moreno, a doctor and her husband, Joe Cheveyo, one owner of Midnight Security.
All people she could trust.
The police chief sent an assessing gaze over the scene before moving to where she stood with Lawson. Marcus got straight to business. “I’m assuming the scene is secure, and there was only this one perpetrator?”
Lawson nodded. “Jeremy Beaumont, Dani’s brother-in-law, threw a Molotov cocktail through the garage window when Dani and Bibi were inside.”
Marcus’s face tightened as he turned his gaze to Dani. “You’re all right?”
She nodded. “We got lucky.”
Several people around her snorted. Lawson spoke up. “They got lucky because Dani’s brave and smart. She used her welding helmet to contain the bottle and the flame.”
Dani’s face flushed as Marcus grinned. “Nice move. I’m guessing this connects to the attempted fire the other night.”
She sighed. “I think so. Apparently, Jeremy wants that merger badly. He said he needed it for the money, that he’d be killed if he didn’t get it.”
The police chief nodded and turned to study Jeremy. The appearance of a uniformed police officer made his eyes widen further, and he tried to shift, but Boomer’s heavy growl stopped him.
Marcus didn’t smile until he turned his back on Jeremy. “Looks like Boomer’s having fun. Why don’t we go inside your home, and you can tell me everything that happened? Bella and Mitch will check out the garage. We’ll let Lia come with us, as she’ll want to know if you need her expertise.”
Lawson turned them toward the house. “Good idea. I’ll make some tea and coffee for everyone. We’ll let Beaumont rot there for a while longer.”
Dani’s shoulders sagged the moment the door closed behind them. Letting Jeremy rot sounded like an excellent idea.
Lawson made coffee and tea, then dug through the fridge to make sandwiches for everyone. He didn’t want to hover, but he wasn’t ready to let Dani out of his sight.
Marcus and Lia joined Dani at the table, while Bibi sat at Dani’s side, head in her lap.
Lawson grabbed one of her treats for her. He ruffled her fur. “You deserve this and more, Bibi. Thanks for keeping you both safe.”
Dani’s eyes misted, and she reached to squeeze his hand. Unable to sit still, he moved around the kitchen while listening to the conversation.
He wanted to rip Beaumont limb from limb, but that wouldn’t help Dani, so he put the energy into making a mountain of food for the group. Beaumont wasn’t getting a damn bite of anything.
The doctor, Lia, checked Dani’s vitals and asked questions to ensure she was physically well. Relief soared through Lawson when he heard that all the results were good. No lasting effects from whatever had been in the bottle.
Marcus gently guided Dani through what had happened, using simple questions to gather more details than Lawson had heard before. The man was damn good at his job.
Once Marcus was satisfied with what he’d heard, he rose.
“Time to assess the scene. From my initial observation, I don’t think Beaumont is strong enough to throw the bottle through the window so that it would land in the middle of the garage.
If he’d had help, Boomer or Bibi would have alerted us, so I’m assuming he used a device, and I want to find it.
I’m betting he didn’t wear gloves, or if he did, he tossed them quickly, and they’ll be on the scene as well.
Either way, we’ll use the items as further evidence against him. ”
Dani’s eyes widened, and Lawson moved to her side as she asked. “Do you need more evidence? Isn’t what you have enough to arrest him?”
Marcus grinned, and the smile didn’t bode well for Beaumont.
“I’m a cop. I always want more evidence.
There’s already more than enough to arrest him for assault, trespassing, and attempted kidnapping.
We’ll add vandalism, attempted murder, and probably a lot more to the list. He’s going straight from here to a jail cell, so don’t worry about that. ”