Only it’d be too late for poor, sweet, beautiful Katarina Jones.
By the time they arrived, the first floor had been consumed. People walked around the parking lot in a daze. Some cried. Some swore.
But all were beaten . . . by him. A nobody.
Chapter 14
Shawn had passed on the offer to join a bunch of the guys at the bar Friday night after shift ended. While his empty apartment held about as much appeal as a tooth extraction—free of anesthesia—he knew that with his current mindset it wouldn’t take much for Rodriguez to set off his temper. Even though the guy irritated him on a daily basis, he wasn’t the source of Shawn’s frustration. No, that privilege lay solely at his own feet. He’d been an ass, plain and simple, to Kat. No woman deserved to be treated like trash, especially not one who was a friend.
In another week, he’d be on his way home, ready to start a new job, and available to help his mom and cousin care for his grandma. There was one point last weekend where he’d actually thought about inviting Kat to come visit, maybe seeing if this thing they had was just a passing bout of lust or if there really was a connection between them. Thanks to his being a Class A ass, he could kiss any future chance with her goodbye.
But maybe not.
Groveling usually worked and he wasn’t too much of an idiot to be above the act of asking for forgiveness. He could go over to her apartment tomorrow morning, explain his actions and cowardice. Surely, she’d understand, after all, Kat wasn’t the vindictive type. She had a good heart which wouldn’t allow her to hold a grudge. Intelligent, so she’d see it was normal for a guy in his situation to freak out a little. Had a great sense of humor, and she’d probably find it quite humorous that he’d come groveling. Might even dish up an extra serving of crow or two for him to eat. He’d deserve it, would gladly eat every bite, if she’d given him another chance.
With a plan set, he headed off to bed, only to toss and turn. His mind reeled with what ifs. What if she didn’t give him a second chance? What if he’d just walked away from the one person he was supposed to be with? What if waiting until tomorrow was too late?
Throwing the covers aside, Shawn pulled his jeans, T-shirt and sneakers back on. Waking her up after midnight might be putting his life on the line—as he’d learned last weekend, the woman loved her sleep—but there’d be no sleep for him if he waited. Living in the apartment complex didn’t give him many options for when insomnia hit. Video games didn’t do much for him, an hour tops and then the restlessness would eat away at his patience until he was nothing but a ticking bomb about to explode. At home, he would have grabbed the b-ball and gone out and shot hoops until his mind cleared. But tonight, he’d face the sleeping tigress, claws and all.
Police cars, fire trucks, and various emergency vehicles blocked the parking lot for Kat’s condo, sending Shawn’s heart straight to his throat. Leaving the car parked somewhat illegally, he weaved in and out of people standing around. Some were in a daze, shocked that something like this could happen in their sleepy, safe little town. Others were jazzed, letting the flashing lights and sirens, the anticipation of having something to talk about, something unexpected and “big city” happen to them pump them full of adrenaline. It wasn’t that they really wanted anyone to get hurt. Some people got bored and grasped at any straw that came along to shake life up.
Shawn wasn’t in uniform, but his badge was out and most of the guys knew him anyway, as the county fire marshal.
“Marshal, they’ve almost got it out. Building C, can’t miss it. It’s the one that currently looks like a Fourth of July bonfire.” Yeah, firefighters had a warped sense of humor. You had to in order to run into a burning building, instead of staying outside where it was safe, and doing it over and over again.
Two people, an adult and a child, were being loaded onto gurneys as Shawn neared the scene. Fuck, he hated when kids were hurt. He spotted the captain from Camden Point and was headed in his direction to get a run-down, then he’d try to find Kat, when his arm was grabbed from behind.
Spinning around, he came face-to-face with a woman with jet-black hair. “You’re the fire inspector, right? Someone said that was you.” Waves of anger rolled off her, all of it directed at him, and he’d never laid eyes on her in his life.
“Yeah, but I don’t know anything yet.” He kept moving, making his way toward the smoking building.
“I’m a friend of Kat Jones.”
His gaze automatically shot to the empty parking spot in front of her burning apartment, and he sighed. “Looks like we’re in luck. She’s not here.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Are you sure?”
“Unless she went for a midnight walk—and trust me, she was in no condition to go anywhere. I brought her home from the bar. Drunk.”
He whipped out his phone, but the woman squeezed his arm. “She’s not answering her cell phone. Maybe they got her out already. Can you check with one of your buddies?”
“Come on. We’ll find her.” Shawn led the way past the barricade. “If that bastard’s hurt her, I’m going to kill him.”
“You might have to stand in line, Inspector. I’ve known Kat since we were in pigtails. While I’m willing to share the fun with you, we’ll both have to step aside for Lexie.” The woman elbowed her way through the crowd like a professional bouncer. “Let’s hope we get to him first, because there might not be anything left if she does. She gets home tomorrow, and when it comes to someone hurting Kat, let’s just say I’d rather face a T-Rex.”
“What’s your name?”
“Devin.”
“Good to know. Thanks, Devin.” The lump in his throat made speech difficult.
Sounded like he and Lexie had a lot in common, like family values. If someone were to hurt his cousin Sutter, he’d not only hunt down the perpetrator but be first in line to pound them into the ground. Funny, he’d never considered himself a violent man before Kat came into his life. Sure, he could hold his own if forced. But being around her brought out all these interesting and different facets of himself: marathon sex god, asshole, protective Neanderthal. Traits to make Mom proud.
Weaving in and out of the gawkers, he headed toward the lead truck and the fire chief in charge. Chaos reigned the closer he got with orders being shouted and men following instructions, water splashing off the building, dousing everything and everyone around and people in general going in every direction. Devin kept close on his heels. Shawn stopped a few of the firefighters he knew, trying to get information with no luck. Panic, like he’d never known before, rose swift and hard. They had to find Kat. Finally, one of them pointed toward the back of the condo. They had to take the long route down past the next set of condos as the side area was filled with equipment and men trying to put the blaze out. They didn’t need Shawn in their way and he didn’t need to interfere with their progress—it could mean the difference between life and death.
As they rounded the back of the building, he could see a ladder up against Kat’s building, aimed at her bedroom window. Shawn’s heart did a triple thud, his hand reached back to grab Devin to get her attention, then he let go and took off at a dead run. At the top of the ladder, one man passed an unconscious Kat to another, who carried her down. The firefighter shouldered Shawn out of the way, hustling Kat to the waiting ambulance. She needed attention and needed it fast. Shawn stayed quick on his heels, not caring now if he got in the other guys’ way or not. The only thing that mattered was Kat. She had to be okay. All night his gut had told him to get over here. To apologize and make up for being an ass. And now it might be too late.
Reaching the ambulance, the medics went to work right away, giving her oxygen, checking her pulse, blood pressure, and all the other vital signs. To Shawn, watching, it took forever, when he was sure in reality it was only a few seconds. But when his heart was being compressed by a vise grip, seconds passed at an agonizingly slow rate.
He was marginally aware of Devin pressed up behind him, tryi
ng to see Kat. The woman could wait, just like he had to do. As Kat struggled for breath, Shawn wanted to pound on something, someone, anything. To rip apart the person responsible for her pain. His vision zeroed in on Kat’s chest, watching it move with slow, deliberate motion. For every second that passed his anger climbed until he didn’t think he could take it anymore—and then her eyelids flew open. Confusion filled her lovely caramel eyes as they jetted back and forth before settling on him. Something else flashed across her face—anger, regret, blame, he wasn’t exactly sure—but before he could say anything it was replaced with relief.
She pushed her way to a sitting position on the gurney, craning her neck around the corner of the ambulance to look at her condo. Oh yeah, definitely anger this time. She tried to muscle her way off the gurney, but the paramedics wouldn’t let her.
“He’s going to pay,” she said as her eyes bored into Shawn’s soul.
“Good morning.”
“Go away,” she croaked.
“Come on Miss Sunshine.” Shawn tugged on the blanket.
“What time is it?”
“Six.”
“In the morning?” I need water. And aspirin. “Sorry, but my pillow and I are having an affair and it’s not over yet. You’ll have to come back later.”
“Come on, the day’s getting old.”
“Look, buddy.” Her head pounded and a nasty odor permeated the air, turning her stomach. “Sleep and I have a special relationship, one that requires no less than eight solid hours of togetherness every night.”
“Huh, and here I thought you’d be dying to get over to your condo and check out what’s left and see if our arsonist left any clues.”
Kat shot up in bed. Fire. That’s right, her condo had been set on fire last night. Wait, what I am doing in his bed? He’d better not have taken advantage. Not after dumping her ass like yesterday’s news.
“What were you doing at my place last night?” Pulling the blanket closer, she noted she wore one of his T-shirts and nothing else. She didn’t remember hitting her head or taking drugs, but she couldn’t remember much of last night either.
“I came to apologize.”
“I’m pretty sure we covered that . . . at the station.”
“Not really. You said what you deserved to say. I didn’t really get a chance to explain or to grovel for forgiveness.”
She held up her hand to stop him. “I’m really not in the mood for lies, Shawn. I just lost my home and everything in it. I don’t know why I’m here instead of at my parents’ house, or Lexie’s, or sleeping in my office, but I’m not up to listening to a bunch of crap. If you could just give me a ride to one of those places, that would be great.”
He leaned against the doorjamb, thumbs tucked into his front pockets. “You want a ride home in just my T-shirt or do you want your clothes back?”
Pulling the blanket tighter, Kat gave him her best steely-eyed stare. “Where are my clothes?”
Crossing his arms across his expansive and very delectable chest, he didn’t bat a lash.
“Fine, I’m listening,” she said.
He sat down next to her, bumping his leg against hers, the heat radiated through the blanket searing her skin. “I was a jerk, okay? Tuesday, I got to work and the chief pulled me into his office, took me off the case, and handed me a stack of inspections and school visits he wanted done before I left.”
“This is after we searched for Sara?”
“Yep, and she’s still missing.”
“You’ve been looking for her, haven’t you?” Kat’s heart twisted because she felt his worry for the girl, understood his frustration at not being able to help.
“Every fucking night without any luck.”
“I’ve had Ashley going door-to-door looking for our arsonist, but I’ll reassign her to finding Sara. It’s her area.”
“Why would you do that? You’re not getting paid to find Sara.”
“Are you trying to piss me off by asking stupid questions when I’m tired?”
He grinned and headed into the kitchen, where she could smell the nectar of the gods brewing. She padded after him only because she needed caffeine almost as much as she needed air.
“Sorry,” he said, handing her a cup.
Once she’d taken a few sips of coffee, she eyed him. “I believe you were in the midst of groveling.”
His coffee forgotten at his side, he kicked back against the counter. “At first, I was pissed because I knew the order meant I wouldn’t get to spend as much time with you. We had so little time left as it was. By the end of the day I’d turned into a snarling beast of an asshole ready to punch out the next person who said ‘hi’ to me. I meant to call. I kept running out of time. By the time I got home each night it was late.”
“Cheap excuse.”
Standing up, Kat walked over to look out the window and put the space between them, give her some air to breathe.
“True. The thing is, it’s the truth. I wasn’t pissed because of the workload the chief had given me or because I wasn’t working the arson case, it was because I missed you so badly, I literally ached inside.”
“Ignore me. That’s a funny way to show that you missed me.” She kept her gaze on a dog and boy playing outside so Shawn couldn’t see how much his words hurt.
“Yeah. When I realized how I felt, I figured the chief gave us an easy way out. You know, cut out now before we got involved any deeper and we both got hurt when I left.”
Heat from his body radiated toward hers, telling her he was now behind her at the window.
“I should have called and explained. Told you what was going on in my head. I really am sorry. The last week has been hell and when you showed up yesterday, I can’t even begin to explain how I felt at first. But when you left, I felt like the lowest form of life on the planet. Think you can forgive me?”
Turning around, Kat, held her ground, trying not to breathe too deeply because at this close range it wouldn’t take much to let his spicy, clean scent intoxicate her. “I do wish you had called and talked to me. I would have understood, honestly. I don’t have a problem being your friend, Shawn, but I can’t ever be your lover again. I wasn’t asking for a lifetime commitment, just mutual respect.” She refused to think too deeply about how she too owed someone a conversation. This wasn’t the same thing. Lexie was her best friend and would understand. And it wasn’t like she was ghosting her, unlike what Shawn had done to Kat.
He gazed out the window for a few moments and Kat watched the war of emotions play out in his eyes and along his jawline. The man was smoking hot and there was no denying he set her body on fire, but she refused to be treated like trash ever again.
“I could tell you I do respect you. We could spend all day hashing it back and forth, which isn’t going to get us anywhere. For now, my past actions are going to speak louder than my words. However, I will change that, Kat, so my actions match my words. I don’t want to leave here with you hating me.” He cupped the side of her face, with his thumb caressing her cheek. It took everything Kat had not to nuzzle into his embrace.
“Your friend, Devin, said you were drunk last night. Was that because of me?” he asked.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” She looked around the apartment and back into those moody hazel eyes. “Maybe you could tell me one other thing?”
Stepping back, he reached for his coffee. “What’s that?”
“How is it I came to be in just your T-shirt?”
“I washed your clothes for you last night.”
By the time Kat showered, dressed and they ate breakfast—Shawn had once again cooked her the full deal—it was almost nine when they walked out of his apartment. She was still reeling over the fact that he’d washed her clothes when they had arrived at his apartment after midnight, so she’d have fresh ones to wear this morning. That was the second time he’d done that for her. As they neared her condo complex her insides bunched up, shooting pain into her sternum, air sitting heavy in her
lungs. Lexie and Rafe had arrived home early and had already heard about the fire—when you lived in a small town and were a police detective, or married to one, you knew everything—and had called Devin trying to find Kat this morning. Devin in turned called and texted Shawn a message, something about time to face a T-Rex.
Pulling into the parking lot, the charred building loomed large, stealing all of Kat’s attention. She stumbled out of Shawn’s car the moment it rolled to a stop. Standing on the walk leading to her front door, tears rolled down her cheeks. Black and gray streaks marred the once white siding. All of her pretty flowers were trampled, tattered remains half buried in the mud. The door was gone. The windows were bare and open, her curtains burned up. What had once been her living room was a soggy mess of charred lumber. The adjoining condo matched hers. Thank goodness her cat had escaped and was safe with Mrs. Krepke.
An arm slid around her waist. Kat knew without looking, without anything being said, that it was Lexie, her best friend in the whole wide world. Together they stood staring at the mess that had once been her life. A strong hand squeezed her left shoulder and warmth radiated all around her as Rafe stood on the opposite side of her, also looking at the mess.
“Kat—” Lexie started.
“No, it’s okay, I’m okay, sweetie. What’s gone is just stuff and stuff can be replaced.” Kat turned and gave Lexie a big hug and then Rafe. Dang, it was so good to have her family back. “Have you heard about Bonnie and Ty next door? Are they okay?”
Slowly they walked toward the car and Rafe filled her in. “Both had to be kept in the hospital overnight for smoke inhalation and observation, some minor burns and cuts. They should be released in a day or so. The firefighters got them out before you. Everyone thought you weren’t home as your car wasn’t here, but lucky for us, Mrs. Krepke saw you.”
“She has my cat.”
“It’s okay, we’ll pick up Pye soon.”
Kat introduced the two of them to Shawn, before turning to scan the parking lot. “I think either Devin has my car or I left it at the Grill last night. Lexie, can you call her and find out for me? Also, ask her if she has my purse. If not, I need to head to the bank, and then go shopping and then I’m going to go find me an arsonist and kick his ass.”
Before the Dawn Page 20