The police and insurance people would want to determine the cause of the fire. She’d be most interested to see what they discovered.
“Hey,” Riley hugged her close to him again. He’d been so attentive ever since she’d woken up that she now felt guilty. He’d been in the heat of this fire and had saved Leo’s life. Yet he was the one trying to cheer her up. If anything, she should have been the one looking after him.
Riley was right, going inside would only cause her more anguish. If there was any consolation in all this, it was that Leo was alive and that her office, at least, appeared to be intact.
She pulled away from him and looked through the gap in the door once more. As if staring at the blackened debris again would help her to believe that this was real and not just a bad dream. Nothing was recognizable. She pushed the door wider and looked to the side where Ava’s stock used to be; it was a mess of burned boxes. The display items she’d lovingly arranged were gone and in their place were heaps of ash.
“It looks like the fire spread down towards the door,” she said, turning to Riley.
“It did,” he said, taking her hand and starting to walk away. “It hadn’t reached the office but it was spreading very quickly along the warehouse floor. It must have been all those cardboard boxes you had. The firefighters arrived as I got out. They came just in time.”
“Thank goodness they did.” She swept her hair back from her face and drew out a sigh. “I don’t know what to tell Ava. She had so much stock here and I don’t know how to tell her that it’s all gone.”
“You don’t want to spoil her honeymoon.” Riley reminded her. “Don’t stress too much about your friend for now, Andrea. You’ve got a lot of things to think about. Don’t worry, I’m here, I’ll help you get through this.”
She nodded, deeply grateful for having him by her side. He’d been a tower of strength ever since this had happened.
“You can start again. You can. Your insurance would cover all of this, wouldn’t it?”
“It should do.”
“There you go. It’s not the end of the world. Material things are replaceable.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, beginning to well up again. He lifted her hand up and kissed it. “I’m going to help you through this, Andrea.”
She managed a smile. “Shall we go?” she asked.
“Where?”
“To the hospital. I need to know how Leo is.”
* * *
They turned up at the hospital as soon as opening hours commenced. Leo’s gaze fell to Andrea as soon as they walked in and he attempted a smile. Riley held his breath. He didn’t know what to expect from the injured man and he felt his insides liquefy when Leo’s eyes met his. In the next moment Leo smiled at him and Riley breathed out.
“How are you feeling?” asked Andrea.
“I’m not sure,” Leo replied. “The stitches hurt. My head hurts. I feel confused.” Riley listened carefully.
“You’re looking a lot better than you did last night,” said Andrea, easing into the chair by his side.
“You were here last night?” He expressed surprise. “I don’t remember.”
“Because you were asleep.”
“What time was it?”
“It must have been around two in the morning.”
“That late and you came to see me?” He seemed touched by the thought. Riley felt his muscles tighten as he stood at the foot of the bed, watching.
“Grab another chair from outside,” Leo insisted.
“I’m fine.” Riley replied.
“Is it true?” Leo asked Andrea. “I mean, they told me what happened but I still find it hard to believe. Did it? Did it really happen?”
“It did.”
“The warehouse is all burned down? Everything inside it as well?”
She nodded. “The office seemed to be fine, but I haven’t been inside yet. Riley didn’t think it was wise.”
Leo closed his eyes as though it was difficult to take such news in. “I don’t remember a thing at all. All I remember is waking up here. I couldn’t believe it when the doctors told me I’d been rescued from a fire. I had a head injury and I’d taken in a lot of smoke. Gianna told me the same and I can’t recall one single moment of it. It feels strange to be told things you have no recollection of being a part of.” He stared in Riley’s direction. “She told me that you saved my life, Riley. A ‘Thank you’ somehow doesn’t sound like enough.”
Riley kept quiet. He didn’t want to say too much, he didn’t want Leo’s memories to come flooding back. It was sheer luck that the man seemed to have forgotten what had happened that day. It bought him a few days, if that. A little more time so that he could decide his next course of action.
He was on tenterhooks as it was. The whole time he’d been waiting for Andrea to get back last night, he kept thinking how he had made things worse, not better.
“It’s lucky you were there,” said Andrea, giving him a faint smile.
“Yeah,” he replied, casting an eye at Leo who seemed miles away. “How bad is the pain?”
“Bad. But I’m on all kinds of medication and it helps though this is starting to wear off now and I’ll need more medication soon. All I really want is to go home.”
“I don’t understand it, Leo,” Andrea said, as lines formed on her brow. “I don’t understand how the fire started. We didn’t have anything flammable in the warehouse, did we?”
Leo shook his head.
Riley’s heart crashed. He didn’t want Andrea to go down this route; didn’t need her to figure out what might have happened or for Leo to remember.
“Where were you?” Leo asked Andrea.
“I went to Milan, to see new suppliers. Do you remember that?”
Leo shook his head. “Now that you’ve told me, it’s starting to come back but the doctors say my short term memory could take days or weeks, maybe months. But it will come back.”
“That’s good,” said Andrea. “Do you remember what happened on the day? Anything about the fire? You and me talking on the phone? Ava called you?”
He shook his head. He couldn’t remember anything about that day. “Is it all gone? All the stock?” He asked again.
“It’s replaceable,” said Andrea bravely. “The stock is the last thing you should worry about. Get well quickly and we’ll figure out the rest of it later.”
Riley walked over to the window and looked out. Listening to the two of them talking told him it wouldn’t be long before they figured everything out. And once the police smelled something, it wouldn’t be long at all before they were onto him.
It was a dangerous game he was playing but he was in a desperate place.
He’d reacted and had rushed things. This was something he’d never done before and as careful as he’d tried to be, reading up as much as he could, he wasn’t sure that he hadn’t left any evidence behind. Disposing of the kerosene and turpentine containers had been easy enough. Even easier than getting hold of the stuff a few days ago. But at that time he never thought he’d need it.
This whole sorry mess had gotten completely out of control because of Leo and his interfering ways. Riley wished he’d stayed calm when he’d mentioned the wedding. But he had a feeling that Leo had mentioned the wedding in response to Riley claiming he wanted to make an honest woman of Andrea. That’s what had made Leo respond that way by asking about the other engagement.
That was what had caused this whole goddamn shitfest that he was now in. If ever Riley needed proof that the man had feelings for Andrea—no matter how well he tried to disguise them—this was the proof. Riley had pushed the last button. He’d wanted to hit Leo where it hurt.
It was obvious that the man had been looking for dirt on him. He must have contacted the hotel and got some information on him. News about the wedding could only have come from the Villa Costanza.
The girl’s family had been rich and being with her had taught him a lesson. A wealthy family would more closely ex
amine his suitability. He hadn’t wanted to get married in the first place, and had been hoping for a long drawn out engagement. But he’d done a better job on her than he’d thought.
She’d become smitten by him. Had fallen head over heels in love with him. But one casual encounter and it had all fallen through. How was he supposed to know her father had hired a detective to track his every move? Photos of him in bed with a waitress surfaced quickly and before he could hitch up his pants, the wedding was off.
It should have taken place the weekend he’d met Andrea at the Villa Costanza. The only reason he’d gone there that weekend was because he’d had a couple of good trades and he was feeling extravagant. He didn’t need the girl’s money to stay at a place like the Villa Costanza. He could afford it himself and a weekend living the indulgent high life made him feel better.
A weekend at the Villa Costanza reinforced his idea that he needed nobody.
And then he’d met Andrea. What a prize. What a serendipitous meeting that had turned out to be.
He could have had his happily ever after. He could have, if Leo had kept out of it. He shouldn’t have risen to the bait. He shouldn’t have told Leo that he had any intention of wanting to marry Andrea. He wasn’t even sure himself yet. It was another option. But he’d been so eager to smash that smile off the man’s face that he’d experienced great pleasure in stabbing the man with his words.
He was starting to realize that the truth always did come out in the end. A man like Leo would unearth every piece of it. In all of this, in the attempt to preserve himself and do what was right for him, he’d acted quickly, eager to use the small window of time when Andrea was away. In his haste he hadn’t thought it through or considered the consequences.
He hadn’t stopped to think that in getting rid of Leo, he was also ruining Andrea’s business.
Now he wouldn’t be able to ask her to lend him the money. Maybe he ought to just take it and run.
“Are you alright?” asked Andrea, walking up to him.
He turned and looked at her.
“We thought we lost you.”
“I wanted to let you both catch up,” he said.
“We should go and let Leo get some rest.”
Riley nodded at Leo. “Make sure you get some rest.”
“Thanks for coming.”
They walked back silently towards Andrea’s car. “What were you doing there?” she asked suddenly.
“Where?”
“At the warehouse—on the day of the fire.”
He tried to think. “I misplaced one of my laptop screens. Couldn’t find it in the apartment so I thought I might have left it at the coffee shop a few days earlier. Why?”
“Oh, no reason,” said Andrea, opening her car door. “I wasn’t sure why you were at the warehouse when you knew I’d gone to Milan.”
“I had a feeling I might have left it there.”
“Did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Find it?”
“Yes.”
36
“Everything burned down, except the office. And the stock—it’s all gone.” It still sounded surreal, saying it out aloud, even though she’d seen the place for herself. There was nothing left to salvage. Her warehouse looked nothing like the place she had lovingly built up.
“I’m sorry, Andrea. You must be devastated. How are you?” Nico spoke in hushed whispers which made her wonder where Ava was.
“It’s a serious blow. I didn’t ever imagine that I’d have to deal with anything like this.”
“How did it start?”
“I’m still not sure. Where’s Ava?” she asked.
“She’s having a pregnancy massage.”
“Where are you?”
“In the spa waiting for her. I’m trying to catch up on my emails and various correspondence. We’ve made a pact not to be on our laptops for too long.”
“You took your laptops on honeymoon?”
“You’d do the same,” Nico answered.
No danger of me going on honeymoon anytime soon.
Nico continued. “We allowed ourselves an hour during the day to check emails and so on.” Andrea almost smiled at the thought of Nico in business mode, sitting in a chic hotel spa, trying to discreetly work. She had no illusions that Ava was probably doing the same when she felt he wasn’t watching her.
“I’m sorry, Nico. I wasn’t sure how to break this news to you.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m glad you told me.”
“I didn’t want to tell you at this time, but I think Ava needs to know. She had a huge shipment that I delayed getting out and that’s been destroyed too. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have waited. And Nico,” she paused and took a breath. “The police aren’t ruling out arson.”
“Arson? Why?” He seemed to scoff at the idea.
Now that a few days had passed and her insurance company had come out to inspect the site, they’d also brought along their specialists. They no longer believed that the fire had been caused by an electrical fault, as the police had initially thought. Now, there was a suspicion that it had been started deliberately.
“Why would anyone burn down your warehouse? Who are your competitors?” Nico asked her.
She tried to think. She didn’t have any competitors; at least nobody that she saw as a competitor. Hers wasn’t a competitive business. She didn’t own market share. She wasn’t an innovator or manufacturer. All she did was to connect products with sellers and Ava was her biggest client, so far.
“I don’t have any, at least none that I can think of. You know my business, Nico. It’s not sexy enough to attract competitors.”
“I can’t understand why anyone would try to burn it down. Unless it was for revenge, or...or,” Nico seemed to have trouble coming up with valid reasons.
“I don’t believe it was a deliberate incident, either.”
She was leaving it to the insurance company to carry out their own investigation.
“The only reason I’m calling you is because I’m worried about Ava. She needs to know about her shipment that burned down.” She heard him moving, heard some static on the phone but no answer from him. “Nico? What’s that noise?”
“I’ve moved outside,” he explained. “Ava will be out soon and I don’t want her to suspect anything. Have you told Rona?”
“No. You’re the first person I’ve told, apart from my brother. I thought you’d be the best judge of what I should do next.”
“Leave it with me,” said Nico. “Let me think about it and then I’ll decide what to do next. I think I need to speak to Rona and Kim. Kim will know what to do as far as the ruined shipment goes. At the very least she can alert the customers. How long will it take for you to re-order everything?”
“Re-ordering won’t take long. I’ll get onto it today. It’ll take a few weeks to get to Denver though. Are you going to tell Ava?”
She heard Nico breathe loudly and a part of her didn’t think he would tell Ava. “I feel I should,” he said slowly. “But I can’t. It would stress her out and she’s finally letting herself relax. If I told her it would ruin the honeymoon for her. If she didn’t come rushing back to Verona, she’d worry. She’d worry about that shipment, and the back orders.”
“She had a huge crib order in there.”
“Is that the new stuff?” Nico asked. “She mentioned something to me about a new supplier.”
“No,” said Andrea with relief. The order with d’Este was safe; a small beam of light in the darkness. “The new order she placed will go directly to Denver. Those haven’t been affected.”
“That’s something.” Nico sounded as relieved as she did.
“We’ll take care of it, Andrea.” Nico assured her. He always did that, no matter how bad the situation was, his soothing words always made everything better.
“What does Leo say?”
“He was in the fire.”
“What?”
“The bookshelf smashed on
to his head and knocked him unconscious. I should have removed that thing ages ago.” She blamed herself for his injury.
“He had a lucky escape. How is he?”
“He’s a lot better. He doesn’t remember much from that day. Luckily Riley found him.”
“Who?” asked Nico.
She didn’t know how to answer that since she wasn’t sure how much Ava had told him. “He’s the…my…”
“Is he your new boyfriend?” Nico asked, finally. “The one who got ill on our wedding day?”
She cringed inwardly.
“I’m so sorry, Nico. I feel terrible that I missed your wedding.”
“Hey, Andrea. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly understandable.” His voice soothed her and she felt comforted for having spoken to him.
“Andrea?” Nico’s voice was soothing. Just like Leo’s.
“Yes,” she replied, weakly.
“You’re in good hands. Once he’s better, Leo will know how to come back from this. He’ll have the business up and running as fast as possible. Although I don’t know him so well, I think you’ve got a good guy on your side.”
She held the phone closer to her ear, needing words of comfort. Nico always made things better. Just like Leo. Ava’s words came back to her. Perhaps the two men weren’t as different as she’d first believed.
“I know,” she said and thought of Leo lying in the hospital bed. She suddenly wanted to see him again.
“Leo’s alive, and that’s all that matters. It’s you I’m worried about,” she tried to make a light joke. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when Ava finds out.”
“I’m hoping she won’t find out…not until we get back, at least.”
“Won’t find out what?” she heard Ava mutter in the background.
“I’d better go,” said Nico in a tight voice. “You take care, Andrea.”
37
Andrea stood once more outside the wreck of her warehouse and fought back the tears. And once more the kind words and gentle assurances of the other traders gave her comfort.
Hearts on Fire: Romance Multi-Author Box Set Anthology Page 92