by Alexa Verde
Nowa met them with a joyful bark. The dog licked his face when he leaned over to give her a back rub. Mari looked at Nowa then at him and smiled. It warmed his heart to be accepted by her dog more than any achievement awards he’d received in his life.
Nothing inside the house looked disturbed, but they checked it nonetheless.
In spite of a quick and not very enthusiastic protest on his part — safety should come first — they played “catch and fetch” with Nowa in the backyard. Mari laughed at Nowa’s antics. Her laughter resonated inside him and touched a string he couldn’t identify. A string he’d considered torn since Cynthia’s death. The air was filled with the scent of freshly cut grass, a distant barbecue, and happiness. Nowa barked, jumped in the air, and caught the stick.
“Good job!” Mari chuckled again.
After her horrible past, she’d obviously carved out a piece of normalcy in her hometown. He admired that. Maybe there was hope for him, too.
She turned to him and smiled.
His heart swelled. Strangely, among all the danger and all the drama, he was enjoying the quiet evening in Rios Azules. Maybe he needed to get a dog.
After some more running and chasing, they went inside. Nowa received her kibble and a dog biscuit. Luke and Mari shared the dinner she’d picked up at The Café, lobster and salad for him and baked stuffed fish, salad Olivier, and a generous portion of French fries for her. The scents of seafood, fried potatoes, and fresh bread spread through the room.
He didn’t remind her about June. Mari’s wounds had obviously just started to heal, and he’d sliced them open with his news. So he talked about his love for country music and horse riding instead. Her eyes softened, and his heart squeezed when the food was eaten and the dinner was over.
“I’ll take care of the dishes.” He carried them to the kitchen.
“Thanks.” Mari was polishing off a third chocolate ice cream in a row.
After putting everything in the dishwasher and turning it on, he returned to the living room. He stopped near a small picture in the hall. A teenaged version of Mari was walking on the narrow railing of a bridge over a river, her hands at ninety degrees to her body. She was wearing long black slacks and a white shirt that was flapping in the wind.
Her steps approached. “I used to like a rush of adrenaline. Besides, it was a bet with Tony. I won.”
He turned around and studied her. She was so different from any woman he’d ever met. Maybe it was a good thing. The world couldn’t handle two of Mari Del Lobo.
It still didn’t explain why his heart was beating faster when he so much as looked at her. “So you still play?” He pointed to the guitar mounted on the wall.
“Not since Tony died. It doesn’t matter. There are not many vacancies for a rock singer in Rios Azules. And I happen to like it here. If somebody told me I’d be a restaurant owner, I wouldn’t have believed it.” Her lips curled up.
He wished she’d smile more often. “Why did you open The Café then?”
“I wanted to be associated with something people enjoyed, and good food fit the bill. Besides, I hate cooking. With my own restaurant, I don’t have to cook. I get my food there.”
“Ordinarily, if people don’t like to cook, they pick up their food at a restaurant. Not open one.”
“I’m not ordinary.” She dropped herself onto the sagging sofa. Nowa approached her and made herself comfortable at her feet. Mari leaned to her dog and rubbed her back. “Did you receive the info about the alibis? Did they check out?”
He sat down near her, missing her smile. “The disgruntled relative of a patient’s does. He was with his father and several other members of the family at the time. Larry was really still in flight when June was killed. Apparently, June’s husband didn’t show up for the meeting because he went to a casino in Las Vegas.”
It was getting dark outside. Should he take his guard post in the car? Mari’s couch, while being old and faded, still looked more appealing than a car seat. And he had to admit, he wanted to spend more time in Mari’s company.
A car pulled up outside. Nowa ran to the door. Luke tensed. A knock on the door followed.
Minutes later, Aidan came through the door, wearing not his policeman uniform but a T-shirt with jeans.
After awkward greetings, Aidan shifted from one leg to another. “Mar, I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay alone tonight.”
Luke cleared his throat. The German shepherd gave several short barks.
“I’m not alone. I have Nowa.” Mari shook her head.
“If I don’t volunteer, Lydia will come to guard you with a rifle. And that rifle probably weighs more than she does.”
Luke had a sense of déjà vu from the previous night.
Mari left and returned with pillows and sheets and light blankets. “Fine. Aidan, you can stay in the guest room. Or this chair. Luke, if you’re going to stake out in your car like last night, you might as well take the sofa.”
“Thanks.” Luke placed pillows and sheets on the sofa. If the intruder planned to break in again, he’d have to go through him first.
“You’re welcome. I’m going to sleep. You should do the same. Get some rest. I can protect myself. With a dagger, my aim is better than Lydia’s.” She walked toward the next room.
“How much better?” Luke asked.
Aidan shook his head as if saying, “You just didn’t…”
Mari stopped in her tracks and reached into her boot. Then she straightened and hurled the dagger over her shoulder into the dart board on the wall.
It hit the bull’s-eye.
Luke picked up his jaw from the floor.
Mari walked past him, pulled the dagger out of the board, and placed it back in her boot.
“Good night.”
The phone rang in her pocket. She grimaced as she answered it. “Sure, Nina. I’ll take care of it.”
She disconnected and turned to Luke and Aidan. “I have to go to The Café. Nina was supposed to close up, but she needs to leave early. I should check on The Café anyway.”
“I’ll go with you,” Luke and Aidan said in unison.
“I figured you would. Aidan, I’d rather you check on Lydia. Just to be on the safe side.”
Aidan looked at her then at Luke and sighed in resignation. “Okay. Just be careful.”
“Good night.” Mari gave Aidan a quick hug. It was just a tad tight for Luke’s liking, and he stepped closer to her.
“Aidan seems to be very protective of you,” Luke said on the way to The Café. “Are you and Aidan dating? Not that’s any of my business.”
“We tried. When we were teens. But I had a wild youth, and he was way too nice for me. Seriously I should’ve come with a sign, ‘Danger zone. Proceed at your own risk.’ In the end, we both decided we were better off as friends.”
Was there a man in Rios Azules whom she hadn’t dated? The green-eyed monster grabbed Luke by the throat. “So you don’t like nice guys?”
She checked the rearview mirror. “I don’t want my flaws to rub off on them.”
He always wanted to be a good person, to do the right thing. Did Mari consider him too nice? He’d never thought something like that would disqualify him from being her… No, it was better not to go there.
* * *
At The Café, Mari dismissed Nina, closed out the register, and locked both doors. Luke swept the perimeter. Then while Luke was skimming through his e-mails, she checked the supplies for the Sunday booths and went through the staff schedule and messages on her answering machine. An hour later, she locked her office, ready to leave.
The lights went out.
Mari’s heart dropped.
Luke’s fingers touched her hand in the darkness and squeezed it reassuringly. “Just move slowly to the exit.”
Her breath became shallow. She slid her hand inside her purse, fished out a penlight, and turned it on. She swept the beam across the room, but nothing looked suspicious. Luke and she moved toward the exi
t.
The telltale scent in addition to the scents of the food floated to her.
“I smell gasoline,” she whispered.
Her knees went weak.
Somebody was going to torch her restaurant.
Chapter Eight
“I know. We’ll be out in no time.” Luke’s voice was soothing, and he moved fast, dragging her behind him.
She gained her footing, but in the next moment, the flames shot up outside the windows. They ran to the door with Mari whipping out the keys on the way. Her hands were trembling, so he grabbed the key and turned it in the lock. Mere seconds later, they rushed outside, met by damp night air.
He looked around, and she did the same. There was nobody outside.
Walking away from The Café, he called 911 and reported the fire.
Trembling in spite of the heat, Mari glanced back at the place that meant so much to her.
Her heart jumped into her throat. She had fire extinguishers. Maybe it wasn’t too late. She couldn’t lose The Café. She broke away from his hold and ran back.
He caught her halfway. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve got to do something. I can’t let it burn. Can’t you understand?” She was shaking.
He pulled her into a hug from which she couldn’t escape. “Firefighters will be here soon. You can’t go inside. I know you love this place. But it’s only a place. It’s not worth your life.”
Her heart breaking into a million pieces, she flailed, trying to get away from him. He held her tight.
Finally she calmed down. “Let me see it.”
He turned her around but immediately wrapped his hands around her. Locked in his arms, she looked at the flames dancing on the walls of a place so dear to her.
“I wanted to do the same once,” she said, her voice so hollow she barely recognized it as her own.
“What?” He spun her around and looked into her eyes.
She stared at him. “Not to The Café, of course. To my father’s place. I was a teenager then. I climbed over the fence, and the dogs didn’t bark because they knew me. I hid behind a tree. I stood outside the hacienda, watched it, and imagined it burning.”
“It was your home.”
Charred wood scent drifted to her, just like a year ago in the log cabin. “It wasn’t my home by then. Or maybe it never was. There might be much more in me of my brother than you realize.” She shuddered. What would Luke think of her now?
“But you didn’t set it on fire. You controlled yourself. You’re nothing like your brother. Why did you walk away?” Luke asked.
“There were other people in the house. Servants, bodyguards. Even if it was just Dad, I don’t think I’d do it. But I was so angry. What did I do to deserve his hatred? I was just a kid.”
He drew her close and ran his hand over her back, as if trying to soothe her. “It wasn’t your fault.”
She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of his aftershave, needing his light touch to keep her grounded. “Dad said it was. He said I was the reason Mom left. I was such a horrible child she couldn’t stand being around me.”
He stroked her hair. “From what I’ve heard so far, he was probably the one who drove her away.”
The sound of wood cracking made her wince. “He said he’d burned her things. I have nothing left from her. Nothing. It made me furious, too. How can God accept me when I was so angry that I wanted to harm my father?”
“Because God loves you. God’s mercy is limitless.” Slowly he let her go, lifted her chin, and looked in her eyes again. “And you didn’t harm your father. You overcame your anger. You built a new life for yourself. You built a new you. When I look at you, I don’t see the person you were. I see the person you’ve become.”
Something about the way he’d said it made her eyes burn with unshed tears. Sirens wailed in the distance. She turned around and stared at the fire.
The symbol of what she’d become was disappearing right in front of her eyes.
* * *
Back at her place, Mari crouched near Nowa and hid her face in the dog’s short fur. She’d been scared something might have happened to her dog while she’d been gone. How could she leave Nowa alone?
Then Mari straightened. “Nobody died. That’s what matters.”
She’d talked to the police and the fire department and still had a hard time believing The Café was gone.
Luke found her hand, and somehow his touch gave her strength. “True. But I know The Café mattered to you. What can I do to help?”
She resisted the urge to throw herself into his arms. He’d been too kind, too nice to her, and at the end of the day, even a former rebel like her needed to feel loved and cared for. Not many guys had patience for her, and Luke seemed to be the exception. Her heart fluttered. Was she falling for him?
She grasped for ways to keep emotional distance. “Why do you want to help me? My brother killed your fiancée. Aren’t you supposed to hate me? Oh, I forgot. You hope to get to Tony through me.”
“I see more in you than your brother’s sister. You know that.” He let go of her hand.
Immediately she missed his touch. Her breathing came fast. Of course he was trying to find Tony through her. Luke was bound to be disappointed because she had good reason to believe Tony was dead. What would happen when Luke realized he didn’t need her anymore? And why did the thought of Luke walking away from her scare her so much?
Mari lifted her chin. She’d never been clingy and wasn’t about to start now. Maybe she should be the first one to walk away.
“Please pack an overnight bag. We’ll go to the hotel and get connecting rooms. You can’t stay here,” Luke said.
Mari’s blood boiled. Who did he think he was, telling her what she could and couldn’t do? Even if he’d saved her life a couple of times, give or take. She placed her hands on her hips. “I decide where I want to go.”
“If the perp got inside your house once, he can do so again. And this time he might torch your home, too. You haven’t changed the locks, have you?”
“I didn’t have time. I can’t leave Nowa anyway. Besides, I’m sure Rios Azules Inn doesn’t have any vacancies. It must be all booked for the festival.”
“What if the perp tries to poison Nowa? We can check with the inn to see if there are any cancellations.”
She flinched. That changed things. She couldn’t risk her dog’s life. “Okay. I’ll check. But what if there aren’t?”
“We take Nowa and drive to the nearest town.” A stubborn set in his jaw showed he wasn’t going to give in. “Some hotels accept pets. I want you to be safe. Besides, if something happens to you, who’s going to take care of Nowa? Who’ll help your friends?”
She raised her hands in surrender. “Fine.” She tried the inn, and of course there were no cancellations.
“Well, there’s a B&B near Rios Azules. Lydia’s grandmother owns it. I doubt there are any vacancies there, either.” Mari glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. “I’ll wake up Lydia.”
Lydia answered after several beeps. “Mari? What happened?”
“There was fire at The Café. It might be arson. Luke doesn’t want me to stay at my place tonight.”
“I’m so sorry about The Café,” Lydia’s trembling voice showed her concern. “Anything I can do? Would you like to stay at my place?”
“No, thank you.” Mari swallowed hard, touched. She wouldn’t put her friend in danger.
“Let me check with Grandma if there are vacancies in the B&B. Give me a sec.” Lydia disconnected.
Several minutes later, Mari’s phone rang again. She picked up. “Lydia?”
“Grandma says there was a cancellation. It’s for connecting rooms.”
“Thank you.”
Mari finished the call, pocketed her phone, and looked at Luke. “I think Lydia’s grandma might have kicked out some of her guests. But you’ll like it. The security system is state-of-the-art. She’s owned the B&B for decades and never
had a break in. Of course, that also must be due to the fact that she’s a sharpshooter. She used to be in the military, and her eyesight is still excellent for her age. What age, nobody knows. One of the best kept secrets in Rios Azules.”
“Does every woman in Rios Azules own a gun?”
“Probably almost every family.” Mari started gathering her necessities in a duffel bag as she was speaking. “It’s Texas. And Texas is not just a state. It’s a way of life.”
Her phone played the Juanes song. She glanced at the screen, frowned at an unfamiliar number, and braced herself for what was coming next. Luke’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer to her.
“Hello?” Mari said into the receiver.
“How did you like the fire? Just like old times.” The voice was mechanically distorted.
She froze. “Who’s this?”
“You don’t recognize me? You’re going to pay for what you’ve done. Or maybe somebody else will pay for your mistakes? Like June did.”
Her fingers fisted. “I’m going to find you. And I’m going to—”
“To do what? You’re going to kill your own brother? Wait, you’ve already done that.”
The line went dead.
Without saying a word, Luke took the phone from her hand, placed it aside, and gathered her into his arms. She hid her face on his shoulder and tried to drink in his strength. After a few minutes, she was able to stop trembling.
When she could move again, they collected a barking Nowa, who always seemed to be happy to go for a ride. They arrived at the Rios Azules Bed and Breakfast by midnight.
“Your father is the only close relative Tony has, besides you?” Luke asked as he parked.
Mari tensed. “Had. I know I promised I’d talk to him. Let’s go then.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“He’s my father. He’ll hate to see me at any time.”
“Mari?”
Her shoulders slumped. “All right. I’ll wait until tomorrow. And thank you. If not for you, I’d probably have run inside The Café. Sometimes I don’t think straight.”