The front desk security guard called up to the apartment at two-ten.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Church, there’s an Inspector Wallace here. Portland Fire Department?”
“He’s expected. Thanks, Frank.”
“No problem.”
I hung up and turned to Knight. “He’s on his way up.”
He stepped out from behind the kitchen island and wrapped his arms around me. “Deep breath, sugar. It’s gonna be fine.”
The doorbell pealed and I let Knight answer the door. After introductions were made, we sat at the dining room table and the inspector opened a file. “Well, Ms. Church, it looks like a pretty clear case of arson.”
I gasped, my stomach roiling. “What?” I’d been so concerned about a maintenance issue I could have prevented that I hadn’t allowed myself to consider arson.
Knight gave my hand a squeeze before sliding the file towards him.
“Initial evidence shows an accelerant,” Inspector Wallace continued, “probably gasoline, but we’ll test it, and the fire was set in the sunroom, away from where the bedrooms are, so it’s possible they were trying to get someone’s attention, and not actually hurt anyone. Regardless, someone went to a lot trouble and risk to set the fire. This type of residential arson is usually not random.” He plucked a notepad and pen from his pocket. “The procedure in a case like this is to get a list of possible suspects and go from there. If you or your tenants have been involved in any altercations or disagreements with anyone you suspect might want to hurt or financially impact you, now’s the time to come forward.”
“Her mother and uncle,” Knight answered before I could.
“I don’t think either of them would set fire to the house they grew up in, Aidan. What could they possibly gain from doing that?”
“Your mom just made a play for the house last week.”
“She didn’t make a play, honey.”
“Agree to disagree,” he said.
Inspector Wallace flipped open his tablet. “Can you give me their full names and contact information and we’ll contact them?”
“I have Mom’s number, but I don’t speak with my uncle. She’ll have it though.” I thumbed through my cell phone until I found Mom’s contact information, and then slid it to the inspector.
“Cynthia Weston Church,” the inspector read out loud. “The Cynthia Weston Church?”
I nodded.
“Your uncle’s Bart Weston?” he asked.
I nodded again.
He let out a whistle. “Well, this means we need to proceed very carefully.”
“That would be a good plan,” Knight agreed.
I sighed. “I’m sure you’ll figure out how best to proceed, but my uncle is an evil man, so yes, please be careful.”
The inspector smiled. “Your uncle doesn’t scare me, Ms. Church. I can’t be bought, so be assured we’ll do everything we can to get to the truth.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, secretly wishing I wasn’t afraid of my uncle. “I’ve already contacted the insurance company, but I’d like to get some contractors out to bid the repairs. Can I start that process now?”
“We haven’t cleared the scene just yet. But we’ll call you as soon as we’re done.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Inspector Wallace gave me his contact information, before saying, “If you need anything, please let me know.”
I thanked him and walked him out before turning to Knight. “Well, that was a waste of time.”
“Give it more than a minute, sugar.”
“That poor man is going to get nowhere with Mom. If she had anything to do with it, she’ll be neck deep in lawyers before he even calls!”
“So you think there’s a possibility now?” he challenged.
I rolled my eyes. “Mom isn’t evil, honey. I can’t imagine she’d purposely hurt someone, but I’ll concede that Bart may have.”
He glanced at his phone and then back at me.
“What are you doing?”
“Gettin’ Booker to do some diggin’.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea.”
He smiled. “Ya think?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Smartass.”
Knight chuckled. “Let’s go ride.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, please.”
Looking forward to anything that would help me get my mind off of the fire and subsequent investigation, I followed Knight out of the apartment and down to the car.
Knight
ONE WEEK LATER, Knight walked through the clubhouse and into the middle of a little kid fight.
“No, Lily, you can’t go out there without me,” Maverick snapped.
Knight’s nephew, Maverick was almost nine, and he was effectively bossing around seven-year-old Lily, Hawk’s daughter.
“Why can’t I go outside?” she demanded. “Mom and Dad said as long as we stay on the compound, we can go wherever.”
“What’s up, you two?” Knight asked.
Maverick smiled. “Hey Uncle Knight.”
“Uncle Knight!” Lily rushed for him, hugging his legs. “Why are you never here anymore?”
“Just been busy,” he said. “But now that it’s gettin’ warmer, we’ll all go out on your dad’s boat, okay?”
“Awesome,” she said.
“Where’s Dad, Mav?” Knight asked.
“He’s meetin’ with the Prez.”
“Okay, so why can’t Lily play outside?”
“Because it’s dangerous if I’m not with her.”
He laid his hand on Maverick’s head. “Bud, the area by the picnic tables has a ten-foot fence around it.”
Maverick crossed his arms. “I don’t care. I need to do homework so I need the computer and I don’t want her going out there without me.”
Knight kept his chuckle to himself. From the second Maverick met Lily, he’d decided she was his. Carter and Cassidy had been trying to help him understand that being an alpha male was good, but there was a fine line between protective and controlling and he sometimes stepped over it. Lily adored Maverick and for the most part, put up with his bossiness, but when he pushed her too far, the sweet, amiable little girl turned into a powerhouse who gave Maverick hell.
“It’s been raining for, like, days,” Lily said. “And I’m going outside. I’m done with my homework, so I’m going to ride my scooter.”
She turned on her heel and headed out the back slider. Maverick let out a frustrated growl, so Knight knelt in front of him. “Bud, listen. Lily’s safe out there, yeah? There are cameras everywhere and someone’s always monitorin’ them.”
“But she’s my responsibility, Uncle Knight.”
“Why is she your responsibility?”
“Because she’s my ol’ lady.”
Knight forced back his laugh... again. Shit Maverick was funny. He was so sincere, standing here and actin’ like Lily was the same as any of the brothers’ women. If she grew up and fell in love with someone else, Knight didn’t know how Maverick would deal.
“Bud, Lily’s too young to be anyone’s ol’ lady, which means she’s still her dad’s responsibility. I know you care about Lily and you don’t want anything bad to happen to her, and that’s okay. That’s good. But you got a lot of years before you have to be responsible for anyone but yourself. Just enjoy bein’ a kid for a while, yeah?”
He sighed and Knight knew he hadn’t come anywhere near convincing him. “Okay, Uncle Knight.”
“Go finish your homework.”
Maverick stopped by the slider and peeked outside, calling, “Put your helmet on, Lil!”
“I will!” she snapped.
Maverick waited a second or two then headed to the alcove where they had the computers. It wasn’t lost on Knight that Maverick moved his notes and powered up the computer closest to the window that would give him the best view of his “ol’ lady.”
Knight headed down the hall to Crow’s office and knocked.
&nbs
p; “Come in.”
He pushed open the door and grinned at his brother and Hawk, feet up on Crow’s desk, shootin’ the shit. “Do you never work?”
“Not if we can help it,” Hawk said.
Ace stood and hugged Knight. Hawk and Crow gave him a head nod.
“What are you doin’ here?” Ace asked.
“Booker’s meetin’ me here in a few. We’re goin’ through this shit with Kim’s house.” Knight nodded over his shoulder. “You didn’t tell me Mav’s got himself an ol’ lady.”
“Fuck me,” Ace ground out. “He’s on that again?”
Hawk laughed. “Lily fuckin’ loves it.”
“I woulda figured you’d be more concerned,” Knight said.
“Hell, no. That kid’s got eyes in the back of his head. Lily can’t do anything without Mav seein’. He helps me keep an eye on her.” Hawk grinned. “You know what she’s like. She disappears like a fuckin’ rabbit in a magician’s hat.”
Lily did have a tendency to follow shiny things and was typically so quiet, you’d blink and she’d already be in a different room without anyone noticing she’d walked away.
“You give my kid shit when it comes time to ask for her hand in marriage, you and I are gonna have words,” Ace said.
Knight laughed. “Y’all have fun. I’ll see ya later.”
Pulling the door closed on his way out of the office, he headed towards Booker’s, his phone buzzing as he stepped inside. It was Kim. “Hey, sugar.”
“Hey, honey. Um... where’s Fozzie?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s not here. Neither Buzz nor Flea are here... come to think of it, the place is kind of deserted, but Fozzie’s not in his stall. Where’d you put him?”
Knight’s blood went cold. “Baby, I didn’t put him anywhere. Don’t move. I’m on my way over.”
* * *
Kim
I hung up with Knight and forced back panic. I couldn’t, however, stop the tears. God! Who the hell would take my horse? My uncle was the only person I could think of and, if it was him, he’d kill Fozzie. Bart had killed one of my horses before, and the thought of anyone hurting Fozzie brought on a rush of hopelessness and a resurgence of panic. I planted my butt on the ground across from Fozzie’s stall and stared at it... hoping this was all a bad dream and he’d poke his head out. He didn’t.
Apollo did, though. In fact, he blew snot all over my head as he leaned down to see who the hell was sobbing by his door. I couldn’t stop a quiet chuckle as he seemed to be checking on me, making sure I was okay. I stood, stroked his muzzle, then handed him a peppermint from my stash in Fozzie’s tack box. Apollo seemed perfectly content in his stall, so I pulled myself together and headed to the main house to see if I could find JoEllen.
I arrived to find the front door partially open and my heart sank. “Jo?” I called.
The sound of a thud followed by breaking glass echoed in the small house, and as much as it might piss off my man, I made a run toward it. I noticed Jo’s normally neat home ransacked, but I couldn’t see her. “Jo?”
A muffled voice came from behind the kitchen island and I inched around it, finding Jo hog-tied on the floor, a broken glass and knocked over chair next to her. She was gagged and banged up. “Ohmigod! Hold on,” I said. “Don’t move. I don’t want you to cut yourself.” I pulled the gag from her mouth and grabbed a pair of scissors so I could cut her bindings. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. I was just walkin’ back into the house when I was hit from behind. I remember staggering a bit and slamming my face into the wall”
“Yeah, you have a nasty bruise on your forehead.” I helped her to stand up and move to the sofa. “Sit down for a bit. I’ll clean up the glass.”
My phone buzzed and I answered it without looking at the screen. “Hello?”
“Where the fuck are you?” Knight demanded.
“At Jo’s. She was attacked.”
He hung up on me and I sighed, but I didn’t have time to worry about the verbal spanking I was inevitably going to receive... I needed to make sure Jo was okay.
A few seconds later, the front door banged and Knight bellowed, “Kimberly!”
“Shh,” I ordered as I met him at the door. “Jo’s really banged up.”
He grabbed my arms and pushed me against the foyer wall. “You ever fuckin’ do that again, Kim... ” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “When I tell you to stay put, you fuckin’ stay put.”
“I’m okay, honey.”
“I got to the stall and you weren’t there... ”
“I know,” I said. “I should have texted you. I’m sorry.”
He pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me. “Fuck, sugar.”
“I’m okay.” I hugged him and smiled against his chest. “Did you track Fozzie?”
“Booker’s doin’ it right now and he’ll be here soon. Got a call out to the crew as well, so we’ll find Flea... he was on watch today.”
“Ohmigod, I really need him to be okay. Both of them.”
“I know, sugar. We’ll find them.”
I nodded. “Can you come look at Jo, please?”
He released me with a nod, but kissed me quickly before heading to the living room. “Hey, Jo.”
“Hey, Aidan,” she said, grimacing when she smiled.
“Got a few cuts and bruises, huh?”
She nodded.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, honestly. I was attacked as I came into the house.”
I grabbed an icepack as Knight looked her over. I swept up the glass while they talked, and then Jo called her husband.
“Book’s here, sugar,” Knight said.
I hugged Jo gently and promised to check back with her before we left, and then followed Knight back to the barn. Before we reached the structure, I pulled Knight to a stop.
“What, sugar?”
“I just don’t want to freak out in front of Booker, because then he’ll tell Dani, and I really don’t want her to worry.”
He stroked my cheek. “We’re gonna find him, Kim.”
“But what do they want with him? And why would they hurt Jo?”
Knight sighed. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out.”
“It’s my uncle,” I whispered.
“Yep.”
I gripped his shirt. “He’s killed before, Knight.”
“Sugar, he’s not touchin’ that fuckin’ horse. He does, a world a’ hurt’s rainin’ down on him, the likes he’s never seen.”
I bit my lip and stared up at him. “Can you make that happen even if he doesn’t hurt Fozzie?”
“Don’t even need to ask, sugar.”
I dropped my face to his chest and he slid his hand to the back of my neck and squeezed. “I need him to be okay.”
Knight kissed the top of my head. “I know.”
“I need Flea to be okay too.”
“He will be, honey.”
“Knight!” Booker bellowed, rushing towards us. “Flea got a message to us. He sent an address.”
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“A text is damn promising,” Booker assured me.
“Kim, you go in the house with Jo and you lock the doors,” Knight ordered. “No one in or out ’til you hear from me.”
“Shouldn’t I hook up his trailer?” I countered.
“Right now, I need to know you’re safe while I figure this out, yeah?”
I gave him a reluctant nod and headed to Jo’s house so Knight could find my horse. I refused to relax until I could wrap my arms around Flea and Fozzie, but I at least had a modicum of hope now.
* * *
As I waited to hear from Knight, Jo’s husband returned home and insisted she go to the hospital, so despite their trepidation to leave me alone, I finally convinced them to take care of her injuries. I made sure all the doors and windows were locked and Jo handed me a baseball bat before she left. Three hours
later, and four fingernails less (due to chewing them to the nubs), Knight texted to say they were on their way with a perfectly healthy Fozzie and Flea in tow.
I was, of course, still not to leave the house until he “fetched” me, which all felt so medieval to me, but I did as he demanded, because I wasn’t in the mood for a fight. And if I was being honest, he was probably right to be cautious, but I still didn’t like it.
About twenty minutes or so after Knight’s text, I heard the tell-tale sound of metal and truck shocks, and knew someone was hauling a trailer onto the property. I peeked out the living room window, saw Flea in the passenger side of a truck I didn’t recognize, and made a mad dash out of the house and toward the barn.
“Kim!” Knight snapped as he climbed out of the truck. “I told you to stay put.”
“I saw you drive up, honey. Take it down a notch.” I unlatched the door to the trailer and jumped into the back, sobbing as Fozzie gave me a quiet whinny. “Oh, my big boy. Are you okay?” I ran my hands over every inch I could reach inside the small trailer and kissed his muzzle a hundred times before Knight pulled me gently away.
“Let me get him out, sugar.”
“Is... is he okay?” I rasped.
“He’s fine, honey. Let’s get him settled and I’ll fill you in.”
I stepped out of the trailer and off to the side where Flea stood, his face bruised, bloody, and swollen, but smiling like an idiot. I threw my arms around him and squeezed. He hissed in pain and I loosened my grip, but didn’t let go. “Sorry, honey. Are you okay?”
“I’m good, babe.”
I cupped his face gently. “You saved my horse.”
He smiled. “He’s a fuckin’ cool horse, Kim. Wasn’t gonna let assholes hurt ’im.”
“I love you, so so much, you know that, right?”
Flea chuckled. “Love you too, babe.”
Hooves on gravel returned my focus to Fozzie and I rushed to follow Knight to Fozzie’s stall. “I’ve looked him over, Kim, and he’s fine. Nothin’ to worry about.”
“There’s a lot to worry about,” I argued. “Like these people coming back and trying again.”
“Not happenin’.” Knight removed the halter and stepped back so I could get to my horse. “Crew’s on their way, then Flea’s gonna dump the truck and trailer and you’re gonna get locked down for a bit.”
Road to Victory (Dogs of Fire Book 5) Page 18