by Rye Hart
“It’s all gone?” I asked.
“From the sounds of it, yes. But I won’t know until you get down there. Look, I know you’re not working right now, but it’ll take me hours to get out there. I just got the call.”
“Isn’t some of that shit supposed to be fireproof?” I asked.
“Not when you add an accelerant to it.”
“So it was arson,” I said.
“Yes. The detectives are sure of it from what they told me over the phone.”
“Jack. I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me. Did you take my name off the company docket?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“When I asked you to take over my position, I know you kept me on it. But two years ago, I told you I had no intentions of coming back. Did you take my name off of shit?”
“No. In case you wanted to come back. If you came back and your name was gone, it would’ve been a hell of a lot of paperwork. You still hold majority stock, Brian. It would’ve been stupid to remove your name.”
“Shit,” I said.
“Brian?”
I whipped my head up and saw Amanda standing at the door. She was wrapped in nothing but a sheet, with her hair mussed and her neck covered in red marks. She was a vision, an angel dripping with seduction. I walked over to her and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her to my chest.
Then, I heard Lanie beginning to stir.
“I’ve got her,” Amanda said. “You do whatever you need to do.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Brian?” Jack asked.
“Am I needed in L.A. after this?” I asked.
“No, but you need to get to that warehouse. I need to know how bad the damage is. Pictures. Get me pictures so I can send it to the insurance company. And all the official paperwork you can get from them now would be awesome.”
“File the insurance claim, and when a check is cut from them, re-purchase all of the equipment and ship it right to L.A. I’m getting dressed and going to see about the warehouse.”
“You call me the second you get there,” he said.
“I will.”
Hanging up the phone, I began to throw my clothes on. I knew exactly what had happened. Lanie’s fucking father. Whoever the hell this man had working for him, they were digging into me and digging deep. They were trying to hit me where it hurt.
At this point, the man had declared war, and I was going to come at him with everything I had.
Lanie was sitting at the table eating breakfast as I rushed past. I gave her a quick kiss before I shot Amanda a grateful look, then I was out the door. I drove like a bat out of hell into town and raced through Asheville, all the way to the other side of the city. But it didn’t take long before I came upon police cars, ambulances, and multiple fire trucks.
And our warehouse fucking burned to the ground.
I got out of my car and approached the fire truck whose hoses were still on. I presented my I.D. to the police officer before he let me through. Jack was right. The entire thing was a total loss. It was nothing but a pile of rubble with a metal skeleton looming over the whole damn thing.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Jack as I surveyed the scene.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
“As bad as you think. There’s nothing left.”
“Fuck.”
“I’m going to talk to the fire chief and see what I can figure out. I’ll call you back when I’m done.”
“Thanks, man.”
Hanging up the phone, a man approached my side. He was looking out over the smoky terrain with a stone-cold look on his face. His brow was furrowed, and hands were on his hips. We both stood there for a little while before he finally broke the silence.
“Detective Landry,” he said.
“Brian Murphy.”
“It’s obvious this is arson, but there’s no security footage in this warehouse compound. It appears all of the cameras had been disabled before the fire was set,” he said.
“Fuck,” I said, murmuring.
“Without footage, it’ll take a couple of months before we can link this to anyone. That’s the average timeframe for a case like this.”
“Even understanding it was arson?” I asked.
“Especially with that understanding. We can know it’s arson, we can label it as arson, but the fact is that arson is extremely hard to prove. We’re going to get this fire under control first, then there are some questions we want to ask you. Starting with whether or not you or the other owner have any enemies that might want to do something like this.”
I turned my body toward him as the detective’s eyes turned to look at me.
“I have my own private investigator. He’ll contact you with the information you need to know. I’m currently entrenched in a custody battle for my niece. I have a feeling this is connected,” I said.
“Any information that you can give us will be helpful in proving this case. I’ll be happy to take a look at anything and everything you have.”
“Thank you, Detective. Do you have a card?”
The man pulled one from his pocket and handed it to me.
“I have to talk with my lawyer, then I’ll call my P.I. I’ll give him your number, and he’ll call you as soon as he can,” I said.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your warehouse.”
“No one’s hurt, and we had insurance on it. Things can be replaced. People can’t be,” I said. “Talk with you soon, Detective.”
I pulled my phone out and sent a text message to my P.I. I gave him a quick rundown of what was going on and gave him the number of the detective. Then, I called my lawyer as I turned on my truck.
“Mr. Murphy,” Luther said.
“Are you in your office? We need to talk,” I said.
“I can get there. Is everything okay?” he asked.
“No, not really. I need to see you immediately,” I said.
I hung up the phone without even saying goodbye and started at full-speed toward her place. I was not only racing against the clock at this point, but I was also racing against Lanie’s father. He was obviously devolving in his mental state and willing to destroy anything to get to Lanie.
And if we could prove this shit, our case was already half-won.
I pulled up into my lawyer’s office thirty minutes later. I saw him getting out of her car as I turned off my truck, and he immediately came walking toward me. His eyes were scanning me as I got out of my car, my eyes wild and my body smelling of smoke.
“Come into my office,” he said. “You look like you could use a place to sit.”
“There was a fire at my warehouse this morning,” I said.
“What were you storing in the warehouse?” he asked.
“New supplies my business had just purchased for our employees.”
“And the warehouse is here? In Asheville?” he asked.
“It’s a holding warehouse. Usually, it stores our older supplies as we phase them out. We were eventually going to use it to get an East Coast installment of our company up and running, but the plans always got shoved to the backburner. Apparently, the company used it this time as a holding tank for our newer items until the older ones could be cleared out in our L.A. warehouse.”
“And now it’s all gone,” he said.
“Yes. My business partner, Jack, never took my name off any of the company’s formal documents. I’m the majority stockholder in the company still, and he kept my name on things in case I decided to come back.”
“So you believe Lanie’s father did this,” he said. “Do you have any proof?”
“The detective I talked with has already declared it arson. But the security cameras around the compound had all been disabled, so there is no footage.”
“Of course there isn’t,” he said, sighing.
“I know it was Lanie’s father,” I said. “He’s devolving. He’s willing to do anything to get me to hand over my money
to him.”
“But without proof, we can’t make that accusation in court,” he said.
I pushed my hand through my hair in frustration. “So this asshole just gets away with it? I’m telling you, Luther, at this point I’m ready to just pay him off and get him to leave.”
Luther shook his head. “I’ve already told you, Brian, that’s not a good idea. With guys like this, it will never be enough. You’ll give him a million today, he’ll come back tomorrow for two. No, the only way to make sure he stays away is to go to court and win custody of Lanie legally. Then he has zero recourse against you, and his game is finished.”
“Well, in a few days I’ll have a documented marriage. Where does that put me?” I asked while trying to control my anger.
“You’re getting married?”
“I am.”
“To who?”
“A woman,” I said.
“You know I was kidding about that, right?” he asked. “I didn’t expect you to actually go out and find a wife.”
“Well, I did. If you’re telling me it’s my best shot to get custody, then that’s what I’m doing.”.”
“Brian, if you’re serious and you’re going to get married, that puts you in a really good place,” he said.
“It’s about time you gave me some good news.”
“If you can marry her, get it documented, and prove the fire was caused by him, he’s finished. He’ll never take Lanie from you,” he said.
“Then that’s what we’re going to do. I’ve already talked to my P.I., and I’m having him contact Detective Landry.”
“Ok, and I will make sure to put in a call to the department as well. Keep the pressure on to get this case solved as quickly as possible.”
“Yes. I want all of us working this from every angle. Lanie isn’t going with that man. I’m not going down without a fight. By the time I’m done with that miserable piece of shit, he’s going to be sorry he ever tried to fuck with my family.”
“I’ll get on it. I’ll call your P.I. first. Maybe we can all sit down with the detective and figure out where to go from here. Brian, things are starting to look good.”
“Good. I have to go,” I said.
“I’ll call you when I know something.”
“Thank you Luther.”
I walked out of his office feeling hopeful for the first time in days. Suddenly, my business mind began to kick back into gear. The insurance claim, if they filed it properly, would cover the equipment. But the monthly premiums for the business would skyrocket because of this. The company wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until we could prove it was arson. That would be the only way the insurance company would have mercy on us.
“Hey, Brian. Whatcha got for me?”
“Hey, Jack. I can’t talk specifics, but I’m pretty sure I know who started the fire at the warehouse,” I said.
“You do?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m working on getting the proof right now. I’ve got my PI and my lawyer on it, as well as the arson investigator. Hopefully we can get it wrapped up sooner than later.”
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the custody battle, would it?” Jack asked, his voice dropping an octave like it always did when he was pissed.
“Pretty sure it does,” I said. “Listen, you just take care of filling out that insurance paperwork.”
“I’m on the phone with them now,” he said.
“Good. Let me know how things go .”
“Once they’re writing the check, I’ll let you know. And whatever the fuck’s going on, Brian, keep yourself safe.”
“Always,” I said. “That shit’s a given.”
CHAPTER 19
AMANDA
“Come get me, Mommy!”
My ears perked up at the name as I turned around and faced Lanie.
“What did you call me?” I asked.
Her eyes grew big as she cowered against the couch.
“Sorry,” she said as she bent her head toward the floor.
I walked over to the little girl and scooped her up into my arms. I held her close as she sniffled into my shirt, wiping her nose against the fabric of it. I felt my heart warm as that name echoed off the corners of my mind.
Mommy.
Lanie had just called me “mommy.”
“Sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be sorry for something like that, okay?” I asked.
“Can we play tag?”
“Of course, we can. You want me to be ‘it’ first?” I asked.
“Yeah!”
I dropped Lanie to her feet, and she took off. I ran down the hallway, wiggling my fingers at her as she squealed. She dashed into her room and jumped onto her bed. Then she hopped away from me when I lunged at her. We ran around the house, panting and laughing, her joyful sounds filling the cabin.
“You can’t get me, Mommy!” she said.
My heart swelled with pride at the name. I watched as Lanie’s face lit up with joy and her cheeks flushed with effort. I watched her brown hair flutter around her shoulders as her eyes sparkled with happiness. Everything about this little girl was beautiful, and she had worked her way into my heart. I loved her. She was the most incredible child I had ever met. Stronger than she could comprehend without even understanding why.
“I’m gonna get you!” I said.
I danced with her around the living room before I scooped her up into my arms. We fell onto the couch while I tickled her, laughter pouring from her lips. She squealed and shrieked, kicking her legs as my fingertips danced along her stomach.
“That tickles! That tickles!”
I hadn’t known her for very long, but she’d stolen my heart. She was everything I thought a little girl should be. Energetic. Beautiful. Strong and graceful. She was warm to her core, and loved to cuddle up next to someone.
Brian was the luckiest man alive to have her in his life.
The front door burst open, and I whipped my head around. Brian stalked in, his face sunken and his form standing tall. Lanie rolled off the couch and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around his leg as he stooped.
He looked down at the little girl, and I could’ve sworn there were tears in his eyes.
“Come here, you,” he said.
“Uncle Bwian! Guess what?” she asked.
I felt my heart thudding in my chest as I stared at Lanie.
“What?” Brian asked.
“Tag! You’re it!”
Lanie smacked Brian’s forehead before she wiggled from his grasp. I covered my laughter with my hand as Brian took off after her down the hallway. I could hear Lanie’s giggles as she ran to her room. The joy that filled this cabin when she was happy swelled my heart so big I thought it would burst.
Soon, I heard Brian’s voice coming from Lanie’s room. I got up from the couch and turned the corner, watching as he tucked her in for her nap. She was clinging to him, her arms wrapped around his neck as she planted a big kiss on his cheek.
“I love you, Uncle Bwian,” she said.
“I love you, too, Lanie.”
My heart melted at that very moment. Tears rose in my eyes as I placed my hand on my chest. Here was this big burly man, with carnal desires and callused hands. He had a stern look and a hard brow, with icy eyes and a low voice. And here he was, professing his love to a little three-year-old girl who had him wrapped around her finger.
“Could we have ice cream after my nap?” Lanie asked.
“Only if you have sweet dreams,” Brian said.
“Okay. But what if I have a nightmare?”
“Then you come get me, and I’ll fight off all the bad guys,” he said.
I leaned against the wall as I wiped a tear away from my eye. There was no way in hell anyone could parent that child better than he could. There was no way anyone on this planet could love her more than he already did. I watched as Brian got up and closed her door before he turned toward me. And when he did, darkness fell back over his eyes.
“Come sit with me,” he said.
He held his hand out to me, and I took it. He led me back out to the couch, and we sat down. His hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me close to him, and we sat in silence as he collected his thoughts.
“Have I ever told you what I used to do for work?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
“I built a business with a friend of mine. A security and personal protection business.”
“You did?” I asked.
“Yes. Protection has always been in my veins, but private protection always seemed to be reserved for those who had money. I didn’t like that, and I found another guy like me who didn’t like it, either.”
“What’s your business called?”
“I stepped down from the day to day after my divorce, and I moved out here. But I still own it. Cosaint Protection Agency.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?” I asked.
“We have a warehouse here. We tried to get an East Coast installment of the company up and running back a few years ago. We posted some billboards to advertise it before we put things on hold.”
“Okay. So, you don’t work there, but you still own it?” I asked.
“Majority stock, yes. It’s how I take care of Lanie and live without working.”
“Do you think you’ll ever go back?” I asked.
“No. After living out here for a couple of years, I enjoyed the isolation. So I told Jack, the guy who started this all with me, that I wasn’t coming back.”
“What does that have to do with what happened this morning?”
“The warehouse we have out here was burned to the ground.”
My face fell as my lips parted in shock.
“What?” I asked.
“Yeah. The detective that was on the scene already declared it arson. He could smell the accelerant from a mile away. It had to be Bob.”
“Wait, you can prove that?” I asked.
“No, but it makes sense. Jack never took my name off any formal documents. I’m still technically a sitting board member on the official paperwork. That man walked up onto my doorstep a few days ago. He has someone digging up info on me, and that would be easy to find.”