by J. L. McCoy
I nodded my head and said my goodnights to the family before I headed off to Archer’s bedroom.
Chapter Twenty-Three
My cell phone blasted ‘Don’t Cha’ and I jolted awake. “Fucking Trey,” I groaned as I disentangled myself from Archer’s arms and grabbed it off the nightstand. That song was getting old…quick. The alarm clock told me it was a few minutes before six in the morning and the sun had yet to rise.
“Hello,” I answered thickly, still half asleep. Archer rolled into me and wrapped his arms around me again as he lightly kissed and nuzzled my bare shoulder, waiting to see who it was.
“Is this Skye Morrison?” an unfamiliar voice asked. His tone was professional but to the point. Alarm bells swiftly went off in my head.
“Yes, this is she.”
“I’m sorry to be calling you so early, ma’am,” he apologized before he continued, “but I need to confirm that you live at 715 Comanche Cove in East Wind Estates.”
My brow furrowed as I sat up in bed and clutched the sheet to my naked chest. I looked down at Archer as I answered. “Yes, sir, that’s my house. I live in 715-A.” I swallowed hard and ran my hand through my hair. “I’m sorry…who is this?”
“I apologize, Miss Morrison,” he said gently into the phone. “My name is Detective Duren and I’m with the Austin Arson Investigations Unit. I’m sorry to inform you that your home, and the home attached to yours, was destroyed in a fire about an hour ago. I’m going to need you to come down to the scene, ma’am.”
“What?” I gasped and Archer sat up in bed, his face concerned. “Oh my God…y-yes…I’ll…uh…I’ll be there in thirty minutes, Detective.” After he ended the call, I stared dumfoundedly down at my phone.
“Baby, what is it?” Archer asked as he put his hand on my shoulder.
“That was a detective from the Arson Unit,” I whispered dazedly. “There’s been a fire at my house. He needs me to come.”
Archer’s brows shot up, then furrowed. “Arson Unit? Did he say arson was suspected?”
I shook my head as I made myself move. “I-I’ve got to get dressed.”
“I’m coming with you,” Archer said, jumping into action. He went to the closet and got us out a set of clothes as I wound my hair into a high bun and secured it.
My house had caught fire and my mind spun with thoughts of how bad the damage was. My beloved vintage hand chair was in there and every photo album I owned. My art! I panicked silently as I threw my ripped jeans, Toadies t-shirt, and chucks on. I’d be crushed if my abstracts were gone. I’d put my very soul into every piece and couldn’t bear the thought of them being destroyed.
A minute later, we were done and Archer grabbed my hand and led me to the garage. He decided to go relatively low-key by taking the Porsche, and soon we were tearing off down the driveway.
Once we pulled onto my street, my stomach sank as I took in the two fire trucks and five police vehicles. Behind them, I caught a glimpse of rising smoke and I shifted focus to the charred remains of our once two-story townhouse.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, covering my mouth in shock. “Oh my God…our house. It’s…it’s gone.”
“Wow,” Archer shook his head. I don’t think either of us was expecting a complete and total loss. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
He stopped the car at the road block and I jumped out and jogged dazedly toward what was left of my home. A uniformed police officer stopped me as I tried to go under the yellow tape at the end of my driveway and I frowned at him. “I need to see the Arson Detective. This is my house.”
The patrolman apologized and asked me to wait while he talked quickly into his radio. Hands wrapped around me from behind and I leaned back against Archer for support. I needed him badly at the moment and was thankful he had come with me. I didn’t think I could go through this alone.
Oh God…how am I going to tell Nikki? She’s going to be devastated… Archer held me tightly and told me everything would be okay as a man in a suit approached us.
“Miss Morrison?” he asked and I nodded my head. “I’m Detective Duren.”
“What happened?” I asked, my voice shaking a bit with emotion.
I watched as he pulled out a small pad of paper and got ready to take notes. “9-1-1 received a call from your neighbor at approximately four thirty this morning stating that your home was fully engulfed in flames. By the time the fire department arrived eight minutes later, the adjoining residence was also on fire.”
I stared at my house in a state of shock as I watched a fireman continue to douse the smoldering remains of Nikki’s side of the townhouse. Shaking my head, I finally slid my eyes back to the detective. “I can’t believe this,” I whispered.
“Miss Morrison, can you tell me where you were when the fire broke out?” he asked as he glanced back and forth between Archer and me.
“I was at my mate--boyfriend’s house,” I shook my head, slipping up. “He lives out on the north shore of Lake Travis.”
“You’re the boyfriend?” the detective asked, motioning with his pen to Archer.
“Yes, detective.”
“Fancy place you must have,” he drawled in his thick southern accent as he arched a brow. “Mind if I have your name, son?”
“It’s Archer Rhys,” he said calmly behind me as he lightly stroked his fingers up and down my arm.
After he jotted Archer’s name down, he lifted his eyes back to me. “Miss Morrison, do you have any enemies…anyone who would want to cause you or your property harm?”
Shit, where do I even start? I thought miserably before lying my ass off. “No, sir,” I shook my head and looked appropriately concerned, “not that I know of.” It wasn’t all that hard because, truth was…I was concerned as shit. By him being here, I knew the fire was no accident. “Are you saying someone did this on purpose?”
“We don’t know that for certain, ma’am,” he answered, looking back down at his pad, “we’re just trying to cover our bases.”
My eyes narrowed and I knew he was keeping something from me because he wasn’t meeting my eyes. I squeezed Archer’s arm tellingly as I dropped my mental walls and focused on the detective’s thoughts. “Lengthy pour pattern on bottom floor… some type of accelerant used…probably gasoline…someone obviously has a grudge against this girl if she didn’t do it herself.”
I stiffened as I caught the slight accusation. “Why the hell would anyone burn their own home down?” I asked with a frown before realizing what I’d said. “I mean MY home. Why would anyone burn down my home?”
The detective eyed me for a few seconds, jotted something down on his pad, and then asked me another question. “We can’t seem to get ahold of your neighbor, Miss St. James. We’ve tried calling her cell but there’s no answer. Do you know where we might find her?”
“Nikki’s aunt had an accident a few days ago and she flew up to Maine for a week to help out. She’s in an area where cell service is sketchy, so I’m sure she hasn’t gotten your call.”
Detective Duren frowned and wrote something else down. “Do you know when she’ll be back in town?”
“A few days, I’m sure. If she contacts me, I’ll give her your number and tell her to call you.” I looked at the charred remains of what was once our beautiful home and my breath caught as the emotions flooded me. “She’s going to be so devastated. I…I can’t believe this happened.”
The detective pulled out a card from his inner suit pocket and wrote something on it. “This is my office number, cell number, and that is your case number,” he said, pointing each out with his pen after he handed it to me. “My investigation is just beginning, so there isn’t much I can tell you right now. Give me the rest of the day and I’ll be calling you tomorrow morning to fill you in on my findings.”
He looked up at Archer for a moment, then back down at me. “I may need to ask you more questions at a later date, so please let me know if you plan on leaving town.”
“I’m not going anywhere,
” my brow furrowed as I shook my head. “When can I go through the house?”
“It’ll be hours, ma’am. Based on what I see, there’s not anything in there that’s even remotely salvageable,” he said before continuing gently. “It’s a total loss, Miss Morrison.”
I bit my bottom lip and told myself I wasn’t going to cry as Detective Duren sighed tiredly and pushed the hair back from his forehead with the back of his hand. It may have been only six in the morning, but the muggy Texas summer was in full swing. It was already eighty degrees with a high humidity index and, with the heat from the fire as well, he was beginning to sweat in his suit.
“You’ll need to contact A.F.D. and get a copy of the fire report for insurance purposes,” he explained, sympathy crinkling his eyes a bit. “They usually have them ready and available in seven business days. If you have any questions about what steps you need to take next, I would recommend calling the Austin Fire Department headquarters and speaking with someone. Of course, your insurance agent will be able to answer questions for you as well.”
My eyes left his and slid back to the black remains. “Thank you, detective,” I said softly. “I appreciate all your hard work. I just want to find out how this happened.” I swallowed thickly and met his eyes again. “This fire took everything from us.”
He tsked compassionately and briefly touched my arm. “You still have your life, Miss Morrison. It was a blessing no one was home when this fire started. The Captain said it was really bad.” I nodded my head as I shook his hand and thanked him again. He promised to be in touch and then pointed me to the Ladder Captain so I could get his card.
“Someone set our house on fire,” I said as soon as Archer and I were back in the Porsche. “Someone actually burned my house down.” I scoffed in disbelief and shook my head. “Why would somebody do this to me? What did I do to deserve this?”
Archer leaned over the console and pulled me to his shoulder. I burrowed my face in the hollow of his neck as the tears finally came. “Baby,” he soothed as he stoked my hair. “We’ll find out who did this, don’t you worry. Everything you lost, I can replace, cion. I’m just thankful you weren’t staying there. I can’t replace you.”
“How am I going to tell Nikki?” I sniffled as I sat up. “The girl has already been put through the ringer because of me and now, IF I can even rescue her, I have to tell her that she has no home to go to.”
“Nikki can always stay with us,” Archer said, thumbing away my tears. “We can move the rest of your clothes into my room and she can have the guest room across the hall.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. Will Nikki even want to have anything to do with me after tonight? I had my doubts. I knew from experience what it was like to be harmed by vampires and to completely lose your trust. “Can we go home now?” I asked in a sad, exhausted whisper.
Archer kissed my temple softly and started the car.
**********
Work at Dan’s dragged something horrible. It felt like the clock was ticking two seconds forward then taking one back. It’s not like the bar wasn’t busy, it was, my mind was just occupied with the fire that had completely destroyed mine and Nikki’s house and the impending battle I had coming up tonight. I was dying to see Nikki and couldn’t wait to get her far away from Weston and the other Dark Ones. I couldn’t help but worry if she was okay and if Weston was minding his manners as I auto piloted my shift. I’d flip my shit if she had fresh bite marks on her tonight.
At five o’clock, I took a break and stepped outside to call Archer.
“Skye,” he breathed hard and then grunted as if he’d been punched in the stomach.
“Archer?” I asked worriedly, my body freezing with fear. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I heard a screech of metal on metal followed by someone else grunting.
“Fine, baby,” he chuckled as the noise in the background became louder, “just showing Hagan a thing or two down in the basement.”
Hagan mumbled something and it was followed by another loud groan from Archer.
“Are you two fighting?” I asked, incredulously.
“Ooh! Are you going to let him get away with that, athair?” Trey laughed and I heard the phone jostle as the clash of metal sounded again, only this time much louder. Clapping rang out followed by a cheer as Hagan cursed in Gaelic.
“Practicing for tonight,” he said cheerfully out of breath and I shook my head. “I needed to burn off a little frustration.”
“Well, don’t burn off too much,” I smirked as I resumed my stroll around the employee lot. “We’ve got two hundred ass kicking’s to hand out.”
Archer let out an oof and it was followed by an ear piercing clattering sound. After some scraping, Archer came back on the line. “Sorry, Hagan knocked the phone out of my hand.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I’ll let you go, baby. I just wanted to call and tell you I love you.”
Archer called a halt to the fight between him and Hagan and the room got significantly quieter. “No, don’t go,” he said gently. “Talk to me. How is your shift going?”
“Terribly,” I sighed, feeling the weight of the day on my shoulders. “I just want to get out of here, get Nikki, and then go home and sleep for a few days.”
“Baby,” he whispered sympathetically. “I’m sorry all this is happening to you. I wish more than anything I could fix it.”
“Have you talked to Dean?” I asked, changing the subject. Archer didn’t need to hear my drama again.
“He called Jameson a few minutes ago. He’ll be arriving a little before six with four black cargo vans and fifty three wolves. I have to say, he sounded more than ready to fight.”
“Good. How’s Lochlan?”
“He’s out by the pool soaking up sun,” Archer said with a small chuckle. “He’s been at it since you left this morning.”
I smiled, remembering his Divine Power display the night before. “He has the coolest gift ever,” I told him before I cleared my throat and got to the real reason why I was calling. “I…I just want you to be careful tonight, okay?”
“Cion,” he said softly, affectionately, “I don’t want you to worry about me. I’ll be fine…we’ll all be fine.” I silently nodded my head even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “I’d tell you to stop worrying, but I know it’s pointless. Just remember who we are and who we have on our side. Those Dark don’t stand a chance, baby.”
“I’ll remember,” I whispered. “See you tonight?”
“See you tonight, my love.”
I ended the call and stared down at the phone as I took a deep breath. Archer didn’t sound the least bit worried about the battle and that made me feel marginally better. He’d been around over thirteen hundred years and I knew he’d seen his fair share of battles. I told myself that if he wasn’t worried, I shouldn’t be either. Reluctantly, I stuffed the phone back in my skirt pocket and went back to work.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lochlan arrived at seven thirty and I quickly said goodbye to Dan, changed into a pair of jeans, donned my chucks, and met him in the back parking lot.
“Hi’ya, feek,” he winked at me with a small smile as I climbed into the Audi R8. His smile quickly faded as he studied my face. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” I nodded my head and stowed my bag on the floorboard in front of me, “just feeling anxious.”
“Aye,” he agreed as we got on the road.
The drive was silent for the most part; Loch and I each lost in our own thoughts. We were both preparing ourselves for the confrontation with Weston and his Dark forces. I found myself thinking about my family and Dean’s. I wondered if they were having any trouble out at the ranch but took it as a good sign that I hadn’t heard from them. I knew they were staked out, awaiting our arrival.
“Listen up, feek,” Lochlan said as we turned off onto the one lane road that would ultimately dead end into Mesa Ranch. “I’m figurin’ dat two sun lamps 're better dan one so I tink ye should tak
e a wee bid of me blood before we get dere…just in case someting happens.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, honey,” I shook my head. “Trigger and Cage will be guarding you the whole time.”
“Just do it, ye cheeky gurl,” he said as he held out his wrist to me. “Give an auld man some piece of mind, eh?” I glanced uncertainly between his wrist and face as the seconds ticked by. “See ‘ere,” he sighed. “Seamus taught he’d live forever and yer man is dead now.”
“Loch,” I whispered, my brow furrowing at the pain I knew he was feeling and at my own feelings of sadness. Seamus’ death was rarely spoken about but that didn’t mean he wasn’t on everyone’s mind every day. Each member of the family missed him like crazy, but it was Lochlan who silently mourned him the most. They’d been best friends for a few hundred years and Seamus’ absence in the house was like a knife in Lochlan’s gut.
“I know me time on dis earth won’t last forever,” Lochlan said after he cleared his throat, his emotions thick. “Dat said, I fig're we’d be safer havin' a backup.” He looked over at me and put on his best, signature sly come-hither smile. I knew it took effort for him, but to his credit, he’d made it look effortless. “What’cha say, feek? Care to have a wee suck?”
I chuckled and shook my head as he winked at me and grinned widely. “Fine,” I sighed, giving in. I knew he had a point but wasn’t thrilled with the thought of having even more powers added to the ones I already had. “But you’d better teach me how to use it fast. We’re only a few miles away.”
Lochlan nodded and stretched his arm further to me. I held his wrist in my hand and said a silent prayer before I called forth my fangs and gently bit into him. I made a little surprised grunt as his blood coated my tongue. Lochlan tasted vastly different from anything I’d ever had before. His blood was like drinking pure energy. It felt electric and alive. My eyes slid up to his as my brows rose in amazement.