“Have a feeling he’ll need you tonight.”
“Probably, and I’ll need you.”
“The bed is big enough. You can sleep in the middle.” She winked and turned to get dressed.
He changed into pajamas and lay down. Marissa curled next to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
“If you want to talk, I’ll listen.”
He shook his head. “No. Just want you close.”
There was a knock on the door. “Dad?”
“Come in, buddy.”
“Can’t sleep,” Ashton said. Tears filled his eyes. “Every time I close my eyes, I see you and Mom dead.”
“Come here. Curl up next to me.”
“You sure? You don’t mind, Marissa?”
Marissa reached over Dave and patted the bed. “Not at all. Come lie down. Maybe none of us will have nightmares that way.”
He smiled shyly and lay down next to Dave, who put his arm around his son. Ashton fell asleep in minutes. Then Dave. Finally, Marissa nodded off. All three of them on top of the covers, all their clothes on.
Chapter 23
The alarm woke Metcalf. Amazingly, he was rested after the hellacious day. Ashton still clung to him in sleep. Marissa was curled up next to him.
She wore a lazy smile as she climbed from the bed. “I’ll make breakfast.”
He didn’t have a clue what he’d done to deserve her, but he was damn lucky to call her his. Watching her go, he took a long breath and let it out.
“Hey, Ashton, time to get up, buddy.”
Sleepy blue eyes found his. “Morning.”
He grinned. “Go get ready. Marissa’s making us breakfast.”
His face lit up. “She stayed?”
Metcalf nodded. “Yeah. She’s worried about me too.”
“She’s awesome. We need to do something special for her.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Got any ideas?”
“No, but I’ll think of something.” He bounced from the bed. “Better get ready fast, huh?” Ashton made his way to his room, rubbing his eyes.
After pulling on some clothes, he found Marissa in the kitchen, already cooking. Her hair was tied up and she moved around the kitchen in low-slung sweats and tight tank that made him want her.
He adjusted the hard-on, hoping Ashton wouldn’t notice when he came out. Shit, maybe a quick shower would help.
Moving to her, he whispered in her ear, “I need to find a way to keep you with me.”
She giggled. “We’ll figure it out. As long as Ashton’s okay with the arrangement, I’ll be here.”
He kissed her shoulder. “Be back in a few. Need a quick, cold shower.”
She pressed her ass back and nodded. “Better hurry. He won’t be long.”
* * * *
After dropping Ashton at school, Metcalf went to the hospital. Marissa threaded her fingers through his as he made his way to the ICU.
He asked for the room number at the desk and froze when the nurse gave him the same number he’d had during his recovery.
He spent too much time on his ass, locked in that room, going crazy with a million thoughts that circled round and round until it tore him down.
He knocked softly at the door. Cadence answered after a moment. Tears stained her face, bags colored under her bloodshot eyes.
“How is he?” Metcalf asked.
She wiped at her face. “They’re keeping him under. He’s in too much pain when he’s awake.”
Marissa squeezed his hand tighter, or maybe he squeezed harder, and she was showing support. He wasn’t sure.
He pulled in a breath. “How bad is it?”
Cadence moved into the room, and they followed. “Bad. He was in surgery most of the night for the spinal fractures and dislocation. His legs had to be put back together. They aren’t even sure he’ll be able to keep the left leg for all the damage.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how he’ll deal with the back injuries, much less losing a leg.”
“He’ll get through this with your help,” Metcalf promised. If any couple could get through the road ahead, they could.
She shook his head. “Before they took him into surgery, he was going on and on about how he wished he were dead. He couldn’t feel his legs, but he knew they were bad.”
Metcalf pulled her into his arms. “Do you care if he can walk?”
“Of course not. I just want my Gavin-bear back.”
He smiled. “You’ll get him back. It might be a long, bumpy journey, but I’ll be there to lean on. Anything you need, you got it.”
Cadence stepped back and shook her head. “Don’t want to push you back into the hell you were in. You’ve finally found something good, and you have your boy at home. Won’t dealing with Gavin pull you down?”
Maybe without Marissa and Ashton, but he wasn’t drowning, and he didn’t think he would.
Marissa spoke up, “I’ll stand beside Dave. If he needs extra support to be there for his friend, I’ll be there.”
He looked into her eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Her gaze never wavered. “Told you I’ve got your back.”
Metcalf smiled and turned to Cadence. “I’ll be fine. He’s my best friend. Of course I’ll be there. Besides, I have a good woman to lean on. And he’s going to remember you, your little girl, and your baby. He will fight. He’s a fighter, that’s what he does. He panicked. He probably will again, but he’ll pull through.”
With enough support, he would. And Gavin wasn’t in danger of losing his support system. Getting through this would be a bitch. He always helped everyone else and never asked for anything in return. He was the one who would always be there for anyone, no matter what. Now he was going to have to ask for help. And that sucked.
Metcalf had been the same way. Only, he didn’t have the loving wife who could shove him back into place when he got out of line. No, Metcalf had to suffer alone, hurting himself until his fellow firemen dragged his ass to get help.
And Metcalf knew the path. He’d slow Gavin down if he pushed too hard. Whatever it took, Gavin was going to come out okay.
“I hope so. His spirit is broken. They let him wake up for a little while. He was in so much pain they put him under. Whatever they’re giving him isn’t helping.”
“They just did surgery. It’s not going to feel good for a while. But with a spinal fracture, they want to keep him immobile. They have a better chance to do that under sedation.”
“Yeah, but I want to talk to him. I want to tell him it will be okay.”
“He may not be able to hear that yet,” Metcalf told her. “Things are going to suck for a while. And any time he needs his ass chewed, call me. I know how it can be. And if Jenny needs a place to go while you’re here, let me know.”
“Thanks.”
He smiled. “Marissa and I are taking Ashton to a theme park this weekend. Want us to take Jenny?”
She smiled. “Would you mind? She needs something fun. I can’t leave Gavin. I don’t want her to worry. She cried all night.”
“Wouldn’t ask if I minded. Take care of my man. And call if you need me.”
* * * *
After a wonderful morning with her two favorite guys, Marissa sat at her desk, trying to figure out the case. There wasn’t much in the way of evidence from yesterday. They already took what samples they could and there was no way to tell where or how the gas line was damaged. Since they knew where the ignition point was, it shouldn’t matter.
So, she watched the feed from the grocery store, a dozen times, until the video stopped.
Brad Cosgrove couldn’t have set the explosion off. He was standing three feet in front of her after the evacuation and during the explosion. He never left her sight.
Someone plugged in the extension cord that set it off, and managed to sneak out, but no one had saw anyone come or go.
A gruff voice bellowed, “Let me out of these damned cuffs.”
Marissa looked up to find Sloan and Bridges attempting
to herd Old Man Tombs to an interrogation room. The wiry man had a scraggly white beard and long hair. There was an age-spotted bald patch on top of his head. He looked frail, but he was strong for his age.
Her brow arched as she met Bridges’ gaze.
She rolled her eyes. “Hang on, Marissa. I’ll fill you in. You’ll never believe this.”
Brian spun his seat and rolled over to her desk. “What do you think that’s about?”
“Not a clue. I was too focused on this video. Someone in oversized sweats and a ski mask slipped into the back of the grocery store before the camera feed went off. They knew what they were doing.” She couldn’t discern anything but the damned limp.
“Learn anything new?”
“Other than crossing Brad Cosgrove off the list, no. He was standing right in front of me when the explosion went off. I didn’t see Rick at all. But then, I understand he’s a mess over his shop and anxiously working to reopen. I want to talk to him today. Need to find Chelsea and ask her a few questions. Then there’s Josh Manning.”
“What about our senile friend?”
“Maybe. Though Mr. Tombs is putting on a damned good act at being delusional. I don’t know.”
Bridges came over. “We may have your firebug.”
She sat up straighter. “Why do you say that?”
“His neighbor called. He was in his backyard dumping gasoline over a stack of baby clothes, pictures, and old notebooks. He set it on fire.”
“What?” she asked in surprise.
“Yeah, says he’s getting rid of everything to do with the devil spawn.”
“Excuse me?” Marissa asked.
“Don’t ask me.” Bridges lifted her hands. “Come on back. You should at least hear what he has to say.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t convinced. Gasoline on his possessions didn’t make him an arsonist. Yeah, he’d be slapped with a fine for breaking a law, but that was hardly the same thing as starting a fire in his home.
She walked into the interrogation room.
Sloan stood on the far side. He nodded at Tombs. “Tell her what you told us.”
His bleary dark eyes met hers. A scowl made his wrinkles deeper. “That devil spawn is back. I told my daughter to drown that brat. But no, she was convinced her child was an angel. Nothing but pain, nothing but trouble. Then that demon started setting fire to everything. We thought the monster finally died after its equally awful lover beat the hell out of the demon spawn. Now it’s back. The whole town will burn.”
“What? Who are you talking about?”
“My terrible grandkid.”
Marissa turned to Sloan, then to Bridges. They both offered a shrug.
“What’s the devil spawn’s name?”
“Doesn’t matter. They burned all the evidence that ever existed. Now a ghost is here under a new name.”
“What’s the name?” Marissa demanded.
Old Man Tombs started coughing. He doubled over, hitting his face on the table. Blood dripped from his nose when he sat up, gasping for breath.
She ran over, sitting him up. “Get a rag and call nine-one-one.”
He clutched his chest, trying to breathe. He rasped and finally calmed as the paramedics burst in. Marissa got up and nodded to him. “He needs help.”
Though, she needed to find out who the hell was his grandkid. As far as she knew, he’d been an old, single miser all his miserable life. Time to start digging.
At her desk, she found Madison Charles tapping her foot.
Taking a slow breath, Marissa managed a tight smile. “Morning.”
“Look, as much as I hate asking you, you may be the only one who can put a stop to my son’s foolish desire to marry the trailer trash.”
“Madison, I don’t have time to deal with your son or his choice in women. You made sure I was out of his life twelve years ago. Who he chooses to marry has no bearing on me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back to work so I can find the person who killed a man and gravely injured another yesterday.”
“You don’t understand. Chelsea Bauer may have everything to do with your case.”
Marissa rubbed at her head and sat back to look the bitch in the eye. “Unless you have proof I can use, I suggest you walk out of the precinct right now.”
“She’s not who she says she is. The private eye found her. Her parents didn’t even want her.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“She was adopted. She’s been in and out of trouble her whole life. Her name is Cameron Monty.”
She paused and stared Madison down. “And you have proof?”
She dropped a file and a journal on her desk. “Everything my private eye could find before his house was burned down with him in it.”
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“That I believe Chelsea, Cameron, whatever you want to call her, found out someone learned something about her and tried to silence him.”
“Where did he live?”
“Portland, where she lived before moving out here. He traced her roots back here.”
“And when did this fire take place?”
“Saturday before last, while she was supposedly out of town to visit her family.”
Marissa nodded. “Is the private eye’s name and information in there? I’ll have to see what the investigation claims.”
“Of course it’s in there. The less time I have to spend in here, the better off I am.” With a huff, she stormed out of the precinct.
“Bitch,” Marissa muttered and pulled the file over.
Brian rolled to her desk. “Think what she said has merit?”
“Maybe. I couldn’t find anything solid on where Chelsea Bauer came from. She appeared out of thin air about three years ago. Does it make her more likely? Yeah. But I ran into her the Saturday before last.” Marissa combed her fingers through her hair as she sat back. “Plus, with Mr. Tombs in there freaking out, it could be him. There’s still Rick, and Josh.”
“What if it’s more than one person?”
“It’s possible. More for me to go through. Though, this is awfully convenient. The woman wants to control Carson. If she can cast enough doubt on Chelsea, Carson may change his mind.”
“Didn’t take that much with you,” Brian pointed out.
Marissa lifted a shoulder. “Which is why it didn’t hurt that bad to walk away.” She blew out a breath. “I’m going to need to question her. I’ve got to figure this out.”
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“That I need more information.”
Chapter 24
For once, when it would have been easy to slide deep into the low morale of the firehouse, Metcalf didn’t. He focused on finding some extra clue to push the investigation forward. Anything.
Sooner or later, the wave of loss would hit him, but for the moment, he managed to push on. He sat at the table, going over the reports from the lab. They were fast this time, wanting to solve the case.
Ramirez brought two probationary firefighters through the building. The spots needed to be filled, but it seemed to solidify the fact they’d lost two of their own. With Gavin’s injuries, he wasn’t coming back.
They hadn’t had a female firefighter in years, but one of the people with Ramirez was a young woman. The guy looked military, but maybe he’d recently left.
“Hey, Metcalf. This is Autumn Givens, who will be on your crew. And Justin Meyer, who will be working on the other team. This is David Metcalf, who is pulling double duty as our fire investigator as well as a firefighter.”
“Welcome to the firehouse. If you need anything, let one of us know.”
Autumn nodded. “It’s a pleasure to be working with such a tight crew. I know it will be hard with one in the hospital, but I’ll do everything I can while I’m here.”
“Thanks. We’ll adapt. It’s good to have you.”
Justin offered his hand. “I’ve heard good things a
bout you.”
“Thanks. And my offer to help goes for you too.”
“I appreciate that.”
Ramirez nodded to the hall. “Come on, let’s meet the rest of the people.
Metcalf focused back on his notes. Though he really didn’t understand why the arson cases hadn’t been escalated. With the bar explosion, he’d honestly expected it.
Kyle dropped into the seat across from him. “Gavin is in bad shape. He looks like hell. They’re keeping him sedated.”
Metcalf lifted his gaze and nodded. “Yeah. With the back injury, he’s not coming back as a fireman. You going to be able to be there for him? You two are closer than anyone else.”
“Of course. But I think you two may be closer.”
“I’m sure we’ll all be there for him.” He gave him a lopsided grin. “Marissa and I are taking Jenny to a theme park so Cadence can spend the day with him. Hopefully by then he’ll be awake and conscious.”
“I plan to visit him every day. This might kill him, though.”
“Not if we stand by him. It’s going to be hard—for all of us. But we can band together and help drag him out. Same way you did for me.”
“Not the same. You didn’t have injuries that could keep you out of the job.”
“They didn’t know that at first. Remember, the bullet broke my leg. They weren’t sure how well it would heal.”
“Yeah, but it did. And you came back.”
“And I was still a damned mess for a year. Shit, if it hadn’t been for you guys dragging me to Doctor Eisman I would have fallen apart.”
“Yeah, but your wife didn’t help with that situation. Cadence will be there for Gavin.”
“Gavin will need his friends too. Trust me. Cadence will get him all day every day. That’s going to reach a breaking point. She’ll need us as backup.”
“We’ll be there.” Kyle leaned back in the chair. “Figure anything out about these fires?”
“Other than someone is starting them? Not yet. Marissa has leads, but nothing solid. We’re trying. I don’t want to watch another of us go down.”
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