Taking the Heat

by Samantha Long

  Addie bit her lip and he could tell she thought about it. Then she leaned in and kissed him soundly. “We can start looking tomorrow.”

  He was finally happy, he thought as he finished eating. He’d met an awesome, strong, fiery woman that filled the empty spaces inside of him. Hopefully Isaac was looking down on him and was content with the choices he’d made. He wanted Isaac to be happy wherever he was and know that Finn was doing whatever possible to protect Kelsey.

  His thoughts did turn dark at that. Aaron had always seemed like a good guy. Wanting to help the community, working hard. He’d never once got the vibe from Aaron that he hated him. Or was jealous.

  That reminded him, he needed to call Jack and let him know what happened, and that he’d found the arsonist. It still surprised him that it wasn’t someone from his military past. Maybe Aaron had paid more attention to his tattoo than he thought.

  “Hey, you’re getting that frown again.” Addie waved her hand in front of his face.

  He blinked, mustered up a smile. “Sorry, just confused about Aaron.”

  “I know. But what happened with him wasn’t your fault. It was his.” She stood and started putting trash in the brown burger bag. “There was just something messed up in his head, and for some reason he targeted you. And Kelsey. But now he’s dead and it’s over.”

  Finn really hoped it was. According to the evidence, it was over. He just had to accept that. Kelsey was safe, and Aaron was dead. “You’re right. It’s over.”

  “Good. There’s that smile.” She leaned over the bar and gave him another kiss.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Addie

  Chaos reigned in her classroom as the kids twirled and jumped in their costumes. It was Halloween, a Friday, and the kids were hyped up on sugar and soda. She’d already taken the maximum dose of Excedrin, and even though her headache throbbed, she enjoyed watching the kids have fun.

  She, Gemma, and Autumn had stayed late last night to decorate each of the classrooms. It gave her something to do, since Finn had a shift at the station anyway. God, she was already thinking of them as a couple. Which, they were, but it was how easy she thought of them that way that shocked her. She’d always been against relationships, against trusting someone on that level, but Finn showed her that she could.

  A group of girls shrieked. She looked at them and saw that one of the boys had thrown a fake spider into the mix. The girls danced around, waving their hands, dramatic even though by now they knew it was fake. She smiled to herself at how easy life had been at that age.

  Since Finn had a shift tonight, she was going to pass candy out at her apartment. Plenty of kids in her apartment complex dressed up and she loved the look on their faces when she dropped the candy in their bags.

  When the bell finally, mercifully rang, the kids flew out of the classroom, bags of candy and book bags on their arms. Autumn entered the classroom a minute later.

  “Tell me again why it’s illegal to imbibe alcohol at work.” She sank into one of the chairs and rubbed her forehead.

  “I can’t think of a reason right now.” Addie grinned at her friend. “Are you and Caleb doing anything tonight?”

  “I think so.”

  “That sounded enthusiastic.” Addie peered at her friend, trying to discern what bothered her.

  “Ugh.” Autumn slumped in the chair. “He wants me to meet his parents again.”

  “Why is that such a problem?” Addie was genuinely curious. Now that she and Finn had cemented their relationship, she wondered how meeting his parents would be. It couldn’t be as bad as finding out Jenna was his sister.

  “It’s seems so final and I’m not sure I want this to be final.” Autumn leaned on her elbow and looked at Addie. “I see Gemma and Carter, and now you and Finn, and I can’t help but wonder if fate is against me. That Caleb will be the one I end up with.”

  Addie wanted to laugh it off. The idea had some merit, but she wasn’t going to tell Autumn that. “I think that you should just go with the flow, let things happen.”

  “When did you become a Zen master?” Autumn rolled her eyes, then sighed. “Damn it, you’re right though. All I’m doing is making myself miserable thinking about this.”

  “Exactly. So stop worrying and have fun.” Addie realized what she said could apply to herself, too. “I hate being right.”

  Autumn laughed, her eyes sparkling. “Yep.”

  On the way home Addie thought about swinging by the firehouse to surprise Finn but wasn’t sure if that was an okay thing to do yet or not. She decided against it, not wanting to upset him. She was still a little unsteady with this relationship stuff and didn’t want to ruin it before it really began. It took her a bit longer than normal to get home, everyone was getting off of work early to get ready for trick-or-treating or Halloween parties.

  This was the first year she hadn’t gone to one. Without Finn beside her, she just didn’t feel like going. Was she losing her party girl side? Was she being domesticated? She laughed at that as she finally pulled into her apartment complex.

  Tonight she’d have to put Harlow up. She didn’t want her racing out of the apartment every time she opened the door to pass out candy. She cradled the now not-so-kitten size Harlow and stroked beneath her chin. Harlow purred and nuzzled Addie’s neck. Addie’s heart warmed at the fact that Finn had thought of her when he’d first seen Harlow. Even then she’d been on his mind.

  Even then he’d been on her mind.

  After setting Harlow down, she found a large, blue Tupperware bowl and set it on the counter. She dumped several bags of Reese's, Butterfingers, and Dots into it, then she set it on the table by the door and went to change into her comfy clothes.

  It wouldn’t be long before the kids came knocking. She’d thought briefly about dressing up, but the only costumes she had on hand were too sluttish for little ones. Parents would revolt if she wore any of those short-skirted, cleavage-showing clothes. The best thing to do was to stay in her comfy clothes.

  The first kid knocked on the door half an hour later. A tiny Ironman stood before her and his grin showed his front two teeth missing. She heard a few other kids coming up the stairs as she put a handful of candy into his orange bag.

  “Thanks.” The tiny Ironman spun around and dashed to the next door.

  A sweet fairy princess with golden curls and a G.I. Joe with a camo-painted face stepped onto the landing. They whispered furiously to each other about something, but brightened when they saw Addie still standing with her door open.

  “Hi,” Addie said as they came closer. “You look so pretty.”

  “Thank you.” The girl twirled, her dress sparkling when it caught the light from Addie’s apartment.

  “And you look very brave,” Addie told the boy.

  The boy nodded, keeping with the seriousness of the costume.

  Addie gave them each handfuls of candy and smiled. They thanked her and ran to the next door.

  Kids knocked on her door sporadically. They liked to wait until right when she sat down and she had to giggle at that. Harlow meowed pitifully from her small crate and guilt pinched at Addie. As soon as the kids were done, she’d let Harlow out to play.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if Finn was thinking of her as he worked at the fire house. God knows she couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was ridiculous how easy she’d slid into this. Into thinking about him freely and like a boyfriend.

  Once the kids didn’t come for at least an hour, Addie let Harlow out. Harlow pranced around, shooting dirty looks at Addie, before deciding to forgive her and rubbed against Addie’s legs, purring.

  To keep herself occupied and make sure she didn’t text Finn every five seconds, she turned on the TV and watched mindless reality shows. The episodes blurred in front of her eyes.

  She didn't realize she’d fallen asleep until the knock on her door woke her up. Her first thought was that Finn had gotten off early, so she scrambled up and went to open it.

&n
bsp; It wasn’t Finn, though, but the girl that had spoken to her when Addie was leaving Jenna’s house, Jenna in tow. Addie opened her mouth to ask what she was doing here, when the woman lifted her arm and something pinched the side of Addie’s neck. She fell to the floor.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Finn

  His shift on Halloween night had been anything but quiet. Kids and people who weren’t paying attention had caused both the police and the fire department a lot of trouble. But now the only thing on his mind was seeing Addie, getting some food, and taking a shower to wash away the grime.

  The stairs to the second level of the apartments seemed like a formidable opponent, but Addie waited, so he took them two at a time, the muscles in his legs screaming. He figured she’d fallen asleep since she hadn’t answered his texts in a while, so he’d knock quietly.

  The dark landing sent a chill through his body. He dismissed it, the light probably went out again. When he reached Addie’s door and saw that it was slightly ajar, the chill went to his bones. Something was wrong, and Addie was involved. For a moment his brain stuttered as a fear previously unknown slammed into him. He’d feared when Kelsey was kidnapped, but this was a whole new animal.

  He took a deep breath, telling himself that Addie may have forgotten to shut the door. The lights were on inside, and he surveyed the room. No signs of a struggle. Nothing out of place. The TV was on in the small living room and Harlow pounced into the room when she heard him swear. She gave a pitiful meow and Finn reached down to pet her one time.

  “Where’s Addie?” Finn whispered to the cat as he stood back up. He checked the kitchen, bathroom, and her bedroom, calling her name loud enough that the neighbors probably heard. It looked like she just stepped out, but when he saw her purse and keys on the bar and her cell phone on the couch, his stomach dropped. She’d never leave without those. No woman would.

  He grabbed her cell phone and checked to see if she’d seen any of his texts. When the screen showed that they were all unopened, he had a roundabout time that she was taken. He knew she wouldn't leave on her own.

  The first thing he had to do was alert the police and call the firehouse. Chief and Carter needed to know. Then he’d call Nick and Luke and let them know. He dreaded that call. Those men were very protective of their new sister and would be highly pissed that something had happened.

  Did some crazy man take her from the apartment? Had he dressed up so no one could see them? How did he get out of here without anyone spotting them?

  That gave him an idea. He’d check with the neighbors.

  He turned to go back outside and jerked to a stop. His fists clenched and his body went cold. On the inside of Addie’s door someone had carved his tattoo. Holy shit. So it wasn't over.

  He went to Addie’s next door neighbor and knocked as loudly as he could. It took a minute and he rocked on his heels and thrummed his fingers on the door jam before he heard the door unlock. A woman in sweats and a t-shirt hesitantly cracked the door.

  “Yes?” She peered through.

  “Hi. I’m sorry to bother you so early.” Finn stood back from the door to show the lady he wasn’t trying to harm her.

  She saw the Sanctuary Bay Fire Department shirt he wore and relaxed a little.

  “Your next door neighbor, Addie, is my…girlfriend. I just got here and her door was open, her TV on and her phone, purse, and car are still here. I wanted to know if you saw anything?” He wasn’t going to mention the tattoo carved into the door.

  “No, I’ve been asleep, and so has my family,” she told him. “Check with everyone else and see.”

  Finn nodded as she shut the door quietly, then took his phone out and called the Chief. The Chief hated hearing that Addie was missing and said he’d relay the message to Carter and Caleb. After he ended that call, and after he spoke with Nick and Luke, he called the detective assigned--or was assigned, since the case was supposedly dead--and told him what he’d found. Krakowski swore into the phone and told Finn to stay there and not touch anything until he got there.

  Since he couldn’t touch anything, and his body was urging him to do something--anything--he went around the apartment complex to talk to the other residents. Each door opened with the same news. No one had seen or heard anything. Was the freaking person that took Addie a damn ghost? How could nobody see or hear anything? Addie would’ve fought like a hellcat to keep from being taken.

  An unbidden thought rose in his head, that Addie was an accomplice and not a victim, but he squashed it quickly. Addie would never do something like that and right now she needed him. Needed him to find her whole and alive.

  The detective didn’t take long to get there. He arrived with two coffees in hand, in jeans and a button up instead of his usual suit. It looked like Finn had woken him, but he couldn’t find the heart to care. The detective held out the coffee and when Finn first refused he held it out longer. “We’re going to need you at the top of your game, Sergeant Thompson.”

  Finn knew Krakowski had looked into his past and would’ve seen the time he served in the Marines. Giving in, he took the coffee and downed it in three gulps. “Satisfied?”

  Krakowski nodded. “I thought that Aaron died the night he had your sister.”

  Finn’s eyes glinted. “Someone else must’ve been in on it. No one else knows about the symbols except people I trust.”

  “You trusted Aaron.”

  Finn stepped into Addie’s apartment, waited for Krakowski to step in, and shut the door. “No, not like I trust everyone else.”

  Krakowski accepted the answer and stared at the back of the door. Then he turned and surveyed the apartment. “You didn’t touch anything?”

  “Nothing but the cat,” Finn said. “Harlow,” he clarified when Krakowski raised his brows.

  “There’s no one else you can think of that would be in league with Aaron? That would want to finish this?” Krakowski stared at Finn. “Because for someone to do this…they have to have a pretty deep hatred of you.”

  “I don’t know.” Finn wrestled with the thought, shoving his hands through his hair. Everything shifted, uneven under his feet and he knew that if he didn’t save Addie, nothing would be stable again. “I’ve only known Aaron since I moved here. I don’t think he could’ve developed a reason to hate me that much. Plus, he came here before me by several months.”

  “That doesn’t make much sense. There has to be a connection between you and Aaron. I think that’s the angle we need to consider, to pursue. Can you get your Sergeant-Major to get his FBI friend to help?”

  “They’re going to have to.”

  “Why don’t you call him, and I’ll call her family and notify them.” Krakowski put a hand on Finn’s shoulder, compassion in his eyes. “We’ll get her back.”

  Finn jerked his head in answer, then stepped outside to call Jack. If he got to the person first and there was a single bruise or scratch on Addie, he’d kill them.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Addie

  She woke, groggy and sore, to find herself in a darkened room. The smell of mildew and wet wood permeated the area and she gagged into the piece of cloth covering her mouth. When she tried to pull the gag out, her arms wouldn't move. Something hard cut into her wrists, and her arms were tied behind her back to the wooden chair.

  Fear threatened to overwhelm her but she forced it back with anger and curiosity. Who the hell kidnapped her and why the hell did they bring her to wherever this was? Vaguely, through the fog in her mind, she remembered answering the door. But the harder she concentrated, the more piercing the headache became.

  She strained to hear if someone was nearby but all she heard was the steady drip, drip, drip of water somewhere in the room. Her imagination flared to life, coming up with a myriad of scenarios where she died painfully.

  It felt like hours, maybe days, as she sat in the darkness, struggling against the rough zip ties. Her ankles and wrists burned from the movement and she wore herself out, br
eathing raggedly. The grogginess was beginning to dissipate and so was her headache, so maybe she could focus better.

  Now she remembered the woman who’d been at Kelsey and Jenna’s house and who’d knocked on her door last night. At least, she thought it was last night. Time had no meaning in the darkness of wherever she was. The woman was impossibly beautiful, a model’s willowy body and chestnut colored hair. Hazel eyes that went from sweet to hard in the moment Addie opened the door. She remembered the pinch in her neck and realized the woman had drugged her. How else would she have gotten Addie to go peacefully and quietly with her?

  Addie stopped struggling against the ties, giving her hands and ankles rest and focused her eyes in the darkness. She could see the silhouette of pipes and cement walls. A door looked to be directly in front of her, maybe twenty feet away, and the drip was still steady. It would drive her into insanity if she kept focusing on the sound.

  A little while later, Addie’s eyes jerked open at the sound of a latch being forced open. She sat up as straight as she was able, her eyes narrowed in the direction of the door. A light blazed on, blinding her for a second and the sound of high heels on cement floor moved in her direction.

  Once Addie blinked and her eyes adjusted, she saw the woman. She started to talk around the gag.

  “Hush. I’ll take it off.” The woman sashayed around the chair and undid the gag, letting it fall around Addie’s neck.

  “Who the hell are you?” Addie spit out the nasty taste of the gag. “Why did you kidnap me?”

  “My name is Mia.” The woman grabbed a chair in the corner and sat in front of Addie. “You have something that is mine.”

  Addie quirked a brow. “Really? And what might that be?”

  Mia crossed her never ending legs and smiled, baring her teeth. “Finn.”

  Addie’s heart went into overdrive. What did she want with him? Was Finn okay? Damn it, she needed to get out of these stupid restraints. “Stay the fuck away from him!”