“Someone caused this fire on purpose?” she asked, sounding as outraged as Trent.
“It seems that way. No need for you to worry, unless you happen to see someone sneaking around here earlier today,” Trent said, sounding sarcastic.
“There was some kid, a teenager with a box, by the Dumpster,” she replied and then paused, looking around her and then sliding off the truck.
“You saw someone?” Trent asked her very seriously.
* * * *
Nina panicked. These men were so attractive, authoritative, and good looking she lost her ability to think. Shit! Why did I say that I saw someone? Now they’ll ask more questions. Now they’ll want my name, my information, and they’ll enter it into their computers and Rico will find me.
“Nina, are you okay?” Johnny asked as he gripped her arm. She was standing up and so were they. Both men towered over her and now Trent was looking over her body. She crossed her arms over her chest in hopes of hiding her aroused nipples from his stare.
She turned away from them. “I’m sorry, who do I speak to about this fire? When can I go back to my apartment?” she asked.
“You may not be able to get back to your apartment at all,” Johnny told her. She gasped, the reality of this night was crashing down upon her. She felt her stomach churning, and her heart pounded inside of her chest. She’d lost everything. She had nothing left but what was on her back.
“Oh God.” She covered her mouth and closed her eyes. She felt herself losing her balance when strong arms held her and assisted her in to sitting back down on the end of the fire truck.
Johnny covered her legs with his hands as he knelt down in front of her.
“It’s going to be okay, Nina. We have a lot of assistance programs here in Treasure Town. You’re not alone.” He held her gaze.
She shook her head, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I am alone, and now I have nothing. Not even the pies I baked for Sullivan’s. That was going to be my first job to introduce my homemade pies to the boardwalk. I baked eight pies tonight and they needed to be at Sullivan’s by 8:00 a.m. Now they won’t hire me. I lost the opportunity because some jerk gets off on setting things on fire? Why is this happening to me? Why? Everything I owned was in that apartment. Including the money from the pies I sold today. There’s nothing. Are you sure it’s completely destroyed in there?” she asked as she looked up toward the smoking building. There wasn’t any more fire but just smoldering ash and firefighters pulling down siding and broken windows. To her the building looked intact and the firefighters did get to the scene quickly.
“That’s what you were trying to drag out of there? A bunch of pies you needed to get to Sullivan’s?” a firefighter asked, joining the conversation.
She nodded. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She closed her eyes.
“Let’s get back to the person you saw today by the Dumpster. You said you think it was a teenager?” Trent pushed.
“She saw someone? You think it may be our arsonist?” Ace asked as Chief Martelli joined them.
“I didn’t see anything. I’m sorry. I was mistaken.” She knew she sounded guilty or at minimum like she was lying. She was. She even saw the teen’s face and could give a description, but that would bring her more trouble. She couldn’t let these men know who she was, her last name, or anything about her. It would only put her in further danger.
“You don’t need to be scared, Nina. My name is Trent Landers, Johnny’s brother. I’m an arson investigator and we’ve been trying to track this arsonist down for months. He’s caused a lot of damage, but this situation, this fire is the worst. He’s stepped it up and someone, you, could have been killed,” he told her. She stared at his dark eyes and even darker hair. He was tan and muscular and seemed older in a very attractive way.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you,” she whispered. Trent released an annoyed sigh. She kept her head down and shivered until someone placed a blanket over her shoulders. She was shocked as feelings of guilt filled her body. Why should she feel guilty for not helping these men? She didn’t know them and she didn’t owe them anything. Even though the firefighters rescued her, sort of, she just couldn’t help them. It would place her life in danger. Six months she’d been on the run. Six months and no sign of Rico or his crew of thugs. Maybe she’d actually gotten away. No, she couldn’t help the arson investigator. This wasn’t her problem, her responsibility. Surviving, living was her responsibility. Nothing more.
“Sit back and rest. We’ll need to see the damage to the building before we can let you back into your apartment to see if we can salvage anything,” Trent told her, and he sounded disappointed. Great, now she could feel guilty and even worse about that, too.
Nina saw two more men walk onto the scene and both wore badges. One was the sheriff. She was immediately on guard. She needed to be smart about this. She had to be.
She watched from the corner of her eye as the sheriff and the other man, who was just as tall and filled with muscles, stood beside him. He glanced at her and she thought he looked familiar. She turned away.
* * * *
“Is the young woman okay?” Jake McCurran asked Johnny, and Johnny nodded.
“She was renting the apartment upstairs. She escaped through the fire escape and made it out,” he added.
“No injuries?” Detective Buddy Landers asked, looking back toward her.
“A bad cut on her side but she refused going to the hospital.”
Jake thought Johnny seemed upset. “You think she should be going?”
“It’s pretty bad, but she signed the papers and I can’t force her.”
“Who is she?” Buddy asked.
“Don’t know. Like I said, she was renting the apartment upstairs. It seems like she lost everything she had. She’s pretty upset.”
“Damn, well, we’ll connect her with Red Cross, and they can assist her, too,” Jake said.
“I don’t know. She seems suspicious to me. I don’t get it,” Trent told them with a firm expression on his face as he stared at Nina.
“Suspicious? How so?” Jake asked and Trent explained about her saying she saw someone and then retracting her statement.
“Maybe she’s just afraid the person might come after her. Perhaps Buddy and I could talk to her and let her see she would be safe. It would just be an anonymous tip,” Jake suggested.
“We can try,” Buddy said.
“She’s not budging. There’s something up with her. Mark my words,” Trent added, sounding untrusting.
“We’ll try,” Jake told Trent and then nodded toward Buddy.
* * * *
As they approached the young woman, Buddy realized why Johnny and Trent were acting so odd and kept looking over at the woman. She was extremely attractive. When she turned to look up toward him, he locked gazes with the most amazing eyes he had ever seen. They looked like the eyes of a porcelain doll or some exotic native woman, yet her complexion seemed more Italian than Hispanic or even Indian.
“Miss, I’m Sheriff McCurran and this is Detective Landers. We wanted to personally come over here and make sure that you’re doing okay. Is there anything that we can get you?” Jake asked.
Buddy was grateful because right now all he could absorb was the woman’s beauty from eyes and hair to lips and chest. The blanket she wore over her shoulder was hanging off on one side, revealing more tan skin.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” she whispered and then nibbled her bottom lip.
Jake pulled out his notepad and a pen.
“I just need a little information from you as we write up a report of this incident along with Engine 19. Can you tell me your full name?”
“It’s Nina.”
Jake raised one eyebrow up at her. “Full name?”
“Do you really need that? I mean what are you going to do with the information?”
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Buddy asked her. She gulped and widened her eyes. She shook he
r head, but something in Buddy’s gut twisted. Call it instincts from being a detective all these years and just plain experience. What kind of trouble could this pretty little young woman be in? He observed her closely.
“Then giving us your name is necessary. We have to cover all aspects of this investigation. Now last name, too,” Buddy said.
“Valez,” she whispered.
“How long have you lived in the apartment here?”
“Three months.”
“Where did you live before?”
She hesitated and looked at Buddy. Again his stomach clenched.
“Where?” Jake pushed in that authoritative way that definitely made most people respond immediately.
Nina looked him over. “What relevance does this have to your arson investigation?” She stood up from the fire truck, letting the blanket fall off her shoulders. Buddy absorbed her figure and the fact that she wore no bra under her tank top. She was well endowed. He was shocked by his body’s reaction and the sensation of attraction that hit his chest immediately. He didn’t even know who this woman was, and her attitude told him she was hiding something. Trent was right. He focused on Jake’s tone.
“Nina, you need to cooperate.” Just then someone called out Jake’s name. It was Trent and he was waving him over.
“I’ll continue with the questions, Jake,” Buddy offered and took the pen and pad in hand and looked at Nina. Jake gave her a firm expression before walking away.
“We need to know who you are. It’s part of the process.”
She looked at him and nibbled her bottom lip. “I’m not involved in the arson investigation aspect of this case. I don’t know you, this sheriff, or anyone else around here. I don’t see why I have to give all my personal information to strangers.”
“We’re the law. A serious crime has been committed. You probably lost all your belongings and valuables in that fire and justice will be served. We will find the one responsible for this.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to give you my life story. You’re right. I probably did lose everything I have in that fire. I even lost the only hope for income, too. Which means I will more than likely have to leave town to find work. I don’t have a place to live, these are the only clothes I have…” The tears started rolling down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them and turned away.
“Nina, I’m sorry, but this is protocol. We’re going to get you the help you need.”
Johnny walked over, joining them.
“I got in touch with Red Cross and the only bed available is a few towns over. But it’s a nice place, good people.”
“Great. I guess my dreams are destroyed as usual.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at the building that looked bleak on the surface.
Johnny reached out and touched her arm. She jerked away and looked petrified by his touch.
“Hey, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re the good guys. We’re here to help,” he told her. She made a snorting sound with her nose and throat.
“Heard that before. Don’t worry, I’ll manage on my own.” She started to walk away.
“Wait. We’re not finished here.” Buddy stopped her with his firm tone.
“Like it hasn’t been enough that I was caught in a fire, I’ve lost everything, and now you want to harass me, ask me a bunch of questions about things I don’t know? I’m sorry, Detective, I don’t have anything more to say.”
Buddy wondered where her sudden attitude and resistance came from. All he could seem to think was that she was hiding something. Trent mentioned her seeing a possible suspect then retracting her comment. Nina could be the key to finding this arsonist.
“We said that we would help you, and we’re going to. That’s how things are done in Treasure Town,” Johnny told her firmly with his hands on his hips. Even his brother was losing his patience.
“You want to help me? Find me a place where I can bake those eight pies, and provide me with the ingredients I need to do it so I can deliver those pies to Sullivan’s tomorrow by eight. That would make me impressed with your Treasure Town.”
* * * *
It had been a couple of hours and now Nina walked around the apartment trying to see if she could at least salvage her pie pans and her money. It was early morning and she definitely wasn’t going to be able to meet the deadline for making those pies. The tears stung her eyes and she had her hand over her throat as she looked at the mess in the kitchen. Everything was black and covered with soot. The fire had spread through the living room and to the bedroom door. It was eerie how much this apartment, this mess, represented her life. It was black, stuffy with smoke, charred, and terrible tasting as it hit her lungs with every breath she took. It was kind of what she felt like inside right now. Hollow, dark, like life was suffocating her and slowly killing her.
“Anything?” Johnny asked her as he, Jake, Chief Martelli, Buddy, and Trent looked around.
“The pie pans are destroyed,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Listen, we know the Sullivans well. The firemen who helped put out the fire tonight are two of their sons. They’ll call them and explain,” Jake told her.
“There are no excuses for failure,” she whispered, the words echoing in her head. That was something Rico would say to her when she complained about messing up a pie she made.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You didn’t do this. Some asshole did,” Johnny told her, and she glanced at him. She absorbed the sight of those gorgeous blue eyes she could get lost in if she were normal. But she wasn’t normal. She was weak minded, on the run from danger, and a loser with no professional career and no family.
She walked toward the bedroom and saw that most everything was covered in black but the bed was not destroyed all the way through. She had a surge of hope that her money was safe and sound between the mattress as she fell to the floor and lifted up the mattress. She cried, seeing her money intact.
“You keep your money between the mattresses?” Jake asked her.
She looked at him as she pulled the money out and held it to her chest.
“Thank God I did. If I put it in a shoebox in the closet or a jar in the kitchen, it would be nothing but ash right now.
She moved toward the upper part of the bed and the dresser with a renewed inkling of hope that she could stay off the streets for a day or two. She reached under the bed and pulled out her duffle bag. She always had it packed and ready just in case. If she hadn’t had the pie order she would have grabbed this and run.
She turned toward them.
“I guess this is where we part ways,” she said. All of the men looked at her strangely.
“Part ways? Where do you think you’re going?” Buddy asked her.
“I have some money, I can stay off the streets for at least a couple of nights, I have some clothes. I’ll figure it out.” She started to walk off.
“A hundred-dollar bill is not going to get you far,” Johnny said and looked at Buddy, the chief, and Trent. Jake kept his hands on his hips.
“What do you suggest?” she asked.
“That you stay with us,” he replied, and she gasped. He quickly began to speak as Jake smirked and walked away. So did the chief. It left Trent, Buddy, and Johnny there.
“Listen, we have a house and a small apartment above the garage. The tenant just left a week ago. It has a kitchen and great oven and stove,” Johnny added.
“How much is the rent?”
“We can negotiate when the time comes. You need the help, and we have an empty apartment. What do you say?” Johnny asked. She wasn’t sure that this was a wise idea. She didn’t want to owe them anything and feel obligated to do whatever they asked of her. They were very attractive men and they seemed sincere, but she had been fooled before. She just didn’t know enough about men.
“I don’t want to owe you anything. I don’t know if and when I could pay you back. You don’t know me, and well, I won’t let you use this against me to get whatever it is
you want.”
“What?” all three of them asked. Then Buddy stepped forward.
“You think we would push ourselves on you? That we would expect you to pay us back in some sexual way?” he asked her. The man did not seem to sugarcoat anything, and now that he threw the words out there between them, she felt awful.
She lowered her eyes and nibbled her bottom lip. She just wasn’t certain what to do. Was this accepting help from more men a bad decision or a cloud lined with a bit of silver in the shadow of all this darkness surrounding her? It was hard to decline as she stood in the center of a tiny, char-coated room with no place to sleep, no friends to count on, and a fear of what could happen if she let her guard down and slept on some bench in the park. She was tired of that. She never wanted to do that again.
“Sweetie, we’re good, honest men. We’re first responders in this area. Any of the men and women downstairs right now can vouch for us,” Trent added, looking her over, but keeping his distance with an expression that told her he didn’t quite trust her or this option his brother offered.
She felt her cheeks warm. The three men were gorgeous and very commanding. It didn’t scare her as much as it should have. Instead she felt this tingling sensation, an awareness she just wasn’t familiar with.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I don’t trust easy. My past is my business. I won’t cause any problems while I stay in the apartment. If I can salvage the job with Sullivan’s and my pie business takes off, then I will pay whatever you guys usually get as rent.”
“That’s fair enough,” Johnny said and reached out his hand for her to take. She stared at it a moment. The skin-to-skin contact wasn’t a good idea. She feared being close to any man, never mind touching one.
She looked at Buddy and Trent, who seemed to be analyzing her. Why she had to be in this situation with two investigative minds and one compassionate paramedic she didn’t know. She slowly reached out to shake Johnny’s hand, and sure enough when their fingers and palms locked, she felt a sexual tingle filter through her body. Johnny smiled.
Hearts on Fire 4: Kisses Sweeter Than Pie (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 6