by Asha Daniels
A chuckle was followed by a groan as she walked into the darkened cabin, heading immediately for her room. Toby was right. The alarm clock was her enemy. Closing the door, she peeled off her dress, crawling into bed and pulling the covers over her head. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind shifted to a beautiful waterfall, a white sandy beach.
And all she could think about was Savage…
Tap. Tap.
“Mmm…” Georgia rolled over, smashing her face into the pillow, only opening her eyes once. Go back to sleep.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Georgia, you need to get up.”
She tugged the covers from around her face. Had she heard a noise? Everything seemed quiet. She had to be dreaming. When her door swung open, letting in a bright light from the hallway, she winced. “What the hell?”
Jessica scampered into the room. “It’s almost five.”
“Shit! My alarm didn’t go off.”
“I don’t think you’re going to work today.”
The way her friend said the words was strangled, almost terrified. “What are you talking about? Of course, I’m going to work today.” She struggled to sit up, her head spinning from lack of sleep.
Moving back and forth from foot to foot, Jessica wrung her hands. “No. I don’t think you are. There’s been an… accident.”
“What?” The words forced her into a full sitting position, her pulse racing. “What did you say?”
“A fire. There’s been a fire.”
“A fire?” Throwing back the covers, Georgia jumped out of bed. “Where? How?”
“At the lodge. There was an explosion. Where were you last night?”
“How do you know there was an explosion?”
Jessica walked closer, darting her eyes to the floor.
Georgia struggled to turn on the light by the bed. Seeing the horrified look on Jessica’s face, her legs began to tremble. “What else? What aren’t you telling me?”
“I was with Shane. He just brought me home. The call came in from his brother. You know, the deputy.”
“What about Richard and the rest of the staff, the guests?” she demanded.
“No one was hurt. At least from what I know.” Jessica’s breathing was heavy. “But I heard…”
“What? What did you hear?” She thought about the boom she’d heard just before one in the morning.
She groaned before grasping Georgia’s arm. “I wasn’t supposed to overhear, but Shane was repeating what his brother said.”
What the hell was going on? “Go on. What aren’t you telling me?
Jessica shook her head several times. “I just…”
“Tell me. Jesus!”
“They think Savage had something to do with the explosion. Some evidence that was found. I don’t know what. But he wasn’t around after the barbecue.”
“That’s because he was with me!” What the hell kind of evidence could there be?
Exhaling, Jessica took a step away. “Whatever they have sounded bad.”
“Bad? Did you not hear me? All three of them were with me until almost one thirty in the morning. They couldn’t have had anything to do with the explosion, and especially not Savage.”
“What if he set the explosion to go off later?”
Anger rushed into Georgia, a fury unlike any she’d experienced in a long time. “You don’t know him!”
“And neither do you. Two days we’ve been here. Two. You have no idea about his character. Besides, he’s an ex-con. They all are. Maybe they’re trying to get back at Deputy Marshall.”
My God, the entire story had been told. Her hand itching, she almost slapped her best friend, the woman who’d been with her through battles of near depression, tears over men. She’d helped Jessica through being fired from her job, almost losing her house. Shrinking back, she tried to rationalize what to do. Concentrate. There has to be another answer.
“Don’t be angry with me. I love you, Georgie. You’re my best friend in the world but you can’t know someone in two days. You just can’t.”
Whether or not the truth was there in her face, Georgia refused to buy into the same bullshit almost everyone else in town seemed to believe.
That they were outlaws. That they were dangerous men.
Georgia moved past her, heading into the bathroom.
“Georgia, what are you going to do?” Jessica crowded into the doorway.
“I’m going to take a quick shower and I’m going to figure out what the fuck is going on. I’m sorry you had to hear horrible stories about Savage and his friends. I’m saddened about the lodge, but you know from what we found the other day, Richard Marshall has a distinct enemy who wants him out of this town.”
“You also know that what we found is circumstantial at best. You can’t go around accusing people of things you know nothing about,” Jessica chastised.
“Watch me.” Jerking open the shower curtain, she turned on the water. “And don’t believe everything you hear, Jess. I know what these men are made of, the kind of people they are. Giving. Loving to a damn fault. They’d do anything to help others.”
Her eyes opening wide, Jessica slapped her hand over her mouth.
“What?”
“You’re in love with them.”
Georgia had zero time to argue the point or confirm or deny. However, her heart was nearly ripped in two. “There’s no one in their corner. None, and especially Savage. I’m not going to let any of them go down without a fight.” Jerking off her underwear, she stepped into the shower, almost ripping the curtain in an effort to close it. Her gut was screaming that this was a set up, but who was the real player? Her bet was on the damn deputy, maybe doing the bidding of the Senator. Would he actually have the balls to commit a crime in order to get even with Savage? And for what reason? Money always bought loyalty.
In her limited investigation, she hadn’t found any particular connection with Savage, Toby or Josh to Jeremiah Sampson, the man Savage had thrown the life ending punch at. Jealousy? A woman that Savage was dating at the same time? God, oh God. Nothing made any sense. Why blow up the lodge? Calm down. You don’t know anything yet. Her little voice was right. Whatever had occurred, there was no way that the authorities or the fire department had any time to figure it out. No matter what Shane allowed Jessica to overhear. You bet she was going to get to the bottom of the charade.
“I’ll go make some coffee.”
“Thank you,” she said curtly, holding her breath and grabbing the mesh sponge. The second she heard the bathroom door closing, she slapped her hand against the tile, tears sliding down her face.
“We’re late,” Toby hissed as he rushed into the kitchen and past Savage and Josh, cursing under his breath as he moved toward the cabinet. “Thank God, we have some coffee. I hate the damn café. Besides, if I happened to run into Georgia, I might not show up for work at all.” His joyful laugher filtered into the air.
There was no sound in the kitchen, only one light on over the small kitchen sink.
After grabbing a mug, Toby slowly turned to face the others. “Rough crowd today.” Squinting, he glanced from one to the other. “Okay. What’s wrong?”
Savage was still wrangling with the wretched information, the phone call coming from a member of the staff and not even Richard. There were zero details and no hint of what had occurred. Only the two sentences stated in a clipped manner. “There was a fire at the lodge.”
“What?” Toby huffed. “Shit! You’re serious.”
“He’s serious,” Josh mumbled.
Toby blinked several times. “Last night after we left?”
“Apparently,” Savage said under his breath.
“Oh, this is shit. What do you know? How much damage?” Toby began with questions. “Was anyone hurt? Is Georgia okay?”
Savage held up his hand, a glint of headlights shining in the window. The first light of dawn was peeking over the horizon and he had a terrible taste of bile in his mouth. “As far as I know, Geo
rgia is just fine. There were no details except the lodge is closed and until they get a handle on the situation, there is limited staff today, which doesn’t include us.”
“That doesn’t sound good at all,” Toby snarled.
“We could have trouble,” Savage muttered.
Josh leaned over, following his gaze. “Who the hell do you think that is?”
Trouble. His sixth sense was kicking in, tensing every muscle. Walking toward the front door, he swung it open just as three cars rolled close to the house, their lights flashing. “What the fuck?”
“What the hell is going on?” Josh asked, flanking Savage’s side.
“Welcome to a brand new nightmare.” Savage didn’t need his instinct to tell him exactly what was going on. They’d been set up. The assholes had actually torched Richard’s lodge. The phone call. If the jerk had been watching, then he or she knew they left the area. And no one else had seen them. Perfect.
As the first car pulled to a sharp stop, the tires squealing, the door was flung open almost immediately.
“Whoa,” Toby hissed. “What am I missing?”
“Get ready, boys,” Savage said through clenched teeth. As Deputy Marshall swaggered toward him, his hand on his gun, the kind of chill entered his body that he hadn’t felt in years. It was the very same one as the night he was arrested for killing a man.
“Parker Harland, you’re under arrest for arson of the Lone Wolf Lodge,” Deputy Marshall pulled out his handcuffs as he closed the distance.
“What. The. Fuck?” Josh took two steps down the stairs, glaring at the entire group.
“You can’t do that. Savage was with us last night, the entire night,” Toby almost jumped off the porch.
Deputy Marshall threw him a nasty look. “I suggest you boys back down and allow me to do my job. You can make a statement at the sheriff’s office later today. First things first.”
Savage only half heard the deputy as he read him his Miranda rights. Even the sounds of both Toby and Josh fighting the action were muffled. It didn’t matter the charge was trumped up or he was being falsely accused. He was going down, just like the deputy intended. He didn’t fight the situation or grow angry in any fashion. He was cold. So very cold inside, his heart and soul deadened to what was going on.
His life had no meaning any longer.
As he was shoved into the back of the deputy’s car, he heard the slamming of another car door, the distinct sound of a female’s voice.
Georgia.
“You can’t arrest him, deputy,” Georgia insisted as she pushed against the group of other deputies, shouting from a distance.
“Miss Taylor, I suggest you go back to your cabin. We have everything under control,” Deputy Marshall stated.
“Bullshit you do. You have the wrong man and you know it. You’re doing this to Savage on purpose,” Georgia snapped.
Savage twisted his head, able to see she shoved her way through the other officers, heading in their direction. He didn’t want her to see him like this, not now. Not ever. When she was within two feet of the car, hands were on her, yanking her back. “Georgia. Don’t.”
“No! You will not do this. There is no way he could have started any fire last night. None,” Georgia yelled, venom dripping from her tone.
“Georgia, honey. Come here,” Josh insisted.
She struggled, wrestling with the deputy holding her. “Get off me. I have every right to be here.”
“Miss Taylor, I understand that you have grown fond of Mr. Harland, but this involves a serious crime. I strongly advise you to back away or I’ll be forced to have you arrested.” Deputy Marshall slammed the back door. “Besides, you don’t know what this man is capable of.”
With the window cracked, Savage was able to hear as well as see her expression. What he wanted he could never have.
“I know exactly what this man is capable of, deputy.” Her face pinched, she glared in the deputy’s direction. “As I said, there is no way that Savage was involved in this supposed crime and do you want to know why?”
Savage bristled. “Let it go, Georgia. Let it go!”
She glanced in his direction, shaking her head. “No, Savage. I refuse to allow this bullshit to happen. Savage, Josh or Toby could not have been involved in torching the lodge because they were with me. All. Night. Long.”
Chapter 12
“Don’t tell me what I can’t or shouldn’t do,” Georgia said then sat down on the steps. She’d seen the way Savage had almost no expression, zero emotion, as if he’d given up entirely. The crap was getting thick.
Josh sat down beside her, staring out at the morning sky. “You didn’t have to let them know we were together.”
“Yes, I did.” She dropped her head into her hands, her thoughts jumbled. “And yes, I know that all they’re going to try and say is that the bomb was placed then detonated from a remote location.”
“We don’t know the fire was caused by a bomb,” Toby insisted. He stood at the end of the porch, his hands gripping the railing.
She shot him a look. “That’s true, except that Jessica overheard Shane talking about the fire with the good deputy. He specifically mentioned that it was a bomb.”
“Then you might have lost your job for no particular reason. Ours are already toast. Firing by association,” Toby snorted.
“Way to go. All you care about is your damn job when Savage is behind bars,” Josh snapped.
“There’s more going on here,” she admitted, knowing she had to bring them in on the entire information she’d found, no matter how painful or what it could do to their relationship.
Josh slowly turned his head. “What exactly are you talking about?”
“First, let me ask you a question. How did you all get this job?” Georgia had a few theories of her own.
“I ran into a guy I knew, and he mentioned Lone Wolf. Said there might be jobs for us.” Josh’s words were stilted. “I wish we’d never taken the damn job.”
“Then we wouldn’t have met Georgia,” Toby said under his breath. “Worth the shit we’re going through.”
She tried to smile. “Think, Josh. Did you just happen to mention you were looking for employment then he had a brilliant thought?”
Josh exhaled, his eyes darting back and forth. “No. I was buying a six pack of beer and the guy came up to me. Second sentence out of his mouth was about Lone Wolf.”
“You know this guy well? Talked to him after you got out of prison? Shared with him personal information?” she asked, pushing.
He laughed. “No. I hadn’t seen him in almost five years. Think he does some work around here though. I saw his truck yesterday. What are you getting at?”
“So, a guy you haven’t seen since before you went to prison just happens to find you in a store and out of the blue says there’s a great job for not just you, but all three of you. Don’t you find that a bit odd?” She issued a guttural sound.
“Well, when you put it that way, you bet. Too convenient.” Josh threw a look in Toby’s direction.
“Jesus. You’re right and we fell right into this shit. This entire gig smells of a set up in every way,” Toby said as he walked closer. “However, the question is why? Who cares?”
“What are you thinking?” Josh pressed.
She clasped her hands together. “What I’m going to ask you is difficult, but I need an answer. Did Savage kill someone else prior to the event in the bar?” The look shared between both men was far too telling. “What does the deputy have on Savage, other than the bar brawl?”
“You don’t understand,” Josh said, his words almost inaudible.
“Then help me understand,” she insisted. Whatever secrets they were hiding had to get out in the open now.
Josh climbed down the stairs, taking several long strides. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he squinted as he looked up at the sun. “Savage is one of the best people I know. Everyone thinks he’s dangerous, but that’s only because of his training in
the military. He was in Special Ops, highly skilled. He could have had a damn good career in the military, but he wanted more.”
“I know he’s a wonderful man, Josh. That’s not what we’re dealing with here.” Georgia tried to keep her voice even.
“He didn’t kill anyone, Georgia. He didn’t even throw the punch that ended Jeremiah’s life. I did,” Toby stated as he gazed down at her.
“What?” Goose bumps popped along her arms. “Then why would he tell me that he did?” When Josh gave Toby a nod, she finally rose to her feet. “No secrets. If we want to help Savage, then we have to work together.”
“Agreed.” Josh exhaled. “All three of us were in that fight, as well as the two buddies the kid had brought in.
“There was no way that Savage could have thrown the punch because he was trying to protect the waitress as well as pull Josh out of the middle of the melee. The shit happened so fast. So damn fast. Punches were flying. Glass breaking. But Savage was three feet from the asshole.” Toby swallowed hard. “I was the only one who could have killed him. I never meant to hurt him, not really, but the way all three of the assholes were acting, treating every woman in the bar like trash goaded all of us.”
“True enough,” Josh half whispered.
“You’re not even certain you threw that punch?” Georgia wasn’t certain if she was even asking the question. Everything was starting to come together. She knew without a doubt exactly who was doing this, and Richard needed to know the truth.
“I guess. A couple witnesses insisted that Savage was the one to blame,” Toby muttered.
“Do you know their names?” Georgia asked, her gut churning.
Toby shrugged. “I don’t think we were ever told. They didn’t have any of them in my court case. Just sworn statements.”
“Right. Of course,” she hissed.
“Mine either for that matter.” Josh nodded to Toby.
“Doesn’t matter now except that Savage continues to harbor the guilt.” Toby narrowed his eyes. “You need to tell us what you’re thinking here. I’m not going to allow this crap to continue no matter what I have to do.” He clenched his fists, his eyes wild with anger.