Night Fire (Nightriders MC Book 3)

by Silver James

  All Smoke had to do was cooperate with the DA. He’d get off with probation. We could have moved somewhere, started over. The bitch just laughed at me. Called me stupid and naive. Maybe I was. I curled up on the couch and snuggled Smoke’s T-shirt to my chest, burying my nose in it. Leather and a hot summer wind and cherry pipe tobacco. It still smelled like him. Barely. Eventually I wouldn’t even have that.

  I started laughing. I was so damned pathetic. At this point, I should haul my sorry butt off this couch, get in my car and drive to my favorite ice cream parlor. I should buy the biggest Fix & Go container—all fabulous 48 ounces of coffee, cookie batter, and cinnamon ice cream and every single add-in goodness they had.

  With that goal in mind, I headed out. Ice cream was my emotional duct tape.

  I had to turn off the radio. Every single song was one of those crying-in-my-beer ballads. Where was Garth and Toby when I needed them? I wanted friends in low places and I’d take them to Honkytonk U. I pulled into a parking lot to pull up a play list on my phone. I’d plug my cell into the Highlander’s sound system, roll down the windows, and sing along at the top of my lungs.

  Once I had things organized, I got ready to pull back into traffic. Except there was fog rolling in. No, not fog. Smoke. I sniffed the air blowing in the window. I’d been a firefighter and now an arson investigator. I would never forget that smell. I pulled out on the street and followed the haze.

  Three blocks away, I found the fire. An abandoned two-story building, one side engulfed in flames. I dialed 9-1-1 and gave my report even as I was rushing toward the crowd of people gathering to watch. I needed to make sure they stayed well back, and that no one blocked the street for the engine and truck companies. Then I heard someone yell.

  “There’s an old man who lives in there!”

  I started running.

  Chapter 18

  Smoke

  I STARED into the flames lapping hungrily at the wood siding. Fire is a living entity—breathing, all-consuming. It gives life to those in the know and offers death to the unwary. Fascinating. Mesmerizing. Rooted where I stood, I could only watch. I’d smelled the smoke, been drawn inexorably, just like when I was a kid. I was supposed to be with Digger, helping him finish what I’d started. Boner had sold us out. We were all hunting the sonavabitch.

  “There’s an old man who lives in there!” Someone yelled and figures danced through the flickering shadows.

  I heard the shouts, smelled the scorched hair stink rising from the crowd as onlookers panicked. An old man has lived his life. If he didn’t have the sense to get out before the inferno burst into being—

  A figure detached herself from the darkness ringing the building. She sprinted toward the one entrance no wall of flame blocked. Leigh. And she was headed straight for a hell beyond her imagining.

  Three strides. Four. On the fifth, I took her to the ground, pressed her flat beneath me as she fought.

  “Let me go! There’s someone—”

  “Be still, Leigh.”

  She froze. “You!”

  Not a question. An accusation. I could live with that, but I couldn’t live if she died in that building. “Stay here,” I ordered. “Promise me!”

  I gave her enough space to roll to her side so she could see my face, could see my resolve. “I can’t. He could still be alive—”

  “I’ll get him out but you have to promise to stay here. Promise. Me!” I gritted my teeth against the need to keep her safe, knowing I couldn’t be gentle.

  Her eyes searched my face. She relaxed as much as she could, nodded. “Promise.”

  “No matter what,” I pushed. “You stay out here. Wait for the trucks, for the firefighters. Promise me!”

  “Yes. I promise. Just…get him.”

  I didn’t stop to think. Didn’t consider the futility. Saving this unknown man was important to my woman, my…mate. I could do nothing else.

  I left her with a hurried kiss, charging across the open ground and through that door. Acrid scents burned my nose, my lungs, but I didn’t stop my plunge into hell. Seconds turned to days, minutes to weeks, but I found the old man still breathing. I dragged him to the door and outside where the air was only slightly sweeter. I was about to take him farther away when I heard it. A whine, full of pain and desperation.

  The old man coughed, spoke. “Momma dog. Pups.”

  Shit. I left him crumpled on the ground. Returned to the nightmare. I followed the pitiful sound. Found her. A shepherd mix, maybe part wolf. Three pups. I stuffed them in my shirt, grabbed the female by the scruff of her neck with a growl. She stilled as I lifted her into my arms.

  The fire breathed around us, hissing and snapping, angry at the intrusion. It reached fiery fingers toward me, brushed against my leather jacket but didn’t touch me. Pissed that it had missed, the hellish bitch stretched to the beams above my head. The ceiling collapsed in a shower of sparks, cutting me off from the door. I curled around the dogs. I’d failed them. Failed Leigh. She’d never know how much I loved her.

  “I’m sorry, babe.”

  Leigh

  I STARED as the building collapsed. Sparks shot into the night sky, shooting stars of the most devastating kind.

  I’m sorry, babe.

  Standing there, frozen with horror, I waited. Smoke would come out. I’d heard his voice. He would walk through the flaming rubble, emerging like the phoenix.

  He didn’t. Minutes went by. The hose teams from Stations 56 and 20 put water on the fire. A ladder truck arrived. More engines and hoses from Station 22. More water. But no Smoke.

  The old transient sat nearby being treated by EMTs. He watched me, his rheumy eyes filled with tears.

  “Momma dog and pups,” he wheezed. “He went back for ’em.”

  My throat was too clogged with fear, burned too much from unshed tears to produce speech. My badass biker—the man I hadn’t trusted, the one I drove away and ultimately turned my back on because I thought he was a criminal—had run back into a burning building to save a stray dog and her puppies. How could I have been so wrong about him? My heart hurt and I rubbed at my chest. How could I not love a guy like that?

  Someone gripped my shoulder, shook me.

  “Daniels!”

  I looked over at the fire chief. “He’s not coming out.” I felt dead inside.

  “Until we bring out his body, this isn’t over.”

  The chief had far more faith than I did.

  I watched, thinking of happier times. Smoke’s voice whispered in my memory.

  “I know what we can do.” He waggled his brows at me.

  “I can just imagine,” I replied, thinking his idea would take us into the bedroom.

  “You quit, get on the back of my bike, we ride off into the sunset.”

  So easy, but too late now. The Universe’s joke was on me. The arson investigator and the arsonist. Doomed from the start.

  Digger

  “HE WENT BACK FOR ’EM,” the old man said. Fuckin’ fool. The Russian sent Smoke back here to redeem himself. We were going to take out the Dallas Hell Dogs once and for all and needed Smoke’s expertise to bring their clubhouse to the ground. Then his fuckin’ hero complex got in the way.

  Rook walked up, stood at my shoulder. We both watched, waiting. It’d be a gawddamned miracle but Wolves were tough and Smoke was tougher than most. Still, we were here on business. I jerked my head toward the crowd. Rook nodded and we split up to mingle with them.

  I got a chance to talk to the old guy when Rook arranged for a distraction and the EMTs took off.

  “You’re like him,” the man rasped. “The one who started it.” That got my attention. The dude’s fingers scrabbled at my cut. “His said president. He set the fire. I tried to stop him. He pushed me down. Don’t remember anything after that, not ’til that young feller dragged me out.”

  Fuck. Boner. Had to be. I signaled Rook and we took off. Smoke was on his own. For me? It was time to hunt.

  Leigh

&nb
sp; THE RISING SUN painted the eastern horizon in pale imitation of the fitful fire still burning. The building was a total loss. And I was a total wreck. An ambulance stood by just in case. Just in case Smoke walked out of what had been an inferno. Just in case the firefighters currently poking through the debris found his body.

  My eyes felt like burning embers had been embedded in my lids when I rubbed them with the heels of my palms. No tears. They’d dried up hours ago. A firefighter from Station 22 walked up, stood beside me, silently watching the salvage and overhaul—only there was nothing to salvage.

  “You should go home, Leigh.”

  “Can’t. Not until I know for sure.”

  “The captain got a call from the hospital. The old man is gonna be fine.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  “C’mon. You need coffee. Red Cross is here.”

  He herded me toward the canteen truck parked next to the R&R area set up for the firefighters and several already stood in line. Others sidled up behind us.

  “Who bought it?”

  “Supposedly the asshole who set the fire. Serves the sonavabitch right.”

  I pivoted to confront the callous bastards—two cops stuck on guard duty and pissed about it. Before I could retort, a shout from the ruins had hope surging.

  “Get the EMTs!”

  I raced back, watched a man emerge. My heart clogged my throat and I couldn’t breathe. I stared, inching closer. But it wasn’t Smoke. It would never be Smoke ever again. I had to accept he was gone. And my heart fractured.

  Chapter 19

  Digger

  I GLANCED DOWN. The silver and black wolf at my side watched the activity below, his nostrils flaring at the acrid scent of wet ashes. My own nose did the same. That shit stank. The woman—though it was hard to tell she was female given the coveralls—holding his attention stood ramrod straight while staring at the burned-out husk of the building.

  Dropping my hand to his back, his ruff bristled. “Time to go.” He stared up at me then turned and lunged to place his paws on the side rails of the borrowed truck, whurfling softly to the dog curled up in the pickup’s bed. “She’s fine. So are her pups. We’ll take care of them, but we need to get out of here.”

  Opening the passenger door, I waited until he jumped into the seat. I couldn’t help but wince at the missing patches of fur and scorched flesh along his chest and wrapping across his left shoulder, back, and flank. Burns hurt like hell even if you were a Wolf.

  I made sure the mama dog and pups were secure as I rounded the back of the truck to get into the driver’s seat.

  Digger? My name echoed in my head.

  “Yeah?”

  I can’t leave her.

  He wasn’t talking about the dog. Fuck. “You can’t stay.”

  Silence.

  I glanced over. His gaze was fixed out the windshield. He’d always been strong, as evidenced by his ability to speak the way we were. It wasn’t easy, especially for a lone Wolf. Not many of our kind ever developed the ability. It was one reason why the Russian could send him all over the country. Still, it didn’t fucking matter how strong he was. This separation—the knowledge he couldn’t be with her—would kill a lesser Wolf. And it would likely cripple him in the long run. I knew all about that.

  He howled his lament as I put the truck in gear. The windows were rolled up but that heart-breaking sound couldn’t be contained by steel and glass. As if she’d heard, the woman down below turned a tear-streaked face to the sky. Driving away, I knew I’d ripped out Smoke’s heart.

  And I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

  Leigh

  I STUDIED the hole in the interview room’s wall. Vaguely oval. About the size of my hand. I wondered who’d put their fist through the sound-proofed sheetrock. The door opened and a DPD detective walked in with the fire marshal, Chief Wilson, and the guy from ATF. “I’m Detective Bob Evans, Ms. Daniels.” he said.

  “Sergeant Daniels.” I corrected the detective automatically. Except I probably wasn’t a sergeant any longer.

  “Look, Leigh, I know this is hard, given your connection to the suspect.”

  Hmm. Using my first name to establish a connection. I wanted to laugh. This whole idiotic scene was straight out of Interrogation 101. I’d already passed this course.

  I leaned forward on the table, my expression as sincere as I could make it. “Look, Bob, you have no clue if this is hard or not. Let me explain something. We aren’t going to be BFFs. Good cop, bad cop won’t work on me. I’m not a person of interest. If you stretch the truth, you might convince a judge I’m a material witness.”

  Chief Wilson, the fire marshal, cleared his throat. Technically, he was in charge of the Arson squad and my superior. “Leigh, just a few more questions. You keep telling us Brian Jenner is innocent.”

  “He is.” A dull headache throbbed between my eyes. I felt adrift and I’d bet my eyes looked glazed over. I corrected myself. “Or was. Since he’s dead.”

  “We haven’t found his body, hon.” Detective Bob was still playing the good ol’ boy. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “That was the last time, hon.” I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes as the sting of tears I didn’t have left to shed burned. “He brought out the old man then went back into the fire to save the dogs.”

  “A man like that doesn’t save stray dogs.” The cop was scoffing now.

  “You don’t know what kind of man he is. Was.” I stood. “We’re done. I’m done. Smoke Jenner is dead. It’s over.”

  I’d learned Smoke’s lesson too late. Loyalty was important. I finally recognized what he’d been saying all along. I’d betrayed him and he’d died because of it. The what ifs were tearing me apart.

  “Unless you’re arresting me as an accessory, I’m outta here.”

  None of the three men in the room attempted to stop me. The door wasn’t locked but I paused for a moment, fitting my hand over the hole. I knew now what would drive someone to put their fist through a wall. They would do it to feel. Something. Anything. Because even pain was better than the numbness.

  Chapter 20

  Digger

  EASY AND I had ridden down from Kansas City to preside over the Blood Moon challenge. A couple of out-of-towners and wanna-bes showed up. Rook was a quiet Wolf—the total opposite of Boner. Motherfucker. If Boner hadn’t died in that fire, it wouldn’t have taken us as long as it did to track down the whole ugly mess.

  None of the Dallas chapter brothers wanted to challenge Rook so that left the outsiders. Easy and I were there to make sure things stayed fair. Rook was strong enough to take on any comers. We represented the national council because whoever won would have to get the Russian’s approval. That didn’t come easy. Rook took the presidency without shedding any of his blood. That said something. We handed over the President’s cut with the Russian’s blessing.

  A month after that last fire, the Nightriders took out the Hell Dog compound with the help of a Wolf Hardy knew from his Army days. Boomer walked the straight and narrow except when it came to threats to his pack. For some weird reason, that group of ex-military Wolves considered the Nightriders as an extension of their pack. The Russian extended the courtesy in return. We’d worked together on a couple of things—involving Hell Dogs and those bastards from Black Root Corporation.

  I hadn’t caught Black Root’s stench here in Dallas. That meant jackshit. Those assholes were cockroaches. You never saw them until you snuck in and turned the lights on.

  Easy insisted we check on the woman who would have been Smoke’s mate before we headed home. He’d gotten soft, being mated and with his and Sam’s adopted kids. Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt. If things had been different, the woman would have been part of our pack. Four months was enough time for her to move on.

  Rook, for some reason, had kept tabs on her. She’d served her suspension but didn’t return to the arson squad. Instead, she was filing paperwork at the fire academy. Easy and I
tracked her down there, then followed her home. Four months ago, she’d been healthy, vibrant. And I’d seen her devastated that morning after. Now? She was nothing but a shadow. She’d lost weight and her eyes were darkly bruised. Shit.

  “Fuck, Digger. What are we gonna do?”

  Good question. I didn’t have a fucking answer.

  “The mating bond…” Easy’s voice trailed off and I caught a hint of pain there. His mate had ignored their bond at first and things went to hell in a hurry in the aftermath.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. Easy stripped down. “What the hell?”

  “I’m shifting. She’ll let me in. You come knock on the door, looking for your lost dog.” The bastard gave me a cocky grin and changed. Moments later, a black and silver wolf with Siberian husky eyes whrfled at me, wagged his tail like a fucking dog and trotted across the parking lot.

  Leigh

  I NO LONGER CARED what happened. There was a huge, gaping hole in my chest where my heart had once been. I’d always thought my girlfriends were drama queens when they carried on after a break-up. Their rhetoric was hyperbole at its silliest. Then I’d met Smoke. Only we hadn’t exactly broken up. Smoke was gone. Dead.

  I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t do anything but sit and stare and nurse the hurt that ached all the way to my soul.

  Yeah. No hyperbole here. None at all.

  When I heard the scratching at the door, I opened it. Idiot that I am. A beautiful husky sat there. As soon as the door was wide enough for him to dart in, he did. He sat in front of me, whined, and pawed at my thigh. He was huge for a husky and I wondered if he might be a wolf mix. He had incredible blue eyes and they looked…right through me, like he knew the agonized misery I lived with every day.