by Gwyn McNamee
“How did this happen?” It’s a dumb question. Stone doesn’t know what happened any more than I do, I just can’t imagine how a fire like this could have started here. Ben runs a tight ship. From what I’ve heard, his worksites are always well-maintained, and he’s a stickler for code.
“Stone!” We both turn toward his yelled name and see Savage and Gabe approaching with Dani and Skye hot on their heels. They all examine us suspiciously.
Dani narrows her eyes on me. “Nora, what are you doing here?”
Crap on a cracker.
I sigh and take a sleeping Kennedy from my sister. “This really isn’t the time, is it?”
She scowls but drops her line of questioning, instead focusing her attention on the blaze while the boys talk heatedly in hushed tones.
“It has to be him…”
“…only thing that makes sense…”
“…isn’t an accident…”
Their words don’t make sense. How can they know it’s not an accident? Who are they talking about?
Before I can ask for an explanation, a scream rents the night air.
“Noooo!” Storm sprints past us and toward the building.
Gabe catches her arm as she passes and yanks her back. “What are you doing?”
She sobs and struggles against his hold, trying to free herself. “Ben…he’s in there! I tried to call him…he’s not answering…he’s…oh, God…”
Oh…oh no…
Gabe grabs her face, turning it until she’s looking at him. “Storm, are you sure?”
Another sob falls before she manages to answer him. “Yes, he couldn’t sleep…last couple nights…been coming down here with Caleb to…work out some plans. He was gone when I woke up. My phone was off. I saw your text about…fire…when I turned it on…tried to call…” She shakes her head and collapses against Gabe.
Stone takes off past the line the firemen have created, running toward the building. Dani and Skye pull Storm from Gabe’s arms and embrace her, mumbling something unintelligible. Savage and Gabe take off after Stone, leaving me standing alone, watching the scene unfold.
Ben can’t be dead…he can’t…
The solemn look on Stone’s face when he turns to look at me from where he stands talking to one of the fireman tells me everything I need to know.
It’s true.
Ben is gone.
As the Hawke boys make their way back to us, Storm pulls her head from Skye’s shoulder and releases a sob that rips the air around me.
She knows.
But Stone, Savage, and Gabe don’t just look distraught. They look angry.
No, angry isn’t the right word.
Rage.
That’s what is burning in their eyes when they reach us.
Stone fists his hands at his sides, so tightly, his knuckles turn white. “This was no fucking accident, and we all know it.”
“What?” Storm pushes out of Skye’s hold and approaches him. “What do you mean?”
He paces the parking lot, running his hands through his hair and clenching the ends. “He can’t fucking get away with this. Not this time. Not this fucking time.”
“Who? What are you talking about?” Storm grabs at his shoulder to stop his movements, but he shoves her off.
“Not this time,” he mumbles the phrase over and over.
Images of the night outside the club flash through my head. This is exactly how he was acting that night. I know what he’s like when he’s not thinking clearly, when he’s in this state.
This won’t end well.
I approach him and place a hand on his arm. He jerks away from me, his eyes wild and unfocused. This is bad. This is really, really bad.
Gabe steps up next to me. “Stone, whatever you’re thinking, stop. You can’t go after him half-cocked and upset like this. It will only make things worse.”
“Who the fuck is him?” Storm’s screech breaks my heart even more. She’s just as confused as I am, but she also just lost her husband. I can’t imagine how confused and angry she is right now. How devastated she must be. And what Stone is doing is only make things worse.
Savage joins us, leaving Dani and Skye hovering in the background. But they don’t seem confused at all. If anything, they look just as angry as the boys.
What do they know that I don’t?
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” My question isn’t directed at anyone in particular, but all three of them look to me and then their gazes shift over to Storm.
Stone is the one who finally answers. “Ben and Caleb were murdered. And I’m not going to let the motherfucker responsible get away with it.”
Before I can question him further, he turns on his heels and storms off toward his car.
Crap.
Stone in this state is dangerous. I chase after him, Gabe and Savage’s shouts to stop following in our wake.
But his long legs eat up the distance faster than I can run.
The car’s engine revs as I reach his door. Without even glancing at me, he peels away from the curb, smoke rolling from the tires in his wake.
Déjà fucking vu.
Storming into Dom's office is unwise. But here I am, going off half-cocked with no damn plan…again.
There’s no doubt in my mind Dom is behind the fire. The only other possibility is Castillo, and despite his disdain for Dom, and his recent attack on him, I don’t believe for a second he would come after a business of one of my family members to prove a point. If he wanted to send me a personal message, it would have been personal—my house, my car, even Nora.
No, this has Dom written all over it, which is exactly what I told Savage and Gabe before I came here. We managed to get one of the firefighters to tell us Ben and Caleb were found in one of the interior upstairs rooms with large construction materials blocking the door from the outside. With no windows and the obvious accelerants used, they were doomed the moment the flames started.
The fucking bastard did this, I just know it…
I slow my walk when I spot three of Dom’s goons sitting in the area outside his office. They nod at me as I pass. I’m not sure if it’s a good sign or a bad one that he hasn’t said something to them about keeping me out of the building. I would think by now, he would have to know I wouldn’t be coming in bearing flowers even without this attack on Savage and Gabe’s business.
As usual, he’s seated at his desk, the fucking master of his domain. And he isn’t surprised to see me in the least.
I step into the office and stop halfway to the desk. It’s safer if there’s some space between me and Dom right now. Otherwise, I’m liable to do something really fucking stupid.
“Why?”
A slight grin tugs at one corner of his mouth. “I needed to send a message to everyone to keep their mouths shut, including you, Stone. I didn't mean for Ben and the other man to die, but, in this business, collateral damage happens. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Collateral damage? He was my fucking brother-in-law! My fucking family!”
Dom raises a dark eyebrow at me. “I thought I was your family.”
“Maybe you were at one time, but now, you’re just a sick fuck.”
Any hint of humor that may have existed is wiped from Dom’s face in an instant. “Do you really think your family is going to stand with you after they find out what you did? Will Dani and Savage? Will Nora?”
Her name on his lips makes my blood roar in my ears and thrum through my veins.
“Don’t fucking threaten me, Dom.”
He raises his hands in a surrender motion. “It’s not a threat, just a question based on my observations of the inner workings of the Hawke clan.”
“You don’t know shit. Stay the hell away from my family or you'll regret it.”
Dom barks out a laugh. “Are you actually threatening me, Stone? Because that would be very unwise. I’ve been more than gracious with the way you’ve been acting lately. I could have end
ed this and you a long time ago. The only thing saving your ass has been my loyalty to your mother and my love for you. Neither seems as important to me as they once were.”
The mention of my mother boils my blood even further. I don’t care about myself. But my mother, she’s everything to everyone. And she trusts him. She loves him. She has no fucking clue what a monster he is.
Complete fucking maniac.
Something has to give. It’s time she knows the truth. Then maybe, just maybe, he’ll back off and leave us all alone.
“I know that look, Stone. Don’t do something stupid. Let this be the end of it.”
I release a mirthless laugh. “The end of it? You fucking killed my brother-in-law, and one of Savage’s employees tonight! You burned his business to the fucking ground! This isn’t something I can walk away from Dom, and if you think Savage, or Gabe, or anyone else who knows the truth is going to either, you are sorely mistaken. You may have had the upper hand with Dani, but any fear they had has been replaced by a burning rage for vengeance. And that doesn’t just go away.”
“No,” he shakes his head, “I suppose it doesn’t.”
That’s it?
Where are the threats? The promises to end me and everyone else?
His easy acquiescence and calm response cause unease to crawl up my throat.
I’m missing something.
Fuck.
He anticipated this. His men knew I was coming. He already has a plan in motion, and I walked right into his castle where he has a damn firing squad.
A smug grin spreads across his face. “Given the panicked look in your eyes, I’m guessing you just realized your mistake in coming here tonight.” His hand disappears behind the desk and emerges with a .45 Glock. He lays it on his desk with a blood-chilling thunk and watches me for a moment.
I’m well and truly screwed. I ran in here gun’s blazing without an actual fucking gun.
Fucking moron.
“I really hate to have to do this, Stone. You were like a son to me, even more than my own flesh and blood one. But times change, people change. I can’t let this vendetta you have against me get in the way anymore. There’s enough to worry about without having to look over my shoulder all the time for you too.”
“And what about when I’m gone? You going to do the same to Savage and Dani? What about Gabe? Skye? Might as well take care of Storm too, you’ve already ruined her life. And Mom…she won’t have anyone left, you should put her out of her misery.”
He chuckles. “Don’t be so melodramatic. I’ll do what needs to be done. And, as always, your mother will come to me as a shoulder to cry on when things go bad. In this case, very, very bad.”
“You won’t get away with it.”
His satisfied smile has me taking a step back toward the door. He raises the gun and levels it at me, straight at my chest where my heart is beating wildly.
“You forget so easily, Stone…I always get away with it.”
The finger wrapped around the trigger flexes and time stands still.
Every terrible thing I’ve ever done on Dom’s behalf flashes before my eyes, sealing my fate. Karma is a bitch, and it’s about time I pay up for my sins.
I let my eyes drift closed. If I’m going to die, I don’t want to have to look the man who was my father in the eye while he does it.
When the bang finally hits my ears, it’s much quieter than I anticipated. Not at all how I remembered the guns I’ve shot sounding, but I still expect to instantly feel pain, searing, soul-gutting pain.
Instead, a muffled grunt and moan fill my ears, and a hand grabs my elbow.
My eyes fly open.
Dom’s body, slumped in his chair, a small red hole spreading in the center of his white shirt fills my vision. His glazed eyes meet mine, and he makes a pathetic attempt to grab for the gun that he dropped onto the desk.
Before he can make it two centimeters, four more shots ring out, jerking his body until he’s still.
“Jesus Christ, Stone…”
I turn toward my brother’s voice and find Savage and Gabe just inside the office door.
Gabe lowers his gun. The suppressor on the end of it registers briefly.
Savage just gapes at me. “He was going to kill you. What the hell were you thinking coming here by yourself? A minute later, you would be dead on the floor, and I’d be explaining to Mom that her best friend killed her son.”
I retreat until the solid wood of the open door meets my back. Sliding down it, I drop my face in my hands and try in vain to make my lungs function properly.
He was going to kill me. Actually going to pull the fucking trigger.
“Stone.” I look up at Gabe. He kneels in front of me and places a hand on my shoulder. “You all right?”
I manage a nod. But I am far from all right.
He inclines his head and rises to his feet. “I need to call the police. They’re not going to be happy about another body count.”
Body count?
Shit.
“Wait, where are Dom’s men…they were out there. Did you kill them?”
Gabe shakes his head. “One. The other two were smart enough to surrender after they saw what I did to their buddy. They met us out front, almost like they knew we would be coming.”
Because they did.
Dom may not have intended to kill Ben or Caleb initially. I do believe that was a case of bad timing on their part. But he knew damn well that fire would draw me, and likely Savage and Gabe here. And he was right. We played right into his maniacal plans.
He just made the mistake of underestimating the Hawkes…again.
“That’s all he said?” Mrs. Hawke’s question is no doubt the same one running through all our heads right now.
I open the text from Stone again and read it out loud, word for word. “Everyone is fine. At police station. May be here a while.”
Dani throws her hands up and rolls her eyes. “Seriously? That’s it? Why aren’t any of them answering their phones? Maybe we should go down to the police station.”
That’s a terrible idea.
As her sister, I feel like I should tell her that, but sitting here in the room full of Hawke women, including a grieving Storm and a very worried Dani and Skye, I’m playing it safe by keeping my mouth shut. The only thing that has kept them from bombarding me with questions about Stone is the fact that Ben is dead.
After Stone sped away from me, Gabe and Savage took off after him, saying something about needing to stop him from doing something stupid.
Knowing looks had passed between Dani and Skye, but I don’t really have a place to be asking questions. They don’t know what’s happened between Stone and me. As far as they are concerned, I’m the odd woman out in my sister’s condo right now.
Mrs. Hawke shakes her head and rises from where she’s been sitting with Storm on the couch. “No, that would only make things worse. Whatever’s happening, trust that Stone can handle it. This is his forte, isn’t it?”
Her eyes dart over to me, and a hot flush rises in my cheeks.
Talk about awkward.
Everyone in the room knows Stone and I are sleeping together. Once things settle, I’m in for a real inquisition.
Storm clears her throat, drawing everyone’s attention to her. She’s been relatively silent since we brought her here four hours ago. We waited for almost three hours, but the fire still wasn’t out. The fireman who seemed to be directing things at the scene told us there was no reason for us to continue to stay there. They would start the investigation once things were safe, probably tomorrow, and Storm would be contacted by the coroner’s office in the morning to make arrangements.
It was clear given the grim tone he used that he suspected foul play as much as the Hawke men seemed to.
Who could have done this?
And why?
“Why?” Storm voices my question, almost as if reading my mind. “Why would anyone want to hurt Ben? Or Savage and Gabe for that matter? I ju
st don’t get it.” She shakes her head, a new wave of tears streaming down her reddened cheeks.
Skye moves over to the couch and embraces her older sister. “I have a feeling we’ll have the answer to that when Stone, Savage, and Gabe get back here.”
It better be soon. The tension mixed with the anguish in this room is doing a number on all of us. Seven hours and not a word from them except that text has turned this into a cauldron of antsy, angry, distraught women.
Thankfully, Angelina and Kennedy have slept through most of it. Storm’s nanny brought Angelina over shortly after we arrived, and she crashed in the guest room almost immediately. She has no idea her father is gone.
Poor girl.
I know exactly what she’s going to go through when she finds out. I was only a few years older when Dad died. And look where all that led me—prostituting myself for drugs and wrapping my naked self around a pole.
Only the door to the condo opening saves me from delving further into how losing him will likely destroy poor Angel’s life.
“Savage!”
“Gabe!”
Dani and Skye fly across the room and practically launch themselves at their men. Stone trails behind them, deep bags under his eyes and a sullen look I’ve never seen before on his handsome face.
“Stone?” His eyes snap over to me and widen. I knew I shouldn’t have come. He wasn’t expecting me here. This is a family thing. I should leave.
“What the hell happened?”
“Why were you at the police station?”
“Where did you go?”
Questions fly at them from all sides. The only ones not bombarding them are me and Storm. Shock has settled in, and she appears completely lost to the world. I’m not even certain she realizes they’re back. Her unfocused eyes stare at the fireplace, almost as if searching for the flames that aren’t there.
Savage holds up his hands, silencing the room. “We’ll explain everything. But everyone should really sit for this.” He moves to the center of the room and waits for everyone to get settled. Gabe releases Skye from an embrace and joins Savage while she sits next to Storm and their mom on the couch.
I’m the only one who stays in the back, hovering near the stool under this side of the kitchen island.