J.T. said, “You want the best paintwork in town, you should come to Heller. His custom work is insane.”
“If this were mine, I’d restore the mirror finish.” Axel nodded. “A classic tuxedo-black paint with white SuperSport stripes. That fading white is no good.”
Mack looked interested. “This was my dad’s car. You think you could make it shine again?”
“Maybe.” He saw Reggie smiling at Rena a little too long and left the car to return to her side.
Brad returned, not looking happy. “It’s an obvious case of arson, I’m afraid. The cops have been called.”
“What was it?” Reggie asked.
“This isn’t official, but it looks like someone threw a rock through a front window and tossed a lit bottle of gasoline after it. They found two other bottles near the front as well, one that hadn’t caught fire, so that’s the assumption of the incendiary—what started the fire. The truck got here in time, so the damage looks worse than it really is. I imagine if the fire had spread to the chemicals in your salon, it would have been a real blaze and still burning.”
Rena clutched Axel’s hand.
“When can she start the cleanup?” Axel asked for her.
“That I don’t know,” Brad said. “Cops will be asking questions, and if I were you, I’d let them know about the graffiti.”
Rena sighed. “I still have a picture of it on my phone.”
“Man, I’m sorry.” Reggie patted her on the shoulder. “But trust me, it could be a lot worse.”
She nodded. Axel waited with her while another firefighter, this one suited up, came to talk to her. She answered what she could, but in the end she had a burned-up shop and no idea when she could get back to work.
Axel drove Rena back to her home and prodded her to pack whatever she needed to feel comfortable staying with him for the weekend. That she didn’t argue at all spoke to her volume of pain. Once she had a bag, he drove them to his house, where he drew her a bath.
She sat in bubbles, tears tracking down her cheeks. “Will you come in with me?”
He joined her and held her tight, comforting as he whispered sweet words of compassion. And promised himself he’d take Fletcher apart piece by piece, and he’d make sure to leave the body where everyone could see.
* * *
Rena snuggled next to Axel in his big bed. The cat and dog slept together on the memory-foam doggie bed he’d bought for the cat. It was too cute, and something she hadn’t processed earlier, too caught up in her own drama.
She studied her sleeping giant, watching his chest rise and fall as a sliver of moonlight bathed him through the blinds.
He had tattoos of thorns and the Grim Reaper, as well as a snake devouring its own tail which wrapped around his biceps, and what looked like monsters hiding in flames. Spooky and a little off-putting. Yet they covered a man who showed her in so many ways that she could count on him.
She didn’t know what to do about the shop. But that would come. In the morning, she’d text the girls to let them know work would not be happening Monday morning. And she’d need to find alternate accommodations for her clients. She had a pretty good feeling she could find herself and the rest of them temporary accommodations. She knew a lot of other stylists in town, was friendly with most of them.
Then too, the girls might know where they could set up temporarily. With any luck, she wouldn’t lose too many clients or her stylists because of something over which she’d had no control.
A sniff worked its way out, then another.
“Shh,” Axel murmured, his voice thick with sleep, and turned to her. “I will protect you,Liebling.”
She turned so he could spoon her, tucking her into his much-larger frame. She felt toasty warm and cared for. And no longer so sad.
Recalling her evening felt surreal. From a movie to a fire. The girls would be shocked and annoyed they’d missed out on hunky firemen. The men had all been handsome and strong, with that protective aura firefighters had. Reggie had been particularly good-looking, and Brad too. But it had been Axel who’d been there, who’d given her that strong shoulder to cry on. He’d shown her in so many ways how much he valued her.
I think I love him.
The bath had been for her comfort, and she’d shed her share of tears. He hadn’t once tried to sex her up or demand she do anything but “Cry it out,Häschen,you deserve it.”
She fell asleep with his arm holding her close.
And she awoke to the smell of something fabulous.
