“I swear it. We weren’t friends. We bonded over our hatred of the department. He called me to ask about getting him some information from my uncle. I did it a few times, but that was it. He left Rescue Four not long after me.”
I released Kyle’s shirt and pushed him to the bed so harshly, he almost flipped over onto the floor.
“You remember this ‘Ben’?” I asked Carter, looking over to my right.
“No,” Carter answered before looking over at Kyle. “What was his last name?”
“Um, James. I think,” Kyle answered.
“You think?” I growled, starting for Kyle again, but Carter held me back. I believed he wasn’t behind the arsons. He was too fucking weak. But he knew about them, and he knew Ben was behind them. That made his ass partially responsible.
“The police are on their way,” Carter said, holding his phone up. “They’re going to want to speak with you.”
No sooner had Carter spoken those words, than there was a loud banging on the door.
I watched as the police handcuffed Kyle and led him away. He was under arrest for some unpaid parking tickets he had, and they assured us they’d call in Williamsport police and fire investigators to question him about the fire at Angela’s and what he knew.
“You looked like you were going to kill him in there,” Carter said as we climbed into his car.
“I was,” I admitted. Everything inside me still wanted to knock him out.
He smirked. “Welcome to the club. Have you gone ring shopping yet?”
I wrinkled my forehead, turning to him from the passenger seat.
“It’s only a matter of time. I know an excellent jeweler if you need recommendations,” Carter said.
“She’s running scared,” I admitted.
He glanced over at me.
“Corey showed up at her door first thing this morning.”
Carter whistled. “No fucking way. What happened?”
“He stormed off and hasn’t responded to my call or texts. After he left, I told Jocelyn I love her, and she… didn’t say anything. She’s been hurt before.”
Carter didn’t say anything for a while as we pulled off from in front of Kyle Ellis’ building.
“You’re not letting her go, right? I mean, you know Corey. He might be pissed, but he’ll come around, eventually. And if you love her—”
“There’s noifabout it. I’m crazy about her.”
“Then you can’t give up on her.”
“Who the hell said anything about giving up? The only reason I’m looking at you instead of her right now is because of this damn arsonist.”
“Why didn’t you tell her you were visiting Kyle Ellis? Scared of love or not, I know she would’ve wanted to be here.”
I glared at Carter. “Don’t tell me about what my woman would or wouldn’t want.”
He looked at me with raised eyebrows. “I said what I said.”
“Because as scared of love as she might be, I’m just as fucking scared of losing her to this son of a bitch arsonist. I want to keep her safe from this, as much as possible.”
The smile on Carter’s face disappeared. “That, I understand one hundred percent.”
I didn’t say anything to that. Instead, I wondered if Carter understood my need to protect Jocelyn. To keep her safe from all of this.
