“Can I help you?”
“I certainly hope so.” My fists formed into balls, and I leaned against the brick wall, eyes searching his face for something I hoped would explain what was happening.
“Who are you?” the brunette asked. She glared at me with a pair of arctic blue eyes. Before I could answer her, Jeremy spoke up.
“You’re familiar,” he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “Do I know you?”
“My name is Erik Hansen. I’m Paisley’s Fire Captain.” It was too late now if I’d even considered lying, but I didn’t care. Someone had to get to the bottom of this.
“Right,” he said, sounding less than enthused. “I remember you from the hospital.”
“Yeah.” I pushed myself off the wall and took a step in his direction, secretly pleased when he took a second step back. The woman stepped to the side, unwilling to get in the middle of whatever was about to go down. She was still scowling.
“What do you want?” Jeremy asked, a hint of fear rising from his throat.
“Answers.” Somewhere in the distance, the whine of an ambulance sliced through the air. The boys were on a call; I just hoped the sound of a police siren didn’t follow.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Jeremy said, his chin tilting slightly as a drunk group of college kids passed us, laughing about something, barely recognizing that we were standing there.
“I think you do.” I took another step toward him, but Jeremy didn’t return this time. He straightened up instead as if sizing me up. But even at his full height, he still looked like a chickenshit.
“Whatever you need, I can’t help you.”
“You realize Paisley is in jail, don’t you?” I asked. “She’s been wrongfully accused.”
“I do know, but I don’t believe there’s anything wrong about it,” said Jeremy, and the lie was flat rolling off his tongue. My hands flexed as rage simmered in my throat.
“You can stand there with a straight face and tell me that you sincerely believe your ex-fiancé started this fire to harm you?”
“Without a doubt,” Jeremy said. “She’s had a vendetta against me since we broke up.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
“That’s neither here nor there, and it’s certainly not your business, asshole.”
“You’re walking a thin line, Jer.”
“Get out of my face before I call the police.” He tried to shoulder past me, but I put my arm up against the wall, blocking his way. To the side of us, the woman pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her jacket and flipped it open, hand ready to call the police and have me dragged away for harassment. I didn’t care. Not anymore.
“You need to tell the court that your suspicion is wrong and that you don’t believe Paisley would be capable of doing this.”
“Then I’d be lying,” Jeremy said. He hesitated for a split second before he spoke the following words. “It’s not like the bitch didn’t deserve it.”
Something inside of me snapped, and it was a split second before my fist connected with Jeremy’s face. I wasn’t sure if his nose or the glasses made the cracking sound, but he stumbled back, holding his face as a string of cuss words flew from his mouth. The dark-haired girl gasped, hand fluttering over her mouth.
“Mother fucker!” Jeremy snarled, but he didn’t try to fight back. His glasses were lying in the grass next to his feet when he straightened up, and blood poured from a supposedly broken nose.
“I’m going to call the police!” the woman shrieked, but Jeremy glanced over at her and slightly shook his head.
“It’s fine, Brenda,” he panted, one hand back over his face to catch the falling blood. “Don’t involve more police.”
“Here’s the deal, asshole.” I took a step towards him, and this time Jeremy did stumble back a few steps. “If Paisley goes to prison because you didn’t fight for her due to some childish relationship problems, then I will hunt you down. And I will kill you.”
I turned away from Jeremy, hands shaking with rage. I wanted to pummel him into the ground, but I couldn’t, not like this. Paisley was in trouble, and I had a job to prove her innocence and get her out of there. Jeremy was a grade-A douchebag, and I refused to be like the lying, cheating fiancé she’d left. I loved her and would not let her go down for this.
Chapter47
Paisley
