A chorus of greetings met them.
“We left you a chair at the end of the table,” Taco called. “For once, I’m not in the hot seat.”
Leo cleared his throat, sending Taco a glare.
“From what I hear, you don’t handle the heat very well,” she shot back.
“Hey. Who has the big mouth?” Taco said, scowling.
The group burst into laughter until Leo settled everyone down.
“We have a community fundraiser to attend. Let’s get this going,” Leo ordered.
Shadow placed a bottle of water before her. “It’s at one, Sparky.”
“Thanks, Shadow.”
Over the last couple of weeks, the men dropped by to see her. Knight checked on her every evening. Patch made her walk, telling her she needed PT. When she grumbled aboutalready attending physical therapy, he informed her it was Patch time, and she became the lucky recipient of walking with him. It sucked, but a lot of her fears and feelings felt valid after spending time with him. Taco brought her tacos, Saint dropped off cookies and donuts, and Bear brought honey with tea. The women stopped by to drop off goodies, but something shifted between them as the men welcomed her into the team.
“As you know, we called this formal meeting to interview for the position we discussed. Do you feel like you’re up to the challenge?”
“No,” she answered honestly. “I’m working on myself. I didn’t realize how deep my feelings went. I still attend meetings, meet with Claire, and work with Candy for PT.”
“Doc won’t release you yet for duty,” Leo said. “How do you feel about attending orientation?”
“Did I get the job?” she asked, confused.
“The way we see it, like any member of this team, you’ve proven yourself by running into a burning building, protecting Maria and Harlow, and Ty’s mom. None of us can claim perfection. You’ll need to understand that we swear, and I won’t have a damn swear jar set up here for your sensitive feelings. I don’t care what Kit Kat says. I’ve already bought new furniture, paid for flooring, and a vacation. This is my safe place to let off steam.”
“Duly noted, sir. In return, please reconsider your edict about letting me near the weapons. It’s only fair we come to a compromise, and your wife will never know this conversation took place,” she said, grinning.
“Touché, Sparky,” Leo said, sounding impressed.
“We already voted, and we want you as part of the team. Your locker has your name in Braille. We have beds for Hope, Whiskey’s dog, and we put one in your office for Ice, which connects to Bears. You’ll be working closely together. If youwant to bring toys or anything else Ice might need, please feel free. We have an enclosed area for playtime,” Leo informed her. “When you get discharged, you’ll be expected to attend PT like the rest of us.”
“What do you say, Sparky?” Patch asked her.
“I accept,” she said, receiving a welcome from each of them.
“Come on, Sparky. I promised Kassie to have you at the fundraiser in plenty of time. The entire community showed up,” Leo told her.
“One more thing before we leave. What happened with Ben?” she asked.
Leo sat back down beside her. “Jeremy tortured Ben after his wife left him. He denied him food, he has injuries to corroborate his story, and the feed supplier witnessed a few incidents.”
“Why did he set fire to the community center? It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Jeremy took everything from Ben. We found a pallet on the floor of his room. His closet held basic clothing, but no luxury items most teens have, such as music, video games, or televisions. Jeremy worked him from dawn to dusk, tending the fields. Because they lived on one of the farms outside of Serenity, no one put two and two together. Ben never told anyone. He snuck out one night, raiding the truck for any loose change, and went to the Pizza Palace. He met teens from the hospital, and when they left to return, he felt like they didn’t like him. He started the small electrical fire after hours as a practice, planning to burn the farm down.”
“How awful,” Scarlett murmured.
“It gets worse. The Pizza Palace rebuilt and added video games. The kids invited him to join them. It’s how he got on the mountain without anyone noticing. He loaded on the bus with the kids, and they thought nothingabout it. The kids will now swipe their badges upon entry. One night, Jeremy woke up to discover Ben gone. He beat him within an inch of his life.”
“That poor kid,” Scarlett said, shaking her head.
“The anger built as no one noticed. As punishment, Ben decided to destroy the one place Jeremy visited. He punished the hospital employees and sabotaged the deliveries because it angered Ben when no one noticed his plight. He thought he controlled the blaze at the Pizza Palace. When he set fire to the community center, Ben assumed the fire alarms would alert the fire department, and it’d only destroy the center. He never imagined it might spread. When he saw you pounding on the doors and saw Debbie telling you about the kids, he went in shortly after you. Debbie got trapped by a part of the ceiling. Ben told her it was his fault, and she forgave him before dying. He escaped through the side window of Ty’s restaurant. Everyone gathered in the back and, devastated by the loss of Debbie, we didn’t notice him slip away.”
“He knew about my blindness. Why did he decide to kill me?” Scarlett asked, putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
