Mercy’s eyes widen into beautiful blue pools of indigo. Her head whips around and those chestnut curls fly around her head like a halo backlit by the sun, glowing with fire and energy. “Who? The guy? He was here?”
“Shit!” She stomps through the crowd, pushing and hollering. “Get back! Move!”
But like cattle nobody moves, just staring at us like we’ve lost our minds.
But watching her brings back exactly what scared the hell out of me.
He wasn’t watching his masterpiece or whatever the hell you want to call that mess.
He was watching her. And that last smirk he shot me? That smirk said he knew what I was thinking.
That I’d do damn near anything to protect that woman. Because Mercy is mine. She has been since I saw her for the first time and she chewed my ass out.
And he knows it now. Chills creep down my spine and I force my way after her.
I can’t let her out of my sight. Because if I do, she might be the next mess he leaves burning somewhere.
And I’ll burn down this whole damn town to make sure that never ever fucking happens.
Again.
“I can’t believe he was right there! Did you get a good look at him? Anything that you remember that could help us find the fucker?”
“I know him.”
Her pretty head whips around and she stares at me like I’ve lost my damn mind. Hell! Maybe I have.
But I know that fucking face. Know that evil damn sneer. Those cold damn eyes, like a shark.
“You know him? Who the hell is he?”
“Frank Murtaugh.”
Her eyes go a little fuzzy. Like she’s thinking. And I wish she’d remember so that I don’t have to say the fucking wordsout loud. Dig into my chest and rip my fucking heart out all over again.
The house is quiet. Mom’s gone at work and we’re alone here. Feels like the first time we’ve really been alone and there’s something crackling in the air.
But it doesn’t make things any easier. I stare down at my feet, my gaze turning inward, lost in all the old memories, pain.
“He was a firefighter for our department about ten years ago. My little brother Roger had just started working with us. He was nine years younger than me. Went away to college to study English. I always hoped that he’d get a nice, safe job. Not follow in my footsteps. Or our father’s.”
“Your father?”
My gaze turns inward. “My dad was a firefighter. He was killed in a huge fire when Roger was born. I was only nine.”
“Oh, Reed,” she breathes.
I turn away. I don’t want to see her sympathy. All I want to do is get through this.
“Roger spent his whole childhood following me around but I begged him to go away to school. Get his degree and follow another path.” Sighing, I run my hands through my hair. “But he did it and came back home to join the fire department instead of the English department at the school. It was what he wanted and I couldn’t talk him out of it.” I huff out a frustrated breath. “I fucking tried. So fucking hard. But he was insistent.”
I thought it would all be alright. Until that night. Closing my eyes, I clench my fists, fighting the pain washing over me.
Finish it, I growl to myself. Get it done and get the hell out of here and go lick your damn wounds in peace!
“He was on for the night and I was off. I had a date and I was looking forward to it. It was our third date. You know…”
She whimpers and I squeeze my eyes shut tighter. I was gonna get fucked. I’d gone through a long damn dry spell andeven though we were dealing with a bunch of strange fires, I needed it.
