Burnin' Love [Men for Hire: Firemen 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

He took off his helmet and cleared his throat. “Well, then, miss, if I were you, I’d start looking for another place. We can’t allow you to stay overnight.”

“But why? Is there a lot of damage?” Granted, she hadn’t checked out the side of the house, but the rest of it appeared untouched by the fire. Smoky, sure. But not burned.

He didn’t want to tell her. Yet when neither Paul nor the Chambliss brothers said anything, he took that as a sign that it was okay to go ahead. “It’s not the damage, miss. It’s the fact that we think someone set the fire.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Blane, that’s a quick determination.” Paul planted his feet and crossed his arms.

“It is and we’ll get the team out here to confirm it. But it’s a pretty damn good bet that I’m right.” He jerked his thumb back to where the fire had been. “You can see for yourself. We’ve found a charred gas can. Looks to me like someone started this fire and didn’t bother trying to cover his tracks.”

* * * *

Wade crossed his arms and watched as Daisy loaded her suitcase into the trunk of her car. They’d managed to salvage some of Melissa’s things that had been in the laundry room on the other side of the house, but many of her things were ruined by the firemen’s work to put out the blaze.

As a rule, he tried to find the lighter side of life, but he didn’t bother now. Someone had tried to hurt Melissa. The idea that Daisy, too, could’ve been in the house at the time further enraged him.

“Take it easy, bro.” Troy came to his side.

Wade kept his gaze on the women as they prepared to leave. “Sure. Like how you’re doing.” Troy and Paul were as upset as he was. The only difference was that he rarely showed when he was angry.

“It’s better that we’re getting them out of town.”

“Yeah.” He could sense Troy watching him, studying him, wanting him to talk more and make jokes. But that was the last thing he felt like doing.

“We haven’t gotten into this, but I’m going to ask you, Wade. Do you think she’s the one?”

He’d already thought about it long and hard. In fact, he’d thought about her nonstop since she’d shown up at the fire station. “Yeah. She is. She has been since high school.”

He’d known it as soon as he’d seen her again. Even after all those years, she took his breath away and made his stomach tighten with need. Her beautiful face had taken him back to the days when he’d stand in the hallway and wait for her to appear. But now was different. Now he had the balls to do something about his feelings. He was determined not to let the opportunity pass him by this time.

His anger gave way, slowly letting his feelings for her push it out. Staying angry at Charlie, John, and even himself wasn’t going to help Daisy or Melissa.

“Yeah, I agree, bro. She’s the one for us.”

“What does that mean, anyway?”

They turned to find Paul walking up behind them. Wade pivoted back to the girls. “Say it plain out, Paul.”

“It’s obvious you two want Daisy.” His words hung in the air, letting Wade and Troy gather the meaning behind them.

“We do.” For once, Wade wouldn’t say it straight out. He’d make Paul work for it.

“You know what I’m asking. Is there a place for me in the mix?”

Had they ever talked about sharing a woman with Paul? If they had, it hadn’t taken on a serious tone. After all, they’d never expected to find one woman for them, much less to include a third man.

“I don’t know,” answered Troy.

Wade studied the way Daisy’s hair shone under the sunlight. He knew she dyed her hair, but he didn’t care. Red hair fit her fiery and vibrant nature. They thing that didn’t fit her was her name. Sure, a daisy was a soft and sweet flower and she was every bit soft and sweet. But a daisy was an unassuming flower that many people didn’t pay much attention to. Daisy was anything but unassuming and overlooked.

“Who she gets with is her business. We don’t have a right to tell her otherwise.” It was laughable to even think they could.

“Wade’s right. But we’re going to tell her what we want. That’s why we’re going with her.” Troy checked his phone then put it back in his hip pocket. “That and to keep them safe.”

“That’s what we were supposed to do here.”

The lack of confidence in Paul’s voice surprised Wade. And yet he knew how he felt. They’d failed to keep the women safe, but had gotten lucky that nothing worse had happened.

“I need her as much as you two do.”

The admission was a stunning one coming from Paul. One that Wade couldn’t deny struck home. Could he stand it if Daisy chose his brother or Paul over him?

“As far as I’m concerned, Paul, you’re our brother. We’ll stick together on this, but she’ll have to decide if that’s what she wants. What about you, Troy?”

Troy’s silence hung in the air between them. “Yeah. I’m good with that.”

Paul shifted on his feet and Wade doubted he’d ever seen his friend so nervous. He wasn’t sure how to ask what he needed to know. Men didn’t discuss emotional things, but with Daisy’s and their future in the balance, he had to risk it.

“Paul, are you sure you’re ready for this?”

He didn’t have to elaborate. Paul would know he was talking about Amber. They’d seen their friend’s heartache, but he’d never spoken of it and they’d respected his decision to keep the details to himself.

Yet the hesitation Wade half-expected wasn’t there. Paul spoke with unshaking resolve.

“That’s in the past and I see now that it wasn’t what I thought it was. I’m over her.”

He exchanged a telling look with his brother. They didn’t have to push Paul for more. What he’d said was enough.

“Then we agree. We approach her together. If she doesn’t want all of us, then the man, or men, that she doesn’t choose bows out.” Paul cleared his throat, bringing back his assertive tone.

“Even if it means getting the hell out of town.” He couldn’t imagine living his life without his friend or his brother, but it would be hell on earth to see them with Daisy if she turned him down.

“That’d be a hard price to pay,” murmured Troy. “Still, there’s no other way to do this.”

“It is what it is.”

Wade almost laughed. “Damn straight it is.”

They’d just agreed to make the threesome into a foursome. He’d have balked at that had the third man been anyone other than Paul. But it seemed right. Paul was as close to him as Troy was.

“Good. It’s settled. Now let’s take care of business.” He strode away, ready to get Daisy and Melissa to Destiny and, God willing, a safer place.

* * * *

“You’re going to love it in Destiny.” Daisy had the top down on her car and the wind was whipping her hair around. Melissa sat next to her, her hair tied back in a ponytail. The wind still danced tendrils of loose hair around her face that she kept trying to tuck back into place.

Melissa hadn’t said much after the paramedics had released her. They’d tried to get her to go to the hospital, but she’d refused. Once Paul and the others had sworn that they’d keep an eye on her, they’d relented and gone. After that, she and Melissa had been escorted into the rental home to gather their things.

She’d never been inside a place that had been torched. That was the word she’d kept hearing the firefighters use.

Torched. As in deliberately set on fire.

Fortunately, Troy had smelled smoke almost as soon as the fire had started. He’d sounded the alert, and while Wade called the station and then rushed to get Melissa outside, he’d grabbed the fire extinguisher in the kitchen and gone to battle the blaze. Wade’s phone call to the station had gotten a quick response.

It could’ve been much worse. In fact, Daisy had no doubt that it would’ve been had she and Melissa been in the house alone. Thanks to the men, however, the damage was contained to a small portion of the living room. If it had grown, it would’ve leapt flames upward to the bedrooms above it and where Melissa had been resting. Smoke and water had damaged most of Melissa’s things, but things could be replaced.

The men had insisted that they leave town, but they really didn’t need to. Daisy was more than ready to agree. Melissa, still showing signs of bewilderment at what had occurred, had said yes to going back to Daisy’s B&B.

Troy and Wade had stayed with her and Melissa while Paul handled the remaining details with the firefighters. The police had arrived, too, and she was more than happy to have the men dealing with them.

Daisy glanced in the rear mirror and was happy to see Paul’s Range Rover behind them. She hadn’t resisted when they’d insisted on coming back with her. She had, in fact, been overjoyed.

“It was John.”

Daisy jerked her head to Melissa. “What?”

The poor girl looked more exhausted than ever. “John set the fire.”

Although they hadn’t mentioned it to Melissa, they’d already come to the conclusion that either John or Charlie was the culprit. Unless, of course, the owner of the home had suddenly decided to collect on insurance money. That was, however, unlikely since he was living three states away and had a booming business of rental homes. He didn’t need what little money the insurance would pay him had the house gone up in flames.

“How do you know?” Sensing Melissa was at a breaking point, she had to go easy on the questions.

“Because he’s done it before.”

“What?” She jerked on the wheel as she turned to her again. The car swerved, hitting the gravel on the side of the road before she brought it back under control. Paul honked at her and she lifted her hand to signal that she was all right. “When?”

“Charlie told me that he used to set fires just to watch them burn.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? Or the firefighters and the police?”

Melissa struggled to contain her emotions as she gripped the door and her seat. She’d been through a lot in a short time. “I didn’t think of it since it was a long time ago when he was a teenager. The thing is, he’d know how to set one.”

“Then he hasn’t done it in a while?” Nonetheless, he was still the prime suspect.

“No. Except that every once in a while, he’d light matches and play with the little flame.”

If he hadn’t freaked her out before, he did now. “We still need to tell the authorities. They’re going to want that information when they question him.”

Melissa shook her head, making the strands of loose hair dance even more. “They won’t find him.”

The tone of her voice made Daisy’s skin crawl. It was like she’d given up. “Why won’t they find him?”

“Both he and Charlie are really good at disappearing. They’ve had to do that in the past when they got into trouble with the law.”

Daisy was ready to pull the car over and shake the girl for not telling her about John’s and Charlie’s pasts. Instead, she remained calm. Getting upset at Melissa, and in turn, making Melissa upset wouldn’t help matters.

“What have they done to get into trouble before this?” She lumped Charlie in with John regarding the fire. If Charlie hadn’t had a hand in it, she was willing to bet that she’d known he was going to do it. Assumptions weren’t good things to make, but sometimes that was all there was to go on. Her instincts told her that her assumptions were dead-on this time.

“Different things. John used to set fires, like I said, but no one ever got hurt. And when Charlie paid people off, the charges went away. And Charlie? Well, she’s done a little of everything from selling stolen merchandise and drugs to beating up people for money.”

Daisy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d thought she’d gotten involved in a domestic dispute, but it had turned out to be so much more. Charlie and John were two seriously bad people. She didn’t know how to handle that kind of person.

“You should’ve told me. Or Paul, Wade, or Troy. Someone.” She tried, but she couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice.

A sob from Melissa took the edge off her anger. “I’m sorry. I know I should have, but I was afraid that if you all found out, you wouldn’t want to help me. I’m so, so sorry.”

One look at her told Daisy that she was truly remorseful. And the truth of it was that even had she known, she still would’ve helped her. Either way, it was too late now. Again, she glanced in the mirror and found comfort in seeing Paul at the wheel with Wade and Troy in the vehicle with him.

“It’s okay.” She shot her a hard look. “But you need to tell us everything from now on. Understood? It’s not only your life that’s in jeopardy now. It’s ours, too. And your baby’s. So? Is there anything else?”

She paused before shaking her head and Daisy had to wonder if the pause was because she was sincerely trying to think of anything else or if she was trying to decide to hold back more information. “Okay. Then let’s put this behind us for now. Look? See that pretty two story house? That’s my place.”

Melissa sat up and oohed and ahhed at Daisy’s B&B. Daisy was proud of her pristine white home with the wraparound deck and pretty flowers, hanging from pots as well as decorating the flower boxes under the windows. The grass had been freshly mowed by the neighbor boy that she’d hired and the bushes were nicely trimmed. She pulled into the driveway then took her car behind the house to the parking lot that she and her guests used. Since she was supposed to be away, there were no guests.

She put the car into park then got out and waited as Paul maneuvered his vehicle next to hers. Seeing the way Melissa’s eyes lit up at her home, she was almost hopping up and down to see what the men would think of it.

The three of them, the men who had come to mean so much to her, got out of the car. After giving her a quick smile, their gazes had gone straight to the house.

“So this is it, huh?” Paul nodded his approval, then started unloading their duffel bags.

His lack of enthusiasm hit her hard. “Yeah. This is it.” Couldn’t he see how much her home meant to her?

“It’s really nice, Daisy.” Troy snatched up his bag and handed it off to Paul. “I’ll get the ladies’ luggage.”

Again, the reaction wasn’t what she’d hoped for. “Well? Do you really like it?”

It was finally Wade who made her feel like her place was appreciated. “Daisy, it’s a terrific home. I love the porch. And didn’t I see rocking chairs out front?”