Winterfall (11 page)

His ego swelled a bit, and so did his cock.
God.
He shifted in his seat. Yeah, he didn’t usually get wildly turned on by what a woman said to him. Not unless she talked dirty to him in bed, and he hadn’t met that many women willing to talk dirty.
Unfortunately.

“I’m happy I have three hunks to guard me. It’s overkill, but I’ll take it,” she said.

He almost choked on a laugh. “Damn, you’re gonna make me jealous. What if I’m the only one who wants to guard your body?”

She made a noise that sounded like disbelief, and he felt her gaze latch on to him, but he didn’t look at her. “You sound jealous.”

Oh, okay. Right.
He’d stepped into it hip deep. It was his chance to blush.
Holy, crap.
Now he was freaking out.
He. Was. Fucking. Jealous.

“Am not,” he said.

She actually giggled, which he didn’t expect and he threw her a surprised glance. She put her hand over her mouth.

A moment later she said, “You sound like a grade school boy.”

“Yeah, I kinda do.” As they approached her neighborhood, he decided to segue from risky topics like dating and sex. “You ready to see your neighborhood in a mess?”

“No.”

They’d reached her street, and the barriers blocking entry. Two police cruisers sat at the entrance. She left the SUV and met Okono and Jeeter at the police cruisers. Mark waited patiently, and in no time the cops had pulled back the barriers. Okono and Jeeter piled back into their truck and pulled onto the street. After Juliet jumped back into the SUV, they were off.

As they drove down her street, the blackened houses across from her house came into view.

Her voice cracked as she said, “Oh God. Would you look at that?”

Juliet’s eyes almost teared when she caught sight of the four homes across the street leveled to nothing more than charred ruins. “What a mess.”

Mark’s voice sounded a little hoarse. “I’m thankful it didn’t leap the street and get to your house, but I feel bad for those people.”

She couldn’t make her throat work as she imagined all the memories in the burned structures. “At least no one was killed or injured.”

“At least.”

When they parked behind Jeeter and Okono, she unbuckled her seatbelt. “I won’t take long.”

“Want me to go with you?”

She glanced at Jeeter and Okono standing expectantly on the sidewalk. “I have a feeling they’re volunteering for duty.” She grinned. “Gotta keep the overkill going.”

He laughed and they exited the SUV. Part of her wondered if she was imagining it, but were three men actually jockeying for her attention? It didn’t make sense for Okono, because all he’d shown her was misogynistic tendencies. Jeeter liked her, but she wasn’t convinced he wanted her as his girlfriend. Now Mark…Mark did it for her mentally
and
physically. His teasing, the banter, and their talk about sex had thrilled her on a level she hadn’t experienced with a man in ages. Remembering how hot and amazing his kisses were threatened to set her panties on fire. Part of her thought maybe she should just do him and get it out of her system.

Someone was speaking to her, but she’d totally missed what they’d said. “What?”

Jeeter frowned, and she hated seeing that since he usually had such a happy-go-lucky personality. “You okay? You were about a mile away.”

She smiled to reassure the three men staring at her. “Absolutely. I’ll get my mail.” She walked over to the mailbox, grabbed the bundle of envelopes inside and walked toward them. “You guys hang out here, and I’ll go inside and get a bag ready. I need my car, so I’ll back that onto the street.”

To her surprise, no one objected.

“Amazing,” she said. “That was easy.”

“What was easy?” Okono asked.

She smiled and saluted as she walked away.

She drew in a deep breath and reality hit her in the face. The air still smelled like smoke. She headed up the sidewalk. Once inside the house, she shut the door. She’d left all the curtains closed and had to flip a light on to see. Damn. Even the house smelled like smoke. She wrinkled her nose and threw the mail on the living room table. She took the stairs quickly and went to her bedroom to put together a bag. She threw together a few days’ worth of easy wear clothing. Who knew how long the investigation would take? If they kept this street evacuated for a while, she didn’t plan on returning any time soon. Yet she also couldn’t rely on Sentry Security’s continuing hospitality. She shrugged off the worry. She’d deal with things as they came.

She removed her heels, which were starting to bug her feet, and dragged off the pantyhose, which were making her legs itch. “Thank you God.”

She shucked the sweater dress and tossed it into the hamper, then slipped into her favorite blue sweater, a pair of relaxed jeans, and athletic shoes. When she went downstairs with her weekender bag, she noticed the combination telephone and answering machine for the first time. She had one message. Without thinking she pushed the button to listen.

“Hi sweetie. This is Dad.”

She dropped the bag on the floor in surprise. That was his voice all right. Gravelly. Deep.

“Yeah, I know you’re not too crazy to hear from me. I’m out of prison finally. I’ve served my time and want to reconnect. I heard about the fires in Buckleport and the one across from your house. Wanted to make sure you were okay. If you…look, you probably hate my guts and I understand that. I’d like to connect, though. I’ll try calling you again soon. Take care and stay safe.”

Shivers ran up and down her body, goosebumps trailing up her arms.
Dad.
Years had gone by since they’d talked, since she’d made the decision to cut him out of her life. Could he have changed in that time? Or had the penitentiary turned him into a worse monster? She rubbed her arms. Whatever. She needed to report this to the Fire Marshal and the police.

“Great. Just great,” she said.

She retrieved the mail and leafed through it quickly in case there was a bill to pay. Junk mail mostly.

“Well, we know the apocalypse wasn’t too bad. People still send junk mail,” she said.

One envelope made her blood run cold, and she tossed the rest on the table. Same white standard size business envelope with no return address and her name printed in blue ink on the front. Same handwriting. No stamp. Her heartbeat quickened, her pulse feeling erratic. She reached for the mail opener and sliced it open. Slowly, holding on to the paper like it was a bomb, she drew the paper out and unfolded it.

Dear Juliet,

I’m sorry you haven’t seen the folly of your ways yet. I don’t blame you for what’s happened, even though some men would. You’re continuing to ignore me even though it is dangerous to do so. You know I’m the only one you can depend on. The fires won’t stop until you acknowledge that you need me. Yes, I started the fires across from you. I could have taken your house, but I have no intention of hurting you at any time. Now that man you’ve been with. That security guy. That’s another thing. I do plan to hurt him.

Admit it and join with me. You want the fire as much as I do. It’s the only way to cleanse the horrible society we’ve created. The volcano was only the beginning, you know. The beginning of the end. Help me start the fires and we’ll make the process go faster. Everything must burn. Everything. And when everything is burned, we will start again. Together.

Love,

Fire Starter

The doorbell rang. She gasped and dropped the letter. “God.”

She scrambled to pick up the paper, went to the door and looked through the peephole. Relief hit her. She opened the door to Mark.

“Hey.” Concern filled his eyes. “I told the guys I’d check and see if everything was okay. You’ve been in here a while.”

She drew in a shuddering breath and let him in. “Sorry I’m taking so long. I got a weird phone message from my father and a strange letter in the mail.”

“Another letter?” He shut the door behind him, incredulity clear on his face.

She told him what it said and placed it on the table. “I’m leaving it here until the police can look at it.”

She played the message on the machine for him. Mark rubbed the back of his neck. “We’ve got to call the authorities again.”

Worry churned in her gut and threatened to make her sick. “The letter threatened you, Mark. This is even more serious. Fires are one thing, but a direct threat?”

He walked up to her, eyes intense. The barest hint of a smile curved his mouth. “Worried about me?”

“Well…yes, of course.”

“As screwy as this situation is, I think I like that.”

Compulsively she reached up to touch his face, a quick brush of skin against skin. “This isn’t funny, Mark. I’m going a little bit nuts thinking of all the things he could do. What if he’s out there right now with a sniper rifle or something?”

He caught her hand as it smoothed down his cheek and held her palm to his chest. “Yeah, that’s always a possibility.”

The hardness beneath her fingers reminded her he hadn’t worn protective gear. “You’re not wearing the flak vest.”

“Doesn’t matter. If he’s a good sniper he could get me some other way. I should know.”

She remembered his career in the army. “Right.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Just the thought of anything happening to him sent a wild streak of undeniable fear zigzagging around inside her. When he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, she could have pulled him into her arms right then. But this wasn’t the time or place.

“That’s it,” he said. “Even if this street wasn’t evacuated, there’s no way I’d leave you here alone.”

She nodded, grateful for his concern and protection. “Let’s call the authorities.”

After that, things went quickly. They waved Okono and Jeeter over, and told them about the contents of the letter and the phone message. While they waited for the proper authorities to show up again, and maybe the Fire Marshal if they were lucky, she tossed her weekender bag in the Sentry Security SUV. The men hovered over her right next to the SUV, Mark in particular. He wouldn’t leave her side.

“This is craziness.” Okono, for the first time she could remember, didn’t have a sarcastic attitude. “This is real shit right here. I’m glad she’s staying with you, O’Day.”

Mark nodded. “Me, too.”

Jeeter kept the severe frown, all traces of the humorous man lost. She couldn’t say she liked the new Jeeter.

“Jeeter, everything all right?” she asked.

“Hell, no. I think you should stay with someone else,” Jeeter said.

Mark stood taller, his eyes hard. “Who?”

Jeeter shrugged. “I have that guest house on my property outside of Buckleport. It’s secluded.”

Mark shifted his hands to his hips. “Secluded isn’t what she needs right now. The compound at Sentry Security is the safest place she could be in this city.”

Jeeter’s face solidified into pure contempt as he glared at Mark. “Look, you don’t know her that well. She has friends at the fire station who’ve worked with her for months. I’d trust her safety to Okono before I would you.”

“Gee, thanks.” Okono’s voice was dry as he smirked and crossed his arms.

“Stop it.” Juliet couldn’t believe the gorilla chest-beating contest. She had half a mind to tell all three of them she wasn’t staying with any of them. But she didn’t play games, and these men seemed hell bent on competing to see whose yardstick was longer. “I’m staying at Sentry Security, but only for a day or two until I can find something else. The investigation might be finished by that time anyway.” All three men didn’t look convinced, so she continued. “Jeeter, I think it’s very kind of you to want to help and offer your place. I really appreciate it.” When his mouth widened into a smile, she rushed to make sure he didn’t get the wrong idea. “But I won’t be staying there. It is remote and there’s bad cell phone reception from what I hear. Plus, I’d be out there all alone while you were on shift. I’m not going to stay somewhere like that by myself now that I’m getting these letters.”

Jeeter’s face fell again, but this time he didn’t protest. His lips thinned in disapproval. “I understand.”

“Okono, you’re off the hook, too,” she said.

“Good, because my apartment is pretty tiny and it isn’t in the best part of town. Remind me to find a safer place.”

Okono’s continuing smile held more agreement and good-naturedness than she could remember witnessing. She glanced at Mark, and thankfully he wasn’t doing any male preening because she’d agreed to stay at Sentry Security.

“Can I talk to you alone for a minute?” Mark asked.

She was tired, and the whole situation made her a bit nervous. “Sure. Let’s sit in the SUV.”

She climbed into the passenger seat. He turned toward her. “I’m glad you’re staying at Sentry Security, but I don’t want you to feel unsafe. If there’s anything I can do to help with that, I’ll do it. We’ll have the locks changed on that apartment door if you want. Whatever it takes.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, no. No. I feel perfectly safe at Sentry.”

She hadn’t realized until now how true that was.

“Good.” He looked more than relieved. “You haven’t met the General. We’ll make sure that happens ASAP. If you want to quiz the hell out of him about me, go for it.”

“Okay, it’s a deal. But I’m not worried. I trust you.”

He lifted her left hand and kissed it again, and a sweet tingle traveled all the way up her arm. “I’m glad to hear that. There’s one thing that has me worried, though. Do you think there’s any chance Jeeter and Okono could be the arsonists?”

She hadn’t expected that question, and her hand slipped from his. “No.”

“That’s pretty definitive.”

“It is. I’ve never seen anything in their personalities that would make me think that.” She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. “This is a nightmare.” When she opened her eyes, she felt his attention solidly on her. “First Long Valley, then Buckleport having riots, the crime rate through the roof, the refugees from the west, and last but not least, arson? What if my father is part of this arson thing now that he’s out of jail? He was supposed to be released around January, but I never heard from him. I mean, why would he call me when it’s been years since we communicated?”