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Story: Safe with Me

My grip immediately tightens around her, and my stomach drops.
“Did you use some kind of personal heater while you were working yesterday?” Dalton asks.
“What? Uh, yeah. I did.” Zoey shakes her head, obviously confused as to why Dalton is asking her that. But I know exactly why.
“While there will be a formal investigation into the cause of the fire, from what they can tell, it does look like it was started by a personal heating device.” Dalton drops her chin, obviously hating what she’s insinuating.
My parents and brothers turn to Zoey. The look in their eyes say it all.
Anger. They blame her, and there will be no forgiveness this time.
Chapter 16
Zoey
No.No!This can’t be happening again. My throat goes dry, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. For a second, I stop breathing. The world is spinning and falling down around me.
I shake my head adamantly. “That can’t be right, deputy. I turned it off and unplugged it well before I left. Like a couple of hours before I left. I let it cool off before I placed it back under the desk.”
“Look, Zoey, I’m just relaying what I was told. That’s what they believe was the cause based on what they saw. We’ll know for sure once the official investigation is over, but I’m just trying to give you a heads up. Was anyone with you in the store tonight?” Dalton squares off looking at me. Her eyes give nothing away about what she’s thinking.
“No, it was just me. No one even came in the last hour we were open.”
I suddenly feel an absence and realize Ryker’s no longer touching me. My stomach drops, and I feel nauseous. He was keeping me here, grounded, able to handle all of these accusations.
“Did you lock up the store once you left for the night?” Dalton puts her hands on her duty belt, her words coming out stoic and cool.
“Yes, like I always do! I closed out the register, turned off the lights, and then left the store, locking the door behind me. Look, I didn’t do this! I swear. Jen, Adam, please.” My head turns to the Hollidays. I can see the hurt in their eyes, the hurt I didn’t cause but am being blamed for. “I swear I didn’t do this. Everything was fine when I left.” My voice breaks.
“Maybe you need to take some time off from the ranch. It might be way too much for you to handle right now.” Adam’s response comes out curt. He wraps his arm around Jen, and they walk away from me.No!
“I didn’t do this! Please!” I scream at the top of my lungs. My legs give out, and I fall to the ground. Wracked with sobs, I nearly end up face-first in the dirt before my arms catch me.
Ryker instantly picks me up, pulling me into his chest. He’s silent as he carries me back over to the house. I put my head into the crook of his neck, my tears wetting his skin.
“He did this. He did this, Ryker,” I cry. Ryker doesn’t understand that if I don’t leave, it’s only going to get worse. “It’s him. He won’t stop. Mitch is coming for me. I didn’t do this. He did this. I’m sorry.”
Ryker gets me to the porch and turns, facing Dalton. “Tomorrow, you can get a statement from her. She’s not in a good headspace to make one tonight.”
I don’t hear what her response is; my thoughts are too loud. Mitch is sending me a message. He will ruin anything in his way to get to me. And when he gets me, I’ll be ruined too. Anyone and anything standing in the way of getting to me will be fucking burned to the ground. The store was just the beginning of the raging hell that awaits anyone who doesn’t give him what he wants.
Me.
Ryker brings me in and sets me on the couch, laying me down and covering me with a blanket. He’s saying things to me, but it’s not registering. Everything echoes inside me head. My vision blurs, and my breathing hitches. My hand flies to my chest as I try to steady my out-of-control heartbeat. I can hear the blood pumping through my body, and it’s making me dizzy.
Without warning, I’m brought back to reality when I feel his hands on my face.
“Zo, darlin’, I need you to snap out of it. This was an accident. That’s it.” My eyes focus for a moment on his blue orbs. Sadness. Loss. Confusion. Everything I know he isn’t telling me, I can see in his eyes.
I shake the fog from my brain. “No. No, it fucking wasn’t.” I take a shuddering breath, “I know I turned it off … Maybe … No! I turned it off. I know I fucking turned it off!” My voice gets louder with every word, and I sit straight up. My breaths are coming fast and hard.
“Okay, Zo, I need you to calm down. Slow your breathing, sweetheart. You’re sending yourself into a panic attack.” Ryker’s voice isn’t helping. Nothing is.
My vision’s becoming tunneled, and I’m having a hard time getting air into my lungs. I try to take a deep breath, but my lungs don’t want to work. My head feels light. In an instant, Ryker’s lips are on me. The kiss takes me by surprise, making me jump.
His lips, I need to focus on his lips. The softness of them against mine. He tastes like cinnamon. Like Ryker.
My eyes fly open, and the weight on my chest is gone. Ryker pulls his mouth from mine and moves to rest his forehead against my own. Our noses brush against each other, and my breathing finally starts to regulate. “You doing okay, sweetheart?”