Page 3

Chaper Three

Shae

I wasn’t really sleeping. Maybe I wasn’t used to such a quiet house. Even Gran’s was busy outside on the street, and Dad’s was a nightmare. It wasn’t the real reason though. The thought of being so close yet still a million miles away from Drake was driving my body insane. I didn’t even dare use my hand in case somehow he heard me. I knew I should be asleep because Drake had told me we were going over early to empty the apartment. Should I keep it? I suppose it depended on when he’d kick me out, because I knew this wasn’t an indefinite arrangement, plus I wasn’t sure if I could be this close to him knowing he wasn’t interested in me. There weren’t many apartments you could get with barely any deposit, and while I was pretty sure my current place had violated every code imaginable, it meant I didn’t have to share.

I hadn’t bothered calling the store to let Dave know I wouldn’t be in at eleven tomorrow, well today now, as it had to be after one in the morning. He paid me cash right out of the register, and he could keep the twenty-five bucks he owed me. Hopefully Jez would get his job back, but Dave would either have to get his lazy ass moving or he’d have to find another guy. I knew Jez had quite a long record, but he’d tried to turn his life around after his daughter was born, so I wished him luck.

I touched my lip, telling myself I wanted to check if it hurt, but I knew that was a lie. If I closed my eyes I could feel Drake’s finger as he dabbed the cream on it, and my body hardened as I imagined that it had been his lips instead.

Gran would say I was mooning or some weird saying like that. I tried to swallow down my tight throat. Fuck, but I missed her, missed Mom. I reached over for the glass of water and lifted my head up to take a couple of sips. It was still hot outside even at the end of September, but Drake had given me a fan he’d put on the dresser.

I needed to sleep but my mind wouldn’t quit. I sat up and reached over, adjusting the blind a little without opening it fully. I could see the horses in the fields in the distance through the moonlight, and I could understand Drake’s fascination with them as a kid. I’d have adored a dog, but we weren’t allowed one in the apartment with Mom and Gran had two cats. I reached over for the glass of water a second time then paused and whipped my head back to the window as a shadow passed it. I stood very quietly and crossed to the side of the window so I could see out.

Narrowing my eyes, I spotted a figure hunched over, his back to the house. The fuck was he doing? The door was around the other side. Was he trying to break in through one of the windows? He moved and came closer. I could see he was carrying something, but not what it was. He seemed to be on his own, unless he had a partner at the front. He came closer to the house, and I could barely see him now at this angle, but whatever he was carrying he started shaking and moving slowly along the edge of the house.

The second he reached into his pocket I knew exactly what he was doing, and I was in Drake’s room before I knew I’d used my speed. I reached out to shake his shoulder only to have my wrist grabbed and my body swung around just before he propelled me face first into the wall. I grunted. “Drake, someone’s outside.”

He swore and let me go instantly. “Shit, sor— what ?”

“Quick. I think he’s gonna torch the place.”

Drake reached back and pulled a gun out from under his pillow. “How many?”

“I only saw one from my window.”

He nodded. “Stay here.” Like hell I would, but I didn’t bother replying as he’d already left the room. “Shit,” he whispered, and I knew he’d seen the orange flames flickering through the kitchen window. “Call 911.”

I dived back for my cell phone and by this time I could smell smoke. I obeyed immediately, ending the call when I started getting twenty questions from the operator over the number of people in the house, and was lectured about moving to a safe distance. By this time Drake was out of the door, but the smoke was getting bad. Water. I needed water. I wasn’t going to let Drake’s house burn down. I raced to the sink and turned on the faucet and barely a trickle ran out. Shit. The bastard had shut it off somehow and I didn’t have time to go searching.

Blankets.

Dragging one off my bed I followed Drake outside in time to see one guy running away while Drake had the other guy on the ground. The flames were climbing fiercely at one side of the house, and no blanket was going to smother them. I looked at the nearest field and saw the buckets sitting next to a water trough and dashed to it. No hose. Fuck. I glanced up as the flames took hold. I had seconds.

I took an even breath, picked the nearest bucket up, filled it and ran. Faster and faster until I knew all anyone would see was a blur. The biggest delay was in scooping the water into the buckets, but I knew no one else could do this. Throwing a single bucket of water at an accelerant-based fire wouldn’t do shit, so I pushed on.

“Shae!” The bellow from Drake slowed me enough that I didn’t take him out as he stepped right in front of me, but the bucket I was carrying went flying, and I followed it. I was on my feet again in a second.

“Shae, stop! It’s out. Just stop .” I took in the house just as I heard the sirens, then the pain in my chest hit me like someone had just shoved a burning poker in between my ribs, and I passed out.

I recognized the perfume before I registered the slim hand holding mine and opened my eyes to meet Pink’s worried brown ones. She reached over and smoothed my hair from my forehead. “Shae, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

I glanced to the other side of the room and took in Drake leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest, glaring at me.

Oops. I remembered what I’d done, but before I could work out what to say the door opened and a guy in scrubs walked in, followed by Diesel. “Mr. Turner, I’m Doctor Sanchez. Nice to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

I mentally reviewed my body. No pain. Not sure if dumb ass was the answer he was looking for, so I just nodded. “I’m fine.” My hand went to my nose, and I felt the plastic tubing.

The doc reached over and unhooked them. “Your oxygen stats are good. Just a precaution.”

“What about his heart?” Diesel demanded. I yanked my hand away from Pink’s. Had I fucked it up for good this time?

“I sent the test results we did this morning to Doctor Brown at Piedmont Health who has all his previous results. He’d like to have you transferred as we don’t have a cardiac MRI here, so—”

“No,” I blurted out. No way was I going to another hospital. No

“Shae,” Pink tried to retake my hand, sounding worried.

I still didn’t dare look at Drake. “I have an appointment in three weeks.”

Doc Sanchez frowned. “I think three weeks is a little far out.”

I glanced at Drake. “I want to go home. I understand if the job’s not happening now, so I can just go to my apartment.” What time was it? Did I even have time to get to my shift at Dave’s?

Drake met my gaze silently, then pushed off the wall. “You’re coming home with me. You can still have the job if you agree to see the doc as soon as he can fit you in next week.”

I nodded eagerly. Anything.

The doc sighed. “You’ll have to sign paperwork to say you’re discharging yourself against medical advice.”

I held my hand out as if someone was going to put a pen in it and the doc huffed. “I’ll send someone in.”

I waited until the door closed. “What about the guy you caught?” I wanted to know but I also wanted to distract them.

Diesel grunted. “Cops have identified him as Lee Dodson. Petty shit. He’s not saying a word and he got lawyered up right away, and not a public defender. We’re checking that out as well.”

I turned back to Drake. “I guess it would suit Ryan if the house burned down.” A flash of humor I hoped was mixed with respect shone in his green eyes.

“We’re waiting to see if the perp gets released,” Diesel said. “Then we might have questions of our own.”

Pink rolled her eyes but nodded to a small suitcase by the wall. “I brought you some more of your things.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. She’d bought me all my “things.” But I took in her pale face and felt like shit for stressing her out. She was too young to act like my mom, but she made a fantastic bossy older sister, and I knew she loved me. This time I was the one who reached for her hand. “Sorry I worried you again,” I whispered, my throat tight. She stood and brushed a kiss on my cheek. “I’ll wait outside while you get dressed.”

It took another hour until we were in Drake’s truck, the silence getting more oppressive by the mile, but I refused to apologize. If I’d gotten a do-over I would have done the same.

“What’s the damage?”

“To you or the house?” he snapped back.

“You’re not responsible for me,” I said, more calmly than I felt.

“Well, someone fucking needs to be,” he roared.

And for some unknown reason I had to hide a smile. I kept my gaze on the window so I didn’t give him another reason to lose his shit.

“When you were in the army—”

“Technically navy,” Drake corrected, and I rolled my eyes.

“You’re gonna tell me you were some bad-ass Marine, aren’t you?” I’d said it jokingly but when he clammed up and looked uncomfortable I knew I’d hit it on the nose. Then I frowned. “Pink told me you met Diesel while you were working for the UN.”

Drake glanced at me and then back to the road. “The UN doesn’t have their own military force. Member nations send people in as required.”

I blinked. So, secret shit. In my head, I’d imagined Drake doing what he did now, except in uniform. Guarding diplomats, generals maybe, but I had a feeling I was way off base. “Did you ever get hurt?”

He was still for a few moments. “A few times,” he admitted.

“And did the thought of getting hurt ever stop you from doing whatever it was that caused it?”

“It’s not the same,” he ground out, working out what I was doing.

“So we’re not friends, then?” I challenged.

His knuckles blanched white on the steering wheel.

“I don’t need another dad,” I said honestly. “I hate the one I have, but I need all the friends I can get.” I wanted way more from this Navy Marine asshole but if friends was all that was on offer, I would take it for now.

“So long as you don’t do shit like you did yesterday.”

I didn’t bother replying because it was an empty threat, and he knew it.

Pulling up the lane I looked critically at the side of the house I could see, trying to spy damage. “What’s the back like?”

He sighed. “There’s smoke and plaster damage in the room you were using and all down that side. Nothing at the front. I’m going to get someone to look at the structure tomorrow.”

“Not my business,” I said, “but if it is Ryan, do you think if the will is settled he’ll go away? If he knows he has no chance?”

Drake nodded. “I was gonna give my lawyer a call later.” He sighed. “I suppose it depends on if this was just financial or there’s more involved.”

“More what?” I pressed.

“Resentment, I suppose. Quite a few years ago I spoke to a guy I employed to help Ellie out with showering Jim. He said he’d gone round as usual but when he got there Ryan was there. He didn’t know who he was at first until Jim told him, but he was arguing very loudly that his dad should be put in a “facility” for everyone’s good. That his mom could get a nice little apartment in town.

“Luckily, I’d just retired so I helped for around seven months until Jim died of a chest infection that turned nasty overnight. I knew I was going to work for Diesel so I got a crash pad in town and went to the farm when I could.”

Drake shook his head. “It would have killed them both leaving the farm, but maybe that’s what Ryan wanted. Apparently that’s when Ellie made her will and made sure it was tight.”

I bet it was, I thought. Smart lady.

“When Jim died and we went to the funeral, Ryan was all sympathetic and shit until his mom told him she wasn’t moving into any apartment and was staying at the farm, then he turned round and blamed me. Said I was ‘endangering her because I was contributing to her false sense of independence.’” He huffed. “If Ryan had gotten his finger out of his ass I reckon his dad wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place.”

I glanced over. “Why?”

“Because it was a two-person job. I was deployed and flu was hitting everyone real hard that winter. Both Jim’s guys were out sick and he called Ryan asking if he could just help for the morning. He couldn’t put it off because storms were forecast. Apparently Ryan told his dad he would be there at eight. At ten thirty, Jim hadn’t been able to get hold of Ryan so he went up alone.”

I reached over and touched Drake’s hand. It was automatic. A sign of solidarity, even, but Drake’s own hand covered mine for a long, amazing moment before he lifted it and I took mine back, trying to keep my breaths even.

“Ellie told me years later that Ryan had told Jim he’d gotten admitted to the ER after he was involved in a car incident the night before, but a neighbor was visiting the city and saw Ryan at a coffee shop that morning. He was fine.”

“That’s fucked up,” I sympathized.

Drake pulled into the driveway and we both sat there a moment, looking ahead, and it seemed neither of us knew what to say as we both stared in surprise.

My whole world was fucked. My body was a mess, and I was obsessed with someone I wasn’t sure even liked me beyond what he classed as obligation.

And yet all my worries paled into insignificance at the sight of a donkey wearing a straw hat, standing in the middle of the flower bed by the front door. I seemed to remember there had been yellow flowers in there yesterday.

The only ones left were the ones sticking out from her mouth as she chewed.