Page 131 of Sunkissed Colorado

I gripped his arm, nodding. He frowned, but said, “Okay. We’ll talk to the police.”

The doctor dipped her chin. “I’ll send them in to talk with you and your fiancee.” She left the room.

Fiancee? I gave Callum a look, and he grinned. “Easier to talk my way into staying by your side if I was your betrothed.”

He was so ridiculous, and I loved everything about him. Even if fiancee wasreallyskipping ahead. That wasn’t the priority right now, though.

With my hand, I made a gesture like I was writing. Callum figured it out and passed me his phone with the notes app open. I typed as quickly as I could.

Ian.He was there.Broke in.Wanted money from safe.

Callum’s expression hardened. Yet he didn’t look surprised. “He’s dead. I’m gonna kill him.”

Not worth it.

“You could have died, Z.”

I don’t think that part was Ian’s fault.

As for what had really happened, it was hard to know whereto begin. Just that small amount of typing on the screen was tiring me out and making my head hurt worse.

Callum seemed to notice, putting his hand over mine. “Don’t push yourself, okay?”

Police Chief Susan Nichols came in a few minutes later. She was a middle-aged woman with graying hair pulled back in a practical ponytail and a kind demeanor.

“Well, honey, you’ve had quite a night,” she said, settling into a chair beside my bed. “I’m going to turn on my body cam to record our conversation. Ready?”

I nodded.

“Good. Now, can you tell me what happened tonight at Hearthstone Brewing?”

I took Callum’s phone again and began typing slowly. It took a while to get the sentences the way I wanted them.

My ex-boyfriend Ian was at Hearthstone wanting money from the safe. I was trying to get away from him, and that’s when I realized the building was on fire.

Chief Nichols read the message aloud and frowned. “This Ian. What’s his last name?”

Ian Vanderwall.

“The coward left her there to fend for herself.” Callum’s voice was tight with anger. “I saw him running from the scene as I drove up.”

I reached over and took his hand, squeezing it.

“And you don’t think Ian set the fire?” Nichols asked.

I wrote my response.

That wouldn’t make any sense. He wanted money from the safe. Why would he burn down the building?

“Any idea where this Ian is staying?”

I shook my head but tapped out another note.

My parents might know where he is.

Callum spoke up. “Chief, there’s someone else who could be a suspect. Tommy Pickering. He’s been bothering Zandra the last few weeks. Showing up at the brewery or outside our place like he might be following her. There was that broken window at the brewery last month.”

“You think that could’ve been him? You didn’t report it?”