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“Nothing that won’t heal.” He pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks for holding down the fort.”
“Of course.”
He’d called his family to be with Gabi, too? Circling the wagons to protect us. My throat went tight that his family was willing to do that for us.
“We’re sorry to invade like this. We know you’ve had a long night,” Chief Thompson began.
Bill Carson made a rude noise and folded his arms. He looked older than his forty-something years, with hair that was more iron gray than brown and a lined face that had been prematurely aged by years of wind and sun. That face was full of derision as he looked around the home we’d made, watching my brother prowl the room like a caged animal.
How much of that tension was because of the police chief’s presence and how much because of what had happened to me?
Thompson shot an impatient look toward his police counterpart. “I know you made a statement at the scene, but I’d like to go through things again, in case you remember anything more.”
“Of course,” I rasped.
“We’re going to sit.” Hoyt herded me over to the sofa, where we both lowered down. Why did I feel like I was eighty years old?
“Do you want some tea?” Ibbie asked.
“Just water. Thanks.” My throat was raw from the smoke, and would be for a while.
As she disappeared, Rios looked to Ford and Sawyer. “Any word from Jace?”
“He’s at Willa’s. She’s good.”
My head jerked up. “Is there any reason to think she shouldn’t be?”
“Just precaution,” Ford reassured me.
The Wayward Sons doing what they could to protect their own.
Ibbie came back with glasses for both Hoyt and me. I clutched mine in my hand, sipping gingerly.
“Take us through it at your own pace. What happened last night?” Chief Thompson prompted.
“It was a reasonably slow night. I was on my own with Jasper Bolton, our cook, and Willa Hollingsworth, one of our servers. Ed was on the mainland for an appointment and missed the last ferry back.” I told them about my altercation with David Foley and how I’d decided we would close early after that.
“Did he threaten you?”
“He was aggressive, clearly wanting to beat on someone, but he didn’t actually touch me. There were no explicit threats where he announced he’d do something to me if I didn’t do what he wanted, but he was very agitated.”
Thompson made notes on the little notepad he carried. “Did you see any sign of Foley after he left the bar?”
“No. But I wasn’t looking outside. After the last customers left, I locked the main door and started to clean up.” Step-by-step, I went over everything I’d done, all the way through getting shoved into the supply closet.
“Did you hear anything after that?”
“No. I was shouting for Jasper. For a minute, I thought he’d pushed me in as some kind of stupid prank. But then I couldn’t get out, and I smelled the smoke.”
I closed my eyes as remembered terror washed through me. Trapped, with flames creeping up the walls mere feet away on the other side of that door, with no way to know if anyone would make it in time.
A warm hand closed around mine, grounding me. Hoyt. Always Hoyt. Mindful of his injuries, I didn’t let myself squeeze back, but I laced my fingers with his.
“I don’t know what happened outside that closet until Hoyt found me.”
“Convenient,” Carson drawled.
I stiffened. “Excuse me?”
