“It’s the Marion Estate!” Toni shouted. “It fucking blew up.”
Nathanial.Sweet motherfucking God.
“Was anyone inside?” I asked.
Danny shook his head. “Vacant. Benito was supposed to move in there in two weeks, I think.”
Sirens were heard in the distance, and within minutes the street was flooded with fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances. I wasn’t sure if the houses on either side of the Marion Estate were damaged but as I walked down the road to see, the fire appeared to be rather contained. Minus some debris that landed on a few cars, that was.
“Hendrix.”
I turned at the sound of my name and saw Kevin, the chief of police, strolling toward me.
“What happened?” I knew exactly what was going on, and even though Kevin was in my pocket, that didn’t mean I openly admitted to anything.
“Not sure. Gas leak, maybe. Everyone okay at your house?”
“Yeah, we were far enough away. Hit like an earthquake, though.”
Kevin leaned a little closer to me. “You know who was moving in here in a couple of weeks, right?”
“I do.”
“And I know how unhappy that made you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you accusing me of something, Kevin?”
He held his hands up. “Not at all, of course not. Just seems like a coincidence is all.”
“I’d get that thought out of your head unless you want to lose it.”
He nodded and stepped away. “I hear you loud and clear.”
I watched as he went to talk with some officers, and Penn sidled up next me. “I texted Nathanial from the burner. No answer.”
“I’ll get someone to find him and see if this is his doing, but I’m sure it is. You should get back to the house.”
He scoffed. “Uh-huh, and what are you going to do, stare at the flames and draw more attention to yourself?”
He had a point. I left the scene and went to my house. Danny was in the living room with the news on. “Alex called. He and Mila were downtown and said they heard the boom from there. Do you want me to call him in?”
“No. Let him enjoy his night.” Ever since that dinner when Mila had found out she’d gotten the date and venue for her wedding, she’d been so thankful. Granted, I’d told her it was all Alex, but her sly little wink had told me she knew better.
“News is saying possible gas leak.” Danny looked at me. “Nathanial, I’m sure. I guess he couldn’t get that injunction.”
I hummed. “I need you and Toni to find him. He’s not answering messages.”
“You got it.” Danny dropped the remote on the table and left the house with Toni.
Penn and I watched the news for a while until they were simply repeating themselves because they had nothing new to report. After checking in with Danny and finding out he still hadn’t found Nathanial, Penn and I went up to bed.
Tomorrow would come, and answers would be given.
It tooktwo days to find Nathanial. I’d had Danny drive him to a safe house instead of the crate. I wasn’t sure of his mental state, but according to Danny he’d been found at a dive bar where, according to the bartender, he’d pretty much been every hour they were open.
When I walked into the small cape that was off the beaten path, I saw Nathanial on the couch. Half his shirt was untucked, his pants were wrinkled, he had days of scruff on his face, andhe smelled like he hadn’t showered. His head was back, his eyes closed. The moment I kicked his foot he shot up and as soon as he met my gaze, he crumbled.
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
