Page 28 of Hammer and Hops

“Go get some coffee and relax a bit. I may have a lead for you on a new job.” Since that sounded promising, I allowed the subject change. I didn’t want to keep talking about Everette anyway.

I went to the back and poured myself a cup since no one else was around to help with that. Many of the locals had that privilege here. Brock was generous with his coffee, but I normally tossed in a few bucks to make up for it whenever I got paid. I took my drink back to the front and leaned against the counter again. “You said you got a job for me?”

“Right, so Reuben was in here yesterday and mentioned that Noel Perkins was starting a new job down Ninety-Nine, past Dawson’s.” Well, that was interesting. Reuben was the local busybody and mail carrier for Main Street, so most of the time his information was on target, but not always. Noel was one of Foggy Basin’s main contractors, usually doing private jobs, but he was skilled and could do more, and I’d worked for him before. I’d always left on good terms, so I was sure he’d hire me again. “It sounded like it was maybe a little longer term.”

That would also help. “I’ll give him a call. Thanks.”

Jackie’s phone buzzed, and he held up a finger. “Wait.” He scrolled and looked at whatever message had come in. “Alfred just said he’s going to help Everett with the security system at the brewery. What does that mean?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” It had my brain spinning on what was going on. “He had his tires slashed the other day. Remember when I borrowed the jack?” I was sure that was what it was about, but did it have anything to do with him being mad at me, too? And if so, what?

Chapter twenty-one

Working Overtime – Everett

My spreadsheets were a mess, making me stay at work a lot longer than I wanted to, but I needed to figure out how to change some things around, improve marketing, or something. Hopefully, Jackie would get that book over here sooner rather than later. I was losing money faster than I could make it, between the bad batch of beer, the cancellation, and the pranked call. Maybe I should call that guy and see how he liked the beer I left with him. I made a note to call tomorrow, since it was already past business hours, and his bar would be too busy to talk.

Something smelled funny. I rubbed my hands over my face. What was that scent?

I left my office, and the scent was stronger—smoke. Holy shit. My heart rate picked up. I had to find out where it was coming from and fast. I dashed around the facility, looking for signs of fire and smelling everything. Maybe it was the vats? I headed that way across the brewery.

My head felt dizzy, and I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see the fire, but it was getting hotter by the second, and my vision blurred. There had to be smoke. Fuck me!

I took a step forward and lost my balance, falling to the floor. I pulled my shirt up over my face, coughing. Was this the end? I thought I was hallucinating as Cameron’s face hovered over mine. Was that my life passing before my eyes?

Then nothing.

Chapter twenty-two

The Hero Again – Cameron

I pulled up in the parking lot at the Brewery, and of course, Everett’s car was there. Operation Get Everett to Relax had taken a turn for the worse, but I was determined to get back on track. I parked next to him. He was really working too much, and that nonsense about me trying to sabotage him probably came from his overstressed brain.

Jackie said Alfred was going to help him put in a new security system. I needed to find out what warranted that. If he was being sabotaged, I wanted to know about it, if nothing more than to be sure he’s safe. Plus, I didn’t want to leave our relationship up in the air from our earlier conversation. I needed to get back on good terms with him.

I got out of the truck, and the hot, chemical scent hit me. Smoke billowed out of the roof on the back side of the building. “Shit.” Everett was inside.

I ran to the door, and thankfully, it wasn’t locked, but that worried me on a level I couldn’t pause to think about. Pulling my T-shirt over my nose, I held it there and ran through the building, searching for Everett or anyone else who might be inside.

The door to his office was shut, and when I went to open it, it was locked. I kicked it, breaking the lock. He wasn’t in there—what the fuck? I circled his desk to make sure, then ran out. The worst of the fire was toward the back, and someone was on the ground between me and the flames, but they were flickering closer.

I raced over to find Everett unconscious. I pulled him up, threw him over my shoulder, and made for the front door. Once we were far enough away from the building, I placed him on the ground and called the fire department. The firehouse was down on Main Street, so it would take them a few minutes to get here, but I heard the sirens wailing in the night air before I even hung up the phone. Then I checked Everett. He was breathing, but shallow. “Ever. Ev.” I tapped his cheek.

“Wh…where am I?”

Firefighters showed up as he stirred and sat up. “There’s a fire.”

He jumped like he was going to get up, but I held him down. “No. I have to go.”

“There’s nothing you can do, Ever. They have it under control.”

“Fuck me.” He covered his face with his hands, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

“We need to get you checked out.”

Everett shook his head. “Not going to the hospital. I’m fine.”

“Shannon will be here in a minute. He can check you out.”