Page 148 of Reckless Vengeance

“Crash out? That’s what we’re calling it?” Marco muttered, moving back from me now that I’d stopped trying to take my mask off. “You need to shower and get rid of those clothes if you don’t want to be a suspect.”

“They’ll know. There’s cameras all around the neighborhood,” I answered, and Hunter shrugged.

“Ask me nicely and I’ll fix that problem for you.”

“Please fix my problems, hacker daddy,” I deadpanned, amusement flashing in his eyes.

“Oh good, he’s still an asshole. He’ll be fine. Keep the oxygen flowing for a while, but Mark’s right, we really need to get the smell of smoke off you. You can’t rock up at Caden’s, the cops will be looking for you.”

“Can’t he shower at yours?” Rory asked with irritation.

“I currently have enough meth in my house to put me away for life. No, he can’t go there.”

I eyed Marco until he huffed out an annoyed breath. “Fine, he can shower at mine, but if I get any heat from this, you’re paying me back big time.”

We sat there for another half an hour until Hunter decided it was safe to head to Marco’s, dragging the oxygen tank with us. They made me keep it on until I was getting in the shower, and Marco didn’t give a shit about my privacy as he walked into the bathroom while I was showering, snatching my smokey clothes from the floor.

“I’m burning these. Double shampoo your hair and lather a shitload of body wash on. You might think you’re clean, but smoke really sticks to you,” he explained, pointing to the bottles on the rack.

“Where’s Rory?” I asked, hoping she was joining me, but Marco’s eye roll told me that wasn’t the case.

“She’s making sure Hunter deletes all the proof of you turning your million dollar mansion into a fire ball.”

“It’s six million.”

“You make me sick. So much money, zero fucking sense. What do you have to be sad about, huh?”

“You want my money then? Because I guarantee money won’t make you happy, asshole.”

“I’d rather be sad in a mansion than here.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Mansions seem nice until you realize how big and empty they are. That place was where happiness went to die,” I muttered, putting my face under the water to scrub myself.

I thought he’d leave, but when I pulled back to grab the shampoo, he was still watching me.

“You like fire?”

“I do. It’s a bit of a problem, actually,” I replied tightly, scrubbing the shampoo into my hair.

“Hurry up and I’ll show you something,” he said before leaving the room, confusing the hell out of me.

I washed myself until my skin was pink from all the scrubbing, hoping I got the smell out. Marco had left some clothes on the counter for me, so I quickly got dry and pulled them on, wandering out to the living room. Marco was smoking on the couch, motioning for me to join him as he pulled a laptop out.

Hunter and Rory were talking in hushed voices in the kitchen, so since I knew she was okay, I sat beside Marco. He opened the laptop, typing for a second before a video popped up.

It was of my house, the flames licking the sky as fire fighters tried to stop the blaze, my hands reaching for the laptop to pull it closer.

He let me put it on my lap, and I could feel him watching me as I stared at the creation I’d made. It was glorious, a grin spreading across my face.

The top level started caving in, excitement rushing through me as it collapsed and embers and smoke plumed into the sky. It would have looked so much better at night.

“Where’s the camera?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the screen.

“It’s one of your security cameras. We hacked it a while ago,” he explained, making me panic a little.

“Won’t the cops have this then?”

“This? Yes. The evidence of you showing up and leaving? No. We wiped that shit and put it on a loop. All they see is the house starting to burn, but that’s it,” he replied, leaning back and glancing over at the kitchen. “Hey, Donovan. I cured him for you. I think he’s horny now too.”