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Two fire trucks were there, their red lights sweeping over us as we got out of the stupidly tall, jacked up truck. Everything stunk like wet and smoke, and it burned my eyes. I expected to have to scamper across uneven ground in the dark to catch up to Noah, but he waited for me. He even took my elbow once where it was rough walking, and he knew the grade of the ground better than I did. I glanced up in the uneven swirl of the red light and met his eyes. “Thank you,” I said.
“I don’t need you falling flat on your face on top of this bullshit,” he said.
“Charming,” I said wryly.
The hand on my elbow skated to my back. When he touched my back earlier, I had felt a rush of sparks roll up my spine. He was touching my back now just to piss me off. But it didn’t. I was running on adrenaline and when he touched me, I stopped walking for a second. He brought me to face him with just that big hand warm on my skin.
“You got something you want to say to me?” I asked, challenging him.
“Of course not,” he said. “I’m here on business, and I gave you a ride here like a gentleman.”
I cursed the fact that I was breathing hard that my nipples felt tight, and he was standing so close that I felt the warmth coming off his body. It was chilly out here after sundown and I hadn’t grabbed my coat out of the booth when we left. A flutter in my throat and low in my stomach made me uneasy. It wasn’t fear about what the fire department would tell us or about what I’d have to report to the mayor and the city council. It was lust. It was the urge to step in and close the small distance between us and let his hard muscled chest warm me against the cold night.
“You’re cold,” he said. I shrugged. “You shoulda worn a whole shirt this time of year,” he said with a little scoff.
I rolled my eyes. That’s what I needed to calm myself down. Him being an ass. I nodded.
“Next time I plan an emergency at night I’ll be sure to bring a coat,” I said.
Damon came to meet us. “Fire’s out, but the lumber you had laid out, it’s all gone,” he said.
“Everything Max brought out today? Son of a bitch,” he said.
“Have you alerted the police department?” I asked. Damon nodded.
We’d have to do another police report, another insurance claim. Our premiums were going to go up for sure now. Too many mishaps in a short period of time. I shook my head. Then I went and called the mayor, updated him on what I knew. More delays, more expense, more explanations I have to give at the meeting instead of a progress update. This whole project felt plagued from start to finish, like I spent so much energy trying to clarify and justify all the drama.
By the time I was off the phone from trying to soothe the mayor, Brody was there. Damon and Noah filled him in on what had happened and what was missing.
“We’ll have to tape the site and shut it down for a few days. We need to investigate, because it seems like there’s foul play here,” Brody said grimly.
“We don’t have a couple of days. I can get this mess cleared away tonight and be ready to pick up more lumber by sun-up. That way we wouldn’t lose the time,” Noah objected. The man wanted to spend the night out here with a flashlight cleaning up debris just to keep the job going. I didn’t know if that was crazy or amazing or both. I shook my head, but Brody was already answering.
“Noah, we have to look for evidence, and that isn’t going to happen in the dark. I know you’re impatient, but bear with me. We’re going to do this right.”
Anger welled up inside me, and I was about to speak up when Noah, whose frustration was louder than mine, unleashed a storm of cussing.
“Goddammit, Brody. Somebody’s out to get me on this job and every day you make me delay is costing me money and giving them what they want. These fuckers want to shit on my job site and wreck my goddamn materials and—”
“Noah,” Brody said, his voice even but sounding a little pissed off. “I’m not the enemy here. You and I both know that boards don’t burst into flames on their own. It wasn’t one small fire. It took out all six stacks that were laid out and the one that was framed up. We haven’t seen anything yet that looks like evidence, but it’s dark. There may be a footprint or a cap off the accelerant or something that can get us a lead. You have to sit tight and let me do my job. And calm down. I’m not the asshole that burned your shit down, remember,” he said.
