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“Of course, he does,” I say. “And this absolutely has to happen tonight?”
“Sorry,” she says softly.
I sigh and rub my temples. “It’s not your fault, Annette,” I say. “Okay. I’ll check it out. Text me the info.”
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed. I check the address. Of course, it’s almost two hours away. Why would it be a local claim? That would just be preposterous!
I shower quickly and dress, then head out to the call. Traffic is heavy on the way, because why not, so my two-hour journey comes to nearly three hours. When I reach the destination—a sprawling estate with hundreds of acres of land and a beautiful mansion as the centerpiece of the property—I quickly realize the problem. The mansion isn’t beautiful anymore. In fact, it’s barely there at all. Most of what remains are charred black beams that still smolder despite the cold evening air. The rest is ash that also smolders.
I walk to the firemen standing near the front of the property. To a man, they are tough, handsome, and ruggedly built, just like they walked off a catalogue. I sigh as I approach them because if they look stereotypical, they probably have stereotypical attitudes about women and I’m not really in the mood to get crap from a bunch of men because of my gender.
One of the men approaches me. I guess he’s the leader. I introduce myself without waiting for him to speak. “Hi, I’m Kellie O’Malley. I’m with the insurance company. Can I speak with the owner, please?”
“I’m sure Reggie would be happy to talk to you,” the fireman says, “When he wakes up.”
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“He’s unconscious right now,” the firefighter explains. “He nearly died in the fire.”
“I see,” I say. “I’m sorry to hear that. I guess I’ll start by talking to you. What happened here?”
“Is it not obvious?” one of the other firemen asks.
Without looking at him, I address the leader and say, “Should I expect the same treatment from all of you or is he the only asshole I’ll have to deal with today?”
The other firefighter glares at me and is about to say something else when the third man puts a hand on his shoulders to stop him. The leader glares at me as well but manages to keep his cool when he says, “The investigation is ongoing but at the moment, it appears that someone may have started it intentionally."
"So, this is arson?” I ask. If so, then this might be an open and shut case. Our insurance plans don’t usually cover arson, so if this turns out to be an intentional fire, I can deny the claim and let them figure out who’s responsible and seek damages from them unless they purchased the arson rider.
“It’s a little too soon to say that, don’t you think, Rory?” a new voice says.
I turn to snap at the stranger for interrupting, but I stop. Approaching me in a soot-covered uniform is my dream man.
CHAPTER TWO
Stone
The girl is beautiful.
That’s a strange and not particularly appropriate thought to have right after putting out the fire that nearly killed my friend but it’s the thought that crosses my mind as I walk up and see her talking to Rory. She’s petite, with striking features and an equally striking attitude and even though I am irritated at her domineering attitude, I can’t help but imagine how that feistiness might show up in bed.
Her next words drive that fantasy to the back of my mind. “Actually, I think it’s pretty critical to get that answer as soon as possible,” she says. “So if you don’t mind, I’m going to keep talking to—Rory, was it?—and you can go somewhere else and contemplate how rude it is to interrupt people when they’re talking to each other.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” I growl. “How about you go away and let us do our jobs and when we’re ready to have someone shove their nose into a situation that doesn’t concern them, we’ll forget to give you a call.”
Her eyes flash and she says, “Well, guess what? This situation does concern me. I’m the insurance adjustor responsible for determining if your buddy Reggie gets approved for his claim.”
“What are you talking about?” I say. “Reggie’s in a coma. He couldn’t have filed a claim.”
That stops her a moment. She blinks in confusion until Rory says, “His brother filed the claim. He’s a cosigner on the property.”
“Right,” I said. “I forgot.”
“Well, there you go,” Kellie says. “Where might I find the brother?”
“You don’t,” I say. “You go home and wait a day or two so he can take care of his brother in peace.”
“Thank you so much for your input,” she says. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather see him now.”
