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“That’s going to be real tough to figure out given the level of destruction. However, it was concentrated to one specific area of the house, which could mean the victims were killed beforehand, their bodies dumped, or maybe they were locked in.”
“Great. This isn’t just an arsonist.”
“Nope,” he said mechanically. “Just so you know, Zullie, if you or your crew come across a fire with a greenish yellow substance, get the fuck out of the way.”
Exhaling, I shifted the flashlight against the charred remains. Something continued to nag at me that I couldn’t shake. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You got yourself somebody who knows exactly how much to use,” Frederick added.
“Meaning what?” Gage asked.
“Meaning they could have started a fire you’d never be able to put out, but they used just enough. And for someone to go to this trouble, they wanted to hide something big.”
I glanced at Gage as he shook his head.
Whatever was going on was about to get worse.
CHAPTER7
Wren
Embarrassment.
That’s all I could feel most of the day. I could never set foot inside Raunchy Ride again, not that I’d want to. It was a little rough around the edges.
Well, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about seeing their faces in the grocery store or at another bar since I was leaving, never to return to Missoula again. I just couldn’t do it.
The first shock was the car Phoenix had, a sleek black Maserati. The second had been the way he’d acted as his tall, rugged body climbed out of the driver’s seat, taking long strides in my direction. He seemed like an entirely different man, including the expensive Rolex he wore on his wrist. And the third had been how dominating he was, yanking my bags from the car and grabbing my hand.
There were no words said, but I’d seen the lust-filled sweep of his eyes, the look of hunger explosive. I’d felt the thunderous bolts of current enshrouding our bodies as soon as he’d gotten within a few feet.
The man was raw power and sex appeal.
And he was my date.
After he’d settled me into the car, he’d said nothing, merely peeling out of the parking lot at an excessive rate of speed. He was the epitome of the tall, dark, and silent type. As I’d leaned into the seat, all I could think about was how looks could be deceiving. Who was this man? The only internet search I’d done was on the smokejumpers, finding his name on the roster. That had given me all the comfort I’d needed.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. Then I couldn’t take it any longer.
“Who are you?” The edge in my voice was unmistakable yet he seemed amused, the waning like of the late afternoon doing nothing to hide the amusement in his eyes.
“You know who I am. At least you should by now.”
“No, I have no clue obviously since you are an entirely different person than two nights ago or even last night.” I knew him sexually, the raw passion he exuded keeping me awake the entire night. As I squirmed in my seat, I was also given a stark reminder that he was more dominating than any man I’d ever met.
“How am I different?”
“Did you steal the car?”
“I’ve done a hell of a lot of bad things in my life, Wren, but I’m not a thief.” He had a wry smile on his face. My God. He was enjoying the hell out of my discomfort.
“So this is yours or you borrowed it from a friend?”
I could feel his heated gaze and almost read his thoughts.
He chuckled and as he shifted in the seat, I couldn’t help but notice his hands. They were strong, his fingers long and perfectly shaped. But the pads of all ten were rough, obviously from the hard work of being a smokejumper. And the way they’d felt brushing across my skin had been dangerously close to the most incredible sensations I’d had in my life.
Stop it. You can’t think that way.
