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“Where is he?” I ask the worried faces around me.
Rhett is still standing by and I will forever be thankful for him, as he’s the only one to answer me. “There was only one casualty, and they’ve already been transferred to the hospital.”
“Casualty?” I scream in horror. “Jamie’s dead?”
My legs give out, and I appreciate Tank’s strength as he holds my weight. The roaring in my ears is so loud, and I don’t hear a word anyone says. All of a sudden my head gets very light, and the world around me spins before I black out.
18
TRIGGER
The Fire
Two hours ago
“This god damn cap won’t fucking connect,” I bark at Ben, who’s been sitting on the old decrepit couch against the wall of the shop, watching me for the last hour.
“Try again,” he says, his voice cracking over the cigar smoke lingering in his throat.
“I fucking tried ten times, Ben.” I usually don’t get so angry over something so miniscule. I blame it on my ever growing temper.
“So set it down and come back tomorrow. Don’t you need to go to your lady’s event soon anyway?”
I nod my head, wiping my hands on the grease cloth as I turn to face him. I lean back and rest my ass on the hood of the car that seems to be more damn trouble than it’s worth. “I gotta go pick up some cupcakes or some shit and then head over.”
“You better get going then, son. Don’t want to keep her waiting. I’ve found that nothing gets Mary’s panties in a twist more than waiting.”
I chuckle, shaking my head at the old man. “You turning soft on me, Ben? Offering some words of wisdom.”
Ben scoffs, blowing out a large plume of smoke. “Just one sorry asshole to another. Keep your woman happy, and you’ll have a happy life.”
I try not to wince at the thought that Pebbles isn’t even my fucking woman. Well, if you ask me, she is. She just needs to play catch up.
I put my tools away in their assigned spots before washing the grease off my hands. Ben leaves out the back door with a wave while I’m drying my hands. My phone rings in my back pocket as I’m locking up the shop.
“Hello?”
“Yo. What’s going on?” Tiny greets.
“Just leaving the shop. Gonna head home, shower, and then head over to Lilah’s to pick up some shit for Pebbles.” I throw my leg over my bike, putting the key in the ignition. My bike is loud as fuck, so I wait to turn it over.
“I was just calling to see if you can bring an extra set of keys with you today so I can stop by later and get into your security system.”
“Yeah, man. No problem,” I say and clear my throat. The hot sun has beads of sweat dripping down my back underneath the leather of my cut. “I should be there in less than an hour.”
“Perfect. Us too,” Tiny says. “See ya.”
As soon as the phone disconnects, I switch over the ignition so I can get going. Summer in Arizona is a fucking scorcher. Even the wind from being on the bike isn’t enough to cool me down.
As soon as I get home, I rush through a shower and am still fucking sweating by the time I get dressed. I pull on my favorite pair of jeans and a thin white t-shirt. I pull my long hair back into a bun and secure it.
Thank fuck I have to take my truck over to the studio to be able to hold all the treats. I welcome the A/C. I pull my truck around the building and park it on the other side of the plaza, next to Lilah’s bakery. I shut the truck off and open the back door so I can put all the shit on the back seat.
I’m stomping through the rock lining the side of the building and almost bust my ass when something gets caught around my boot. “What the fuck,” I curse under my breath when I almost eat shit.
A loose black wire about two foot long is lying along the rocks. I would’ve thought it was a damn snake if it wasn’t so skinny. I pick it up, immediately noticing the frayed end on one side and the clean cut on the other. I turn my head and rake my eyes over the wall, trying to see if I can find where the wire came from.
What the fuck?
