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The blaze had shot high into the sky despite the rain and wind. We’d worked frantically to keep it from spreading to nearby buildings. Once it was under control, several melted barrels were in the center of the park.
“Who would burn such a special place?” There was an innocence in her tone, like she hadn’t seen enough bad things to understand evil. I wanted to do everything in my power to keep her that way.
“Children play there.” The innocence had turned to anger.
“None of them were hurt.”
She pounded on my chest. “But they will be tomorrow when their favorite place is gone.”
Pepper wasn’t just talking about the kids in the neighborhood. She meant her children. The four-legged ones.
“It’s not like lightning struck a tree and a terrible thing happened,” she cried. “Someone destroyed the park on purpose. What kind of monster does that?”
I brushed my thumb across her cheek. This woman was brave. Had the kindest soul. And I wanted to hurt—badly—the person responsible for breaking her heart.
“The worst kind.”
I didn’t know how, but I was going to fix this for her. For them.
Ash moved so that she lay across our feet. Like she knew we both needed the comfort.
“Will you find out who did this?” Pepper asked through gritted teeth.
“The investigation unit will try.”
A dissatisfied noise came from her direction. We were both well aware how many unsolved crimes there were in the city.
My phone trilled from my pants pocket.
I didn’t move.
“You should get that.” Pepper nudged me.
Reluctantly, I got out of bed and swiped the phone.
“Yo. You ain’t gonna believe this.” Burke practically screamed in my ear. “All them barrels?”
“Yeah?” I switched the phone to my other ear and got back in bed.
I slid an arm around Pepper’s shoulders, who was looking at me with curiosity.
“Every one of them had a body in it.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Pepper
Sniff.Sniff. Sniff.
A nose in my ear stirred me. I was surprised I’d found any sleep at all. It had evaded me for hours.
The park.
Losing that space almost felt like losing a friend.
I hadn’t realized how important it was to our family until it was gone.
Sniff. Sniff.
