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Sutton glanced at Pierce, a flicker of concern in her blue eyes.
“We’re not there, yet, Holden. I want to keep you out of this as much as possible. Your meeting with Tim yesterday allowed Zayne to plant the devices. We’re headed in the right direction,” Pierce said. “We don’t want to spook him. If he calls you, make sure you record the conversation for us.”
“Okay. I will.” My hands balled into tight fists. Tim was an absolute piece of shit, but if I were brutally honest with myself, I was grateful he wanted River returned to me unharmed. What did that make him, though? A little less of a monster?
My cell rang, and I pulled it out of the front pocket of my basketball shorts. The number wasn’t familiar, but I chose to answer it anyway.
I held my hand up. “I have no idea who this is, but I want to take it in case it’s River,” I said to everyone in the room. “This is Holden.”
Chapter Fifteen
I stepped into Pierce’s hallway in order to focus on the call.
“Mr. Alistair, this is Officer Walters from the Fire Investigation Unit. I wanted to talk to you about 4 Play.”
“Of course. Do you know if it’s destroyed, or is it salvageable?” I leaned against the wall, not sure which answer would be better. They both sucked. A fresh sprinkling of hate for Tim crawled over my skin. How in the hell did he think this would draw me closer to him? Disgusted, I tried to focus on the conversation at hand.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, sir. It’s destroyed. In fact, the structure isn’t safe. Unfortunately, you can’t even go into the building and try to salvage anything at this time. Once the flames reached the alcohol, it accelerated faster than the firefighters could control it.”
I rubbed my eyes. The engagement ring was gone. Besides some clothes, my first priority was calling the designer and seeing how soon he could make another one. Since we’d designed it together, he still had the paperwork.
“What I wanted to speak to you about … it looks like it was arson, Holden.”
I nearly laughed out loud. I’d have to tell Tim that his men fucked up the job, and they left evidence.
“Arson. As in someone set the fire on purpose?” I pretended to be shocked. After all, I was good at pretending. River would have even applauded me for the performance.
“Are you aware of anyone that would do something like this intentionally?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing myself not to give him Tim’s whereabouts. For now, we needed the rotten bastard. If he was arrested, I had no one else on the inside to help locate my girlfriend. I had to take a gamble that the FBI hadn’t reached out to the local police force yet, either. Otherwise, I’d be busted for lying to the cops.
“No, can’t say that I do. I don’t even think I’ve pissed anyone off in a while. If a name comes to mind later, I’ll call you right away. I’m staying with Chance, my best friend, and the manager of 4 Play. I’ll talk to him about it. Maybe he has some ideas.”
“I called you from my direct number, so call me if you think of anything. We’re also investigating things on our end.”
“I appreciate it. I’ll follow up with my insurance. Oh, do you have any idea if the cars in the parking garage were destroyed?”
“Everything. I mean everything is gone, Holden. I’m really sorry.”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to collect my scattered thoughts. It wasn’t about the money. It was the memories. I couldn’t replace those no matter how many digits were in my bank account.
“Thanks for the information. I appreciate it. Take care.” I ended the call and stared into space, wishing River was with me. I hated making decisions without her. She was my future, and I wanted her to be happy and safe when we brought her home. A long minute passed before I strolled back into Pierce’s office and updated them.
“Before we head to Chance’s place, I need to go by Mom’s and reset the alarm to make sure that Tim no longer has access.”
“You bet.” Zayne stood. I hadn’t realized until now that he’d changed his clothes. He had tucked his burgundy Westbrook Security polo shirt into his black slacks. He looked well-rested and alert. What I couldn’t figure out was when he slept, and where.
Twenty minutes later, Zayne pulled into my mom’s driveway.
“I’ll come in with you and check the house,” Zayne said, opening the car door.
“Thanks. Since Tim isn’t far away … I don’t trust him. The sooner I get him removed from the retina scanner and reset the codes, I’ll feel a little better.” Except that I’d see River everywhere I looked. She’s alive. That’s what I had to hold onto with every fiber of my being. Hope flickered to life inside me. A few hours ago, I didn’t even have that.
I sucked it up and entered through the front door. Zayne quietly followed, then closed it behind him.
“I’ve only seen the foyer.” His attention swept the entrance. “I’ll start downstairs. Don’t move. I want to look around and secure the premises.”
It was strange to hear Zayne tell me to stay put in the place I’d grown up. While I waited for him, I retrieved my phone and contacted the retina scanner company. Hopefully, they could make the change quickly.
