Page 19 of Tough Justice
The front door banged open, and Suzy sprinted out with two large bowls. “What was left inside your hose is frozen,” she yelled. “We need to get water directly from the spigot.”
He dropped the sprayer and bolted her way. By the time he reached her, she had one bowl filled and thrust it toward him.
He took it and shot to the mailbox as fast as he could without spilling the precious liquid. The heat of the fire hit him in the face, and he sloshed the contents of his bowl on the flames. Turning to refill his container, he found Suzy right in front of him.
She threw more water on the mailbox, extinguishing the rest of the embers. Smoke sizzled into the air.
“Holy shit.” A whoosh of air escaped Duke’s lungs, and he rubbed the back of his neck. The muscles were tight, every nerve ending in his body on high alert for whatever threat still lingered.
“Deputies are on the way.” Suzy stared wide-eyed at the charred pile of wood. “What the heck happened?”
The anger was back in full force. He tightened his hands to fists at his side. “Someone wants to get my attention and I’m pretty sure I know who it is.”
She laid a palm on his shoulder. “You can’t know that for sure. I mean, what would be the point? If Chrissy came here to talk…to get closure…what would this achieve?”
His skin tingled from her touch. He wished he could forget all this nonsense, scoop her into his arms, and carry her right back in his house. But not only would that ruin everything he’d built at Rough Ride Security, it wouldn’t do a damn thing to find the person responsible for vandalizing his property.
“She wants my attention. This is the type of crap she pulls when I don’t respond to her the way she wants. She showed up and I ignored her. Just walked away. This is her way of telling me she won’t be ignored.”
Suzy’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me? She’d do something like this just as a way to get attention?” She flung her arm wide, her fingertips pointed at the smoldering remains of the mailbox. “That’s not just crazy, it’s psychotic.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “You’re right. It is, and I know it sounds far-fetched but she’s a master at messing with my head.” Memories of all the ways Chrissy had waged psychological warfare on him played on repeat in his brain.
“Has she ever been violent? Destroyed property like this?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” He shrugged. “But she’s mean when she doesn’t get her way. I’ve seen that side of her and it isn’t pretty.”
“I agree it’s a heck of a coincidence she shows up and this happens,” Suzy said, speaking slowly as if not wanting to upset him. “But we can’t discount the guy Heather told us about. I mean, he’s still unaccounted for and Heather is here, too. This could be a message for her.”
He worked his jaw back and forth. “That’d be even worse. At least with Chrissy, I know what I’m dealing with. I’ve handled her in the past, and I can do it again. If some guy is after Heather, he has a world of hurt coming his way.”
Sirens sounded in the distance and the faint glow of red and blue lights clashed against the dark sky.
Suzy tucked her hand in his and tugged him toward the house. “Let’s head inside. There’s no reason to stand outside and freeze. The deputies will be here any second.”
Squeezing her hand, he let her lead him back inside. The feel of her palm against his comforted him in a way he’d never experienced. Calmed his soul and told him no matter what, they’d figure everything out. That they’d find their way through the ick.
Heather ran down the hall, yanking a sweatshirt over her pajama top. “I heard you yelling and looked out the window. I saw the fire. What the hell happened? Are you two all right?”
The last thing he wanted was to sever the connection with Suzy, but Heather’s frantic breaths as she raced toward him didn’t give him a choice. He slipped his hand from Suzy’s. A sharp pang of longing closed in to take the place of the earlier peace, but he ignored it and gathered his sister in his arms.
“No one’s hurt. Suzy and I put out the fire and the only damage was to a half-rotted mailbox I needed to replace anyway.”
She pulled back and tears streaked over her cheeks. Wisps of hair clung to the moisture, and red stained the tip of her nose. “It’s Mason. He followed me. He’s so mad. I’m so sorry I brought him here.”
Suzy stepped forward and looped an arm around Heather’s shoulders. “We’ll figure out who did this but the most important thing to remember is you have nothing to apologize for. You did nothing wrong, you hear me?”
“But if I hadn’t come here to escape what Mason did, he’d never have followed me and messed up your car and Duke’s mailbox.”
“Do you think either of us care about that?” Suzy asked. “They’re things. Nothing important. What’s important is you and knowing you’re safe. And as long as you’re here with us, you’re safe because we’ve got you, okay?”
Sniffing back tears, Heather nodded. “Okay.”
Duke’s heart shuddered and he fought every instinct to pull Suzy close and confess every single feeling he’d harbored for her. She wasn’t just smart and beautiful beyond measure. She was sweet and kind. Thoughtful and loyal. She’d given his sister exactly what she needed, and he’d be forever grateful.
If only he could figure out a way to make her his, promise to be the man she needed, while holding onto everything he’d built.
A thunder bolt of realization struck him square in the chest. To be that man, he first needed to face his past. No matter how terrifying Chrissy was, a future without Suzy was even scarier.
