Page 41 of Burn With Me

“Chicken, what kind of guard cat are you?” Groaning, I leaned over and picked up the phone that wouldn’t stop ringing.

“What?” I answered, not bothering to look to see who was calling.

“Cheerful when woken up, I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No one seems to want me to sleep anymore.” I moaned into my pillow. “If you called to see if you could convince me to call you sooner, Asher, you’re off to a terrible start.”

“No, I wish that was the reason I was calling. I need you to come to see this. It’s…it’s important.” Asher’s voice was serious and a little solemn sounding.

I sat up straight.

“What happened?” I threw the blanket off and stumbled quickly toward my closet, yawning on the way.

“I’ll text you the address. Our arsonist has struck again and this time…it seems to be a little more personal.”

“My hands stilled on the hoodie I was in the midst of grabbing. “Personal, how?”

“You’ll see when you get here.”

“Asher, tell—” I stared at the phone for a heartbeat as it went dead. “Jerk face.” Yanking on the first thing I could get my hands on, I dashed for the door.

“Tell Beck I’m all good,” I said to Heathrow, who sat watching me on the back of the couch. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I’m sneaking out in the middle of the night to have sex with a strange man. Although, I must admit I’d thought about it with this guy,” I mumbled, pushing my feet into sneakers. Locking the door, I ran for the car just as my phone dinged with the address. It was an industrial part of town. Not able to help myself, I wheeled into my favorite coffee shop drive-thru and grabbed two coffees.

When I pulled up to the building, the fire was already out, but pumper trucks were still on the scene, making sure that nothing would rekindle. Stepping out of the car, I stared at the grey building with its windows blown out and dark smoke marks decorating the walls. Just like all the others, this fire had burned hot. I could tell before even seeing the inside that it would be black, like how I’d picture the mouth of hell.

Unlocking my phone, I hit the saved number and waited for Mitch to pick up, but it went straight to voicemail. “Mitch, it’s me, Vi. I just wanted you to know that I’m taking the fire in the industrial section. I’m pretty sure it’s the same arsonist, and I want to get an early jump on it. No need to send anyone else out. I’ll let you know what I find.” I shut off the phone and dropped it into the cup holder.

I spotted Asher near the door closest to me. He was pointing and giving instructions I couldn’t hear, but he was in his element. There was something so deliciously sexy about him when he was all ‘domineering’ as he put it. He really did have an annoyingly commanding personality that, for some reason, made my inner me sit up and take notice.

I walked in his direction and had to take a moment to control the stupid little pitter-patter in my chest as he turned my way. Soot was streaked across his sweat-covered face. His messy hair looked even more so and way too scrumptious for someone that most likely stank of sweat and fire. The corner of Asher’s mouth turned up as he looked down at my feet and then back up to my eyes.

“I’m digging the look, Vi. I didn’t realize that this was an option for fire inspections.” Asher nodded toward the little boy shorts and then at the tank I was wearing under the zip up hoodie. It was only then that I realized the shorts were about an inch away from showing way more than what would be appropriate in this scenario, and my top was bordering on see-through without a bra.

“Shut it. I wasn’t even awake when you called. Here, take your stupid coffee.” I held out the offering, trying hard not to squirm under his scrutinizing gaze. Of course, just then, the door opened, and a few more of the firefighters walked out. Their lingering gazes were not lost on me.

“Keep your eyes in your head, Wheels,” Asher called out without even looking. One of the firefighters that had been staring like I was a meal swore and looked away. “Don’t mind him, he’s harmless and if he wasn’t I’d kill him if he ever touched you.”

My mouth fell open as Asher calmly took a sip of his coffee.

“Come on. We better get in there before everyone is completely distracted by the heat out here.” His lip curled up, and I sipped on my coffee to do something with my hands. “I like it when you’re nervous, Vi. You look adorable.”

“I don’t do adorable,” I said as Asher pulled open the door. “Is it even safe to go in there?” I looked into the dark space that still had thin tendrils of steam rising.

Asher held out a flashlight for me to take.

“Don’t worry. The fire is out. Besides, I got you.” His eyes danced with the challenge, and if I could, I would’ve growled at his all-too-sexy face. Instead, I marched past him and flicked on the flashlight. It was easy to follow the right path as it had been lined with glowing sticks similar to those you’d see at a nightclub.

I didn’t have to ask what I was supposed to be looking at because the moment we rounded the corner to the main part of the building, I was able to see a metal slab-like table. The flashlight illuminated the body that was on it, charred beyond recognition. I looked around as we slowly stepped closer, water dripping from the ceiling. I stepped in a puddle more than once, and water splashed up my legs and soaked my feet.

The stench of burnt skin made my stomach churn, and I immediately wanted to gag. It didn’t matter how many scenes I walked into like this. I couldn’t get accustomed to the smell of charred flesh. Usually, I’d bring something to put up my nose to help mask the scent, but I forgot in my rush to get going. I placed my arm over my nose and took shallow breaths trying to block out the strong smell that was very fresh as the body continued to smoke.

“My guess is female based on the size,” I said as I slowly circled the table staring at the remains. “It looks like whomever she was, she was chained to the table.”

I flashed the beam around until it landed on a few barrels. Their tops had exploded off, and their structures were twisted from the heat.

“It will be easier to see in daylight, but those look like the source. The way the heat pattern traveled along the floor in almost perfect lines toward the table.”

Kneeling, I noticed another canister strapped to the underside of the slab.