Page 93 of Rain or Shine

Aiden grabs East’s shoulder, shaking his head once. This isn’t his fight. Harloe isn’t his girl. She might not even really be mine, but this asshole is going to pay at my hands for what he did to her.

“You lit my girl’s bar on fire. Ring any bells?” I ask.

Color drains from Templeton’s face. “He said I wouldn’t go down for that.”

“Who is he?” My teeth clench.

Templeton shakes his head; his feet kick against the ground, but the rope doesn’t have enough give for him to stand. “I didn’t know anyone was in there.”

“Then why tamper with the lock?”

“You’ve got it all wrong.” At least the guy has the wits about him to panic now that he realizes why he’s here. “It was a quick job. Lock it up, light it up, leave.”

“You didn’t get far,” Aiden points out the obvious.

Templeton’s eyes turn to slivers. “I got hung up⁠—”

“What you’ve got is a drug problem,” Kincaid offers. “He was coked out of his mind when we tracked him down. And he wasn’t alone. He beat the shit out of some girl. She was passed out, barely breathing on the bed in his motel room. We got her to the hospital.”

“What the fuck?” I turn back to Templeton, losing all sympathy.

His expression shifts. It’s quick, but the mask slips away, leaving nothing but evil in his dark eyes. “Who cares about that bitch? She wanted a hit and couldn’t pay up. I don’t give away free shit.”

I slam my knuckles into his face again, a silver ring slicing open a gash on his cheek. “Who sent you to start the fire?”

He chuckles, blood streaming down his nose and between his grinning teeth. “It doesn’t matter. So long as my family is set for life, I didn’t ask.”

“They paid you?”

He nods. “I’m not who you need to worry about. If someone was in that building, then he knew it when he sent me in. And if the bitch lived, he’s not done.”

“Who is he?”

“Already told you, I don’t know. Didn’t ask. Didn’t care. Some guy with a fucking grudge. Said old debts had come due.”

Old debts?

I glance at Harloe’s brothers, who look just as angry and confused. What could these assholes possibly want with Harloe?

“So what you’re saying is you don’t know shit?” Liam asks, not on his phone tonight, completely present.

Templeton’s teeth clench, like he realizes what that means. Maybe he’s not as dense as he seems because he at least looks scared.

“Lower the rope,” I say.

Kincaid hesitates for a second until I glance over and he nods, doing as I said.

Templeton immediately stands, trying to wiggle free. But with his hands and feet bound, he’s not going anywhere. I grab the slack in the rope and wind it around his throat.

“What are you doing?” Templeton panics, trying to break free. “Don’t. I didn’t even fucking kill her.”

I grab him by the neck and squeeze again, putting us nose to nose. “You lit my girl’s life on fire. I hope you enjoy the flames when you burn in hell.”

I release him, stepping back. And I don’t need to say anything for Kincaid and Aiden to grab the rope and pull it tight again. They tug until Templeton is hovering above the ground this time, no part of his toes touching. He coughs and chokes, hanging from the rafters. And I don’t take my eyes off him until his face turns red, and he takes his last breath.

It should be a relief that he’s gone, but it isn’t.

This is far from over, and now I have to sit through family dinner and try not to think about the mystery man who wants my girl dead.