CHAPTER Ten
When they finally finished the sweep of the house, Lora and Kenton headed back outside. She sucked in the clean air, hating the bitter taste that always filled her mouth at an arson investigation scene.
Kenton stared at the older houses that lined the street. The houses were packed tightly together. “If he came here before, then someone might have seen him.”
She rubbed arms that shouldn’t have been chilled. “The police canvassed the scene last night, right?”
“They interviewed everyone here.” His gaze zeroed in on the house directly across the pothole-lined street. The house that would’ve had the best view of the Randalls’ place. “But maybe they just didn’t ask the right questions.”
He strode forward, heading for the light gray house with the broken shutter. Lora yanked off her latex gloves and followed behind him.
Kenton pulled out his badge as he walked across the street. “They didn’t ask about visitors who might have been here long before the fire.”
Excitement had her heart leaping. Could this be it? Oh, damn, but she hoped Phoenix had screwed up.
The old porch groaned when Kenton hurried up the steps. “Stay behind me,” he told her.
Kenton knocked on the door. The faded wood rattled.
Footsteps thudded behind the door. It opened a few inches and a grizzled face poked out. “What the hell do you want?”
Kenton moved forward, and she noticed that he positioned his right foot just inside that open door. He lifted his badge. “FBI, sir. I need to ask you some questions about—”
The guy snarled and tried to slam the door shut. Not gonna happen. Kenton braced the door and—
The man—balding, with thick arms and a burly chest—yelled when the door didn’t close. But instead of running back inside, he charged at Kenton.
“Fucking asshole! You ain’t taking me back!” He barreled right into Kenton.
Lora screamed.
Kenton didn’t make a sound. He dropped his badge and caught the guy with a hard left hook. The attacker stumbled, blinked.
“I told you, I’m with the FBI, and you need to—”
The man just came at him again. His fist plowed into Kenton’s stomach.
“Screw this,” Kenton muttered. He grabbed the guy’s arms, spun him around, and slammed the man face-first into the doorframe. The man’s body sagged, and only Kenton’s hold seemed to keep him upright. “Asshole, come at me again, and it’ll be the last mistake you make.”
Lora’s breath rasped out. The violence had been fast and intense, and Kenton didn’t seem to have even broken a sweat.
But he had his gun out now, and they all heard the soft snick as he released the safety.
Lora realized her hands were balled into fists.
“Ease back, Lora,” Kenton ordered quietly.
Uh, right. She hurried back a few steps.
Kenton flipped the jerk around, and his gun stayed locked right on the guy’s chest. The man froze at the sight. Then, after a heartbeat of time, he started talking, fast, “Pl-please m-man… I just didn’t want to go back to jail…”
Kenton grunted. “And you thought swinging at an FBI agent was the way to stay on the streets? Wrong move, dumbass.”
“I just sold a l-little bit, okay? Just a couple of d-dime bags…”
The guy was a dealer? That was why he’d attacked?
“What’s your name?” Kenton asked.
“Q-Quint. Quint Harley.”
“Well, Quint, I wasn’t here because of the drugs.” Kenton wasn’t lowering his gun, and Lora thought that was a good choice. She didn’t trust the dealer not to slam into him again. “I wanted to ask you some questions about the Randalls.”
The dealer’s bulging eyes blinked a few times. “H-Hailey and that weird kid? They burned last night. Didn’t—didn’t you hear?”
“We heard,” Lora said flatly, crossing her hands over her chest.
Quint glanced her way, squinting against the sunlight.
“Before your ass gets hauled to jail,” Kenton said, “tell me who’s been visiting the Randalls.”
Quint shook his head. “N-no one. They weren’t real big on visitors.”
No, Hailey hadn’t exactly been the welcoming kind.
“You had to see somebody,” Kenton pressed. “I want physical descriptions, I want vehicle descriptions, I want—”
But Quint was still shaking his head. “I’m tellin’ you… they didn’t have company. Hell, the only cars I ever saw over there were black-and-whites. Cops were the only damn visitors they had.”
Kenton grunted. “So the boy kept causing trouble?”
“Nah, he was quiet once he came back. But Hailey screamed at him all the time. Heard her tell him that she’d be tossing his ass on the street soon.”
Only Hailey hadn’t tossed her son out. She’d burned instead.
So Michael had known that his mother was getting ready to dump him. Had that been what pushed him over the edge? Yeah, that could have broken the kid’s already damaged mind.
“Hey, man!” Harley’s brows rose, and a flash of hope had his lips curving. “Since I told you, does that mean you’ll let me go?”
“No, it means you’ll be heading to jail. You’re under arrest for assaulting a federal officer.”
Kenton was bone tired when he pulled up in front of Lora’s house that night. After he’d gotten a black-and-white cruiser to take Harley into the station, he’d interviewed the other neighbors. No one remembered any visitors at the Randall house. Most folks hadn’t seemed to care enough to ever bother glancing over that way. All the memories were of cop cars, nothing else.
After leaving the neighborhood, he’d verified Garrison’s story about the school and his whereabouts at the time of the Randall fire. A teacher remembered Garrison cutting out right after he’d gotten a page.
After he’d checked out Garrison, Kenton spent a few hours interviewing the pyros that Peter hauled into the station. He’d watched as Peter tossed the fire photos in front of them. No one’s reaction had raised his suspicions. Then, while Monica and Jon had checked out more firefighters in the area, Kenton had talked to the families of the victims and seen their grief. He and Monica had suspects. Oh, yeah, they had a whole shitload of them. But they didn’t have Phoenix.
All in all, it had been one real bitch of a day.
Sighing, Kenton shoved his SUV’s door open. He wanted to see Lora. His hand stretched back into the passenger seat and grabbed the roses that he’d picked up.
Because he didn’t just want hot sex with her. Well, he did. But tonight, he wanted more.
A date. It would be a new experience for him. Usually, he didn’t exactly stick around for date time.
As he turned his head and caught sight of the front porch, he saw her.
But Lora didn’t see him. She was too busy throwing her arms around some other asshole. Some tall, blond-headed ass who had his hands on her, his body pressed against hers.
The sound of her laughter reached his ears, light and warm.
She leaned up and kissed the man’s cheek.
What the fuck.
She turned, and the guy slipped past her, heading right into her house.
“She’s using you, man. She’s done it before. You’re not him. She won’t—”
Seth’s words rang in his head. He’d wanted to punch the asshole at the time. Now he wanted to slam his fist into the face of the asshole who’d just gone into Lora’s house.
She’d kissed him.
Kenton slammed his car door.
Lora turned at the sound. “Kent?” She glanced back at the house and then at him. She hurried forward, coming to stand at the end of the porch. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
His fingers clenched around the flowers. Idiot. “I told you I’d be by tonight.” Because he’d wanted to check on her. He knew Wade had pulled through those first life-or-death hours, but he’d wanted to check on her.
No, he’d wanted her.
“You did?” She eased down the top step. “Sorry, I, um, don’t remember you telling me that.”
Probably because she’d been unconscious. His eyes locked on her face and then slowly slid to the open front door. “Looks like you’ve already got company.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth, and her eyes darted back to the open door. “Um, yeah, this isn’t a really good time for me.”
His jaw clenched. “I don’t share, Lora.”
Her brows scrunched. “Share what?”
The wooden porch creaked. “Lora?” The asshole’s voice. The guy stood in the doorway, his face half-hidden in shadows. “Lora, there a problem out here?”
Kenton bounded up the steps. “Yeah, there’s a problem. You.”
“Kenton!” Lora’s strangled voice. “Don’t—”
Fuck that. No way was he about to step aside while Lora got all nice and cozy with this prick. “Lora happen to tell you what she did last night? I mean, who?”
“Oh, my God.” Lora really sounded like she was choking. Tough. He’d deal with her later, and he’d make it pretty fucking clear that while they were together, it would just be them.
Not that jackass standing there, clenching his fists, and not either of the other two tall linebacker types who were suddenly crowding in behind him.
Two other—
Well, shit.
“You got a problem with him,” one of the guys snapped, “then you got a problem with all of us!”
Lora’s nails dug into the skin of Kenton’s back, hard and deep. “My brothers…”
They all eased out of the door and surrounded him. And that guy—the one who’d kissed Lora—Kenton got a good look at him then.
The right side of his face had been in the light. A much more masculine version of Lora, especially with that thick blond hair.
But the left side of his face…
Jesus.
The flesh was raised, red and dark in spots as it criss-crossed his cheek and ran down his jaw.
Her brother—the fire had caught him, burned him, over 60 percent of his body. The doctors didn’t think he’d make it.
But he had made it, and the guy was looking at him like he’d love nothing more than to rip Kenton’s head clear off.
Not that he particularly blamed him right then. Damn. Jealousy could make him act like such a fucking idiot.
“I’m having dinner with my brothers tonight.”
“Who the hell is he?” came a snarl from the redhead in the back.
Lora jumped in front of Kenton. “A friend. He’s a friend. Guys, just go back inside and finish making the spaghetti. I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”
“No friend talks to my sister like that.” The guy who’d walked through hell took a step forward. “And if this jerk had his hands on you last night…”
Kenton knew he was about to get an ass-kicking. He set his shoulders, realizing that it would be hard for a man to be more stupid than he’d just been, and got ready to take his licks. From the looks of things, there’d be a lot of them.
“Ryan, ease up, okay?”
Ryan didn’t look like he really understood that concept.
Lora’s hand shoved against Ryan’s chest. “My angel hair is gonna burn, and when it does, you’ll be the one going hungry.”
The guy wasn’t moving.
She gave a long, really long sigh. “This is Kenton Lake, all right? Special Agent Kenton Lake.”
“Oooh… special agent.” From the redhead. He was about two inches shorter than Ryan, but he was wider. “Like I give a rat’s ass about that.” And he obviously had his sister’s tact.
“Ben, you are not helping.”
Kenton cleared his throat. “My apologies. I thought you were someone else.” Someone there to screw Lora and that sure as shit wasn’t going to happen. “I got… jealous.”
A hard laugh from the brother who hadn’t spoken yet. A deep, rumbling laugh. “Aw, man, I think the special agent is sweet on Lora.” He blew a kiss into the air.
Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Ain’t that something.” Then he turned his narrowed gaze to Lora. “You didn’t mention you’d started dating, Lora.”
“Because I don’t have to run everything by you guys. Jeez!” She threw her hands up. “Fine! Whatever! Okay, Kent was a jealous ass. Um, what were you gonna do, by the way?” she asked as she glanced at Kenton. “Punch Ryan?”
Her brother laughed at that. “He could try.”
Lora shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m starving. It’s late, and I’m not standing on my porch all night so the neighbors can see us argue.” Lora grabbed Kenton’s hand. “Jake, put another plate on the table. We’ve got one more for dinner.”
Her brothers’ eyes—they all had Lora’s exact eye color—widened. Then, as one, they said, “Shit.”
Yeah, he could relate.
Dinner was awkward. But, well, that was to be expected when three guys wanted to tear you apart.
The food was good. Lots of spaghetti. Probably enough to feed a small town.
He watched them, when they weren’t glaring at him. Jake was the youngest, probably a year or two older than Lora. His hair was red like Ben’s, but shot with blond streaks. He ate fast, he laughed a lot, and he seemed to love stealing rolls off Lora’s plate.
Ben sat at the head of the table. The oldest, well, that was what he’d told Kenton. But he and Ryan were twins. Not identical, though, not even close. His eyes were smaller than his brother’s, his chin narrower, his forehead higher—and it looked like the guy had gotten his nose smashed more than a few times.
Then there was Ryan. Ryan who sat close to Lora. Ryan who snatched the rolls back any time Jake messed with his sister. Ryan who really looked like he wanted to tear Kenton apart.
The protector. Yeah, Ryan was right there beside her, and Kenton didn’t blame the guy for wanting to kick his ass.
“So…” Jake leaned forward with a lazy grin that looked a lot like Lora’s. “You sleeping with my sister?”
Kenton choked on the spaghetti.
“Yeah, he is,” Lora answered, and Ryan tossed her another roll. “You still sleeping with—oh, what’s her name? Kelly? Kim? Kar—”
“Katie.” His lips twisted. “And, um, no, we’re not together anymore.”
“Dude.” Ben stilled with the fork near his mouth. “You dumped the massage therapist? Are you freaking insane?”
A flush stole over Jake’s cheeks. “Didn’t dump her.”
Ben winced with empathy. “That one had to hurt.”
“You’re with the SSD,” Ryan’s voice came, low but clear. A massage therapist wasn’t enough to get that fellow off-track.
Kenton gave a slow nod.
“How’d you know that?” Lora demanded. “I didn’t say—”
“You got a serial in town. You got a special agent on your doorstep.” A little shrug. “Connecting the dots isn’t hard.”
And just like that, all their eyes were back on him.
Ryan’s lip curled, just a bit, tightening the scars. “And I saw lover boy on the news the other night.” His arms stretched out, one wrapping around the back of Lora’s chair. “Just didn’t realize you were working quite so close with Lora on these cases.”
“Well, he is.” She elbowed his arm out of the way. “All right. Let’s clear the air.” She waved at them. “Hi, I’m Lora. I’m thirty-two, no longer a virgin, and able to date and do anything else with any man I want.” Her grin was gorgeous and, dammit, getting a hard-on when her brothers were around probably wasn’t smart.
Like he’d been having a smart night.
“So I want you all to stop acting like idiots and be nice to the guy I’m with. Got it?” Oh, there was some real steel there.
“This serious?” asked Ben.
Lora’s head turned slowly toward him, and Kenton wished he could have seen her eyes as she said, “This? Kenton is what I want. What I need.”
Silence.
Ben’s stare jumped to Ryan, and Kenton caught the small movement of his head. Giving the okay—for now.
Ryan might not be the oldest, by a couple of minutes, but when it came to the pecking order at the house, he ruled.
“Great.” Lora shoved back from the table. “Now who wants dessert?”
Jake’s hand shot up. Ben begged for two pieces of pie.
And Ryan turned his stare onto Kenton. No man liked to meet the guy screwing his little sister.
Kenton pushed his shoulders back. “Let me help you with that, Lora.”
Wasn’t that fucking sweet.
They were all together, talking and laughing. Having damn dinner like nothing was wrong in their world.
He slammed his foot on the gas, and his truck shot down the road.
He was being hunted, but they were all dicking around in there.
That damn agent—coming into this town, taking over. Acting like this was his place.
Even moving right in on Lora.
He’d given them another taste of his fire, but they still didn’t realize… he was in charge. He could burn and kill anyone he wanted. The power was his.
Not the Bureau bastard’s. Not Lora’s.
Some people could go into the fire, feel the burn, and rise right out of the ashes.
But others, well, they fell into the flames.
Time for more to fall.
They left, finally. Lora watched her brothers leave, one by one, and though she loved them more than anything, she’d never been happier to see them walk away.
Ryan hung back. He always stayed just a little longer to help her clean up and to make sure she locked her doors.
Or stayed a little longer to give her new lover hell.
Ryan’s gaze raked over Kenton. “You’re a lucky bastard, you know that?”
Kenton lifted a brow. “Lucky because you’re not gonna take that swing you’ve been wanting all night?”
Ryan laughed. God, Lora loved that sound. After the fire, it had been months before he laughed again. Eleven months and three days. She could still remember perfectly.
“Nah, I’ll get that punch in when you least expect it, buddy.” He brushed a kiss over Lora’s cheek. “You’re lucky because Lora’s bothering to give you the time of day. Usually, she just tells guys to piss off.”
Ah, well, yeah.
“Guess that means you’re coming back, huh, Lora?” His voice softened when he said her name.
She sucked in a deep breath because Ryan knew her so well. And yes, she was coming back. She was pushing the past away and trying to get a life again.
With a man she wanted.
“I guess so,” she murmured.
His stare turned back to Kenton. “So for that, I won’t shove your dick down your throat, yet.” He turned away and took a few quick steps toward his car. “But if you hurt her, I won’t give a shit about assaulting a federal officer.”
“Good to know,” Kenton said.
Then Ryan was gone. His Corvette’s engine roared to life, and his tires squealed as he shot down the street.
She glanced at Kenton, but his eyes were on the road. “Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t know you were coming—”
“I should have called first.” He paused. “Next time, I will.”
“Thursday is spaghetti night. They always come over.” Their ritual. Their way of keeping the family together since their mom had died two years ago. A heart attack had stolen her away. God, that had hurt.
“Your brothers are very protective.”
That was an understatement. “They’ve always been like that. If you think tonight was bad, you should have seen what they did to Johnny Went.”
His eyes cut toward her.
A grin stretched her lips. “My high school prom date. Johnny thought we’d be going back to the hotel room he’d booked and having a quiet night, just the two of us.”
Kenton’s brows rose.
“My brothers found out.” She shook her head, remembering. “I have never seen a guy run so fast, buck-naked.”
Laughter broke from Kenton. The deep, rolling laughter had her smile widening. “Come on, let’s go inside.” Because she wanted to be alone with him. To get him buck-naked, sure. But also, just to talk to him. To find out more about him. His family. His life.
“By the way, I liked those flowers.” Her eyes dropped to the porch and to the petals that had fallen due to the death-grip he’d had on them. “Roses are my favorites.” Not that the flowers were looking all that good right now. But she’d put them in a vase and maybe they’d rally.
His hand caught her shoulder. “What are you doing to me?” No more laughter. The dimples that had flashed with his smile were gone.
Her head turned, and Lora met his stare over her shoulder. “I don’t know—”
“I think about you…” His head shook. “All day. I can smell you when you’re gone. Can taste you.”
She licked her lips because she’d been tasting him too.
“When I saw that guy standing right here.” The boards creaked beneath his shifting feet. “I wanted to go after him.”
“Um, you did.” Lora turned to face him fully.
His hand caught her jaw, tipping her head back. “I think you’re making me crazy.”
Not the overwhelming sweet words that a woman liked to hear. “Thanks.”
“No—look, I just… want you.”
She wanted him.
“I don’t know what the hell we have going on here—”
Hot sex. A need that wouldn’t subside.
“I didn’t count on this, on you.”
Ditto.
“But I’m damned glad you pulled my ass out of that fire.”
Her hands curled against his chest. “Me, too.”
His mouth took hers, but not hard or demanding this time. A light and easy caress of his lips. A swipe of his tongue to savor and enjoy.
She rose higher on her toes, and her hands curled around his neck. The crickets chirped around them. The humid summer air pressed on her skin, and she pushed her body against him. Nice. Very, very nice.
The man was a good kisser. He knew just how to work that tongue. How to make her knees tremble and her toes want to curl.
He also knew how to make her wet. He was very, very good at that.
Kenton’s head rose slowly as he let the kiss linger. Their eyes held.
She could see so much in those eyes. The desire, the lust, yes, but more. A need that went soul deep. A hunger…
What does he see in my eyes?
Her breath caught when a car door slammed.
Kenton pulled back and whirled around to see a man hurrying down the sidewalk as he rushed to Lora’s house.
“Kenton…” She grabbed his arm. She didn’t know this guy. A quick spike of fear had her straightening fast.
“Yo, Lake! We’ve got to go!” The man came closer. The light that Ryan had installed near the corner of her house fell on him, revealing dark hair, dark eyes, and rumpled pants and shirt.
His arm shifted, and she saw the flash of his badge.
“Hell.” Kenton stiffened against her. “Another one?”
But then Kenton’s hip started to vibrate against her. His phone.
“Told Davenport you were busy.” The guy shook his head. “That woman is impatient.”
Kenton yanked out his phone. “Lake.”
Lora eased away from him and kept her eyes on the stranger. “Who are you?”
He flashed a smile, lots of white teeth in the shadows. “Name’s Jon Ramirez, ma’am.”
“What? What the fuck?” Kenton’s voice blasted.
Oh, that couldn’t be good. Her eyes narrowed as Kenton turned away and began to pace the length of the porch. “So you were just… outside my house, all evening?” Lora asked Ramirez.
His shoulders rose, then dropped in a careless shrug. “Keeping an eye on Lake can be a real pain in the ass.”
Uh, okay. “Why are you watching Kent?”
“They promised to put the fucker on the air?”
She winced at Kenton’s snarl.
Ramirez just shrugged. “Because pretty boy made himself a target, and we watch our own at the SSD.”
Anger had her tensing. “That interview.”
Ramirez gave a nod, and his eyes cut to Kenton.
“Stop them. Pull the whole show off the air if you have to,” Kenton barked into the phone. His gaze landed on her, and she saw the barely controlled fury lurking in his eyes. “I’ll be there, ten minutes. Do not let them go live. Do whatever you have to in order to stop them, Monica, but, stop them.”
He ended the call and bounded down the steps. Lora grabbed his arm. “What’s going on?”
A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Seems Channel Five got a call from Phoenix. The perp wants them to put him on the air.”
“What?”
“Equal fucking time, right?” He shook his head. “He’s supposed to call back during the live broadcast tonight, and some prick of a producer gave the okay to put him on the air.”
“Is Monica gonna be able to hold them off?” Ramirez asked, glancing at his watch. “ ’Cuz the broadcast starts in less than half an hour.”
“She’ll stop them, but we’re getting there, now. Follow me, Jon, and we’ll—”
“Not without me.” Lora wasn’t about to be left behind. “I’m coming on this one.”
“You’re not an agent,” Ramirez said. “This is official—”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “It’s just a phone call. And I’m going.”
The agent’s stare shot to Kenton. He gave a nod. “She’s going.”
Damn straight.
“You can’t tell me what the fuck to do with my station!” a man’s voice thundered.
“Actually, I can tell you exactly what the fuck to do,” Monica replied with her voice low. Calm and cold.
Kenton rounded the corner and saw them. The station manager, Harvey Pile, had his short, squat body planted right in front of Monica. His hands were curved into fists, and his face flushed dark red. Reporters stood behind him, watching closely, and the producer—Travis Jenkins—was just steps away. Monica had told him good old Travis was the one who’d approved the idiot plan.
Monica stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her dark brows up. There were two uniforms near her, one man on each side. They looked nervous and tense.
“Let us into the control room,” Harvey shouted. “We’re scheduled to go live in three minutes.”
Ah, so that explained Monica’s strategic placement with the cops. Monica glanced over at Kenton. “About time you showed up.”
Traffic could be a bitch.
Harvey whirled toward him. “You. Look, I did you a favor, let you come on my show—”
“No, I did you a favor.” And Kenton had. “I gave you a ratings boost that I could have given to any other station in town.” He’d just picked Channel Five because it was closest. It was the luck of the draw.
Sweat lined Harvey’s forehead. “If we don’t take his call, he’ll just go to another station. They’ll take him. He’ll get on—”
“No, he won’t.” Monica was certain. “Every station in the city has a police presence right now.” Her hands gestured toward the cops. “He’s not getting on the air.”
Damn right he wasn’t.
“You can’t do this! We’ve got freedom of the damn press. You can’t—”
Lora moved to his side. “You’re seriously gonna put a killer on the air? He’s burned people alive, moron! He’s taken out a firefighter, and you want him on your show?”
She looked as if she might start swinging any minute.
Kenton eased a bit in front of her, the better to keep her from going after old Harvey.
But Harvey was already inching back from her. “Look, it’s not like we want to go on the air.”
“What? Is he twisting your arms? ’Cause I don’t see anybody holding ’em!”
She was fired up.
He thought Monica’s lips curved a bit.
“One minute till air…” came Travis’s panicked voice.
“I—he’s calling at the start of the show. We’ve got to—”
“Monica will talk to him,” Kenton said.
Harvey’s jaw dropped. “No, that’s not the deal, it’s—”
“Record the conversation. Every second. When this is all over…” He gave a shrug. “You can run it, after the FBI clears the tape.”
Harvey’s hand swiped over his eyes. “Only Channel Five?” Half a deal was better than none, and Kenton figured Harvey had been in the game long enough to realize that fact. “And we get a full-on exclusive when he’s caught?” Harvey pressed.
“Thirty seconds…” Travis was starting to shake.
Kenton nodded.
“All right—shit! Okay, let’s do this!” Harvey clapped his hands. “Places, people! Move, move!”
The staff scrambled.
Monica eased away from the door, just as it opened from the inside. Two more cops stood there. “You got the tracer set up?”
The first guy gave a slow nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What?” Harvey’s head jerked toward her. “You put something on our lines?”
Her smile was wide. “Of course I did. You didn’t think we’d let the call come through without a tracer?”
Not just any tracer. A special tracer designed by the techs at the Bureau.
“Ten seconds.”
Harvey shot into the control room.
“Kenton, you sure you want to do this?” Lora asked, her brows low. “This guy, it seems like you’re just playing into his hands.”
“We have to take the call.” They couldn’t throw away the chance to get in direct contact with the perp. Monica knew her monsters. She’d get him to talk. To make one mistake…
Just one. That’s all they’d need.
“Two people died after the last broadcast.” Her eyes were glinting with anger. “What’s gonna happen this time?”
“Maybe we get the sonofabitch,” Jon said.
“Or maybe not.” Lora’s gaze seemed very deep.
What did she expect him to do? This was his job, and they had to take the call.
Behind him, he heard the anchor take his cue and welcome viewers to another night of Channel Five Action News.
Monica hurried into the control booth, and Kenton followed right behind her. By the time everybody was through that narrow doorway, they were crammed in as tight as sardines.
One of the uniforms sat by the phone line, almost on top of the thing.
“We routed all the calls here,” Monica said. She’d been busy. “If he calls again, we’ll get him.”
The phone rang. Line one lit up.
Monica gave a quick nod, and the cop pressed a button. The speakerphone was on now, and the recording would start immediately.
The uniform answered the call. “Channel Five Action News.” His voice didn’t crack, but the guy’s hands sure shook.
“Get me Pile. Put the bastard on the line.”
Pile’s eyes filled his face.
But Monica shook her head and said, “I’m afraid Pile’s not available right now, but this is Special Agent Monica Davenport. Maybe I can help you.”
Silence.
Then laughter. “You move fast, bitch.” The voice was male, but distorted. Static crackled, and a train whistle blew in the distance.
“Do I?”
“Put me on the air. That was the deal. I call, I get on the air.” Rage was evident, shaking the words.
“Why? If you’ve got something to say, say it to me.” No rage, no tension, just that cool ice.
Lora shifted beside Kenton, rocking forward on the balls of her feet.
“I want to tell them who I am. They need to fear me. Fucking fear me.”
“Is that why you’re starting the fires? So people will be afraid of you?”
Silence.
“What is it that you want?” Monica pressed. “I mean, do you want your fifteen minutes of fame? Is that why you’re calling the station? Well, you’ve already had those fifteen. Your fires were splashed over every paper in the state today. You know that.”
More laughter and static rustled over the line. “You shouldn’t have fucked with me. You shouldn’t have gone on TV and told lies about me.” A brief pause. “You’re there, aren’t you, Agent Lake?”
Kenton tensed.
“And I bet you’ve got the pretty fire whore with you. You can’t seem to go any damn place without her at your side, can you? Hello, Lora. I loved watching you last night.”
“Asshole!” she yelled.
“Do you like the fire, Lora? Do you like the way it burns? When it touches you, does it feel like a lover?”
“No, you sick prick, it—”
Kenton caught her hand, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. “Don’t,” he whispered in her ear. “Don’t give him anything.” Rage had tightened every muscle in Kenton’s body. How the hell had he known Lora was there?
Sonofabitch. Not just the fires, he was watching them.
“She’s a wild one, isn’t she, Lake? Too much for you.”
His hold on Lora tightened.
“The fire touched you before, Lora. I know. Licked your skin and made you scream.”
Her chin lifted.
“But it’s not all pain, is it? When the fire lances your flesh…” A sigh. “Tell me, Lora, how much heat can you handle?”
Kenton could feel her body trembling in his grasp, but he didn’t speak.
“Why do you care about Lora?” Monica demanded.
A rush of air—no, wind—on the phone line. Then the caller said, “I don’t, but he does.”
Kenton’s gut clenched.
“Don’t you, Agent Lake? She matters to you.”
Monica shook her head, frantic. Don’t speak. She mouthed the words. Because speaking, snapping back, that would be exactly what the prick wanted.
“You want to talk to Agent Lake, then you come in. Come to the police station, and we’ll—”
“Time’s up.” No more rage. He spoke with a tone as flat as Monica’s voice. “And your tracer won’t work, Davenport. I’ll ditch this phone in the next five seconds.”
“You don’t—”
“Get ready. Hell’s coming.”
Another rush of wind, and then, nothing.
Lora’s shoulders slumped, and her body sagged against Kenton.
Over her head, Kenton met Monica’s glittering stare.
Hell’s coming.