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UP IN FLAMES 17
The whole lower part of the steering wheel had been torn open, wires exposed and dangling like little red and blue snakes.“Oh my God,” she whispered, slowly shaking her head. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Anger poured into her chest, causing her hand to tighten around the keys until the metal dug into flesh. Someone had done this to her car—her property. No way in hell did she believe this was coincidental. It had to be the asshole behind the note, and…Icy fear snapped at the heels of her fury. Her breath came out in a ragged exhale. The person who had done this could still be here, ting and watching. Oh my God. Her heart jumped in her chest painfully. Backing away from her car door, she scanned the darkness ahead of her.She swallowed, but the knot of fear made it difficult. She was out here, alone, and if someone wanted—A heavy hand landed on her shoulder.Shrieking, she spun around, dropping the folder and throwing out her hand that held the key-shank she’d created.“
UP IN FLAMES 18
He stepped away and opened his mouth, but then seemed to rethink what he was about to say. He finally checked out her car, frowning when he saw her open door. As he moved forward, she gulped in air and ignored the smidgen of disappointment.“What in the hell?” he said, facing her car fully. Gripping the door, he bent at the waist. “Looks like you lost a windshield.”She rolled her eyes. “No shit.”He cast a look over his shoulders that would’ve sent men running in the opposite direction. Vanessa made a face. “The sarcasm isn’t necessary,” he said before turning back to her car. “Man, they did a number on this baby. Looks like someone was trying to get himself a free ride.”She snorted. “You must be the muscle and not the brains. I guess Paul is the brains in the team then.”Again, he shot her another dark look, which she ignored.“Ten minutes ago I told you that I received a threatening note. Do you really think those two things aren’t connected? Wait. Don’t bother answering, because
UP IN FLAMES 19
There didn’t appear to be any security cameras at the garage entrance or inside, at least none that was obvious and would deter potential perpetrators. The lighting sucked in the garage, making it easy for anyone to be hiding. He didn’t like any of it.As he parked the truck and killed the engine, he looked over at her. “Are you doing okay?” The question made him strangely uncomfortable because he shouldn't care. She finally met his gaze and nodded curtly. “I’m fine.”That was debatable.Clearing her throat, she reached for the door handle. “Thank you for taking me home.” She said, “I came all this way, so I’m going to check out your apartment.”She was out of his truck with surprising quickness, slamming the door. He cursed under his breath and climbed out, finding her standing near his side, hand extended.“I’m going to need the note, please.” Her voice was clipped, professional, and cool.His eyes narrowed. Instead of handing it over, he walked around her and headed toward the en
UP IN FLAMES 20
Wondering who actually took the time to get personalized stationery made, he pulled out the note and unfolded it. It was definitely a match. The word was written in childish, blockish handwriting. His eyes met hers. Part of him wanted to tell her that it could be coincidental. But he was a logical man. Unless Vanessa wrote the note and threw the rock through her own windshield, someone had slipped into her apartment at some point and retrieved the stationery from her desk. That had to be taken seriously. Vanessa fixed her glasses, her bottom lip trembling as she spoke. “Someone’s been in my apartment.” His chest tightened as real fear snaked up his spine. “I think it’s time that I look at those notes.” —------- So many different emotions swirled through Vanessa as she sat in her living room, watching Alaric pore over the notes in her kitchen. Anger. Frustration. Fear. They mingled together, causing her to go from furious to terrified in seconds and giving her one fierce headac
UP IN FLAMES 21
Finally, he pulled a chair over and eyed the air- conditioning vent in the ceiling. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out a pocket knife and used it to remove the screws. “Got it,” he declared. He took out a small camera, examining it with interest. “Pretty damn sophisticated. We need to look for these in the rest of the house.” That said, he got down from the chair, dropped the camera on the floor and crunched it to pieces under his boot.It turned out there were six more cameras placed in vents all through the house. The one in her bedroom bothered her the worst, though she supposed she should count her blessings that Alaric didn’t find one in her bathroom.He destroyed every single camera. “I wonder how long this SOB has been watching you.” His voice simmered with anger.“I don’t know.” She caught herself about to chew on her fingernail, a habit she’d broken herself of years ago. “But right now, I need to figure out a place to go. I want out of here.”“Shh.” He put his finger again
UP IN FLAMES 22
His head tilted slightly. Through the layers of her starched and stiff clothing, she felt his stare move from the tips of her shoes to the top of her head. His lips curved up as his gaze locked with hers. “I’ll get back to you on that, Mrs Spencer.”After Alaric left, Vanessa quickly gathered up a day or two’s worth of clothing and some personal stuff. She packed it up neatly and exited the apartment after calling for a cab. Paranoia kept causing her to look over her shoulder as she waited for the cab to arrive. She ended up checking into a hotel. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and rolled her suitcase to the bed. Looking around the room, the queen-size bed with square pillows, the desk and the TV, she let out a deep sigh. She plopped down on the bed, wishing she’d had the foresight to grab a carton of ice cream from her freezer. It felt like it was going to be one of those “look at your life, look at your choices” kinds of night, and she needed chocolate to deal with that
UP IN FLAMES 23
From what Zack had told Alaric, as the club had expanded, he’d chosen four men to act as his lieutenants under him. Without telling Zack, one of these men had begun selling guns. When Zack learned of this, he’d been okay with it, but he’d drawn the line at getting involved in drugs.Now, BOS was one of the largest drug dealers in the country. Some of the weapons had been sold to known terrorist groups, which is why Alaric had been sent undercover. The investigation so far would be hard-pressed to directly tie Zack to anything. He had four lieutenants under him who carried out the day-to-day operations. Alaric had tons of stuff on these men, more than enough to arrest and indict them. But the police wanted the big guns, the people who provided the weapons and drugs to BOS. Since they were a huge and violent cartel, Alaric doubted they would be able to do much about them. Twice he’d refused an offer to extend his undercover work into the cartel. He had no intention of going there or dea
UP IN FLAMES 24
“Want me to see if I can track down some of the numbers? I got a friend who’s a friend of a player on the Falcons. And obviously I can’t do nothing else but sit behind a desk.”Alaric laughed as he pushed the list over. “Who do you know?”“Remember the Redskins cheerleader two years ago? The one who was being stalked by that parolee? Well, we’ve stayed in contact. I’m sure she can make a few calls and point us in the right direction.”Alaric shook his head. “Yeah, I bet the contact you’ve been staying in has been totally professional and doesn’t involve your cock.”“I am not talking to you about my cock.”Alaric's eyes narrowed. “Do I need to remind you of the number-one rule?”“Whatever.” Paul pushed himself up. “You don't have to. I'm engaged to a beautiful woman now. I should be the one asking you…. Do I need to remind you about the rule?”“Shut the fuck up.”Paul laughed as he ambled out of the office, closing the door behind him. Looking back at the screen, Alaric let about five
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