Plus, I had a call to make.
“I’ll be back for you in a bit, I promise.”
I leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead, but instead, she grabbed me and pulled me in for a kiss on the lips. Despite being able to taste smoke, it was one of the sweetest moments I’d had. I wasn’t going to say anything to that effect, but I had to admit, a kiss like that…
It was the kind of kiss where you just felt safe and at ease with the person. No one since my deceased wife had made me feel that way, and I hadn’t thought anyone ever would.
Guess I was glad to be wrong on that one.
“Make sure you do,” she said.
I smiled.
And with that, I stood up, walked out of the room, and resumed my DOM mentality. I hurried to my truck, pulled out my phone, and called Burke.
“Yeah?” he said.
“I don’t need you in Miami anymore,” I said. “But I need you to get your ass to Breckenridge, Colorado, as soon as fucking possible. Jog over here if you have to, I don’t fucking care.”
“I’ll be on the next fucking flight.”
We disconnected. I’d need Burke as much as I could.
This had become fucking war. And it wouldn’t end until Sean was dead.
Chapter 19: Kelly
I wasn’t proud to admit it, but as soon as Liam left, I burst into tears.
I cried partially out of exhaustion. I had come probably seconds from losing Charlotte forever, let alone my own life. I’d thought for a disturbing amount of time that I’d lost Bucky. For someone who had gone through life unable to acquire the cherished love of their own child, the fear that I’d lose it after less than two years was just too heavy a weight to handle.
I cried partially out of fear. I knew all too well what Sean was capable of from being friends with Emily. That he’d tried to burn down my house and kill my dog seemed disturbingly right in character for him. The only question was if coming to the hospital to commit murder was also in character for him.
The fact that you even have to entertain that question…
But I also cried out of happiness. That kiss with Liam had felt like the most gentle, loving kiss I’d had since my honeymoon with my first husband—and back then, I was more naive, more blissfully unaware of the darkness that the world could hold. I was a young twenty-something who thought that my career and my life would continue on a permanent upward trajectory.
It made the kiss with Liam that much more meaningful to know I’d gone through hell, was apparently taking a second trip through it right now, and even in the midst of this nightmare, I still found time to have some form of happiness. Maybe this would all crumble; it was certainly hard to get any sort of perspective on the situation when everything seemed to be going to hell. I didn’t even have a home anymore!
But I still had hope.
One of the nurses came into the room.
“Was that your boyfriend?” she said with a gentle smile.
“Yeah.”
It was an easier answer than the truth, which was, “No, but we’re working on it, and I think we might, but there’s a ton of danger involved, and boy, he called that one, didn’t he? He said that if we got involved, we’d be at risk. I can see why he stayed away!”
“Nice, he’s handsome,” she said. I could tell she wanted to say a whole lot more than that, but perhaps thought better of singing the praises of a man whose name she didn’t even know. “Just letting you know your daughter is in pediatric ICU for her smoke inhalation. Obviously, with her little lungs, she was hit harder. It’s serious, but it’s not life-threatening.”
Even though I’d heard someone say that in the ambulance, it was still enormously relieving to hear that again.
“Now, she may have permanent lung damage, but that’s the worst-case scenario. She should live and will likely be fine after spending some time here. We just need time to see how things go.”
“That’s great,” I said. “Thank you.”
“The police want to talk to you as well,” she said. “They just want to ask you some questions if you’re feeling up for it.”
I knew I’d have to do this sooner or later. But what the hell would I tell them? That I’d hired a private agent to do their job for them, because I needed the best of the best to take care of this shit?
“Sure.”
The nurse nodded to me and left the room. Less than thirty seconds later, two police walked in, and I had to say, even though I knew they were on my side, there was just something mighty intimidating about two cops standing over you. They had the authority, and I knew they used it well, but it also felt like being in detention. Say one thing, and someone would be all over your case.
“Good evening, ma’am,” the first officer, a bald man who looked to be in his mid-forties, said. “My name is Officer Bradley, and this is Officer Michaels. We’re here to try and get information on your house fire and the person of interest in the case.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
It was my friend Emily’s ex-boyfriend, Sean, who flew all the way from Miami to here without anyone noticing, and…
Yeah, no wonder I wasn’t eager to tell the story. Even I thought it sounded crazy.
“According to the crime scene investigation, your house was lit on fire with gasoline. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to you, but this incident was no accident.”
Officer Bradley took a step
