Safe From the Fire (20 page)

Her
voice cracked at the end and she whirled away, but not before her eyes welled
up.  Hoping he wouldn’t see them, she hurried away, ignoring the sound of the
book cart
crashing
over and Matt’s furious muttered,
“Fuck me.”

HE
WASN’T CUT OUT to be a spy and he knew it, but Adam gave it his best effort,
following his gut.  After a couple of hours, he and Russell had faced the fact
that Ridley’s Pond was not going to yield the bounty of late season fish that
Russell had envisioned, and given up.  Russell was still twitchy, and as he
dropped Adam off, his mind was a million miles away.

“Guess
I’ll see you, bro,” he said, and Adam nodded and headed inside.

Something’s
up with him.

The
persistent feeling wouldn’t leave him alone, and though Adam knew he should
probably stay home, take some painkillers, and sleep, he grabbed Grace’s car
keys and headed out, grateful that she usually walked to work. 

It
didn’t take too long to find Russell – after all, Bright’s Ferry was pretty
much the size of a postage stamp – and Adam kept his distance as he followed
him down Main Street.  He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he had a bad
feeling, and a few years on the street had taught Adam to follow his gut
instinct whenever possible.

Russell
pulled up in front of the burned out restaurant next to the nightclub and
hopped out.  He stood there, examining the structure, and after a few minutes,
jumped back into his car.  Curious, Adam followed him as he repeated the
process – first at the office building, then at the Haden house, and then out
to the destroyed Banks property.

Adam
shivered as he looked at the charred shell, now surrounded in police tape and
followed Russell’s slow crawl past the house.

The
bad feeling wouldn’t go away, and if Adam had learned anything, it was that
keeping it to himself was not an option.

MATT
CHECKED OFF THE chore list taped to the fridge in the mess at the fire
station.  He wasn’t technically on duty, since the Chief had basically loaned
him out to the Sheriff’s Department, but there was nothing for him to do until
Evie called back with any new news.  Nothing but wait.  And think about Grace.

Grace,
who rocked his world.  Grace, who insisted that she wasn’t interested in
anything but fast and dirty, and then melted in his arms.  Grace, whose brother
might be an arsonist.

Yeah,
this is a clusterfuck.

Matt
looked around the room – three hours of reorganizing, de-cluttering, and
scrubbing had the place looking pristine again, and it was the least he could
do for his brothers-in-arms, who had fended off six fires over the last couple
of weeks.  And the town was still standing.

A
scuffle of sneakers and a quiet clearing of a throat had Matt turning around.

He
was shocked to see Adam Mallow, looking pale, cradling his bandaged arm.

“Adam! 
What are you doing here?”

“I
was – do you think we could talk?”

“Sure.”

The
kid was about to collapse, so Matt gave him a hand over to the couch and got
him a bottle of water and a couple of painkillers from the medical kit, waving
away his protests.

“It’s
just ibuprofen.  Didn’t Dr. Griggs give you some of the good stuff to take
home?”

“They
make me foggy,” admitted Adam, but accepted the pills, chasing them with half a
bottle of water.

“Should
I call Grace?”

But
Adam shook his head. 

“Just
give me a minute.”

Matt
waited patiently while Adam downed the rest of the water and after a few
minutes, the lines of pain in his face eased up a fraction.

“I
think Russell Lansky had something to do with the fires,” Adam blurted out in a
rush.

Matt’s
eyebrows went up, but he kept his voice even.

“What
makes you think that?”

“Russell’s
been acting strange.”

Adam
told him about his visits to the burn sites, along with his escalating fight
with his brother.

“And
Cal mentioned that some of the buildings that burned had just been renovated by
Lansky Construction.  The Banks house was right in the middle of it.”

“So
you think Russell set the fires?”

“Or
he knows who did.  They’ve got a ton of employees.  Maybe someone’s not happy?”

Matt
sat back, his mind whirring.  It was a good deduction, and he realized the guts
it had taken Adam to step into the fire station and express his concerns.  But
–

“Cal
told me that you borrowed his toolkit.  The one we found at the Murphy house.”

Adam
had the grace to blush, looking down.

“Yeah,
I just wanted to fix a few things at home and I didn’t think Cal would mind.  I
was going to bring it right back.  Then you found it and – ”

“And
you figured that we’d assume you set the fire.”

Adam
nodded, miserable.

Matt
considered him for a long moment and realized that he couldn’t have it both
ways – either Adam was a suspect, or he was being framed.  It wasn’t the first
time Matt had been convinced that Adam was being set up – his misspent youth
was a perfect way to distract the cops from the truth. 

“Adam,
look me in the eye and tell me you had nothing to do with any of these fires.”

Without
hesitation, Adam held his gaze.

“It
wasn’t me, I swear to God.”

With
a little mental click, Matt realized that he believed him, unequivocally.

Okay,
then.  Guess you’re on his side come hell or high water.

Matt
nodded and pulled out his cell phone, dialing.

“Hey,
Evie.  Think you can get a list of Lansky Construction’s employees?”

He
explained the situation to Evie and then hung up the phone.

“Now
what?”

“Now
you go home, take something that will knock you out, and rest.  The best thing
you can do is stay out of the way and don’t give anyone an excuse to blame you
for
anything.
  Understand?”

Adam
nodded.

“Thanks. 
Oh, and about Grace – ”

“Yeah?”

“She
wants everyone to think she’s all wild and edgy sticks-and-stones attitude. 
But I think she just doesn’t want anyone to see that she can get hurt.  I know,
because I hurt her, but I’m trying to make up for it.”

He
held out a hand, and Matt shook it, solemn, and watched him walk out.

Matt
didn’t need Adam to tell him about Grace’s softer side – he’d experienced it
for himself.  What he
did
need was a way to make her see just how far
he’d go to make her realize that he would never
ever
deliberately hurt
her.  He sighed – somewhere out in the world there were probably women who
didn’t come with all of this baggage.  Maybe.  But he didn’t want other women.

I
want Grace.

GRACE
SAT IN HER car, looking up at Matt’s house in the darkness.  She wanted to
cry.  Again.  She’d been frantic when she got home to find Adam gone, and read
him the riot act when he stepped inside.

God,
I sounded just like Mom there for a minute.

But
Adam had explained what he’d done, and it was such a grownup move, so brave and
so the right thing to do that Grace had burst into tears again, forcing Adam to
go into comfort mode, which he was never very good at.

His
arm was clearly painful, so she had pulled herself together, made him some
soup, and sent him to bed, and for once, he didn’t argue with her, letting
himself be coddled and mothered by his crazy big sister.

And
now she was sitting out in front of Matt’s house, trying to work up the courage
to knock.  She wouldn’t apologize for defending her brother, but for flying off
the handle – well, that deserved a “sorry” or two.  He was just doing his job,
but that didn’t mean that she should take her frustrations out on him.

Stomach
churning, she hopped out of the car and up to the porch, where she took a deep
breath, and knocked.  He opened the door, surprised to see her.  At least he
was dressed this time.

“I’m
a horrible person,” she whispered.

Matt
shook his head.

“You
love your brother.”

“I
shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.  You’re just doing your job.”

Matt
reached out to wrap a purple lock around one finger.

“So,
are you planning to make it up to me?”

The
tiny quirk of his lips send an answering skitter of interest along her spine. 
Matt stepped back to let her in.  As soon as the door was closed, he kissed
her, soft and sweet.  She tried to turn it into something harder, but he pulled
away, tsking.

“We
did kinky last time,” he said, and Grace chuckled.

“Baby,
we barely scratched the surface.”

She
slid a hand down to cup him through his jeans and his breath whooshed out.

“We’ll
get back to kinky,” he promised, “but not tonight.”

“What
do you mean?”

Taking
her hand, he led her up to the bedroom.

“I
can have anything I want, right?” he asked softly.

“Anything,”
she agreed, licking her lips.

“Good. 
Then you’re going to let me make love to you, slow and sweet, and then we’re
going to order in and watch bad movies like a normal couple.”

“But
– ”

“Don’t
you want me inside you?” he murmured, cupping her breast and gently strumming
the nipple, which obediently tightened for him and letting her feel the heavy
bulge between his thighs against her stomach.

And
Grace fumed, because she really, really
did,
but it was so unfair of him
to use her obvious craving for him against her.  He undressed her slowly,
caressing each inch of flesh he uncovered until she was dizzy.  Then he yanked
off his own clothes without ceremony and scooped her up to carry her to the
bed.  It was sweet and romantic and made her so nervous her fists clenched
tight.

Matt
seemed to understand, because he kissed each hand as he settled her on the
sheets before sliding low, his wide shoulders spreading her thighs.  He pressed
a tender kiss to the top of her cleft, and another to her abdomen, and her
heart turned over.

“Matt
– ” she murmured, aching.

“Shh. 
Just relax and let me have you.”

Matt
nuzzled her pussy, inhaling deeply, and she shuddered as he petted her with
gentle fingers before parting her for the stroke of his tongue.  He’d gone down
on her before, with wicked abandon, but this was different – tender licks and
soft swirls of his tongue in her folds, a hint of gentle teeth as he drew her
clit forward for the lightest of suckles, and fingers easing into her sheath
for slow, deliberate thrusts designed to drive her mad.

Through
it Grace rolled her hips against his mouth, one hand threaded through his hair,
the other playing with her nipples.  When release shuddered through her, it was
sharp and bright, and then endless and wonderful. 

Just
as gently, Matt kissed his way up her body, taking his time before settling
over her, face-to-face.  Unlike the last time, he let her take his weight, and
she groaned.  He was so big, so heavy over her, and every inch of her shimmered
in delight at the press of his body pinning her to the mattress. 

“Wrap
your legs around me,” he requested softly, and she did, opening herself further
as he positioned the broad cock head at her core, hot and slick.

Matt
didn’t thrust, but pressed forward steadily, and Grace moaned as his hard male
flesh filled her, one determined inch at a time.  Then, because he knew what
she liked, he ran his hands down to gently circle her wrists and lift them to
the pillow by her head.

Pinned.

Grace
had never felt so vulnerable or so safe before, and drowned in his eyes as he
started to rock, his size holding her where he wanted her for the stroke of his
cock.  She knew this was more than just sex, and that love shone in his eyes as
he worshiped her body, but she couldn’t handle that, so she kissed him, hard,
and then squeezed her internal muscles around him until he groaned.

“That’s
right, sweetheart.  Milk me just like that.  All tight and so wet, like your
sweet pussy was made just for my cock.”

He
slid his hands further to lace their fingers together, and his strokes were
harder now, deeper as she undulated beneath him.   He shifted slightly,
changing the angle so that the base of his cock rubbed her clit with every
pass, and she cried out as she exploded around him.  Matt waited until she
relaxed under him in boneless satiation, and then buried himself to the hilt,
filling her up with a long, low groan, his face at her throat.