Safe From the Fire (23 page)

“We
all know what Grace Mallow is like.”

Matt
was furious to see a few not-so-subtle nods.

“Did
she get you into all that kinky shit, too?  Does she have a closet full of
whips and chains?”

“Now
would be a good time to be quiet, Russell,” he growled, but the idiot kid was
on a roll.

“I’m
guessing she looks real good all tied up and eager. Bet she could take on three
or four men at once and then beg for more.”

That’s
it.

One
moment, Russell was taunting him, a nasty grin on his face, the next Matt had
tackled him to the ground and was raising a fist to pummel that smirk off his
face.  But Russell, though small, was quicker than he looked, and managed to
dodge.  Pain coursed through Matt’s fist as it hit the floor, followed by
shards of agony in his arm as Russell bit him, hard.

They
rolled, and people shrieked as tables crashed and chairs toppled over, and Matt
felt the sick sensation of bone crunching under his aching hand as he broke
Russell’s nose.  Blood spurted, and the kid screamed.

Suddenly,
Matt felt a pair of hard hands on him, yanking him back, and then, “Matt! What
the fuck, man?  Get a grip!”

Still
in a rage, he took a swing at Colin, who managed to duck and then grab his
head, forcing him to look him in the eye.

“Matt,
it’s me!”

The
red cloud subsided and Matt recognized Colin’s steady hazel eyes, which now
looked at him with a blend of concern and a touch of wariness.

“I’m
okay,” mumbled Matt, panting, “I’m okay.”

Russell,
the
worm
, stumbled to his feet, and toward the door, holding his face,
blood down his shirt.

“You’re
a fucking lunatic!” he said, shaking, “I’m going to press charges!”

“He
said things…about Grace,” insisted Matt, feeling the anger rising again and
forcing himself not to lunge for the weasely kid.

“Russell,
why don’t you stop bleeding all over Mr. Clark’s floor and when you’re ready to
discuss this like a grownup, we can sit down and talk about it,” said Colin
reasonably, “I’m sure Mr. Harris didn’t mean to injure you, just as I’m sure
you didn’t mean to say anything about Grace Mallow that you wouldn’t say about
your own mother.”

He
glared at the gawking crowd, as if to say,
that goes for you, too.

Colin’s
grace and easy defense of Grace against the idiots of the world made Matt feel
even more like a heel.  And his hand was killing him.

“Go
home, Matt,” Colin said gently, and Matt nodded.

“Can
you check on Grace?  Make sure she’s okay?” he asked miserably.

“Of
course.”

Trying
to ignore the stares and whispers that followed him, Matt lumbered through the
restaurant and out the door.

DARRYL
LANSKY held an ice pack to his brother’s nose in the bathroom of the house they
shared and seethed.  Russell was a fool, had always been a fool, but he was
family, and knowing Matt Harris had done this to him over that little
tramp
filled him with a desire to destroy.

It
had been easy enough before.  When he had to cover up Russell’s idiotic and
dangerous mistakes.  And they hadn’t made the connection.

Matt
had to pay, and so there would be one more fire.  That beautiful, unfinished
house he’d built by hand.  It would be a stunning rise of flame against the
sky, visible for miles, a force of heat and power.  And Matt would be inside,
consumed by the fire he tried to hold back.

He
felt a tingle of arousal at the very thought.

“That
guy needs to be kept on a leash,” muttered Russell, the words muffled.

“You
need to see a doctor.  I’ll take you to Dr. Griggs and then I’ll take care of
Matt Harris.”

“What
are you going to do to him?”

Russell
sat up straight, looking a little concerned.

“Nothing
you have to worry about.  Haven’t I always taken care of you?”

“Yeah,
Darryl.  Thanks.”

Russell
dabbed at his nose with a clean towel.

“Darryl,
did you have anything to do with those fires?”

Darryl
stiffened.

“Why
would you ask me that?”

“It’s
just – all those houses were the same ones – ”

His
brother stood to wash his hands.

“Put
on a clean shirt and for God’s sake wash your face.  I’ll meet you downstairs
in ten minutes.”

“And
the houses?”

“I
promised Pops when he gave me the company that you’d always have a place here. 
That I’d look out for you and make sure you were okay.  So that’s what I did. 
Be grateful that you have someone looking out for you, Russell.”

Russell
nodded, more scared of his sibling than he ever would be of anyone else. 
Darryl had never hurt him, but his icy glare had a way of freezing Russell to
the bone, and had since they were children.  He’d never really crossed him, and
didn’t want to find out what might happen if he did.

After
Russell had disappeared down the hall, Darryl stepped into his closet to
retrieve the gun he kept in a shoebox at the back.  He checked the clip with
steady hands and shoved it into his waistband. 

Matt
was a big man.  Better safe than sorry.

GRACE
YANKED THE DOOR open, disappointed to see Colin and Evie instead of Matt. 
She’d woken an hour ago, a little sore, but satiated in a way she’d never been
before, blown away by what Matt was willing to do to her. 
For her.
  It
was the most intensely erotic episode of her sexual life so far.  And then
she’d turned over and realized that Matt wasn’t there.

Not
in the shower.

Not
in the kitchen.

And
his clothes were gone.

Grace
was pissed.  And scared.  What if she’d disgusted him?  What if she’d pushed
him too far?  What if he couldn’t stand to look at her now?

What
if he refused to do it again?

She’d
showered, carefully soaping newly sensitive areas and trying not to let herself
drown in hypotheticals.  Now dry and wearing a soft velvet tracksuit in
deference to her ass, which was going to be a little sore for a day or so, she
fixed her friends with her most serious librarian glare.

“Where’s
Matt?” she demanded.

Colin
took a prudent step behind Evie, who just rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and
stepped inside to perch on the arm of the couch.

“Matt
got into a fight with Russell Lansky at Clark’s tonight,” said Colin, “He broke
the kid’s nose.”

“He
did what?” said Adam, coming down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Apparently
Russell got all riled up about Matt looking at him in connection with the fires
and said some kind of…explicit…things about your sister.  Matt sort of lost
it,” admitted Colin, “I walked in just in time to see the spectacular action
sequence, but man, that kid’s face looked like ground chuck.”

“Good,”
said Adam, and Grace frowned.

“It’s
not good!  He can’t pick a fight with everyone who calls me a name!” she said.

“It’s
about time someone did,” said Colin, “It should have been me.  I was away too
long.”

“It’s
not your fault,” said Grace.

“No,
it’s yours,” said Adam.

His
sister and the others turned to look at him in surprise.  Adam was frowning,
arms crossed, defiant.

“You’ve
been letting them say whatever they want about you for so long that you’re
starting to believe it.

“I
am not!”

“Then
don’t let them get away with it!  If you’ve got people willing to stand up and
fight for you, you should at least be willing to stand up with them!”

Adam
slumped into a chair as Grace considered him, moved and humbled.

“You’re
right,” she said, quietly.

“Matt
wanted me to check on you,” Colin said, “Did you have a fight?”

“Not
exactly,” said Grace, blushing, “but I may have…broadened his horizons…a little
too far, too fast.”

“I
don’t need to hear this,” said Adam, covering his ears, but Evie was grinning.

“The
guy looked a little strung out.  What did you do to him?” asked Colin.

“You
don’t need to hear that, either,” said Evie, but leaned over to Grace, “I want every
little detail later, Ms. Mallow.”

“He
left.  When I woke up he was gone, and I’m just worried – ”

“Give
him a little time,” advised Evie, “Sometimes we need a little help readjusting
when someone completely rocks our world.”

“Thanks,
baby,” said Colin.

“Who
says I was talking about you?”

Evie
pulled a sheaf of papers from her back pocket and waved them.

“Enough
about Grace’s sex life,” she began.

“Yes,
please,
” muttered Adam.

“I’ve
gone over and over this employee list – checked every background, interviewed
anyone who ever stubbed his toe on the job.  Everyone from Russell Lansky down
to the office kid.  I’ve got nothing.”

“So
we’re back where we started?” asked Grace.

“No,
because we know that four of the buildings that went up in flames were Lansky
buildings, at least partially.  They all had construction or major renovation
done in the last six months.”

“So?”
Adam looked puzzled.

“So
there’s one person who supervised all of those builds who isn’t on this list.”

“Darryl,”
breathed Grace.

“But
why would he burn down his own buildings?” asked Colin.

“Maybe
there was something wrong with them.”

Adam
hopped up and started pacing.

“Russell
mentioned that Darryl was pissed because he kept screwing up on the job.  What
if Darryl was going around trying to fix his little brother’s mistakes?”

“And
the other houses were decoys to keep us off the scent,” continued Evie, pulling
out her phone, “Hey Zeke, it’s me.  I need you to find Tony and get over to
Darryl Lansky’s house.  We think he’s our arsonist.  Yes, really.  Don’t make a
move without me, I’ll be there in ten.”

She
started toward the door and Adam, Colin, and Grace quickly moved to follow her.

“Where
do you all think you’re going?” she asked in freezing tones.

“With
you,” said Colin.

“Nuh-uh. 
You’re going home to wait for my call and in the meantime you can prepare for
the media hurricane you’re going to have to deal with when I bag you an
arsonist.”

“I
want to check on Matt.  Russell only came after him because I thought he was
acting weird.”

“You
did the right thing,” said Grace, “Matt’s not answering his phone.”

She
looked at the floor.

“Not
for me, at least.”

“Come
on,” said Adam, “we’ll swing by, make sure he’s okay.”

Heart
pounding, Grace nodded.

“Let’s
do it,” said Evie, “Come hell or high water, by morning this town is going to
be back to normal.”

MATT
FLEXED HIS WRAPPED hand and stared at his cell phone.

Four
missed calls.  All from Grace.

He
just couldn’t bring himself to pick up the phone, not until he had some idea of
what he was going to say to her.  The incident in the diner had been
eye-opening.  It was the first time that Matt had really gotten a sense of what
Grace went through on a daily basis, and it made his blood boil.  Sure, she
might be into some kinky, unusual,
wonderful
sexual things, but those
were nobody’s business but hers.  And his.

You’ve
got to call her back, Harris.

Gripped
with longing and indecision, he started to dial.  If he’d scared her, hurt her,
he’d never forgive myself.

But
what if she liked it?
 
Matt shivered, thinking about how she’d taken him with such unconditional
acceptance and gorgeous surrender.

I
want that again.

He
let that shocking thought sit in his brain for a moment, his fingers frozen on
the keypad.

There
was a knock at the door.

Grace.

He
hurried to open it, his heart nearly bursting in his chest, and frowned to see –

Darryl.

“We
need to talk, Harris.”

“I’m
sorry I broke Russell’s nose, but it’s between me and him, Darryl.  He’s an
adult.”

“Just
shut up and back the fuck up,” snarled Darryl, and Matt froze at the sight of
the cold steel of the gun in Darryl’s hand.