UP IN FLAMES

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 against her lips. “We’ll come up with something, but don’t discuss it here. Just in case I missed one.”

Heart skipping a beat, she fought the urge to lean into his touch. Instead, she collected herself and managed to nod. Part of her-the fierce fighter she’d buried deep inside-refused to let herself be scared away. She’d done nothing wrong. This was her home.

“From what the caller said, it sounds as if I have two enemies- or Christopher did. The caller who wants some mysterious money, and the other person who is, for whatever reason, apparently trying to kill me.”

He nodded. “Vanessa, Christopher had more enemies than you could ever guess at.”

Stepping back from him, she cocked her head. “How do you know? As far as I could tell, people seemed to like and respect him.”

“Come on. When you get to a certain level of power, there are always people waiting in the wings to try and take you down.”

She knew this. And in addition to his own ventures, Christopher did have numerous other business dealings. In addition to those concerns, he’d gone and added politics to the mix. Maybe all of it combined had become a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if whatever he’d been involved in had been worth the ultimate price-Christopher’s life.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

And, since she knew none of the details about any of these dealings, why had Christopher’s enemies suddenly become hers?

“I get that, but I don’t understand why they’re taking it out on me. I don’t know anything and I already left Christopher.” Even as she protested, she realized she probably knew the answer already. Men like the caller and person who’d shot at her house considered a wife collateral damage, nothing more.

——–

“Do you have anyone you can stay with?” he asked, pushing off the counter and slipping the notes into his pocket.

Vanessa almost laughed, except it wasn’t funny. “I thought there was a good chance this person wouldn’t be too much of a threat.” Her shoulders briefly sagged, her defiant posture gone. “I managed to keep a few friends, though Christopher drove most of them away. He preferred that I didn’t associate with any of my old friends.”

Alaric bit back a curse. Had the guy really thought of Vanessa, this beautiful, vivacious Vanessa, as his possession? He’d known men like that, men so insecure in their masculinity that a need to control their wives or girlfriends drove them. What bothered Alaric even more was apparently Vanessa had allowed this. The Vanessa standing before him now didn’t look like the kind of woman who would ever sit still for that kind of nonsense. Not his problem, not now, not ever, he reminded himself.

“So I’m guessing you don’t have anyone you can stay with,” he replied instead, horrifically astute.

She felt her cheeks burn and immediately went on the defensive, which ended in her lying. “I have someone I can stay with.”

His eyes narrowed. “Then you should probably do that. Just in case. You shouldn’t be staying here.”

“I can’t ask anyone to take on the kind of danger I’m apparently in. I won’t do that to my friends.” She said,” But I do have a safe place that I can go to. No one knows about it and I’m sure I’ll be safe there,”

“Fine. I can respect that.” He took a deep breath. “Do you need a ride or anything?”

Surprised by the fact that he was being so helpful, it took her a second to respond. “No. I’ll call him in a few. It’s late, and I don’t want to be any more inconvenient than I’ve been.”

His jaw clenched. “You haven’t been inconvenient.”

She laughed as she slid off the barstool. “You’re a terrible liar. I interrupted what was probably going to be a very interesting night for you.” The moment those words came out of her mouth, an irrational prick of jealousy burned in her stomach. “Wait here. I’ll get you my card.”

When she returned from the office, she saw he’d placed a card of his own on the counter. She handed hers over.

“I figured the reason why you had to go to station was because you misplaced the card” he explained, “Don’t do it again,”

“I won’t,”

He stopped at the door, head cocked to the side. “Who is the ‘he’ you’re staying with?”

At first, she didn’t get what he meant. “A friend.”

“A friend like Racheal?” he asked.

Instead of answering the question, she smiled. “Thank you, Alaric… For everything,”

Stepping out in the quiet hallway, Alaric faced her. “Let me drop you off at your friend’s house.”

Uh, no. That was not going to happen. “That’s not necessary, but thank you.” She said,

“It’s no trouble.”

Her spine stiffened. “I didn’t say it was any trouble to you, but it’s not necessary.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I mean it, Vanessa. Don’t stay in this apartment.”

Vanessa shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Staying here would be stupid. Frankly, the idea of being in the apartment alone right now, knowing that someone had been here, creeped her out. She was going to have to check into a hotel. “I’m not.”