UP IN FLAMES

It took every ounce of self-control Alaric possessed not to go to her. “Are you okay?” he asked, managing to keep his distance.

She nodded but didn’t speak. He could tell by the wobbly set of her mouth that she was trying not to cry.

“They’re awful people,” Paul said. “Don’t let them get to you.”

“All of this is getting to me,” she said. “I miss how my life used to be. There’s three million dollars missing and I have no idea where it might be. Oh, and someone not only calls and threatens me, but they shoot out my window and mess up my properties. Now this…. I honestly don’t know how much more I can take. All I want to do after this is over is move away from everyone and everything and start over. It seems to be the only way my life is going to ever get normal again.”

Alaric edged out of the room. He didn’t want to hear any more.

———

Vanessa watched Alaric withdraw into himself and fought back tears. She could take the Wesleys enmity and rancor, she could take the whole world knowing that her former husband had been a cheat and a con man, but she didn’t know if she could accept Alaric distancing himself from her.

She’d been wrong. Making love with him had changed things. She just hadn’t wanted to face it. Yet while she had to acknowledge that, she also knew some things remained unchanged. Alaric was committed to his job and the fact was that he would always choose that over her. That stung. Hell, more than stung. It freaking hurt. And even then, even knowing the painful truth, somehow her foolish heart still wanted him.

Long after darkness had fallen, Vanessa tossed and turned in her bed. Tired of trying to rationalize her physical desire with her shattered heart, she got up and went to her window. Outside, the full moon illuminated her yard and the brick wall surrounding it.

Movement outside caught her eye, making her tense up. A pinpoint of light swept the ground below, the low buzzing sound unlike anything she’d ever heard. Her eyes widened as she recognized what it was. It was a drone, and she had to get down immediately. She’d seen enough movies to know what drones could do. Jumping aside, she dropped to the floor and crawled toward the door, glad of her dark room. If the thing was armed, she wanted to make herself the small-est6 target possible. Luckily, her window was closed. She figured if it crashed into the glass, the drone would come apart.

By the time she reached her closed bedroom door, the thing hovered right outside her window, its bright light illuminating most of her room. She dived for the door just as the drone tapped against the glass, lightly and precisely enough to tell her whoever controlled it was very good at the job.

She’d just turned the knob when the drone exploded, blowing out her window and sending shards of glass like deadly weapons into her room.

“Vanessa!” Alaric’s voice, yelling out her name. She focused on that, despite the stabbing pain in her leg.

Somehow, she managed to pull the door open and half fell into the hallway, one hand against her leg. Heart pounding, she scrambled away from her doorway, dimly registering the trail of blood she left in her wake.

“Are you all right?” Reaching her, Alaric scooped her up in his muscular arms and hauled her farther down the hall. “Are you okay?” she asked him, concerned.

“Yes… But you…. ” Alaric answered. “What happened?”

“It was a drone rigged with explosives.” Briefly she closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she found his face mere inches from hers. “Someone aimed it right at my window.”

Fury warred with concern in his dark eyes. He focused intently on her. “There’s a lot of blood. Where are you hurt?”

Hurt. Odd how being with him made everything else fade into insignificance. In his arms, she finally felt safe. Glancing down at her bare leg, she saw a large piece of glass sticking out of her thigh. “There.” She pointed. “It went in kind of deep, but I’m going to pull it out. Can you grab a towel or find something I can use to stop the bleeding?”

Instead, he took a look himself. “Luckily, that thing lodged in the fleshy part of your leg, rather than near an artery or something. Do you have any more wounds that you know of?”

“I don’t think so.” She took a deep breath, assessing. “Nothing else hurts.”

“Good.” Though his tone seemed light, the grim set of his rugged jaw told a different story. Releasing her, he got up and disappeared into the bathroom, returning with a large bath towel. “This ought to work,” he said, handing it to her. “How about I yank it out and you apply the towel? Then, I can find bandages and antiseptic so we can get you fixed up.”

Instantly, she nodded. “Thank you,” she managed. “I can be all brave in theory, but if I really think about it…”Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“I got you,” he said, his voice gentle. “Are you ready?”

“I think so.” Just in case, she looked away. “Go for it.”

“One, two, three… It’s out.” He took the towel from her and pressed it against her leg.

Surprised, she shook her head. “Seriously? I didn’t even feel that.”

“Good. You lucked out. It could have gone in a lot deeper.”

“Has any of the neighbors called the police?” she asked.

“I don’t know. If not, I’ll make sure it gets done. We might need the help. Hold still, sweetheart. Let me look.”

Though she knew better, that sweetheart got her. He had called her that, right in the middle of lovemaking, the sexy rasp in his voice sending her over the edge every single time. She blinked, her face heating as she realized where her thoughts had gone.

Luckily, Alaric did not appear to notice.

“So far so good,” Alaric announced. “Once we get that cut cleaned and bandaged, you should be good to go.”

After letting Alaric do exactly that, she swallowed a couple of ibuprofen and gingerly stretched. For the first time she realized she wore only pajamas, nothing underneath. Luckily, the baggy, oversize T-shirt wasn’t revealing.