Bullets & Bonfires

by Autumn Jones Lake

  “Okay, that’s enough depressing stuff for the day. Let’s go get some sunshine.” Kimber rolls onto her side at the sound of my voice. Alert and waiting for my next move.

  Slowly, I pick myself up off the floor and set my laptop on the couch then help Kimber up. She waits at the back door patiently while I attach her leash, her black nubby tail twitching from side to side.

  Outside, she keeps her head down, sniffing everything in the yard and I follow her lead, happy to be in the sunshine, even though it’s already in the high eighties.

  Kimber halts and lifts her head, focusing her attention on the street. A low growl eases out of her a few seconds before the rumble of a motorcycle registers in my brain. Not an uncommon sound around here, but not usually on this street.

  Kimber keeps herself a few steps ahead of me as I circle the house to the front yard.

  The dark blue Harley Davidson rolling into the driveway startles me and my hand tightens around the leash. Kimber’s ears go up, her entire body stiff and alert. When the bike shuts down and the rider slips his helmet off, I relax.

  “What are you doing here, Marcel?” I call out.

  Still unsure of the intruder, Kimber stays between me and what she obviously sees as a threat while Marcel approaches.

  “Whoa,” he says, stopping in his tracks.

  “It’s okay,” I try to reassure Kimber. “Sit.” She sits but doesn’t take her eyes off Marcel or relax her posture.

  Keeping one eye on the dog, Marcel advances carefully. “I didn’t realize you had a dog.”

  “We’re watching her for a friend. What are you doing here?”

  He lifts his broad shoulders and jams his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I was in the area and thought I’d say hi. See how you’re doing. If you needed anything.”

  I swallow my surprise and try to ignore the warmth spreading through my chest. “I’m doing okay.” The glowy feeling abruptly ends. “Wait a second. Did Liam ask you to check on me?”

  Marcel’s crooked smile is the only answer I need. He takes his hands out of his pockets. Without making eye contact, he offers his hand, palm down for Kimber to sniff. “I would have stopped by anyway eventually.”

  “Yeah, right,” I tease and he laughs with me.

  Having decided he’s not a threat, Kimber moves closer to Marcel, leaning on him and allowing him to scratch her rump.

  “I guess she likes you.”

  “She’s a good girl.”

  I nod down the street in the direction of his old house. “Did you come by to check on it?”

  “Nah. Not in the family anymore,” he answers, clearly not wanting to discuss it.

  “Do you want to come in for something to drink?”

  “I don’t think your Sheriff would approve,” he answers with a teasing smile.

  “We’re not together,” I blurt out for some stupid reason.

  “Does he know that?”

  “Of course he does. He doesn’t see me in that way.”

  “Sure.” He turns his head to the side and snort-laughs. “Okay.”

  “Seriously. He’s my brother’s best friend, so he thinks I’m off-limits or he’s following some stupid bro code, you know?”

  He laughs even harder. “Yeah. I’m familiar with the concept.”

  I place my hands on my hips and narrow my eyes. “I feel like you’re making fun of me.”

  “I’m not.” He holds up his hands. “Swear it.”

  We end up sitting on the front porch steps, catching up on the last few years of our lives. Well, I end up doing most of the talking. Marcel’s pretty evasive beyond the basics. I can’t deny I’m a little annoyed with Liam for asking someone to check up on me, but it’s also really sweet, especially since I know he doesn’t like Marcel all that much.

  We’re interrupted by a red sedan slowly moving down the street. It’s a small neighborhood, so after a few days back home, I already know all the vehicles that belong on our road. I definitely don’t recognize this one. Marcel notices my interest and his gaze narrows on the unfamiliar car. “Someone you know?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  The car speeds up and makes a sharp right at the end of the street. For some reason my heart won’t settle down. Marcel seems to sense my unease and offers to take me for a ride on his bike.

  “Is it safe?”

  He gives me a crooked smile in return. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Feeling brave, I stand, giving Kimber’s leash a gentle tug.

  “Where you going?” Marcel asks when I head toward the back of the house.

  “I need to take her in the back door. She can’t do steps.”

  “Here.” He leans down and pats Kimber’s head. “Don’t eat my face off,” he mutters to the dog before slipping his arms under her big body and lifting her up. Kimber’s big, amber eyes widen. She seems as surprised as I am and doesn’t move a muscle. He gently sets her down by the front door and I scurry up the steps to let us in the house.

  “I think if Liam trusted you to check on me, you can come in,” I say to Marcel, waving him through the front door.

  His hands go back in his pockets and he follows me inside. “Holy shit. Your brother’s been busy fixing up the place.”

  “Right? Doesn’t look anything like it used to.”

  He drops down onto the couch and Kimber plants herself between his legs, sitting on his feet. “Lap dog, huh?” he says, scratching behind her ears. He glances up at me. “You got some jeans? A pair of boots?”

  When I give him a blank look, he jerks his head toward the door. “For the ride.”

  “Oh, yes. Give me a second.”

  Having another guy in the house makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong, but I shake it off. He’s just a friend. I might appreciate his impressive male beauty, but no one’s as impressive as Liam.

  Not to me, anyway.

  When I return, Marcel’s in the same spot. Kimber’s slid to the floor, and given him her belly to rub.

  “What a hussy,” I tease as I bend down to pet the dog.

  She sneezes at me and rolls to her side.

  “Ready?” Marcel asks, extracting himself from between Kimber and the couch.

  I nod and stand. Kimber watches us leave with a passive expression. I feel bad leaving her alone, but we’ll only be gone for a few seconds.

  Outside, Marcel goes over a few basics about riding on the back of the bike. “Once around the block?” Marcel asks as he hands me a helmet.

  “Sounds good.”

  He grins and flips me a thumb’s up. I climb on the way he explained and settle behind him. The first time, Marcel turns right at the end of the street and cruises slowly through the neighborhood.

  “How you doing back there?” he shouts when we’re close to Vince’s house.

  “Good!”

  He nods and keeps going. This time we turn left at the end of the street and he does a lazy loop through the neighborhood. When we turn onto my street, what looks like the same red car from before is passing Vince’s house again. Slowly.

  Marcel doesn’t say anything, but decreases our speed to a crawl.

  When the car disappears around the corner, Marcel accelerates and pulls into the driveway.

  “Who do you think that was?” I ask once I’m on solid ground.

  He takes in my nervous expression and forces a smile. “Probably someone visiting relatives in the area. It’s summer. Lots of people visiting, right?”

  I huff out a laugh. “True.”

  “Did you have fun?”

  “Yes.” Laughter follows my answer. “I expected you to pull some macho-guy thing and go a hundred miles an hour.”

  The corners of his mouth turn up. “Nah. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  “Thank you for stopping by. I’m sure you had much more exciting things to do today.”

  He shrugs. “No problem.” He lifts his chin toward the house. “Let me watch you go inside,” he s
ays.

  When I’m safely tucked behind the screen door, I wave and Marcel revs his engine a few times. He takes off way faster than he did with me. Kimber barks at the noise and hurries over to greet me by the door.

  Shutting the door behind me, I realize how much I miss Liam.

  This evening, my patrol car’s tucked into a spot off the road. Strategically placed facing the downward slope of a hill where drivers always forget to watch their speed. So far I’ve written three tickets. Almost enough to fill the quota the department denies it has for the day. Overall, an uneventful afternoon and evening for me.

  For Chad’s brother, today was very eventful. I received the call around dinnertime that he was located hiding out at his parents’ house and served with the order forbidding him from contacting Bree again. It sounded like the parents weren’t too pleased to find out what their other son had been up to. And I hope that’s the last we hear from the Joseph brothers until the court case proceeds.

  The deafening roar of an engine makes me sit up. Lucky me. Maybe I’ll write a fourth ticket before sunset.

  When I realize the noise belongs to Marcel’s Harley, I push open my door and step out.

  He shuts the bike down and swaggers over. Running his gaze over my car and radar gun, his mouth quirks. “You ever feel like a douche sitting here waiting for speeding citizens to write up?” he asks.

  The answer is actually yes, but I’m not going to admit that to him. “Are you here for a reason?”

  He drops the attitude. “Just left Bree’s place.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “She figured it out within five seconds, you know.”

  “Great,” I mutter, surprised I haven’t received a pissed-off text from her.

  “Thanks for warning me about the guard dog.”

  I snort, realizing it never occurred to me. “We just got her last night. Did she try to eat you?” I ask, trying not to sound too hopeful.

  He rolls his eyes. “No. She’s good, though. Real protective of Bree already.”

  “Good.”

  “One thing did happen.” He slips his hand inside his leather vest and pulls out a scrap of paper. “This car drove by while we were talking outside. Seemed to pay a lot of attention to the house.”

  “She recognize it?”

  “No. I took her for a short ride to see if it belonged somewhere in the neighborhood—”

  “Wait. You did what?”

  “Relax. It’s not like I tucked her in and read her a bedtime story. Don’t worry, I saved that for you,” he answers in the cockiest way possible.

  “How do you not get punched in the mouth on a regular basis?”

  His eyes widen and he touches his chest. “Most people think I’m charming.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Can I finish?” he asks.

  When I don’t object, he continues. “The car was on the street again when we came back. I’m almost positive it was the same vehicle.” He hands over the scrap of paper. “It’s probably nothing, but figured you’d want to run the plate.”

  I’m impressed by his quick thinking, but keep that thought to myself because I doubt he cares one way or another about my opinion. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” He hesitates for a second. “The car seemed to freak her out. I’d go back, but I need to be somewhere tonight.”

  No doubt a drug deal or something else I’d rather not know about.

  “That’s okay. I’m going to ask one of the guys in that zone to check it out.”

  “Good.” He throws his leg over his bike. “If you need anything else, let me know. Bree has my number.” He’s smirking by the last word and I barely resist the urge to flip him off.

  Before I have a chance to respond, he twists the throttle and takes off.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The text from Bree I’d been waiting for comes a few minutes after Marcel leaves.

  Interesting choice for a babysitter.

  In spite of the situation, I laugh.

  Figured Keegan or Sully would be too obvious.

  When she doesn’t respond, I take a second to call her.

  “You mad at me?” I ask as soon as she answers.

  Her sigh and a hint of laughter come through the phone. “No. I should be, but I know you’re just worried.”

  “He behave himself?”

  She snorts. “Yes. Kimber pulled a Cujo act at first—”

  “Good dog.”

  Her laughter makes me smile and she continues as if I hadn’t interrupted. “But then she warmed up to him. Even let him rub her belly.”

  “Hmm. No more cookies for her.”

  More laughter and I take it as a good sign. She doesn’t bring up the car that drove by and that’s encouraging too. I’d hate it if she was home alone freaking out.

  It was probably nothing. A tourist whose GPS took them the wrong way. Happens all the time.

  Even so, the fact that it went by twice unnerves me.

  “I’ll be home late. You don’t have to wait up for me.” Home. Right. I wish it were our home. That we weren’t just playing house.

  Her voice turns serious. “Be careful, Liam.”

  “Always.”

  The red car turns out to be a rental and I can’t obtain much more information without turning it into an official inquiry. I place a call to Brady, a fellow deputy and friend. I trust him and feel comfortable asking him to check out Vince’s neighborhood. I even give him the vehicle information.

  It’s probably nothing, but just to be sure.

  I receive a call to assist with a D.W.I. and after that my night is full of taking statements and filing reports.

  It’s much later than I planned when I finally pull into the driveway. Brady’s sitting across the street and I jog over. “What are you doing here?”

  He shrugs. “You seemed worried and it’s been a quiet night in my area.” He lifts an eyebrow. “Heard you had some excitement.”

  I fill him in on the details of the drunk who shot his own toes off, then tried to drive himself to the hospital.

  “You always have all the fun,” Brady jokes.

  “Yeah, real riot.”

  We say goodnight and I watch him drive off before heading toward the house.

  Lights flicker behind the curtains.

  Bree’s still up.

  Waiting for me?

  Shit, I missed her tonight. Worried about her. Can’t wait to see her.

  As much as I try to handle myself around her, it’s becoming impossible.

  That she might have stayed up waiting for me, even though I told her not to bother, causes the corners of my mouth to curve up.

  I make sure my heavy boots thud over the porch, so I don’t startle her when I open the door.

  It takes a few seconds to make out her small form curled up in a ball at one end of the couch. Burrowed under a pile of blankets. Kimber’s on the floor right next to the couch, her alert gaze trained on the front door.

  “It’s just me girl,” I say in a hushed voice in case Bree’s asleep.

  “Hey,” Bree calls out, her voice raspy, making my mind wander where it shouldn’t. She aims the remote at the TV, pausing whatever she’s watching. “I’ll get out of your bed.”

  If only.

  If she were in my bed, I’d never let her leave.

  She tosses the blankets back and swings her feet to the floor, stopping to pet Kimber.

  “No. Stay.” She raises an eyebrow at the note of desperation in my voice, but fuck, I’ve wanted to see her all damn night. “I won’t be able to go to sleep for a while. Finish your movie,” I say, gesturing at the television.

  Kimber’s apparently decided I’m not a threat and puts her head back down.

  Sparks of satisfaction light up inside me when Bree eases back against the couch. My eyes are drawn down her long, bare legs, to the thick wooly socks pooled around her ankles. Some sort of loose tank top barely keeps her covered up top.

  My gear
lands on the floor with a thud, and she turns her head. Busying myself with unlacing my boots keeps my mind off of speculating about what else she’s wearing. When I’m done, she pushes the blankets aside and pats the couch.

  Cautiously, I lower myself next to her. Close enough not to offend, but far enough away that none of our parts touch.

  “What are we watching?”

  I can barely make out the blue of her eyes when she turns my way, but I definitely catch the teasing smile playing over her lips. “First, how was your day?”

  “Long.”

  “Nothing exciting happened?”

  Her gentle voice lifts the darkness that followed me home. I could get used to this. Floating in her sweetness night after night.

  Except she’s leaving at the end of the summer.

  And once Vince gets home, there’s no reason for me to stay.

  “Nothing exciting until now,” I finally answer.

  She twists her mouth in a way that suggests she doesn’t believe me.

  “Honestly, this is the best part of my night.”

  “That’s sweet, Liam.”

  It is sweet. Sappy even. But so damn true. “What are we watching?” I ask her again.

  She rattles off a story about the action drama, which centers around two British intelligence officers who alternate between screwing anything that moves and blowing shit up.

  “Sounds right up my alley,” I tease.

  With deliberate slowness, she inches toward me—as if she’s afraid I’ll deny her. I lift my arm and she eagerly cuddles against my side.

  “I missed you today,” she says softly.

  “Even with your visitor?”

  She tips her head back. “Yes, even with.”

  “You mad at me for asking him to stop by?”

  “No.” She lays her head back on my chest and my fingers stroke through her soft tangle of hair for a few seconds.

  “Missed you too.”

  “Do you mean that?” she murmurs.

  “Yes, Bree.”

  Not sure what else to say, I keep stroking her hair. She tucks her feet up under her until she’s a little package nestled next to me.

  “Do you have your phone?”