Crash: Crash & Burn Duet Book 1 (Shaken)

by Grahame Claire

  Judging from the incinerating death glare from her direction before she stalked toward the gravesite, I’d guess she wasn’t too happy with me. Cal was on her heels, obviously loyal to me, no matter what my sister wanted.

  The funeral director swung open the back door of the hearse. Even though I’d already seen the coffin today, I still lost my breath.

  I planted my feet to steady myself and braced for the moment the polished wood would hit my hands.

  Seconds seemed like years as we marched forward toward the hollowed earth.

  We eased the coffin to the stand. Ellen kissed each of our cheeks. I bristled at the simple affection I didn’t deserve.

  I found my place next to Beau. I couldn’t go through this service without my family close by.

  As the priest opened his Bible, a hand clamped on my shoulder.

  Lincoln.

  I nodded in gratitude of his support. He squeezed and flanked my side.

  There were two people in the world I could count on no matter what. Some people didn’t even have one.

  The words of the priest were a low buzz of background noise. As I stared at the coffin, all I could see was the fire.

  “Go. If you don’t get out of here, we’ll both die.”

  “I’m not letting you be a marshmallow.”

  I’d kept that promise but failed him anyway. My throat closed as if I were back in the smoke. I held in the cough I wanted to let out. It was like I was in that house without my oxygen tank.

  Spots dotted my vision. An arm linked through mine again but it wasn’t enough to help me breathe.

  Just a few more minutes. A few more minutes.

  I could make it through this. If I could get out of my own head, I’d have a better chance. But the rain started to fall and suddenly my perspective was eye level to the coffin. A white one with deep pink roses on top.

  Mom.

  An umbrella opened above my head. People stirred around us.

  “Teague.” Beau’s soft voice dragged me back to reality. “It’s over.”

  But I couldn’t move. I wanted to run. But I was stuck.

  The crowd dispersed. In the distance, a welcomed sight in a raincoat and overalls leaned against the tree. And I could finally breathe air into my lungs.

  I took a full breath.

  She silently acknowledged me but remained in place.

  Pepper.

  Maybe I had three people I could count on no matter what.

  “Ready to go?” Lincoln’s worried stare awaited me.

  “Yeah.”

  When I looked back for Pepper, she was gone.

  Chapter Forty

  Pepper

  “Curtains installed tomorrow.”

  I shrugged off my raincoat and hung it on the coatrack. Water dripped onto the floor.

  I shook out my wet hair. “That’s great news. I’m not going to ask how you managed that so quickly.”

  Miss Adeline pretended to buff her nails. “Magic.”

  I surveyed the room. Muffy trotted over, and I bent to pet him. “It feels different in here.”

  We’d had such a crazy busy day, I hadn’t stopped to notice . . . well, anything. The dogs from the New Jersey track hadn’t been with us long, but there was an emptiness without them here.

  “Vivian called. Said everyone is fine.”

  I appreciated her thoughtfulness to check in. Though we’d only dropped off the dogs a few hours ago, I was still apprehensive. Had we dumped too much responsibility on them?

  “That’s good.” I shivered, the cold setting into my bones. “No visitors?”

  That inspector might be back at any time. But I was thinking of closing the door separating the front and back area and hiding away out of sight until the curtains were up. Maybe that was the coward’s way, but I really didn’t want to see that man again.

  “All quiet.” She leaned back in her chair and studied me. “You going to tell me where you went off to in such a hurry?”

  I slid to the floor. Muffy crawled into my lap and Ash edged closer so she was against my leg.

  “To the funeral of the fireman who was hurt in the fire where Teague found Ash.” I rubbed Muffy’s belly. “I mean, I didn’t go to the service. Just to the graveside. To check on him.” The words tumbled out in a torrent. “Is that weird?”

  “No,” Miss Adeline said carefully. “What made you decide to do that?”

  “Teague seemed pretty shaken up about it. I wanted to be there for him.” My answer was automatic and quick. I hadn’t thought much about what I was doing at the time. I simply acted on instinct. And it had been easy enough to find the place and time of the services from the write-up in the newspaper.

  Although I hadn’t necessarily meant for him to see me, I was glad he had. So he’d know I supported him.

  Bark. Bark. Bark.

  I checked the clock on the wall. “Already that time, Sadie?” How was it already time for their supper? “I just sat down,” I complained as I patted her on the head.

  She ducked and kept right on barking.

  Ash joined in for a couple of barks.

  We looked at her in surprise.

  “Not you too?” I tickled her foot.

  “That one is teaching them bad habits.” Miss Adeline shook her finger at Sadie before she stood.

  I eased Muffy off my lap and got to my feet. That dog had us all trained.

  My phone chimed with a text.

  A video appeared on the screen from Vivian. When she’d said they had lots of help, she must’ve meant it. There were five men walking our dogs down the sidewalk. Two of them I recognized as Daniel and Stone.

  Miss Adeline looked over my shoulder and whistled. “If that wouldn’t convince people to adopt a dog, I don’t know what would.”

  She was right. The men were beyond good looking. “What about some of your calendar boys?”

  She tapped me on the head. “You’re a genius.”

  Another text came in. This time it was a video of five women walking dogs. Again, I knew Vivian and Muriella but not the others.

  “That one would work too.”

  A second later my phone rang and I swiped to answer.

  “See? Told you we have it handled.” Vivian’s breathless voice sounded in my ear.

  “We definitely see.” I pushed my spoon around in my empty bowl. “Thanks for sending the videos.”

  It was a relief to know they seemed to be getting on okay. And I was glad they had help . . . a lot of it. Even though Miss Adeline and I were pros at taking care of a large number of dogs, it was hard. For people who weren’t used to it, it could be overwhelming.

  Looked like I’d been worried for no reason.

  “Thought you’d like that. I sent the one of the boys for Miss Adeline.”

  I snorted. “She approved.”

  “Oh I definitely approve,” she chimed in.

  “Everyone is fed, walked, and either sleeping or playing with toys.” One squeaked to emphasize her point.

  “No trouble?”

  “None. They’re all sweet and well-behaved.” There was a pause. “Well, one rascal found our bed and has decided it’s his.”

  I winced. “They’re instinctive about the space they want.”

  “He’s on Daniel’s side. Looks like my husband will need to find somewhere else to sleep.”

  A growl rumbled through the phone and Vivian squeaked. “Fine. We’ll make room for you.” Her voice sounded as if she’d turned away from the phone.

  “I’ll come walk them before bed.” It was almost time to get started on that.

  “No. No. We’ve got it handled. By the time you get over here, we'll have it done.”

  I tried to gauge if she meant that. If things were really going as well as she made out or if she was trying to placate me.

  “I don’t—”

  “Everyone is fine. Come by tomorrow if you want. Take a load off tonight.”

  I drummed my fingers on the kitchen table. A bone
-deep weariness set in. “If you’re sure . . .”

  “I’m sure. Now stop worrying.”

  We ended the call, and I dropped my phone on the table. Lightning lit up the sky and a roll of thunder cracked behind it.

  “This is going to be fun.”

  “I checked a while ago. Looks like the weather’s set in for the night.” Miss Adeline picked up my bowl and put it in the sink.

  “You’re going to have to be quick.” I scratched behind Ash’s ears. She wagged her tail. “You ready?” That tail went faster. “Let me get my raincoat.”

  The alley behind the building didn’t have the safest vibe, but somehow the front seemed more dangerous. Exposed.

  “C’mon, you two.”

  Muffy and Sadie were having no part of doing their business fast. The frigid rain was coming down in sheets, yet they piddled down the alley like it was a perfect summer day.

  Sadie looked back at me, illuminated by one of the lights on the building.

  “We are not going all the way to the park.”

  I swore her expression was wanna bet? Not particularly. She’d win. Just like always.

  She strolled forward, and Muffy seemed content to trot beside her. We reached the street, she looked both ways, then did her business.

  Muffy sniffed and did the same.

  “Thank you,” I said as I picked up the mess in a plastic bag. “Let’s get back inside.”

  They moseyed back no matter how I coaxed. Rain pelted us, the surrounding buildings doing nothing to shield us from the fat drops.

  I tossed the waste in the dumpster and dug in my pocket for the keys. Sadie stamped her feet by the door.

  “Oh now you’re impatient to get in?”

  Bark.

  “I’m hurrying,” I said as I fumbled through the keys.

  Woof. Woof.

  I paused, on full alert now that Muffy had joined in. When I lifted my head, a shadowy figure slid by the van.

  Sadie’s and Muffy’s barks grew more ferocious. Dang it. I didn’t have any Mace. Of all the times to be careless. I’d locked the back door to be safe but hadn’t considered outside threats.

  I found the key, shoved it in the lock, shaking as I turned it.

  The dogs' barks turned to tugs. They jumped and wagged their tails at the person now drenched in light.

  Teague.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Teague

  I didn’t ask to come inside.

  I just did.

  And the second the door shut behind me, I backed her against it and slammed my mouth onto hers.

  She whimpered, dropped the leashes, and fisted my coat.

  I wasn’t gentle like she deserved.

  But my need to express my gratitude was urgent.

  Again, she hadn’t said a word to me at the funeral, but her presence had been enough. She’d seen me through another tragic day.

  The dogs jumped as if they wanted to join in. I snapped my fingers and they sat.

  Pepper yanked me closer and kissed me back like she’d been waiting her whole life to do it.

  There was a wildness about her.

  She drew me in with her spirit.

  And her heart.

  Our mouths moved together, conveying what words never could. She never closed her eyes when we kissed. Like she wanted to see me. I loved that.

  I pushed the hood of her rain jacket off her head. Her hair and face were wet. She wore no makeup. Pepper didn’t need it.

  She was beautiful in the purest sense.

  We grew more frantic; if we didn’t convey our message right that instant it would be lost for good. I pressed her farther into the door. Our bodies were molded together, yet it still wasn’t close enough.

  Need pulsed through my veins with a vengeance I’d never felt.

  She shivered.

  Instinct kicked in.

  She was soaking wet. And cold.

  I ripped my mouth off hers.

  “You’ll catch. A cold.” I spoke between harsh breaths.

  “I don’t care.” She stretched her neck toward me and brushed her lips across mine.

  I groaned.

  “But I do.”

  She screwed up her face, and I was secretly pleased she wanted me too.

  I took her hand and led her toward the stairs. The dogs raced ahead of us. Sadie was slower as she hopped up the steps, but we let her set the pace to the top.

  “Look what the cat dragged in.” Miss Adeline set her book down and smirked. “My mistake. We don’t have any cats.”

  Pepper snickered.

  Miss Adeline’s razor-sharp eyes zeroed in on where my fingers were twined with Pepper’s. “You ready to take a stand?”

  I swallowed hard. The alarm bells and instinct I had to stay away from Pepper to protect her from my father had been overridden by the ones that kept me coming back. A war raged inside of me.

  Pepper was winning.

  Is that why I was here? To take a stand?

  “I . . .” I didn’t know. Only that I kept ending up here. With her.

  “You don’t have to answer that.” Pepper sent Miss Adeline a pointed look. “She’s full of nosy questions.”

  “Looks like my next one should be where’s the mop?”

  My coat was drenched, as well as my hair and the bottom of my pants. Pepper wasn’t much better.

  “Let me take your coat.” Pepper slipped her fingers under the collar and gently pried it off.

  She opened a closet door and hooked it over the top before she shrugged hers off and hung it on the doorknob.

  “Have you eaten?” Miss Adeline pushed out of her chair before I could answer. “We had chicken tortilla soup. And before you get all excited, no we didn’t make it. That’s what the deli down the street is for.”

  There’d been enough food for a buffet at the get together at Cassano’s house. I hadn’t touched any of it. I couldn’t.

  “I haven’t.”

  “I’d suggest you go home and change clothes, but what’s the point?” She pulled a bowl out of the cabinet.

  “Miss Adeline!” Pepper might as well have clutched her proverbial pearls.

  “What? He’d just get them all wet too.” She turned on the stove where a pot was already sitting. “Did you think I meant because he’s going to take them off soon?”

  Pepper closed her eyes and I half wondered if she was going to run into the closet to hide.

  “I honestly have no idea why you’d subject yourself to this,” she finally muttered.

  “Go take a shower before you catch a cold,” Miss Adeline said. “You’ve been out in that weather too long.”

  “Can you handle being alone with her?” Pepper asked.

  I’d rather be alone with Pepper. In the shower. But this wasn’t the time.

  “I think I’ve got it.”

  Miss Adeline didn’t speak again until the sound of the water turned on down the hall.

  “Sit.” For a second, I didn’t know if she was talking to me or one of the dogs, but they were all already stretched out around the floor. “She might let you avoid my questions, but I won’t.”

  She stirred the warming soup with her back to me.

  I obeyed and took one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

  “I realize you haven’t courted my girl. But I see the way you look at her. And you clearly can’t stay away.” She turned and lasered into me with shrewd eyes. “So when the time comes to fight, what are you gonna do?”

  I folded my hands on the table and looked down. The answer was no clearer than it had been when she asked a few minutes ago. It wasn’t simple.

  I’d already broken promises to myself and to Pepper by recklessly continuing to defy my father. It was dangerous to be here. Pepper and Miss Adeline had already had to split up their family.

  Part of me questioned if somewhere deep down I believed they were better off if I were here to help protect them instead of leaving them on their own. Yes, it put them on my father’s
radar. But they were already there.

  I didn’t know what kind of perverse pleasure he took from destroying innocent people’s lives. And I shouldn’t matter to him. I didn't matter to him.

  She ladled some soup in a bowl and set it in front of me. “I’ve never backed away from hard times. You bring a fresh kind of trouble with you.” She sank down in the adjacent chair. “But I won’t go through hell for a coward.”

  I froze mid-lift of the spoon.

  I’m not a coward.

  Then I thought about the way I’d jetted out of here the day my father arrived. How I’d jumped when he’d summoned me.

  But I did it for her.

  If Pepper weren’t in the picture, my father could’ve set fire to my shoes and I still wouldn’t have set foot in his office.

  Did being motivated by fear make me a coward?

  “Believe” by Cher blared from my pocket. I nearly dropped the spoon but managed to hang onto it and dig my phone out.

  “Yo. Five alarm on West Fourteenth and Tenth. Need all hands. Can you make it?” The alarm screamed in the background along with shouts.

  “I’m not far. Bring my gear.” I threw down the spoon, shoved out of my chair, and pocketed my phone in one swift motion. “Massive fire. I gotta go.”

  I grabbed my coat and raced down the stairs. My mind was in overdrive, mapping the intersection in my head. The back door of Grey Paws slammed behind me.

  I sprinted down the alley. We were on West Seventeenth and Eighth Avenue. West Fourteenth was a few blocks away.

  Rain pelted my face as I ran. In two blocks, the red strobe lights of a fire truck beamed through the night sky. Off in the distance, another siren wailed.

  A car skidded to a stop, narrowly missing me in the crosswalk. The horn blew, but I ignored it.

  Flames shot through the darkness. And when the blaze came into view, I realized I’d been here only a few days ago.

  Pepper’s park.

  Chapter Forty-Two