Lost in Flames (Lost Series Book 2) (10 page)

Chapter Fifteen

He got into Jacob's truck, and never felt happier that they lived in the country and could leave their keys in the vehicles. The passenger door opened and he didn't speak when Jacob hopped in and Nick got into the back. He waited for Cooper.

Jacob buckled up. "He's gone home to check on Sophia and let her know what's going on."

The Ford started up with a low rumble and he put it in gear. He thought about what happened. Some things didn't make sense. "He couldn't have gotten away that fast. Marcus was here in good time. How did none of you pass him?"

"I never saw anyone. Cooper called me when he spotted some smoke and I called Nick. There wasn't a soul on the road from Ryan's house to here." Jacob twisted to look in the back.

"No one. I was right behind you, though."

Marcus and Jacob should've been coming from two different directions on the road at the end of the driveway. Even if Marcus had been home, he'd still have come from the same way. He lived near the precinct. "The guy had to have hauled ass to make it off this road without anyone seeing him. Call Marcus and find out if he saw anyone. If he was going a certain way, we maybe can find out where he went. He's obviously not going to stop torturing Tessa, so I doubt he'd go too far until he's finished with whatever he wants to accomplish."

A shiver went up his spine and he closed his mind to the thought of Tessa ending up dead. He refused to let that happen. Jacob started asking Marcus on the phone about whether he'd seen anyone at the same time they came to the stop sign. Mike was about to turn right when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. "What is that?"

He squinted to try and see better but could only tell that it was a car pulled up in the woods.

"What?" both asked, but it was too late, because he was already out of the truck and running toward the opening in the woods across the road. If he'd have been looking an inch to the right, he'd never have seen the tail end of the car. He snuck up on the silver Lexus with a New York tag and made out the head of a man inside looking at his phone. The brush of leaves had the man's head spinning around to catch sight of him.

Mike grabbed the handle to the car door, relieved it opened, and grabbed hold of the wide-eyed weasel. He threw him against the tree beside the car, pinning him there.

"Who are you?" he yelled and the guy held his hands up, shaking in fear.

"You can have my money. I-I—"

Mike wasn't about to fall for it. "Who the hell are you and why are you parked here? Hiding from someone?"

"No! I was lost and just checking my phone for directions. Please let me go." The man's body shook and his eyes darted from him to a spot behind him and he knew his brothers were there.

"Mike, let him go. I called Marcus already. Don't do anything stupid," Nick said.

When a hand touched his shoulder, he jerked it away. "Don't touch me."

He could see how the man in his grasp got away with so much. He was a good actor and an expert with lying. Unfortunately for him, not for a second did Mike believe it to be a coincidence that another random New Yorker happened to be parked hidden in the woods right after his house had been set on fire. Rage boiled inside him and his fist connected with Tessa's ex-husband's face. After that, things became a blur until Jacob and Nick began yelling and dragging him off the bloodied man.

"You're going to kill him!" Jacob shoved him back. "Stop!"

Nick suddenly stepped back with his hands up and that's when Mike and Jacob saw the gun.

"You're the one screwing my wife. How does it feel now? I guess you two should have let him kill me." Blood coated his teeth when he grinned.

Everything about the man didn't make sense. What had Tessa seen in him? He had small beady eyes, a receding hairline he was attempting to hide, and he was just not good enough for her. Not that Mike felt he was, either.

The man had ruined Tessa's life and he wasn't about to just bow down to him. "Pathetic. Can't you fight like a man or are you too much of a weak city boy, you need a gun?"

"Mike, shut up."

Both of his brothers tried to stop him, but it didn't work. He stepped forward, keeping the attention on him and away from them.

"I think you should listen to them." He shot the gun at the ground in front of them. "Go back to your vehicle."

Mike hated to listen to him, but his brothers did and tugged him with them. For Tessa's sake, he needed to be careful, because she needed him. "Why are you making her life a living hell? Because she left you?"

"She didn't get it. There was no way I'd let her go. I'm not getting screwed out of my money because she can't handle being the obedient wife." He waved the gun for them to go farther.

The son of a bitch was trying to get away with everything. He stepped back toward him, but a hand grabbed his arm and he stopped.

"Don't. We know now, just let it go for the time being." Jacob and Nick pulled him back to the truck.

Her ex followed with the gun aimed at him, a gleam in his eyes. Mike contemplated tackling him, but the distance between them would give the bastard plenty of time to pull the trigger. Sirens sounded in the distance.

"Get in!" He shot at the ground again.

Mike never took his eyes off of him. "You'll regret ever meeting Tessa and causing her harm."

"I already regret meeting her, just not the harming her." He lowered the gun to the front tire and shot it, then the other, then backed across the road, into the woods where his car sat. The lights lit up and Mike jumped back out of the truck and ran. He dove to the side to miss being run over by the car.

The lights were fading when two police cars stopped. "He's gone that way!"

Sheppard was gone, leaving Marcus behind. "Are y'all ok?"

"Yes, go get him." He scrubbed his hand down his face when they left on the chase and the pounding of his heart rang in his ears.

"Cooper? Can you come get us at the end of the drive?" Nick was on the phone, his hand obviously shaking. "Shit just went down. We'll tell you when you get here. Sophia will be fine."

"They'll get him. Let's go to the precinct, because it's time to get your girl back." Headlights were already heading to them at full speed.

When he arrived, Cooper jumped out of his truck quick and noted the flat tires. "What the hell happened?"

They told the story on the way to the precinct and Mike kept quiet, opening and closing his injured hands. There was a good possibility he'd broken something in one if not both of them. None of it mattered though. Only Tessa.

****

Tessa sat with her hands twisting in her lap, listening to the clock tick. The chair she sat in wasn't comfortable; but, considering they hadn't put her in a cell yet, she could deal with it. What she couldn't handle was the young man sitting next to her, who looked barely twenty-one. He'd introduced himself and, with the excitement of Marcus and Shepard rushing out of the precinct, she'd forgotten his first name. His uniform said T. Jones.

The green eyes and sharp facial features reminded her of Marcus. She recalled his last name also being Jones and figured the boy in front of her was his son. "Do you know where they had to go so quickly? Is everything okay?"

"All I know is one of the Johnsons brothers called my d—" he cleared his throat "Officer Jones about finding the man who may have set fire to their house."

She jumped from her seat. "Mike?"

"I'm really not sure. Don't worry. I'll let you know as soon as I hear." He stood from his seat.

The nervousness made her feel bad. Of course he'd be edgy around her; he wasn't sure if she really was a criminal or not. "I need to know if he's okay. Please, let me call him."

He hesitated and then jerked his head in approval. "I'll call him for you."

The wait had her stomach churning as she stared at the boy in anticipation. If Mike or anyone else was hurt because of her, what would she do? Her body slumped into the chair when he hung up without an answer. What if he was hurt or killed? She couldn't breathe and panicked, grabbing her throat. The room was spinning and she was glad for the chair holding her up.

"Ma'am?" the young man spoke, but all she did was fight for air.

"Tessa!" At first she thought it was Jones again and then she heard the frightened tone. "Tessa."

She blinked until her vision cleared and she could see Mike—the best view she'd ever laid eyes on. She threw her arms around his waist. When he enveloped her in his embrace, she fought for air, letting his voice bring her back to him.

"Listen to my voice. Match your breathing to mine. Everything is okay. What happened to her?" He demanded an answer, even as he kept his hands moving across her back in a gentle massage.

"I told her why Dad left and she wanted to call you. When you didn't answer, she started to freak out," the young man explained. "I'm glad you came in right on time."

She resented him saying she'd freaked out but she was still too upset to protest. "I thought…"

Her mouth went dry and she squeezed him tighter.

"I know. I'm okay. It was him, Tessa. They're going after him and then you won't have to worry anymore. You won't have to lie and you won't have to run." The hope in his voice eased her.

She moved just enough to look up into his caring eyes. If she weren't already crying, she'd have started to then at how much he cared. "I'm just glad you're okay."

There was no denying how perfect his lips felt connecting with hers. She pulled her arms off his waist and linked them around his neck making it easier to lift up on her tip toes and deepen the kiss. Heat filled her stomach and inched lower. After the night they had shared before it all went to hell, she wanted to repeat the good parts all over again. She needed him in a way she'd never needed a man before. Nothing like the almost painful ache she wanted Mike to ease.

A throat clearing provided the only indication that they weren't alone, or even in a bedroom. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and the smug smile on Mike's face was enough to tell her he'd noticed. The big jerk knew what he did to her. If she didn't care so much about him, it might have pissed her off.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but you might want to save that for later without an audience," Nick joked, laughter in his eyes. "Unless you're into that sort of thing. In that case, I can step out. I'm not really interested in seeing my brother's naked butt."

"Shut up," Jacob scolded.

She squirmed under Mike's gaze. With her calmed down, his tenderness seemed to have vanished and he gave her a look that told her he was beyond angry with her. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear that you're sorry. I want to hear that you won't do it again." He seemed to contemplate what he was going to say next. "Actually, I won't let you do that again. I refuse to let you put yourself in harm's way from now on."

"I—"

"You might think you were doing the best thing, but no. Admitting to being an arsonist is bad enough, but by doing that you admitted to killing someone." I'm here to take care of you and that's what I'm going to do. I can't if you do shit like this."

If he were talking to her with that tone about anything else, she'd have slapped him. She knew he was only upset because he cared. It would've been the end of her life if she'd confessed to the fires and was convicted.

She felt like a teenager who believed she'd always be with her high school boyfriend and they'd only been dating a day. It was crazy to think there could be a future with Mike and that he actually felt the same way. Love couldn't happen that quick, yet she was sure she'd fallen in love with him.

He told her not to apologize, so she didn't. Instead, she grabbed the back of his head and said exactly what she wanted. "Kiss me again."

The worry lines loosened until they were gone and he relaxed against her. As soon as he leaned back down to kiss her, the door opened. Which happened a lot to them. Next time, she'd take them some place where they could lock all doors.

Her mind was contemplating what else they'd get to enjoy behind locked doors when she caught sight of Marcus and his grim face. All hope drained from her and she dropped her forehead against Mike's chest. "It's pointless."

"No. It's not." He forced her to look at him as he tried to convince her with the three little words, a serious tone, and genuine facial expression. Then, he turned his focus to Marcus. "What happened?"

"He got away. I don't know what the hell happened." He winced. "Sorry for my language."

She nodded politely and frowned. "I don't get how he can keep doing this. The only reason he wasn't caught in New York was because he had police on his side. Maybe not all of them, but I didn't know who to trust. It's why I ran."

"That's what we're going to do," Mike said.

She didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

"We're going to run. Somewhere he can't find us. Now we all know he did it, so it's only a matter of time that he's caught. Marcus can find the right people to handle the situation, someone not on his payroll. And we can go on a vacation." He looked at Marcus. "Will that work? I'm not risking her life anymore."