Page 4 of Rescued By the Rebel

I spend the next hour answering their questions. Aldis sticks close to me and I find that I feel safer with him nearby.

The police and firemen are getting ready to leave, and I sag. The adrenaline is wearing off, and I know I’m going to crash soon.

“Come on, Red,” Aldis says, and I let him lead me away to my car and his motorcycle.

THREE

Aldis

The adrenaline has long since worn off for me, and now that Winnie isn’t in any immediate danger, my fear and worry for her has changed into anger.

“What were you thinking running into a building that was on fire?” I demand to know as I lead her back towards her car. “You could have died!”

“I had to save the animals,” she says defensively, ripping her arm out of my grasp. “It is the whole point of this place.”

I frown down at her, and she glares defiantly up at me, her green eyes sparking. I take a moment to survey her, making sure that she wasn’t injured.

Her red hair is smudged and dulled from the smoke; she has a few streaks of what looks like ash on her cheek, and my fingers itch to wipe it away. I want to take care of her. I want to keep her safe. I would do anything to keep her safe.

“Stay here. I need to talk to someone really quick,” I tell her.

I jog over to Jonas, my friend in the fire department.

“Hey, man. Any news?” I ask him quietly, and he lets out a long breath, shaking his head.

“It was definitely arson. Similar pattern to the other cases in town.”

My stomach drops. I was holding out hope that it was an electrical fire or something. I didn’t want my girl to be the next target.

“Dammit,” I hiss, and he nods. “Any idea yet on what’s going on?”

“No, man. You’d have to ask someone with the police, but I doubt they’ll have an answer for you either.”

“Alright, thanks. Stay safe.”

He nods, and I clap him on the back before I turn and head back to my girl.

Winnie raises her brows at me when I return to her, and I give her a grim smile.

“It was arson.”

“I could have told you that,” she says, and I nod.

“I had to be sure.”

“Any news or leads?” She asks, a hopeful note in her voice.

“No. Do you have any idea who could have done this?”

She looks scared as she chews on her bottom lip and ponders my question.

“There was this man who came by the other week, almost a month ago now,” she says, and I tense.

“Who? Did you get a name? What did he want?”

How did I not know that there was some man sniffing around here?

“I don’t know. He wanted to buy the land. He offered me some lowball offer, and I turned him away. He came back the next week with a higher offer, but I still said no. He warned me that I was making a mistake, but I just thought he was being dramatic. I haven’t seen him since.”

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