Page 85 of Four of Hearts

“We’re on our way. What’s up?” There was silence on the other side, and I gave Watson a quick glance. “Morris, what’s going on?”

“Funny story, actually…”

“Get to the damn point,” I spat as I got more impatient. “What happened?”

“Just know that everything is under control and nobody got hurt, okay? That’s what matters. It’s just that…there was a fire at the bar.”

“What?!” Watson leaned forward and stared at the head unit.

I kept focusing on the road ahead of me, trying my best not to go over the speed limit now that I heard the news. I needed to stay calm. “How bad was the fire?”

“Some curtains and a couple tables got burnt. I managed to get half the fire out before the firefighters arrived. The damage isn’t big, but it was intense,” he told us. He sounded fairly calm himself, but I knew that he was still in shock.

“Are you alright? Were you there when it happened?” I asked.

“I’m fine. I came to help Elia stock up the coolers, and uh…” he stopped, murmuring something before continuing. “Vivian came in.”

“Jesus Christ,” Watson muttered under his breath. “She started the damn fire?”

I tensed, wondering what the fuck was actually wrong with that woman. I waited for Morris to keep telling us how that fire happened.

“She started asking about you guys and we told her you were out of town. We knew not to upset her so we just kept the conversation going. We tried to tell her that we were just there to do some work and then leave, but she kept standing there by the entrance.” He paused again. Clearly, that woman hadn’t only traumatized Lola. “She asked about Lola, and if she was with you, but we said no. We thought that would keep her from getting jealous, but then she started screaming at us. She said she went by Lola’s apartment and didn’t see her there. Or anywhere else in town.”

“Fucking psycho,” Watson hissed. “What’s a restraining order worth when that woman can still get close to Lola?”

“We’ll deal with that tomorrow,” I told him. Sighing, I ran a hand over my head. “Was the fire an accident or did she purposely start it?”

“It was definitely on purpose. She pulled out a lighter and held it to the curtains, still shouting at us about how unfair it is that you guys don’t want to be with her. She cried and all that. I tried to take the lighter from her, but it was too late already.”

There was silence again, and I needed a moment to think. “Did you call the cops too?”

“Yeah. They took her in. They said they’ll be back tomorrow to get another statement. The firefighters left too. Elia and I cleaned up and threw out the things that were damaged, but the walls definitely need to be painted over. There’s burn marks everywhere.”

“We’ll deal with that tomorrow. Sorry you and Elia had to deal with that. Thank you for handling it for us.”

“No problem, Kline. See you around.”

He hung up, and I looked over at Watson. “We can’t call the others just yet. We’ll tell them once we get home.”

He nodded and ran his hands through his hair. “We’re not leaving Lola alone tonight.”

We wouldn’t, even if Vivian had been taken into custody. I wouldn’t risk Lola getting hurt, and for the next couple of days, I would make sure she was protected by us.

Chapter 36

LOLA

I woke up after the longest and deepest sleep I had in a long time, and when I opened my eyes, I knew it was too early for me to have to get up just yet.

It was dark in the room, and without looking around, I knew I wasn’t in my bedroom. Sitting up, I looked around and tried to adjust my eyes to the darkness, and when I figured out whose room I was in, I reached to the bedside table to turn on the small lamp.

Bennett’s room was my favorite because of all the books, and the calming setting, but this morning, a strange feeling lingered in the air.

I found my phone on the nightstand and checked the time.

Six-thirteen.

Yeah, that was way too early.

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