Page 86 of Four of Hearts

I pushed aside the covers and got up from the bed to head out of the bedroom. Last night, I had strategically put on my pajamas, knowing that I would be way too tired to change once we got home after the drive. It clearly had been a good idea. Otherwise, the guys would’ve had to take off my clothes, which surely would’ve woken me up.

When I stepped into the hallway, I heard voices coming from upstairs. Kline was talking, but he kept his voice low.

I reached the top and found all four of them sitting on the couches. They were wearing the same clothes as last night, and I frowned at them when they looked at me with expressions I had never seen on their faces before.

“What’s going on?”

Kline got up and walked over to me. He lifted his hand and brushed back my hair and tucking it behind my ear. When he cupped the side of my face, he leaned in and kissed my forehead and said, “Come sit.”

“What happened?” I asked, my frown deepening. “You’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Everything’s fine, I promise.”

I looked up at him to study his face. His expression was serious, but his eyes soft and genuine. I took his hand and let him lead me to the couches, and once I was sat next to him and Leo, I asked again. “What’s going on?”

Kline took a deep breath and rested his hand on my thigh. “Before I tell you, I want you to know that nobody got hurt, and we got everything under control. There’s no need to worry—”

“You’re making me worry by not telling me. God, just tell me what’s going on.” I was getting impatient.

Leo took my hand and squeezed it gently, trying to calm me down. “You’re really making this worse for her, man.”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s been a long night,” Kline chuckled with a shake of his head. “We got a call from Morris on our way back home last night and—”

“Is Willa okay?!”

“She’s fine. Like I said, no one got hurt,” he assured me. “On our way back, Morris called, and he told us about an incident that happened at The Hot Spot. Vivian was there looking for us, and she started a fire.”

I gasped. “What? Oh my God!”

“Morris and Elia were there, luckily, and they prevented her from causing more damage, but they had to call the firefighters to stop the fire from spreading. Only a few tables, chairs, and curtains burnt down, and again, no one got hurt.” Kline sounded upset and angry as he told me about what went down last night.

“That’s insane…” I whispered, unable to comprehend what he just told me. “A-and what about Vivian? Did they call the police?”

“Yes, they did. She didn’t try to run. Actually, it seemed as if she had it all planned. That she wanted to turn herself in,” Watson told me.

I furrowed my brows. “So her plan was to burn down the bar and turn herself in?”

“Apparently, and…” Leo stopped himself before finishing the sentence.

“And, what?”

Bennett glanced at Leo with a disapproving look. “She doesn’t have to know that. It’s not a nice thing to hear, Leo.”

“I don’t care. I want to know. What else did she plan on doing?” I didn’t let my mind start to wonder because it would only go to dark places. I could handle whatever it was Vivian had intended on doing.

Leo looked at the others and sighed. He was still holding and caressing my hand. “Watson called the police last night to get more information about everything, and they told him that at the station, Vivian said something along the lines of wanting to burn the place down with you in it.”

I did expect to hear something vile, but that was way more extreme than I ever could’ve imagined. And while I understood the severity of those words, they didn’t make any sense to me. “How…how was she planning on doing that? She should’ve known that I wouldn’t be at the bar without you there. She would’ve hurt you too.”

“The police told me more things that she said on the way to the station, but they concluded that Vivian isn’t well, and that most things she said were just empty words.”

I looked at Watson and nodded, and while I tried to comprehend what could’ve happened if we were at The Hot Spot last night, I started to feel guilty. Tears stung my eyes. “This is my fault. It wouldn’t have happened if—”

“It’s most definitely not your fault, Lola. Don’t even dare think that,” Bennett told me with a serious look.

“Shit, I’ll make sure that woman gets put in a psych ward. She needs help. I hate how much she’s hurt our girl.” I had never seen Watson so angry. He got up and ran his hands through his hair while looking at me. “Kline and I are going to the station this morning. We want you to stay home today.”

He wanted me to call in sick. I wasn’t one to do that when I wasn’t actually sick. I loved my job, but I noticed how all this had taken a toll on my mental health and that of others as well.

---