Page 15 of Burning Truth

“I was a Navy EOD technician for seven years.”

The words were spoken softly, almost reverently.

“That’s impressive.”

He shook his head and pushed up from the chair. “Not that impressive. Are we done?”

Addie tried to catch his eye, but he wouldn’t look at her. “Yeah, we’re done.”

5

Turning, Severn left the too-close office and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She’d said he could help himself to anything in the fridge, and it had been a while since he’d eaten.

Besides, he had to get out of there. Too much emotion swirling in the air, and he needed to get a grip.

Despite what she’d said, he pulled on a t-shirt. He had a few spares, and he didn’t want to expose himself anymore than he had to. Yes, she’d reacted better than he’d expected, but still.

He pulled the door of the fridge open and stared. A bag of cheese, some juice that had settled into layers, and a takeout container of something he wasn’t even going to look inside of. Addie entered the room behind him, and he glanced at her. “What do you eat?”

She shrugged lightly. “Sometimes I order takeout. There’s a good pizza place that delivers late.”

She motioned to the rectangular magnet on the fridge. Severn dialed the number and ordered three extra-large pizzas, as well as drinks and a salad. When he hung up, she was staringat him, open-mouthed. He shrugged. “What? More than likely, it will be breakfast tomorrow, too.”

She snorted a laugh and turned toward the living room. He heard her settle to the couch in the corner she liked, and he followed her in. She was already on her phone, swiping through screens. He glanced at her position, and the front window with the curtains drawn back. It would be obvious to anyone on the street where and when she sat there.

They really needed to talk about security. There was none here, and it was going to drive him nuts. Yes, she was aware of her stalker, but she wasn’t doing much to curb the behavior.

There was a gasp from the couch, and he looked at Addie. She had her hand over her mouth, and she was staring at the screen.

“What,” he said, moving close with his hand out.

She handed over the phone, then sat back in the corner, her expression dazed.

On the display, there was a picture of himself, grabbing Addie to sweep her away from the oncoming collision. He didn’t remember that exact moment, but she was staring him directly in the face, her eyes terrified, and his expression was fierce as he picked her up to save her. This was obviously a clip from Jake’s footage, because the lighting was bright enough to highlight every single damn imperfection in his skin. The scene was very dramatic and kind of romantic, he supposed.

He dragged his eyes from the picture and down to the comments. Most of them were complimentary, or they let Addie know they were thankful she was okay. Some of them were directed toward him. ‘Who’s the hunk?’ one asked, and ‘he can rescue me any day!’

Then there was the one that had made her gasp.

“Why are his arms around you, bitch?” BrickBrak342.

“This is the same guy that’s been sending you stuff?”

She nodded, her lips clamped together.

The post had only been up for a little while, and there were several angry reactions to the man’s statement, as well as a few statements supporting Severn’s actions.

Severn handed the phone back to her. “I want you to respond to his comment. I want you to respond to a bunch of the others, too, though. Just start working your way down. Let me know when you get to his.”

Addie did as he suggested, while he thought about how to respond. When she looked up at him, her eyes huge in her pale face, her fingers poised over the keyboard, he knew there was no backing out.

“Type in ‘Because he’s my boyfriend, TikTak, and he was protecting me’.”

Addie’s eyes widened before she typed in the message. She glanced at him before she hit the send button, and he understood why she was hesitant. She was outing for the entire populace that she now had a boyfriend, even if only the two of them knew it was a pretend situation. And he was making fun of the man they thought was the arsonist. There was a very strong possibility that this would motivate the man to do something, burn something, possibly even kill someone. Again.

But, if he acted recklessly, there was a chance he would make a mistake and they would catch him.

Addie feltsick as she hit the send button on the message, because she knew there would be repercussions. This firebomber was a dick, and he wouldn’t appreciate having a new guy flaunted in his face.

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