Page 16 of Burning Truth

Not that they were flaunting, exactly, but...

She hadn’t had a serious boyfriend since she’d been on the air. This was all new territory.

“You know he’s going to retaliate,” she said as she eventually hit the little arrow. “If he starts another fire because of this...”

“Maybe, maybe not. If he does, I’m hoping he does something reckless enough to get himself caught.”

Addie looked over at him, trying to draw strength from his calm demeanor. He stood in the shadows of the room, as if even here he didn’t want her to look at him fully. The scars were pale in the soft light of her living room. Despite his gruff exterior, there was something inherently comforting about him, something that made her feel safe even amid the chaos.

“You really think we can catch him?” she asked, her voice tinged with doubt. “This guy’s been a step ahead of us the whole time. I’m literally going around and documenting his exploits. I’m feeding his ego.”

Severn’s gaze was intense, filled with a determination that left no room for uncertainty. “We’ll catch him. We have to. You bring up an interesting point, though. Has he struck when any of the other teams are on duty?”

Addie cocked her head as she thought through the past few months. “Without looking at the schedules to be sure, I think he just does it when Jake and I are on.”

Severn nodded, his arms crossed over his strong chest. “He’s putting a show on for you. Specifically. So, the more pressure we put on him, the more likely he is to slip up.”

She nodded, trying to absorb some of his confidence. “Alright. What’s our next move?”

Severn leaned forward, his gaze holding hers. Addie tried not to look away from the strength of his stare. “We need to keep up the pretense. Go out together, be seen together. He needs to believe you’re serious about this relationship. It’s the only way to draw him out.”

Addie swallowed hard. “And if he does retaliate?”

“Then we’ll be ready.” Severn’s voice was firm, his resolve unshakable. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Addie. We’ll catch this guy.”

His words hung in the air, a promise that felt both reassuring and terrifying. Addie forced a smile, grateful for his support even as her mind raced with the possible outcomes of their plan. She was fearful, definitely. The thought of people burning because of her was absolutely abhorrent. She understood antagonizing him could be for the better good, but it was still hard to think about doing.

The doorbell rang, and Severn headed to the front with a black pistol in hand. She hadn’t even noticed he’d had it on him. Within a few minutes, he brought back a stack of food. Addie went into the kitchen and retrieved plates and cups of ice. When she got back to the living room, Severn had moved her decorative things off the coffee table to the floor underneath.

“You mind if we eat in here?”

She shook her head, setting the plates and cups on the table as well. She wasn’t sure she could eat anything, but Severn plopped a piece of pizza on a plate and set it in front of her. “You need to get something in your stomach.”

Yeah, he was probably right. They dug into the pizza, and Addie had to admit it was pretty good. Severn poured her a glass of soda.

“I’m not going to sleep for hours,” she said, biting into her second piece.

“You will,” Severn said. “It’s been a traumatic day, and your body will need some recovery time soon.”

Feeling restless, she flicked the TV on. Her DVR was set to record the news every night at 11, and she queued up the broadcast, then hit play. They watched the news together, and when it came to her segment, she set down her pizza. Ron couldbe a dick, but he was also a hell of an editor. With the way he clipped the piece together, it looked dangerous as hell.

And Severn looked like a true hero, coming out of nowhere to save the damsel in distress.

She huffed out a breath when the segment was over and gave him an amused look. “If you’re on social media, you’re about to be inundated.” They watched the rest of the broadcast, then she turned it off. Now that her belly was full, her eyelids were getting heavy. “I think you’re right about the need for sleep. I’m going to go lay down.”

She cleaned up the pizza mess and stored the pizza boxes in the fridge. Tomorrow she would seal them in bags to keep them fresher.

She stopped at the doorway to look at Severn. “Is there anything you need before I go to bed?”

He shook his head and she started to turn away.

“Addie.”

She paused. “Yes?”

He shifted on the couch, not looking at her. “Thanks for not making a big deal about my scars.”

Her heart lurched, and she nodded her head once before heading up the stairs. Good thing he hadn’t required a response because her throat was too tight to say anything.

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