Page 94 of Billionaire Protector

“Which means we have tonight.” Cole rubbed his hands together. “We’re going to do the same thing you planned here – confront the criminal. Only this time, we’ve got the right guy.”

“I’m coming with you. I have a lot to make up for.” Donovan grabbed his keys from the counter and clapped Cole on the back. “You’ve got yourself a hell of a woman, Cole. You’re lucky I didn’t find out the truth sooner, buddy.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Possessiveness flooded Cole’s eyes. “I know what’s mine.”

As heat engulfed her, Sarah stomped out the door. Once this was over, they’d definitely have a talk about who belonged to whom.

The three of them entered Sarah’s car and sped down the road. Few cars prowled the darkened streets, which had grown even quieter since the arsonist’s activities. They reached Scott’s house in under ten minutes, parking across the way. When they approached the door, Sarah tried to be at the forefront, but Cole strode forward, an organic protective shield before her. He gave three sharp raps on the door.

“I’m still your boss,” she called from behind the mountain masquerading as a man. “I should be confronting Scott.” She opened her mouth to protest more, stopped as she noticed the dimmed lights, the quiet home. A slow burn sickened her stomach. “He’s not here.”

Cole stepped away from the path, scanned the front windows. “It’s too early for him to be in bed, but it’s quiet in there.”

“No sign of him here either,” Donovan growled as he pushed himself away from a side window. “I asked if he wanted to grab a beer tonight, but he said he wanted to stay home. Claimed his team was in the playoffs and he’d be watching T.V. all night.”

“What game?” Cole tapped on his phone, held it up to display the sports page. “There aren’t any professional playoff games tonight, at least not in any league I’ve heard of.”

“He didn’t say.” Donovan’s features tightened. “Why do I have a feeling there’s no game?”

Because there was no game. No staying home. No future tomorrow if they didn’t catch him tonight.Sarah clenched her fists until her palms turned as pale as the moon above. “He’s going to finish the job.”

“One more fire would do the trick.” Cole grasped her hand as they stepped from the house. He held her tighter as they hopped over a large tree stump. “He’ll make certain the vote goes his way.”

“He probably has something else of hers to plant to take away any doubt,” Donovan guessed. “He figured Sarah would be home alone without an alibi. Since everyone suspects her, they won’t be paying attention to him.”

“It wouldn’t be hard.” She grimaced deeply. Her office held various personal items and was usually unlocked. He had his choice of sweater buttons, snaps or other items he could use to implicate her. “How will we find him? Harmony Creek may be a small town, but it has a decent amount of land, much of it wooded. Once he sets the fire, he’ll be out of there in seconds. We may already be too late.”

Had the villain won, just when they’d finally deciphered his identity? She blinked up at the sky, gasped. A think plume of grey trailed from the nearby forest. “Or just in time.”

“Let’s go!” The three of them raced through the forested world, navigating brush that clutched at them like skeletons’ nails, jumping over fallen trees barely visible in the inky darkness. Sharp twigs sliced Sarah’s legs, their wet leaves plastering to her skin, as she lunged through the crunchy undergrowth. The scent of scorching wood stung her eyes andburned her nostrils, irritating her lungs as it grew ever-thicker. Seconds later, yellow and orange lights danced on the leaves, a haunting atmosphere no ghost could emulate. They reached a clearing and entered…

A hellscape.

This was no small job. No plywood shed, bale of hay or mere clock. No, before them, a full house burned, blazing white hot flames licking up shuddering walls. The carnage of crackling wood and breaking timber shook the ground, a cacophony of anger, anguish and destruction. Thankfully, the house was almost certainly empty, abandoned years ago by its owners, for it would be a total loss. The structure wouldn’t stand for much longer.

A gasp sounded, revealing the culprit in their midst. “What are you doing here?” Scott gaped at them, astonishment stealing the lines to his criminal act. Like before, he wore all black, although he’d left his mask behind, likely from the certainty he’d already won. He carried a lit torch and an even more telling object – one of Sarah’s scarves.

“I don’t believe it.” Donovan glared. “All this time, you’ve been the arsonist?” He stepped forward.

“I will deal with him.” Cole stopped Donovan. Somehow his quiet intensity was more threatening than the other man’s outright aggression. Power and authority forged total and utter command. “It’s over,” he growled. “Put down the torch.”

Scott’s features twisted with pure hatred. “It’s not fair!” he shouted. “She doesn’t deserve it. You both know she’s a criminal.”

Cole stepped closer, danger surrounding every move. Silhouetted by the roaring flames, he defined pure power. “You’re the one who put people in danger. You terrorized the entire town.”

“I only righted a wrong.” Scott waved the torch, its flames dripping to the ground like fiery raindrops. “A criminal shouldn’t have the job of top lawman. But no one will believe you anyways. They all know you’re sleeping with the bitch.”

Cole lunged forward, but Donovan held him back. “He still has the torch,” he hissed. “And Sarah’s right there. We don’t want him setting the whole forest on fire.”

Cole shook off Donovan but stopped moving. Now Donovan glared at Scott. “It doesn’t matter if they believe Sarah or even Cole, because they’ll believe me. I’ve been against her this whole time. You’ve been caught, Scott. Give up before someone gets hurt.”

“She’s fooled you, too!” Scott snarled. “The fires didn’t injure anyone, and they hardly caused damage. No one got hurt and–”

A scream pierced the air.

It came from the building, the barely standing structure that moaned and groaned in death’s throes. Yet it was no natural sound, no remnant of the forest and no animal. Someone was inside the fiery nightmare, trapped by flames and smoke in the rapidly deteriorating space. And if they didn’t do something soon, that person was about to die.

Scott paled. “It’s abandoned. No one was supposed to be there.” The torch slipped from his grasp, down, down, down to the crunchy undergrowth. The leaves started to glow…

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