Page 39 of Crash and Burn

Shit, he thought again. This time he tugged on her hand, pulling her away from the scene and leading them back home. The new information was concerning in the reverse: If the Blue River Killer could have come and gone from Sabbie’s easily to kill someone, then he could just as easily come back in the middle of the night. It made too much sense with the prowler she’d had. He’d gone out the back door and probably over the gate in his speed.

But what Sebastian said was, “The chief called me in, so I came out to let you know that I’ll be on scene for a couple of hours.”

“Why are you called in?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“I'm a trained arson investigator.” He watched as her eyes lit up, having forgotten that she didn't know that. Everyone at the station did. “I was trained at Quantico.” He added that last bit then felt dumb, as though he'd been trying to impress her. “So, the chief and I are the preliminary task force here. And we're concerned that we've got a serial arsonist.”

“Are youkidding me?” She yanked her hand out of his in order to put both fists on her hips and stare at him.“What the hell kind of small town is this?”

He had to laugh. “I'm beginning to wonder that myself, though you have to admit both the Blue River Killer and the La Vista Rapist operated out of the Omaha and Lincoln areas. Not here.”

“Okay. Valid point,” she conceded. “But the arsonist is here.”

“Yeah, we got one.”

“And it looks like the La Vista Rapist and the Blue River Killer both have very strong ties to Redemption. In fact, to my own home.” Again, she sounded more irritated than angry, as if the newspaper had been overcharging her or such.

Her dismissal of her possible danger petrified him. What if something went horribly wrong and she wasn’t prepared? “Come on back. Let's get you locked in. I'll only be a couple hours.”

When she didn't balk at that, he reached out again, taking her fingers in his.

Without the threat hanging over their heads, it would have been a gorgeous walk. But as he got back closer to the house, he couldn't shake the feeling that something worse was on its way.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Sebastian fought the urge to break the speed limit.

It was a gorgeous day and being on his bike again felt wonderful. In just a few months, he'd have to put it in storage for the winter. The arson investigation had quickly been handed over to the state, and now that he didn't have that occupying his brain, his only thought was getting back to Maggie and making sure she was okay.

In his mind, when he climbed on the bike, he’d told himself he was goinghome. It took effort to remind himself that Maggie’s place wasn't his home, that this was only temporary until the killer was caught. Then again, the killer hadn't been caught already for close to twenty years.

He could only hope the jewelry box and the other evidence in Maggie’s house was the break they all needed. In the meantime, pushing the speed limit wasn't the only urge he had to fight. It was getting harder and harder to stay with Maggie and not act on his feelings. The more he was around her, the more he liked her. He’d thought that, being in the house with her twenty-four/seven, she would begin to annoy him in some way or other, but it hadn't happened.

Until the feds caught the guy, or until Sebastian was certain that she returned his feelings, he didn’t want to push. What if she said no? Then she’d be alone.

It would have been relaxing to peel off his helmet and feel the wind in his hair, to really enjoy the sunshine. But it wasn't safe and, especially as a firefighter, he wasn't going to drive around town illegally and unsafe. He'd already passed a handful of people that he knew.

Taking the last turn, he let the bike lean hard underneath him. He saw Maggie’s house, still standing—not burned to the ground or some other bizarre torturous fantasy that had occurred to him while he was driving. The sight alone relaxed him, but he knew he'd feel better when he got inside and saw that Maggie herself was in one piece.

Just as he was ready to turn into the driveway, his muscles clenched and his pulse kicked up as he saw a silver sedan at the end of the street. It was older, dinged and just a little dirty—exactly as Maggie had described—and it was driving away from him.

Would the driver notice if he sped up and followed?

Did it matter?

Maybe it would be best if this person understood that someone was on his tail, someone willing to give chase.

Sebastian revved the bike and beelined down the street. At the end of the short block he hung a sharp right, following where he'd seen the silver car turn. He'd walked here yesterday with Maggie on the trail behind the houses in the strip of woods. For a moment, he lost sight of the car. But then, once again having turned right, Sebastian caught the car and made another sharp turn to follow. He was now aiming back toward Main Street.

At the end of the block, the sedan turned right this time. Sebastian pushed the bike harder, hoping no one would notice he was chasing a car. Following through two more turns, he managed to get close enough to memorize the license plate.

Surely this asshole knew he was being followed by now. Besides, he hadn’t done anything wrong that Sebastian knew of. If the police stopped him or if this guy called it in, there wouldn’t be much he could say in defense. So he hung another right and pulled to the side of the road, his heart pounding.

His fingers were clumsy as he punched the license in a text message to Maggie. Even as he started to relax, it occurred to him that he'd seen the sedan driving away from Maggie's house.

What if this person was leaving the house? What if Maggie was in trouble?

His pulse shooting up again, Sebastian took off, aiming back toward Maggie's.

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