Page 114 of Raging Inferno

“I don’t know.”

“Dominic, what’s going on? Why are Margy, Nancy, and Charmaine dead? Why is Jessie hospitalized?”

“Tamera too.”

“My God.”

“And to answer your question, I don’t know.”

The doors slid open again. Dom glanced over to see Charlie and Gia. He jumped to his feet.

“Daddy! Are you okay? Why are you bleeding?”

“I’m fine, sweetheart. It’s not my blood.” He held his arms open, and she jumped into them. He hugged his daughter and inhaled her familiar scent.

She glanced around. “Where’s Presley?”

“She’s seeing the doctor.”

“Is she okay?”

“She will be.” God, he hoped it was true.

He held out a hand to Charlie. “Thank you for bringing her here. I owe you.”

“Nah. It’s what friends do.”

He placed Gia on the ground. “Have a seat, honey. I need to talk to Charlie for a minute.”

Sam patted the cushion beside him. “Come sit by me, Gia.”

Dom wasn’t sure he wanted his daughter near Sam. Guilt instantly engulfed him. Despite his horn dog ways, he trusted Sam. He was a good guy sometimes.

Once Gia was settled, he turned to Charlie. “The news is going to break soon. Rena Robbins is involved in the string of fires that killed several people.”

Charlie staggered back a step. “Tell me you’re kidding.”

Charlie had been in on the hiring process with Dominic. “I wish I was. She attempted murder tonight. She was shot, but not fatally, and will be arrested. We need to get ahead of it before the press descends, and they will.”

Charlie nodded. “Okay. Do we know why she did it?”

“She was romantically involved with Dr. Val Anders.”

“The medical examiner?”

“One and the same. She’s now deceased.”

“I thought Rena was straight.”

“Apparently she’s fluid in her sexuality.”

Charlie rubbed a hand across his forehead. “This is a lot of information coming at me in a short amount of time. It’s almost too much to comprehend.”

“Tell me about it. There’s more. I don’t have confirmation, and this is just between you and me right now, but there’s a possibility the crash that killed Jamie Wilcox and Ned Ibarra wasn’t an accident.”

Charlie dropped to a seat. “This is unreal.”

“Charlie, I’m going to need you to take charge and be the point man. I can’t leave here.”

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