Falling Fast
Page 20
“It snowed,” Gia observes, coming around the corner through the open garage door right as I locate the second opener. “I didn’t think it would ever snow. It hasn’t since I’ve been here even though it’s been cold enough a few times.”
“When it snows, it’s normally not much, but we do get it from time to time. Do you like snow?”
“This?” She waves her hand toward the open door. “I can totally handle this much snow.” She smiles. “I used to hate winter in Chicago, because all it did was snow and snow and snow. Me and Nat had to clean our own driveway and the sidewalk in front of our house, even though we were renting. It was a big driveway, and Nat is smaller than me, so it sucked. Sometimes it would take us all day to get it cleaned up,” she finishes, looking out the door, then her eyes come back to me filled with softness. “You cleaned off my car.”
“Catch.” I toss her the extra door opener and she catches it. “From now on, park in the garage. That way you don’t have to worry if it snows.”
“You really are too good to me,” she says softly, getting closer. “I will never be able to repay you for everything you have done.” She reaches out, resting her hand on my bicep, that small touch skimming through me causing my blood to heat.
“Like I told you before, I don’t mind.”
“Still, thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.” She squeezes, and my hand balls into a fist to keep myself from wrapping it in her hair and kissing her. Her eyes flare like she knows what I’m thinking, and her hand drops away.
“I’m ready to go. Are… are you ready, or…?” she stutters out looking away from me.
“I’m ready.” Her eyes come back to me. “Go get in your Jeep,” I urge, and she licks her lips, not moving except to drop her eyes to my mouth.
“You’re making it really fucking hard not to kiss you, Gia,” I tell her honestly, and her eyes shoot up to mine.
“We can’t,” she whispers, unmoving. “With us living together, that wouldn’t be smart.”
“You’re probably right,” I reply, seeing disappointment in her eyes when I agree with her. Fuck, why did I agree with her? “Go get in your Jeep and pull out so I can do the same.”
“Right.” She shakes her head before spinning on her heels and heading for her Jeep. Getting in, she starts it up then backs out, and I get in my SUV and do the same, then hit the remote for the garage, closing the door.
Following her down the driveway and then through town, I wonder why the fuck I didn’t kiss her. I could have; she wanted me to. I could see it in her eyes that she wanted it, but I didn’t pull the trigger.
“Idiot,” I tell the windshield, as I pull in and park next to her at her grandmother’s. Getting out, I meet her at the hood of her Jeep, but she doesn’t acknowledge me. Her eyes are glued to the house.
The place looks bad, but it could be worse. Half the roof is gone, the yellow siding melted and stained with black soot, with broken out windows on the side and front of the house where the kitchen was, and “Caution” tape is stretched across the front door. “I’ll call Dad when this is over and have him bring down some tarps and wood from his place. He and Tide can help me cover the roof and board up the place while you’re visiting your grandma. That way, if it snows again, it will be protected.”
“I didn’t realize it was so bad,” she whispers, and I reach out, taking her hand after hearing pain in her voice. “We were in there.”
My stomach muscles bunch. I don’t need the reminder that she was in there when it was on fire, or that she had to drag her grandmother’s limp body outside, passing out herself after getting them help. When Mom called to tell me what happened, I couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough. I needed to see for myself that she was alive and breathing.
“You two are safe.” I turn her toward me and wrap my arms around her. “That’s all that matters.”
Hearing a car, I look over her head, feeling my muscles bunch for a different reason when I see Lisa drive by, her narrowed eyes on us. She’s come by the bar a few times since our last encounter, the one when she told me about stopping Gia when she was out with her grandmother. I couldn’t believe she’d done that. Then again, she’d been doing shit like that since we were fifteen, scaring chicks off, even if they were only friends. I used to think it was cute when she got jealous, but now it’s just fucking annoying. Especially since I want not one goddamn thing to do with her.
I give Gia one more squeeze before I let her go then take her hand and pull her toward the sidewalk, when I see the fire chief pull up in front of the yard and another car park behind him.
“Colton,” Chad, the fire chief, greets as he walks toward us with a clipboard in his hand. I’ve known Chad and his wife most of my life. His wife is a dispatcher for the police station, and they both come in once a week, if not more to kick back and have a beer at the bar.
“How’s it going?” I stick my hand out toward him and he shakes it once firmly.
“All right,” he says, then he looks at Gia who’s standing at my side. “Miss Caro.”
“Hi.” Gia gives his hand a shake then looks over his shoulder when the officer walks up carrying a roll of yellow tape. This one says “Crime Scene,” unlike the tape already across the door with “Caution” stamped on it.
“Nick,” Chad starts, turning toward the man and shaking his hand when he’s close. “Colton, Gia, this is Detective Nick Preston,” he introduces.
“Nice to meet you,” he says, shaking both our hands.
“Nick’s here because of the things I need to discuss with you,” Chad explains, looking at Gia, and my body goes on alert. “We found evidence that the fire was not an accident.”
“What?” Gia whispers, her body rocking back a step.
“The fire spread quickly, from the stove, across the floor, to the back door. We thought there might have been an accelerant used, but didn’t know for sure until the chemical test I got back yesterday confirmed our suspicions.”
“Are you saying it was arson?” I ask, just to make sure I’m hearing him correctly.
“That’s what I’m saying,” he verifies, looking at me.
“But… Grandma, she was there in the kitchen. I found her in the kitchen, on the floor. The stove was on fire,” Gia whispers.
“We understand that, and we also know she has dementia. We did a search, and we couldn’t find the container carrying the accelerant, which leads us to believe that whoever used it took it with them when they left.”
“Someone was in the house?” Gia asks with fear in her voice. “Did they… Did they hurt my grandmother? Is that—”
“We’re still investigating,” Nick cuts her off. “We know from talking to the neighbors that no one saw anything. They didn’t even know the house was on fire until they heard the fire trucks and ambulance. I’ve been to see your grandmother at the hospital, but as you know she’s in no state to make a statement,” Nick continues, and I feel Gia stiffen at my side. Her grandmother hasn’t spoken or even called Gia by her mother’s name, and I know that is worrying her more than anything else.
“So what needs to be done?” I question, and Chad’s face changes in a way that makes me brace.
“I’d like Gia to take a polygraph to clear her name,” Nick says, and my back gets straight.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I bark. “She could have died dragging her grandmother out of that”—I shoot my finger over my shoulder—“goddamn house. She didn’t fucking start the fire.”
“I’ll do it,” Gia inserts, wrapping her hand around my arm, and I look down at her. “I’ll do it. I have nothing to hide.”
“I don’t believe you did it,” Chad conveys softly. “But I want to clear you as a suspect so we can get on with the case and find who did.”
“This is still bullshit,” I growl, still pissed off.
“When it snows, it’s normally not much, but we do get it from time to time. Do you like snow?”
“This?” She waves her hand toward the open door. “I can totally handle this much snow.” She smiles. “I used to hate winter in Chicago, because all it did was snow and snow and snow. Me and Nat had to clean our own driveway and the sidewalk in front of our house, even though we were renting. It was a big driveway, and Nat is smaller than me, so it sucked. Sometimes it would take us all day to get it cleaned up,” she finishes, looking out the door, then her eyes come back to me filled with softness. “You cleaned off my car.”
“Catch.” I toss her the extra door opener and she catches it. “From now on, park in the garage. That way you don’t have to worry if it snows.”
“You really are too good to me,” she says softly, getting closer. “I will never be able to repay you for everything you have done.” She reaches out, resting her hand on my bicep, that small touch skimming through me causing my blood to heat.
“Like I told you before, I don’t mind.”
“Still, thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.” She squeezes, and my hand balls into a fist to keep myself from wrapping it in her hair and kissing her. Her eyes flare like she knows what I’m thinking, and her hand drops away.
“I’m ready to go. Are… are you ready, or…?” she stutters out looking away from me.
“I’m ready.” Her eyes come back to me. “Go get in your Jeep,” I urge, and she licks her lips, not moving except to drop her eyes to my mouth.
“You’re making it really fucking hard not to kiss you, Gia,” I tell her honestly, and her eyes shoot up to mine.
“We can’t,” she whispers, unmoving. “With us living together, that wouldn’t be smart.”
“You’re probably right,” I reply, seeing disappointment in her eyes when I agree with her. Fuck, why did I agree with her? “Go get in your Jeep and pull out so I can do the same.”
“Right.” She shakes her head before spinning on her heels and heading for her Jeep. Getting in, she starts it up then backs out, and I get in my SUV and do the same, then hit the remote for the garage, closing the door.
Following her down the driveway and then through town, I wonder why the fuck I didn’t kiss her. I could have; she wanted me to. I could see it in her eyes that she wanted it, but I didn’t pull the trigger.
“Idiot,” I tell the windshield, as I pull in and park next to her at her grandmother’s. Getting out, I meet her at the hood of her Jeep, but she doesn’t acknowledge me. Her eyes are glued to the house.
The place looks bad, but it could be worse. Half the roof is gone, the yellow siding melted and stained with black soot, with broken out windows on the side and front of the house where the kitchen was, and “Caution” tape is stretched across the front door. “I’ll call Dad when this is over and have him bring down some tarps and wood from his place. He and Tide can help me cover the roof and board up the place while you’re visiting your grandma. That way, if it snows again, it will be protected.”
“I didn’t realize it was so bad,” she whispers, and I reach out, taking her hand after hearing pain in her voice. “We were in there.”
My stomach muscles bunch. I don’t need the reminder that she was in there when it was on fire, or that she had to drag her grandmother’s limp body outside, passing out herself after getting them help. When Mom called to tell me what happened, I couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough. I needed to see for myself that she was alive and breathing.
“You two are safe.” I turn her toward me and wrap my arms around her. “That’s all that matters.”
Hearing a car, I look over her head, feeling my muscles bunch for a different reason when I see Lisa drive by, her narrowed eyes on us. She’s come by the bar a few times since our last encounter, the one when she told me about stopping Gia when she was out with her grandmother. I couldn’t believe she’d done that. Then again, she’d been doing shit like that since we were fifteen, scaring chicks off, even if they were only friends. I used to think it was cute when she got jealous, but now it’s just fucking annoying. Especially since I want not one goddamn thing to do with her.
I give Gia one more squeeze before I let her go then take her hand and pull her toward the sidewalk, when I see the fire chief pull up in front of the yard and another car park behind him.
“Colton,” Chad, the fire chief, greets as he walks toward us with a clipboard in his hand. I’ve known Chad and his wife most of my life. His wife is a dispatcher for the police station, and they both come in once a week, if not more to kick back and have a beer at the bar.
“How’s it going?” I stick my hand out toward him and he shakes it once firmly.
“All right,” he says, then he looks at Gia who’s standing at my side. “Miss Caro.”
“Hi.” Gia gives his hand a shake then looks over his shoulder when the officer walks up carrying a roll of yellow tape. This one says “Crime Scene,” unlike the tape already across the door with “Caution” stamped on it.
“Nick,” Chad starts, turning toward the man and shaking his hand when he’s close. “Colton, Gia, this is Detective Nick Preston,” he introduces.
“Nice to meet you,” he says, shaking both our hands.
“Nick’s here because of the things I need to discuss with you,” Chad explains, looking at Gia, and my body goes on alert. “We found evidence that the fire was not an accident.”
“What?” Gia whispers, her body rocking back a step.
“The fire spread quickly, from the stove, across the floor, to the back door. We thought there might have been an accelerant used, but didn’t know for sure until the chemical test I got back yesterday confirmed our suspicions.”
“Are you saying it was arson?” I ask, just to make sure I’m hearing him correctly.
“That’s what I’m saying,” he verifies, looking at me.
“But… Grandma, she was there in the kitchen. I found her in the kitchen, on the floor. The stove was on fire,” Gia whispers.
“We understand that, and we also know she has dementia. We did a search, and we couldn’t find the container carrying the accelerant, which leads us to believe that whoever used it took it with them when they left.”
“Someone was in the house?” Gia asks with fear in her voice. “Did they… Did they hurt my grandmother? Is that—”
“We’re still investigating,” Nick cuts her off. “We know from talking to the neighbors that no one saw anything. They didn’t even know the house was on fire until they heard the fire trucks and ambulance. I’ve been to see your grandmother at the hospital, but as you know she’s in no state to make a statement,” Nick continues, and I feel Gia stiffen at my side. Her grandmother hasn’t spoken or even called Gia by her mother’s name, and I know that is worrying her more than anything else.
“So what needs to be done?” I question, and Chad’s face changes in a way that makes me brace.
“I’d like Gia to take a polygraph to clear her name,” Nick says, and my back gets straight.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I bark. “She could have died dragging her grandmother out of that”—I shoot my finger over my shoulder—“goddamn house. She didn’t fucking start the fire.”
“I’ll do it,” Gia inserts, wrapping her hand around my arm, and I look down at her. “I’ll do it. I have nothing to hide.”
“I don’t believe you did it,” Chad conveys softly. “But I want to clear you as a suspect so we can get on with the case and find who did.”
“This is still bullshit,” I growl, still pissed off.
