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“It’s not great, ma’am,” he responded, voice very serious and his expression earnest. “It’s actually a very dangerous situation. Both for me and my fellow firefighters and for any civilians who might be close by.” A low whistle escaped him. “When you have a fire in a bar like this—a place with so much accelerant just waiting to burn—you have yourself one extremely volatile situation.”
None of what he was saying reassured Avalon in any way.
“When can I go inside?” Beau asked.
“No time soon, I’m afraid. It’s going to be an arson scene. An investigator will need to come out and the cops…” He motioned toward them by lifting the helmet he still clutched in their direction. “They’re gonna have plenty of questions. You’ll have water and smoke damage in the interior. I’ll warn you now—your place will be closed for a while.”
“I’ll reopen.” Absolute certainty from Beau.
“Figured as much. I’ll look forward to it happening.” Wesley’s attention shifted to Lane. “What you did was brave. But it was also dangerous. With that much alcohol and the fire raging…” His voice trailed off. “I don’t like digging bodies out of the ashes. Or what’s left of bodies. Next time, just get out and call for help once you’re clear. Buildings can be replaced, but people can’t.” Someone called his name, and he turned away.
But even as he turned away, the cops began to close in. Not just uniforms, either. Avalon recognized two familiar faces. Detectives Lynn Baker and Campbell Cunningham had arrived on the scene. Their eyes were already on Beau.
“Those two have the look of hunters closing in on prey,” Ophelia muttered. “Someone want to clue them in to the fact that Beau is the victim here? And by someone—I mean I’m volunteering.”
“It’s okay,” Beau told her quietly. “I can handle them.”
And the detectives were right there, so the handling had to begin immediately.
Chapter Nine
“Two fires within twenty-four hours.” Campbell shook his head as he came to a stop near Beau. “What are the odds of that?”
“Pretty damn high when you’re being targeted by a freak arsonist,” Beau returned without missing a beat. “Oh, and to save you some time, let me just go ahead and tell you that I was with Avalon when LeBlanc’s was being torched.”
He’d been kissing her. She’d been kissing him. Definitely with her.
“The prick broke into my bar. He would have burned the place to the ground, but my friend stopped him.” Beau motioned toward Lane.
Campbell fired a glance at Lane. “I am well acquainted with your friend.”
Lane raised one brow. “The perp you’re after is approximately six-foot-two. Looked around one hundred eighty pounds. Fit. Strong. Caucasian.” He lifted his hand. Tapped his inner wrist. “He wore gloves and a ski mask but when he was pouring Beau’s very fine whiskey on the countertop, I caught a glimpse of the skin right here.”
“And Beau will have him on video.” A shark’s smile from Ophelia. “He recently added new video surveillance equipment to the outside of the bar. No way we didn’t get our guy on the footage.” She pulled out her phone. “You can’t see the cameras unless you know where to look. They’re too well hidden. But they do the job.” She tapped her phone’s screen. Hummed a little. Then she flipped the phone around.
Avalon leaned forward. She stopped breathing when she saw the figure. He already had on his mask as he approached the rear door. He walked with intent. Never hesitated.
Ophelia kept staring at the screen. “Damn. That is fast work on the lock. This guy is no amateur when it comes to the B&E scene.”
In the video, he’d already gained entrance. Fast was an understatement.
“We’ll need that video,” Lynn announced.
Avalon’s gaze tracked back to the front of the bar. More firefighters had spilled out. She saw Wesley talking to a uniformed cop. Wesley looked back at the bar’s entrance. He stepped toward it.
“Absolutely,” Ophelia’s smooth reply to Lynn. “And we’ll need complete cooperation with the police as we conduct our own investigation and?—”
Fire shot from the windows of LeBlanc’s. A loud blast filled the air. Glass shattered. Voices rose in screams. Heat seemed to lance over Avalon’s skin. Her eyes were on Wesley as he fell to the ground.
And LeBlance’s burned.
A fire that was raging wild and hard. Avalon opened her mouth to scream, and she felt hard arms curl around her stomach. She was yanked back against a powerful body.
“Fuck that!” Beau’s snarl. “We’re out of here, now.”
Wesley was on his feet. Shouting orders. The firefighters leapt into action. One of them grabbed the end of a long hose and began shooting water at the building.
“Rekindling, my ass,” Lane snapped. “What is happening? That felt like a freaking bomb blast!”
