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I laughed, squeezing him just a little bit tighter. “I was going to go with divorce, but yeah, that works too, I guess.”
When his breathing finally slowed and his heart rate returned to normal, I loosened my grip. “Let’s go home.”
Still shaking, Leander got to his feet and hobbled toward the door. He paused at the threshold, glancing over his shoulder. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Just a sec.”
Wandering into the small kitchen, I ran a finger along the top of the dirty oven hood. Wiping twenty-five years’ worth of grease and hair off my finger on a towel, I turned and grabbed a crusty pan from the sink. I snagged a package of bacon from the fridge and tore into it, dumping the entire slab into the pan and turning the flame on high.
Whistling to myself, I bounced on the balls of my feet, checking the time on my pocket watch. Given the late hour, all of the volunteer firemen were guaranteed to be home, snuggled warm in their beds. Even if a neighbor saw and called right away, there was no way they were getting dressed, to the station, on a rig, and out to this shithole in time to save it. Their primary concern would most definitely be the neighboring trailers.
Once there was a good amount of grease in the pan, I angled it toward the flame. Just like the bomb maker, the fire ‘whooshed’ over the bacon and sparked up like a bonfire.
“Oh, goodness. Whatever shall I do?” I said to myself in faux horror. I shoved the flaming pan to the back of the stove, near the wall, and grabbed a cup full of water from the sink.
I preempted my toss by turning my face away and angling most of my body in the opposite direction. As soon as the water hit the grease, it splattered sending flaming droplets everywhere.
Refilling the cup, I took a couple steps back before launching the next round at the sputtering fire.
Success.
The flames lurched up onto the wall and raced to the disgusting oven hood. From there, they went straight to the ceiling. Tossing the cup over my shoulder, I headed for the door.
Exiting the trailer quickly, I waved away a plume of black smoke from my face as I descended the stairs, trying not to cough and accidentally inhale the toxic cloud.
Leander was in Jake’s truck with the window rolled down. The concern lining his face didn’t dissipate until after I leapt up onto the running board.
Hanging on to the door frame, I leaned in the window, pressing my lips against his. He tasted like beer and blood, with just a hint of smoke.
“You need a shower,” I said, bonking my forehead to his.
“You’re one to talk.” A hint of a smile curled the edge of his mouth. “You smell like bacon.”
Smirking, I kissed him again and hopped off the side of the truck. “I’ll race you home.”
38
Bennett
Once Leander effectively dealt with his demons surrounding Olivia and Cole’s murders, it was time to double-down on Gianna. Between the information Kai tracked down and what we lifted from the FBI, we formulated our plan down to a T.
In celebration, I actually managed to talk Leander into goingoutfor dinner. Grudgingly, he chose the steak house in Clairsville and away we went.
“You know I make better,” he muttered between bites of his filet.
“Yes, my love, but I don’t feel like doing dishes tonight.”
“Whatdoyou feel like doing?”
Cocking my head, I shot him an incredulous look from across the table. I couldn’t quite tell if he was messing with me or not. From the way he smirked before sipping his wine, I quickly figured out the answer.
Wiping my mouth with my napkin, I hailed the waiter as he floated by. “Check please.”
“It wasyouridea to go out,” Leander murmured.
“If you would have clarified what was on the menu, perhaps I would have chosen differently,” I said as I stood and pulled out my wallet, throwing down a couple hundreds instead of waiting for the man to come back with the bill.
“Perhaps?” He raised his brows at me.
