Chapter Fourteen

Bethany

Itucked my freshly bathed daughter into bed. She'd spent the day playing with the cute little chihuahua, I could tell she had a wonderful time because she talked about her new furry friend all the way home. It was sweet of Coyote to bring Ruby for her to meet. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy. He'd told me he was looking for a new home for her, but seeing how much he doted on the little dog, I think she'd already found her forever home.

Nessa and Coyote also looked good together, like father and daughter. It fueled my fantasy that he was the one who fathered her. They were so adorable that I took several pictures and even captured some video of them playing with the dog.

Coming to my feet, I dimmed the light in her room and went to sit on the sofa with a glass of wine. It had been a long day and I needed to process some things. First, I took out my cell phone and flipped through all the pictures I took from the grand opening. Thankfully, it has been a resounding success. I ended up with almost a hundred people who signed up for the mailing list, and we passed out all five hundred brochures I had printed for the occasion.

I stopped at the picture of Coyote and Nessa. I liked the way he interacted with her, careful and sweet. He encouraged her instead of just telling her how to interact with his pet. I found myself smiling as I looked at the picture.

When I flipped to the next picture, my blood ran cold. In the background of a group shot, Cyclops was staring at me. I hadn't even noticed he was there until he approached me. The moment I saw him, all the memories of the night he cornered me at that bar came flooding back. I had gone out with a friend to celebrate her birthday. We were doing a bar crawl and having a really nice time. We got separated and Cyclops forced me out a side door and into an alley.

I could still remember how his breath smelled of stale alcohol, like he'd been drinking for days without brushing his teeth. He told me I'd been staring at him all night and that he could tell when a woman wanted to ride his cock. I remember being so disgusted, but at the same time terrified of him. When his hand went up my skirt and tore my panties off, I was shocked. I'd spent the last three and a half years trying to block out what came next. I tried to push him off me, but he had me pinned to the wall. Nothing I said got through to him. He was quick and brutal about it and called me a good little whore afterwards.

Remembering it made my stomach churn. I swallowed another large mouthful of wine as I remembered running the second he stepped back to zip his pants. He had yelled. "Where are you going? The fun is just getting started."

Tears were already streaming down my face. I had passed my friend making out with her boyfriend who had showed up late, so I literally ran to my car, locked all the doors and just started driving. I didn't know where I was going but I just knew I had to put as much distance between Cyclops and myself as possible. I knew his name because one of the Dark Slayers had introduced him to me with a guarded tone. That tone told me all I needed to know about steering clear of him. I had been successful until he ambushed me.

Draining the last of the wine from my glass, my attention was drawn to my living room window. The edges around the blind were flickering an orange color. I was nowhere near drunk, so I knew I wasn't seeing things. It wasn't exterior decorations because Halloween was months away. Suddenly, I heard a siren blaring from far off. It took me a second to realize it was getting closer. I jumped up and ran to the window, when I lifted the blind up, I saw that Reggie's house was ablaze.

I rushed to Nessa's room and lifted her out of bed. Careful to keep her wrapped in her blanket, I bolted out the door. When I got us out, what I saw almost brought me to my knees. Orange flames licked up the wooden sidings of Reggie's house. Thomas came bursting through the front door half carrying, half dragging Reggie. My friend was coughing uncontrollably, and they both had smudges of soot on their faces.

A firetruck pulled into the driveway and the firefighters mobilized. I was barely aware that they'd pulled out their hose and begun to douse the flames.

I rushed forward and stood helplessly by, while Thomas sat Reggie on the ground and encouraged him to clear his lungs of smoke by coughing it all up. I just clutched my daughter closer. Thankfully, Nessa hadn't realized the enormity of what was happening and just watched the action in astonishment, her eyes wide.

Finally, Reggie glanced up at me and said, "Bethany, thank God you and Nessa are okay."

"What happened? Were you cooking or something?"

It was Thomas who answered. "It was arson. I smelled gasoline when I kicked the door in."

Shock roiled through my gut. "Who would do such a thing? You don't have an enemy in the world. Everyone in this town adores you."

Both Reggie and Thomas looked at me. I was so clueless that it took me a minute to realize that I was the one with enemies. I had run-ins with both Rufus and Cyclops and had somehow dragged the danger right to my friend's door.

A cry broke from my lips, "This is all my fault. You almost died because of me!"

Nessa caught the anguish in my voice and started crying. I tried desperately to comfort her as I wondered what on earth had happened.

"And you need to be gone, like yesterday," Thomas bit out, clearly furious.

Reggie shook his head, clearly shocked by his partner's words. "No. Thomas don't make her leave."

His fiancé was not about to let me stay if it put the man he loved in jeopardy. Thomas cupped Reggie's check lovingly, "I don't blame Bethany, but you've both got to know that after this, neither of you are safe here. Not until they find whoever did this."

"He's right," I said.

"I didn't mean to shout," Thomas said, his tone now calmer.

"We'll talk in the morning," Reggie said before dissolving into another fit of intractable coughing.

One of the firefighters stopped by to check on him.

"How are you holding up, sir?"

"I got a lungful or two of heavy smoke, my lungs still burn a bit, but I'm okay."

"You probably need to get checked out at the ER. You might be suffering from smoke inhalation."

"I'll take him right away," Thomas volunteered.

The firefighter responded grimly, "If those are your vehicles parked in the driveway, you're not going anywhere. Someone slashed all the tires."

Thomas spoke up, "I got an Uber here."

"Well, the police are going to want to speak to you." The firefighter's voice held a note of warning.

Thomas spoke up, "We already know it was arson. I smelled the gasoline when I went in to rescue Reggie."

"Yeah, that was our assessment as well. Between the police and the fire marshal they will need a few days to investigate the fire without people trampling over the evidence."

Again, it seemed as though Thomas was intent upon doing most of the talking tonight. "Don't worry, I have no intention of allowing Reggie to come back here until I'm sure it's safe. Bethany and Nessa are leaving as well. We can't take a chance that whoever did this will come back and set her place on fire."

"Agreed," the firefighter responded decisively. He scribbled down our contact information on a pad and crammed it back into his pocket. Glancing at me, he stated, "Obviously, you can't leave without packing a few things for yourself and your kid. Your property isn't a crime scene, if you like I can stand watch while you pack a bag and call you a taxi."

Thank God for small town chivalry and kindness. I nodded, still feeling all kinds of freaked out about what happened. "Thank you. That would really set my mind at ease."

Though I didn't know where I would go. I was about to ask Reggie if he thought his nieces would let me stay, at least for one night, when he reached out and grabbed my arm. Giving it a little squeeze, he said, "Call Coyote. Let him help you. Will you do that for me?"

I nodded. "Yes. Of course. He's a nice man. I'm sure he'll take us in." Glancing from Reggie to Thomas and back again, I told him, "I'm really sorry this happened. If you don't want me around anymore, I'll understand if you fire me."

"Don't be silly, honey. You're like family to me," his eyes went to Thomas who nodded.

I pushed myself off the ground with my free hand and repositioned my daughter in my arms, she'd calmed down and was watching the firefighters intently. I turned and walked towards our little house with the chief firefighter at my heels. The minute I got inside, I put Nessa down and grabbed my cell phone off the sofa where I'd dropped it in a mad rush to get my daughter out of the house.

She looked at me with wide eyes. "It's a big fire," she said not understanding what was happening.

"Go to your room and put your favorite toys in your pillowslip." When she didn't immediately get moving, I kneeled down and said, "We're going to go visit your doggy friend. Gather up whatever toys you want to take, okay."

Her dark expression brightened, and she ran off towards her room.

I dialed Coyote's number. He picked up immediately. "What's up, Bethany. Is everything okay?"

"No. Someone set Reggie's house on fire."

"Fucking hell. I hope he's okay."

"He's going to the ER to make sure his lungs weren't damaged by the smoke, but other than that, he seemed fine."

"I'm glad to hear it. I know he's been really good to you over the last couple of years. I'd to think of anything bad happening to him."

"Since we live in his pool house, they don't think it's safe for us here."

Before I could ask to stay, he offered, "The two of you can come to my place. I've got plenty of room and a state-of-the-art security system."

"Yes. I remember that. "Whoever did this slashed both of our tires, so if it's not too much to ask, we need a ride."

"Not at all. I'll bring my tow truck and grab your vehicle while I'm at it and we'll get some new tires put on."

Glancing at the firefighter standing in my open doorway with his back to us, I murmured, "I don't think they will allow that since it's considered evidence."

"Gotcha. I should have thought about that," he responded quickly. "I'm still at the auto repair shop. Give me about fifteen or twenty minutes."

"Don't you need the address?" I asked, worried that he would realize later that he didn't know where I lived.

"Nope. I've got it."

"I don't remember telling you."

"Ah, maybe I read it somewhere. You might have put it on the paperwork," he added, sounding a bit strange.

"Yeah, maybe I did. I've been so busy these past few weeks…" my voice trailed off as I saw Nessa trying to stuff her favorite toy into the pillowcase, but failing spectacularly, "leave it, honey," I called out.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Coyote cut in. "You must be terrified that an arsonist struck so close to where you live. Do the cops know what happened?"

"Not yet, only that it was deliberate. We'll talk more about it when you get here, okay?"

"Yeah, pack up what you need, and I'll be there shortly."

"Thank you, Coyote. I really appreciate you being there for us."

I felt numb as I walked into my room, pulled out a large suitcase and began loading it up with enough clothing to get me through a week or so. Then I carried it to my daughter's room and nearly tripped over a large pile of toys on the floor. This child of mine had been busy. I began loading her clothing into the suitcase and we finished by filling it with the toys she thought she couldn't live without. I threw in several story books and zipped it up. Since I had time to spare, I packed a duffle with all her favorite comfort foods and juice boxes.

By the time I was finished, Coyote had arrived to pick us up, not in his tow truck as there was nothing to tow, but in a panel van. He insisted upon carrying our bags so I could carry my daughter. I somehow remembered to thank the nice firefighter who showed us such kindness. This night had been an ordeal. By the time we walked past Reggie's house it was smoldering. To be honest, it looked like it might be a total loss. I was crippled with guilt because if it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be at the ER and he wouldn't have just lost all his worldly possessions in a house fire. I'm no good. I draw the attention of the wrong kind of men, and I shouldn't be doing the same thing to Coyote right now. What if whoever did this targeted his house next?

That thought had me so paralyzed with fear that I stopped in front of his van, hesitant to make my problems his. Coyote put our bags and suitcases into the van. When Nessa moved in my arms, I realized her safety had to come first. Coyote was the one man I believed could keep us safe. Peering into the van, it hit me that there was no child safety seat. I quickly handed Nessa to him. "I'll be right back. I need to pull her car seat out of my vehicle."

"I didn't even think of that. Do you need my help?"

"No. I've got this," I tell him confidently. This was something I could do blindfolded. It only took me a few minutes to unsnap the seatbelt holding it into place and rush back over to the van. Of course, getting these safety seats into a vehicle was always far harder than removing them, but I eventually got it secured. We got Nessa settled and bucked into the seat and I climbed into the front. The moment I heard my seat belt click into place I relaxed.

Coyote murmured, "I know this has been an ordeal, Bethany. But you've been brave. Now that you're with me everything will be alright."

I liked the warm, soothing tone of his voice. It made me believe that we were safe. "Thank you, Coyote. You're a good man."

He snorted a laugh. "I'm a selfish man who would do just about anything to spend more time with you."

Although I was still feeling a bit traumatized by everything that happened today, I couldn't help but smile at his proclamation.

Maybe everything really would be okay.