Chapter Fifteen

Coyote

We got Nessa settled down in one of the smaller bedrooms, close to the master suite. It was important to Bethany that we would be able to respond quickly if she picked up any distress on the baby monitor. After seeing someone's house go up in flames, we were pretty sure there would be a bad dream or two. She did seem extra anxious, so I brought Ruby's little bed in and let her sleep on the floor beside her bed.

I was worried that Nessa was getting too attached to this pet that didn't belong to her. I vowed to myself that if this sweet little girl got to the point that she couldn't part with her, I would make sure that she ended up with her. Truth be told, I was getting attached to the little dog myself, but Bethany's kid's needs trumped my own.

Today was a stressful day for everyone, particularly the woman I was falling in love with all over again. Although I wanted to know every single detail about the fire that consumed her friend's house, my gut told me now was not the time to press her for information. She seemed super anxious and preoccupied.

As soon as we got Nessa down, she called her friend's partner who reported he was getting breathing treatments and would soon be discharged. That was as close to being okay as either of us could have hoped for. That went a long way towards setting her mind at ease.

I started a shower for Bethany and helped her out of her clothing. In the shower I massaged her back muscles with soapy hands, trying my best to work out all the kinks. She groaned at how good it felt. Normally, my cock would be all kinds of interested at being naked with the woman I was obsessed with. However, this was one of those moments when she needed care and understanding. Attempting to romance her would be a shitty move. I really wanted to soothe her battered soul and ease her fears, so I concentrated on just taking care of her. She was strangely silent when I carried her to my bed, slid her between the sheets, and joined her there.

Only when she was cuddled on my chest did she speak. "It was my fault, what happened to Reggie. He's one of the most beloved people in our town. He's not gotten into conflict with anyone recently, I'm the one with the stalker."

I glanced down at the top of her head. "You think this is Rufus?"

"Who else could it be? He's the only person who keeps trying to get in my face. He's local and it wouldn't have taken much for him to figure out where I live. I can see him being confused and thinking I live in the house rather than the pool house. Although Rufus is a total creeper, I just never thought he had it in him to do something this horrific."

Wrapping my arm more firmly around her body, I responded, "I'll be honest, I never saw large scale destruction like this happening either."

"Another thing that makes me think it was him, was that whoever started the fire slashed the tires on both cars. I glanced at them as we passed by and they weren't just slashed, they were shredded to the point that it looked like someone went at them with a fury. Rufus is the only one who's shown me that kind of anger."

"And stubbornness. Looking back, I can see how persistent he was about talking to you, even after I tuned him up over it."

"I truly don't get why men go after women who don't reciprocate their feelings so hard. It doesn't make sense. It's not like we're going to suddenly start liking them more, if they pile on the pressure."

"I think there's a small segment of the male population who get inordinately butthurt at being rejected by a woman they're interested in. I know he's attracted to you, but it almost feels like he's decided to turn this into a pissing contest of sorts."

She nodded and I felt her soft cheek move against my chest. "Yeah, that's what it feels like to me as well. Back when he was harassing me at work, I got the feeling he got more of a kick from my reaction, than he would have if I'd actually accepted his advances."

Glancing up at me, she continued. "Let's face it, if you really want a woman to go out on a date with you, saying really messed up stuff is not the way to get her interested."

I sighed. My sweet Bethany just didn't seem to understand the mindset of truly disordered personalities. "Yeah, you would think that. But you're coming at this from a logical perspective. Rufus isn't too bright and he's running on ego and lust. Clearly his good judgement is losing whatever war it's having with his baser emotions."

"I guess you're right."

An image of Cyclops talking to her rose in my mind. "What was Cyclops talking about today? Whatever it was, I could tell by the look on your face that it was scaring you."

She froze against my side, I gave her a few minutes to gather her thoughts, "I just didn't like the look of him or how he spoke to me. With some men, you can just tell they're bad news."

I accepted her response without question, though I remembered his insistence that she was his. Over my dead body.

She added, "I truly can't imagine he would try to burn my house down over a two-minute conversation that didn't go his way."

Something about the tone of her voice was odd. I guessed it was because of everything she'd been through today, what with working at my grand opening event and then her friend's house getting torched. It was enough to make anyone jumpy.

I waited until she fell asleep and slid out of bed. Carefully pulling the blanket up and tucking it around her, I decided there was no time like the present to begin following up on this situation. Pulling on some fresh clothing, I grabbed my cell phone before quietly slipping out of the bedroom.

First, I padded across the hall and cracked open Nessa's door to check on her. Ruby had moved from her bed on the floor and was curled up on top of the blankets at the foot of Nessa's bed. Her head came up hard and fast, as if she was expecting trouble to come barreling through the door. When the little dog discovered it was just me, her head dropped back down and her eyes drifted closed. I guess it wasn't just me making sure Bethany and her daughter were safe, Ruby was on the job too.

***

I called my auto repair shop, one of the prospects would be staying there. Mace picked up right away and it didn't sound like I woke him. I have to say I was really impressed with the guy, he was older than the other prospects and took his role seriously.

"Yeah, boss. What's up?"

I paced back and forth across my living room as I answered. "The decision to leave off monitoring Bethany at night wasn't a good idea."

His voice turned alarmed. "Shit! What happened?"

"Arson attempt. We think that asshole who's been bothering her tried to burn down her house. Except the asshole burned down her friend's house instead."

"She stays in the pool house, if that fucker had eyes on her then he'd know that, surely?" Mace said.

"You would think so, but our friend ain't the sharpest tool in the box," I responded.

Mace was quiet for a moment or two, "He might have been trying to send a message of some sort, knowing that the fire would be discovered before anyone was seriously harmed."

I pondered that, but then said what was really on my mind, "I'm worried that he got it into his head that if he couldn't have her no one could."

Mace gasped, "You really think that asshole is capable of murder? When I escorted him from the supermarket, he really didn't strike me as the kind of person who'd do more than bitch about stuff. All talk, no action."

I rubbed my temple, trying to lessen the migraine building there. "Whoever it was slashed the tires on both cars until they were shreds. I take that to mean they were super pissed about something."

"That sounds like it might be the case. In all the time I've been looking out for her, Rufus is the only man who's approached her. She normally just goes about her business, without drawing much notice. Your old lady is a good woman. She works, takes care of her kid, and goes home. Bethany never bothers anyone. It's a shame that someone has it in for her."

"Yeah, she's always been sweet. I know that you shadowed her home earlier today. Did you notice anything unusual? Anyone hanging around that shouldn't be there."

His voice hardened. "Of course not. I would have been all over that shit immediately. When I left, I saw that one-eyed bastard from Twisted Metal hanging out at Shark's automobile repair shop, he gave me the finger, so I reckon he was pissed when you threw him off your property. But other than that, the ride back to her place was uneventful."

I still wasn't happy about Cyclops, though I agreed with what Bethany said earlier. He was an asshole, but if he had a grudge against anyone it would be me, and not her. It's not as if they had any history.

I decided I needed to be proactive, "I'm sure the police and the fire department are still there. I want you and Axel to snoop around and see if you can gather intel. I'm gonna call Storm and see if he can get his police contact in Griffinsford to link up with the cops there to get us the police report when it comes through. I want to figure this out before I remove Rufus' fucking head from his shoulders."

"Roger that, boss," Mace stated quickly. "We'll leave right away and let you know what we find."

I spent the next couple of hours working through my contacts. I got Storm and Hacker on board. Then I called Breaker. He might be grumpy as shit when you wake him up but he's still my brother-in-law and I know he has my back.

He answered in a groggy voice, "Whoever this is waking me up in the middle of the fucking night had better have their life hanging in the fucking balance."

"It's me, Coyote. I think someone tried to kill Bethany and her kid tonight."

Breaker was alert in an instant. "What did you just say? Repeat it."

"Someone burned down the house next to her, the one her boss lives in. I've got them both at mine so they're safe, but we need to figure out who did this. I called Storm already, and Hacker is seeing what he can come up with."

There was lots of grumbling and the sound of someone shifting in bed, "Okay, I'll be at your place for breakfast."

"We gotta hurry on this one. You know what Storm would say?" I added.

"You can fuck off with that, we are not burning any fucking daylight right now, it's fucking five o' clock in the fucking morning,"

I could hear Callie in the background asking him what was going on when the phone went dead.

I got a text ten minutes later from Breaker,

Callie's coming too, your mom spent the night, so she'll take care of the kids.

***

I was too rattled to go back to bed, even if it meant cuddling up to the woman I loved. Instead, I put on a pot of coffee and started rummaging through the file Hacker sent me on Rufus. I had to verify this was him before I did something that I couldn't take back.

I'd never thought of myself as a cold-blooded killer but the thought of someone burning Bethany and Nessa alive provoked my rage in the worst kind of way. I'd seen videos of people who self-emolliated and in my opinion, it was possibly the worst way to die. Why someone would do that to an innocent woman and child was beyond my ability to reason. Whoever did this was a sick fucker who needed to be removed from society.

Reading through the info, Rufus was an average guy who grew up in the area, graduated high school, flunked out of college, and ended up managing a local liquor store. He was in his late thirties, though he looked older, and was unmarried. Although he wasn't drunk either of the times I faced off with him, it didn't mean he wasn't drunk tonight. I kept reading, zeroing in on all the details.

Since criminal records are not open to the public in California, Hacker would need to do a shady deep dive to get a hold of that information. I felt reasonably certain he was doing that right now. Being a former military intelligence specialist, he had his ways of getting information others couldn't.

I got up, grabbed a cup and as I poured the fresh brew into my cup, a small voice sounded behind me. "You got cookies?"

I turned to see Nessa standing there in her nightgown with Ruby trotting behind her.

She repeated, "Cookie please, doggy hungry."

I laughed at her creativity and wondered if I was allowed to give her treats in the middle of the night. Maybe little kids are like mogwais, and you don't feed ‘em after dark? Her adorable face looked so earnest that I couldn't bring myself to tell her no, and decided I'd risk having a gremlin on my hands. It was almost time for breakfast anyway.

"I don't know if I have any cookies. Let me look around."

Her face lit up. She zoomed over to me and held up both arms. Jeez, she wanted me to pick her up and carry her around like her mom did. Carefully reaching down, I hefted her into the crook of one arm. "Better?"

She nodded. "You got cookies?"

"I don't know, maybe I have a snack cake. Let's look." Opening my cabinet, I shuffled a few things around. I almost always have orange cupcakes with icing on top. I bought them by the dozen, individually wrapped. My hand found the familiar shaped box and shook it, there were a few left inside. Thank fuck I had a sweet tooth. I pulled one out with my free hand and handed it to her.

She held it in both hands, looking a little confused. Shit, I don't know why I expected a two-year-old to fight through the wrapper on her own. I sat her on the counter, pulled the bag open and handed her the snack cake.

She sniffed it and then comped a big bite out of it. I watched curiously as she poked her finger into the orange filling and wiggled it in Ruby's direction. The little dog started dancing around at my feet.

I picked Nessa up with one arm, grabbed my coffee with the other, and headed back to the kitchen table trying not to trip over Ruby who was getting more excited by the minute.

I sat down with Nessa on my knee, getting us comfortable. She swung her feet and hummed as she broke off pieces of her snack cake and tossed them to Ruby who was wolfing them up as quickly as she could. I had the strongest feeling that I should tell her to stop, but I didn't want to risk her having a meltdown.

The little girl started giggling as she watched the dog's antics, and I noticed something interesting. She had dimples, just like me and my sister when she smiled. I know dimples are hardly a rare occurrence, but the resemblance to photos of Callie when she was a toddler was unmistakable.

Nessa turned and shoved a bite of cake against my lips. I went ahead and let her feed it to me because she laughed like it was the funniest thing ever. Gazing down at her, I realized how innocent and adorable kids were.

She really couldn't be mine, she was too young, but just the thought that she might be mine, made my chest ache with want. I brought one arm out to wrap around her middle because I wanted to hug her and also because I didn't want her falling off my knee.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that even though she couldn't be mine biologically, I wanted to become her father. She needed one and I'd make a great dad—and now I'd reconnected with Bethany I didn't want to let her go.