Chapter Fourteen

Aja Blue could tell something terrible had happened. When Christian got out of bed to dress, she did the same. Waiting for him to end the call was torture. Finally, he disconnected, and the look on his face had her dropping on the bed. "What is it? Tell me."

He crouched down and took her hand. "There is no easy way to break this news, but someone firebombed your shop, honey. It's a complete loss."

Her office was destroyed?

Aja Blue stared at Christian, hearing the words, but their meaning wasn't penetrating.

"Aja Blue?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Babe, there's more."

She closed her eyes and opened them again, drawing strength from him. "What is it?"

"They found a body inside."

Aja Blue surged to her feet. "What? Who was it?" A hand covered her mouth. "Oh, God, was it Jay?"

Christian stood and pulled her into his arms. Her rising panic stalled. It was her safe place.

"They don't know yet. The police are trying to ID the person now. They were, uh, burned beyond recognition."

Aja Blue wanted to be sick, but she didn't have time. Reluctantly, she pulled from his grip and grabbed her phone to call Sara Lea, not caring that she was probably sound asleep. "I need to make sure none of my employees were there."

"Hello?"

"Sara Lea, it's Aja Blue. I'm sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know that the office was destroyed tonight."

Sara Lea was instantly awake. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

She kept babbling, so Aja Blue cut in. "Sara Lea, I need you to focus. Do you know if Marla or Darwin worked late?"

"I sent everyone home when you told me to yesterday and warned them not to return until you let us know."

"Call Marla right now and see if she's okay. I'll call Darwin."

"I can tell something else is wrong, so I'm on it."

Aja Blue disconnected and dialed her computer wizard. His phone rang three times and kicked to voicemail. Instead of leaving a message, she redialed. "Answer your phone, damn it." Same result. Her chest heaved, picturing sweet, nerdy Darwin caught in an unexpected fire. She couldn't breathe.

Her phone buzzed, and she inhaled before answering Sara Lea.

"Marla is home in bed. Did you get in touch with Darwin?"

"He's not answering. Is he seeing anyone that you know of?"

"If he is, he hasn't told me. Aja Blue, why is it important?"

"They found a body in the rubble."

"Oh, God, do you think it was Darwin?" She gasped. "Jay?"

"I don't know."

"What should we do?"

Not panicking was job number one, but Aja Blue couldn't manage it, so she couldn't ask it of her employee. "I'm going there now. I'll keep you posted."

Christian was ready to go, so she hurried to put on shoes. Kayne and Presley were waiting for them when they jogged down the steps.

"How did they know what happened?" Aja Blue asked Christian.

"I texted them."

Outdoor lights lit the area as they made their way to the SUV. Aja Blue climbed in the back and buckled her belt. When Christian reached over and clasped her hand, she held it like a lifeline.

Much like the last time they'd driven to her workplace, emergency vehicles filled the street in front of her building—or what used to be her office. Kayne had to park a block away to avoid the rescue equipment. A few people stood around, but the street was mostly deserted except for firefighters in turnout gear and at least two dozen cops.

Aja Blue's nose twitched from the acrid scent of smoke, and the swirling red and blue emergency lights stung her eyes as they made their way to the blackened shell of Aja Blue Designs. Her stomach clenched when she realized Seth's dentist's office and the yoga studio on either side of her business were also destroyed.

Detective Herbert noticed them and came over. Christian introduced her to his coworkers. "Ms. LaLonde, do you know who would do this?"

"You mean besides Byron Zikes? No."

"Did you talk to him?" Christian asked.

"I did better than that. I arrested him for vandalism. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. Spray paint and kicking over planters are more his speed. I can't see him concocting a Molotov cocktail."

"Is that what was used?" Christian asked.

"Not sure yet. I've looked at the video from the same camera used to identify Zikes. It was a generic white-panel van with no signage or license plate. They used some kind of grenade launcher to shoot the device into the building, igniting it instantly."

"Wait, if Zikes is in jail, he couldn't have done this," Presley pointed out.

Detective Herbert shook her head. "His mother bailed him out. He's free to roam the countryside."

"What about the body found inside?" Kayne wanted to know.

"We're working on dental records now. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy in the morning."

"Aja Blue!"

She turned to see Sara Lea and Marla . . . and Darwin! She rushed forward and hugged him. "I was worried about you."

"Yeah, sorry." He scrubbed a hand through his shaggy hair. "I sleep like the dead . . . er, sorry again." He winced. "Bad choice of words."

"How did you know what happened if you didn't hear the phone?"

"Sara Lea."

Aja Blue glanced at the woman, who held up a hand and shrugged unrepentantly. "I climbed through his window to wake him. It was worth a breaking and entering charge to ensure he was okay."

She loved her employees. She hugged Sara Lea.

"Do you know anything yet?" Marla asked.

"Yeah, like who they found inside our office?" Sara Lea added.

"Nothing yet. Hopefully, they'll know tomorrow."

"Do you think it's Jay?" Darwin wanted to know.

"I'm going to keep my thoughts positive about Jay." Even if it didn't look good.

Suddenly anxious, she searched for Christian. She didn't like being separated from him, even if it was only a few feet. He and his coworkers spoke with Detective Herbert and two other people she didn't know.

Her gaze strayed to the other businesses destroyed by the fire, wondering if they would hate her. Oh, who was she kidding? Of course they would. Because of her, their livelihoods were gone . . . at least until insurance kicked in and they could rebuild.

Christian glanced at her and smiled, and her heart skipped a beat. Oh, she loved him—so much. People would argue that she'd only known him briefly, and only fools rushed in, but Aja Blue didn't care. There was no denying her feelings. His caring, protective demeanor, handsome looks, and fierce protectiveness mingled with his mind-blowing talents in bed, and she was a goner.

She turned back to her coworkers. "Why don't you guys go home and get some rest? There's nothing we can do here. I'll keep you posted on what's going on with the investigation."

"What about our jobs?" Marla fretted.

"They're safe, but obviously, we'll be working from home for the foreseeable future. Sara Lea will set up a conference call for later this week, and we'll keep in contact that way until I can find a new office setup." She'd also have to deal with the insurance company and wasn't looking forward to it.

Aja Blue thought of the furniture, some of her first designs, and mourned the loss, but nothing was more important than the person who had perished inside the inferno.

"You'll let us know about Jay?" Darwin's question interrupted her thoughts.

He rarely showed emotion, so to see the pinched brows and pursed lips that let her know he was distressed was almost her undoing.

"I will."

With hugs, the trio left, and Aja Blue walked over to Christian. A black van with the words Chief Medical Examiner stenciled in white on the side had parked among the fire trucks and police cruisers. Two people in head-to-toe hazmat gear pushed a stretcher with a black body bag. She shuddered and averted her gaze. She prayed it wasn't Jay inside there, but whoever had lost their life had loved ones they'd left behind.

As much as she didn't want it to be Jay, who else would've been inside? Now, she wished she'd allowed Christian to install the security system like he'd wanted. She'd been trying to save money, but it might've spared someone's life if it had been in place.

Christian noticed her unease. "You okay?"

She wanted to scream no. Everything was wrong. Jay was missing. Her office had been destroyed. There was an unidentified dead person on the way to the morgue. Her employees were stressed. She'd almost been abducted, only to watch the kidnapper die. The only right thing was the man standing before her, gazing at her with concern. He'd risked his life for her and was keeping her safe. She would be strong for him. He didn't need additional weight on his shoulders, no matter how capable they were, so she nodded.

The authorities started asking questions, and she was bone-tired by the time she'd answered every single one. Most were the same questions over and over. She'd wondered if they were trying to trip her up or something. Everything she told them was true. She had nothing to hide.

All she wanted to do was fall in bed with Christian and sleep for a week. Maybe when she woke, Jay would have returned.

Detective Herbert promised to keep them apprised of any developments, and they made their way back to the SUV. The sun was rising, and activity in the area was picking up. Most of the fire trucks had left, but barricades blocked the street in front of her office.

Once they were all inside and belted in, Presley wrinkled her nose and said, "We smell like we brought the fire in here with us."

They did. The stench was even in their hair. Aja Blue's eyes burned from the smoke, but the pain paled compared to the one in her heart. It wasn't the loss of her office, though, that was devastating. Things could be replaced. She had insurance. Their computer systems were backed up to the cloud. Her most important documents were on her laptop and saved on a drive she kept in a safe. It was the loss of the person inside the building that devastated her.

Christian reached over and clasped her hand. How did he always sense when she teetered on the edge of hysteria? He was the calm to her storm, and she absorbed his strength.

It was dark enough outside that his coworkers couldn't see them linking their fingers together. She didn't care if they knew, but Christian did. She would defer to his wishes. He was the one who had to work with them.

Christian said, "Everyone, get some sleep," when they returned to the house. "We'll catch up around noon."

They retreated to their rooms to rinse off the stench from the fire before falling into bed. Aja Blue climbed the steps first and waited for Christian to join her. She took his hand and guided him to her room. They stripped off their clothes, and he turned the taps in the shower to hot before helping her inside. Then he made slow, sweet love to her, bringing tears to her eyes. They mingled with the water and disappeared down the drain. Suddenly, she couldn't stop crying. Maybe it was the tenderness he used when touching her or the passion he ignited when he was buried deep inside her. It could be the overwhelming love she felt for him. Or maybe the events of the day had caught up with her. Most likely, it was everything combined.

Christian turned off the water and wrapped her in a fluffy white towel. Then he picked her up and carried her to bed. With one hand, he ripped down the covers and placed her on the mattress like a precious object before following her down and gathering her close.

Aja Blue was always the strong one. She was the leader everyone turned to for advice and guidance. But right now, she passed the baton to Christian and let him carry the weight.

#

Seeing Aja Blue cry shattered Christian. She was always so tough and strong, and her breakdown made him want to weep with her. Instead, he held her, letting her know she wasn't alone. He breathed a sigh of relief when she fell asleep, hoping she could find peace, even if only for a short while. Still, he didn't release her. She clung to him in slumber, and he wanted her to know he was with her.

Sunlight filtered through the windows. Christian had never been one to sleep late or nap, so he thought about the case, going over the details in his head. Later today, they should have an ID on the victim found in Aja Blue's shop. Christian hadn't told Aja Blue, but when they'd visited Jay's apartment, he'd gathered some of his hair from a brush and placed it in an evidence bag, which he'd given Detective Herbert. He'd had a bad feeling about Aja Blue's assistant from the beginning.

It didn't sound hopeful that they would identify the perp who had fired the explosive into Aja Blue's shop from the video of the white-panel van. The license plate was gone, and there were no distinguishing features to make it stand out. The windows had been darkened to the point of being black. Hundreds of identical vehicles had to be in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area—maybe thousands. Detective Herbert was gathering video from traffic lights in the vicinity, but that wouldn't help unless they could follow its route. Highly unlikely.

Christian had turned his phone to vibrate, so when his watch buzzed, letting him know he had an incoming call, he carefully slid out of bed. Aja Blue grumbled restlessly. He shifted his pillow into her arms, and she glommed onto it with a purr.

He checked the screen. Detective Herbert. Christian hadn't bothered to dress after showering with Aja Blue, so he padded naked across the hall to his room—after making sure it was clear—to his room and answered.

"Detective Herbert."

"Hey, Zamora. I hope you were able to rest."

"Some," he lied.

"We have an identification on the body."

Christian closed his eyes. That was fast. How would he tell Aja Blue her assistant was dead? "Who was it?"

"The dental records came back as a match. The victim is Byron Zikes."