Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

MELISANDRE

W hen Melisandre had known she was coming to Kodiak to work, she'd asked Nicole if she'd known of any place to stay other than a hotel or a bed I get where Cooper is coming from, but now, after everything that's happened, I just wouldn't be happy on Denali. I miss it, but I don't want to live there. Does that make any sense?"

"It does. You could always stay with us…"

"Your place has a single bedroom, and the last thing I need is to get all jealous of you having howling good sex with your mate."

Nicole laughed. "Point taken. Rick Blackthorne is a black bear-shifter. He's got a nice place over his diner."

"I've heard about that place. Isn't it really popular? Wouldn't it be noisy?"

Nicole shook her head. "No. When he decided to use that upper space to rent out, he made sure that you couldn't hear or smell the diner below. Trust me when I tell you, you don't want to smell the diner. It's one of my favorite places in the world to eat."

"High praise from a woman who plans huge weddings all over the world and employs some of the best caterers and chefs."

"I do love great food. Thankfully Asher likes me a little plump. If you want, I can call Rick. The place has a beautiful deck off the back and the most amazing views."

Nicole had made her calls and by the time Melisandre had driven her SUV off the ferry, Nicole had not only secured the place, but made deals with several of the local furniture and antique stores to loan her some additional furniture, including a firepit that would be safe to use on the balcony. From the moment Rick opened the door to show her the place, she was in love. The entire back of the space was floor to vaulted ceiling windows.

It also boasted a gourmet kitchen, one bedroom, one and a half baths, a fireplace, hardwood floors, and soaring ceilings. Melisandre had fallen in love and began to think seriously about seeing if she couldn't base out of Kodiak and rent the space from Rick forever.

"Hey!" called Rick, coming out of the kitchen. "You need to eat…"

Melisandre laughed. It was hard not to like Rick. "You know way too much about my daily activities."

"I do," he said. "I own the local diner. Everybody expects me to know everything. If I didn't they'd be so disappointed. Down here or upstairs?"

"If I could take it upstairs…"

"The special tonight is the smoked meatloaf with smashed potatoes and roasted baby carrots."

She shook her finger at him. "You know me too well."

"And I saved you a piece of chocolate chip peanut butter pie."

"Okay, that's it. I'm moving to Kodiak permanently, and you're stuck with me as a renter."

"That's not much of a threat," he laughed, and she had to wonder if he might not be inclined to let her stay. "You go on up. Want to take a shower first?"

She walked over, stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Perfection. Give me about ten minutes."

"Take fifteen."

Melisandre grinned at him and headed up the interior stairs. There was a separate staircase that led to a private entrance off the back, but most of the time she opted to come in and access her apartment via the diner. After taking a quick shower, she pulled on her favorite purple leopard pajama pants and matching black cold-shouldered bulky knit sweater. She pulled on the mukluks Nicole had given her when they first met. She went out onto the balcony and lit the firepit before stretching out on the lounge and opening her laptop.

At the sound of a knock on her door, she hollered, "Come in," fully expecting Rick.

"Whoa. I'd heard this place was amazing."

It wasn't that Melisandre was shocked that a hellhound would have the audacity to confront her in her own home; it was more that she had expected to hear Rick, although the nausea and disorientation had returned as strongly as it had been at the scene of the fire.

"How dare you," she seethed, bringing up the fiery mist that would allow her to shift from human to drakaina.

"Hold up, Melisandre. I come in peace and bearing gifts." He held up a tray with two dinners on it with one hand and two bottles of her favorite microbrew. "Rick made me promise that you got the chocolate chip peanut butter pie."

Just the tiniest bit mollified, she said. "The pie is amazing."

"I know. I used to work here."

"You did?"

"Yeah, when Hayden first kicked me out—by the way the best thing he ever did for me or the hellhounds…"

"Have you told him that?"

"Not yet, but I will. I asked Rick to let me bring this up. I think we need to clear the air, which is kind of funny given you're a drakaina and I'm a hellhound, and we both keep people safe from fires."

She tried hard not to smile but could feel the corners of her mouth ticking up.

"Caught you smiling," he teased.

"Okay, so maybe it's a little bit funny."

"Blaze? Seriously?"

"Most dragons, especially drakaina, don't have last names unless we own property and such. It amused me."

"True enough. If you want, I can leave your food, take mine and we can meet in the morning. But I thought up here we could be a little more open."

"About what?"

"About the fact that Kodiak has a serial arsonist."

He'd said it. He'd just put it out there. "You believe that?"

"Don't you?"

"I do. I kept not wanting to believe it, but when you showed up, especially with the way you wanted all the scenes preserved…"

"What's left of them," she snorted.

"I get it. I do, but keep in mind most firemen, myself included, are more interested in saving lives and putting the fires out than preserving a crime scene, but I'm willing to admit we made your job more difficult."

"You really did, but if we're going to be honest with one another, I also get your point of view and especially at first, there was no way for you to know. Some of the scenes of the fires that I think are linked are gone, built over…"

Tanner had ventured out onto the balcony. He handed her a plate, opened her microbrew and put that and the pie on the table between them. He put his dinner on the other chair and his pie and microbrew next to hers. He picked up his plate and then sat beside her.

"You'd think as a drakaina I would be used to things that are smoked…"

"Yeah, but Rick has a way with that thing. He used to say it was his best advertising. He'd be smoking stuff all day and for blocks around the diner you could see people just inhaling and following their noses."

"I've seen that."

"How long have you been here?"

"A couple of weeks."

"I haven't seen you at any of the other fires…"

"I was keeping a low profile, trying to do some deep background research. Rick is a plethora of gossip and history."

Tanner grinned. "That he is. Why show up today? You don't have to tell me, but I'm curious. I've only been around one other arson investigator. You guys are…" he hesitated searching for the words that wouldn't offend her.

"Most people say ‘weird' or an ‘odd duck.'"

"What do you people say?"

"I like ‘fire nerd."

Tanner laughed. It was a wonderfully open sound, inviting others to laugh with him, which she did.

"Fire nerd it is," he quipped.

"I think our arsonist is escalating. I guess I kind of hoped knowing there was someone here that could spot what was happening, might deter him or her."

"Escalating? How far do you think this goes back?"

"Two years at least."

Tanner whistled. "You must think we're the biggest group of dolts…"

"I think nothing of the sort. I think the arsonist is good—really good—and you guys weren't looking for a pattern. As you said, you were focusing on saving lives and preventing the fire from spreading. At first, they were several months apart…"

"Now, they're days."

Melisandre nodded. "Exactly. I'm hoping my presence, especially with the Smoke Warrior…" he groaned, and she grinned, "will back him or her off for a bit or at least rattle them so they make a mistake."

"So maybe it's not a bad thing if we're seen hanging out at fire scenes, having a meal, and so forth."

"Probably not a bad idea at all. Besides, if he or she comes after someone, I'd rather it be you or me."

He nodded. "I really want to be there if the arsonist tries to hit us with fire."

"Me too. I wouldn't mind breathing fire in his or her direction."

He tipped back his beer, taking a long drink. "Anyone you suspect?"

"Not really, although I did do a lot of digging where you were concerned…"

"You thought it was me?" He sounded a little insulted, which she didn't blame him for.

"Not really. A hellhound would have a better way of terrorizing a town. But when the chief assigned you as my liaison, I thought it was incumbent on me to clear you if only in my own mind. By the way, your sister said to remind you that she loves you, and she and Andreas do not live in the Hollow."

He nodded. "Got it. Apologize to my brother and tell him he's right, which by the way, he will never let me live down, and contact my sister and arrange for a visit after this is over. What about you?"

"At some point I may visit Denali, but it's no longer my home."

"You base out of Anchorage, right?"

"For now. I'm really thinking about asking my boss if I can base out of here—only if I can talk Rick into renting this place to me long-term."

"When I worked for him, I didn't have the money for this. Nicole rented me a room above her warehouse. She liked someone being there off hours. I got used to it, but this," he said gesturing to the view, "is incredible."

They went over the evidence that Melisandre had put together thus far. Tanner expressed some skepticism about some of her conclusions but was willing to admit his criticism might be biased to a certain degree. Melisandre was surprisingly open to his ideas and assessments regarding the information she had put together. In the end, they both agreed to check their egos and work together to find the truth regardless of where it might take them.

Tanner glanced at his watch. "Shit. Look at the time. I honestly didn't mean to stay this long. I just wanted to clear the air and see if we could find some common ground to work on."

"I'm glad you came." Melisandre realized as she said it that it was the truth.

She was grateful he hadn't brought up the elephant in the room and decided to let sleeping dogs lie, as it were, for as long as she could. She did find it curious that the idea of Tanner being her fated mate wasn't as off-putting as she might have thought it would be.

"Okay, then, how about I meet you for breakfast in the morning, and then we head over to the scene of the last fire and see what we can see before it gets anymore messed up?"

"Does seven work for you?"

He glanced at his watch. "Doesn't leave you much time for sleep, but sure."

"I'll sleep when we catch the arsonist."

"Sounds good. Can I take some of this background material on the older fires and start looking at what we have?"

"Sure. Those are printed from my laptop files. Thanks, Tanner, for coming up here and agreeing to work with me."

"Happy to do it. See you in the morning, or rather later this morning."

She grinned, showed him to the door and locked it behind him. Tanner North was not at all what she had feared. He might prove to be an interesting companion… or not.