Page 17 of Like You Love Me
London snorted his opinion and jerked straight in the chair. “I agree, but my insurance won’t budge because the investigator provided enough information to plant reasonable suspicion in their thick skulls.” He expelled a frustrated breath. “I would like to rebuild.”
“How was business at that restaurant?” Ryan asked with a questioning look.
London’s eyebrows snapped together as he said defensively, “I know what you’re suggesting. Yes, that restaurant was struggling but not enough that I would have deliberately set a fire.”
Nodding, Ryan closed the folder and set it on the end of the desk. “What can I do to help?”
London’s eyes met his. “My file has been sitting on a state fire investigator’s desk for almost a year now. I would like someone to review my case.”
Ryan’s eyes brightened as if a light had suddenly been turned on. “And you heard I was on detail at OFI.”
London grinned and nodded knowingly. “Charlie just happened to mention you were assisting with the backlog of incidents at the Office of Fire Investigations, and I figured it had to be more than a coincidence.”
Ryan tossed his head back and chuckled loudly. “I will see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises. We have hundreds of new cases waiting to be reviewed. My chief will have a fit if he knows I’m looking at old cases, but the least I can do is pull the file. I will see if I can find more photographs from the scene and review the notes from the investigator.”
“Thank you. I would like to get that restaurant back up and running. There were quite a few employees who lost jobs behind that incident.”
Ryan sent a concerned gaze his way. “I’ll do everything I can to figure out what happened.”
London’s mouth twitched as he felt a quiver of hope. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”
“Don’t thank me yet; wait and see what I find out,” Ryan said and rose to his full height.
Nodding, London stood and said, “So, did anyone at the station get roped into the bachelor auction this year?”
He scowled. “Yes, we had women dropping by the station for an entire week with home-cooked meals trying to recruit before one of our new rookies took the bait.” He shook his head. “It’s a good thing I’m off the hook.” A few years ago, Ryan had married Charlie’s cousin, Mackenzie, who was part owner of Spanky’s, the hottest bar and grill in town. The firefighter looked content and happy.
“How’s married life?”
Ryan gave a saucy grin. “We’re expecting a boy in April.”
“Whoa! That’s wonderful news. There’s nothing in the world better than family,” London assured him.
Ryan’s expression grew still as he said quietly, “I heard what happened to your wife. How’s she doing?”
“Bruh, we are taking life one day at a time.” London held out his fist and gave him a dap.
“I better get over to the bar and take Mackenzie home. The doctor has limited her workdays to only four hours to avoid any excessive standing behind the bar, but like most women, she’s hardheaded.”
“Hey, you better not let your wife hear you say that.” London chuckled, and Ryan joined him.
As he watched Ryan leave, London thought about the investigator who had questioned his integrity, hinting at the possibility that maybe he had started the fire. As a former member of the armed forces, reputation meant everything, so the sooner he cleared up the cause of the fire, the better.
Bianca checked her watch and drew a sigh. The day was almost over, and she was no closer to deciding about Collin than she had been when she first spotted the cashier’s check. Something just wasn’t right. The Collin she remembered would have never offered money unless he wanted more. There had to be another motive behind him coming back after all these years, asking to be in Sierra’s life. Did he know that all the Beaumont children had trust funds and was trying to get his claws on her money? Bianca closed her eyes and shook her head. Even Collin couldn’t be that conniving, but she had been wrong about him before. So wrong that she found herself pregnant and clueless that Collin already had a wife. Her chest rose and fell as she put the check away in a drawer. Anger kicked in, but the emotion did nothing to overcome the worry and concern.
Enough! She willed her mind to blank.
She told London she would only be at the office for a few hours and yet it was after three o’clock. She had no intention of being in the building after dark.
While Bianca packed her briefcase, she thought about the many evenings she left after dark, and Troy had escorted her to her car. And all that time, he had been planning to kidnap Sheyna. Her phone vibrated, sending a shiver down her spine. She reached for it and read a text from Danica.
Have you spoken to Rush?
Bianca blew a breath. She had been so focused on Collin she had forgotten. Brenna had locked in a commitment from the bike shop owner, and once she had Rush onboard, they could finalize the twelve men for the auction.
She swiveled around in her chair, then reached inside her black leather briefcase and removed her iPad. She pressed the pad of her thumb on the icon and made a video call. Within moments her cousin’s handsome face appeared on the screen. “Hey Rush, how you been?”
“Squirt, I’ve been good.” He leaned closer, displaying the worry lines on his forehead. “The question is, how have you been?”