Page 72 of To Hold and Protect

“Oh, I think he’ll know soon enough. His burglar alarm was going off when I left. Write the damn letter. Then when I save Parker’s daughter from you and he learns how evil you are, he’ll be so grateful that he found the perfect mother for his daughter.”

Dear God. This woman was delusional, and how did you reason with someone this messed up? Somehow, she had to get Everly away and safe. If she was writing a character like Crystal, how would she save the little girl in the story?

Chapter Thirty-One

The fire was out, and Ember unsurprisingly alerted after sniffing around the dumpster. “She’s playing with us, but I feel like we’re missing something,” Parker said to Tristan and Skylar. Was it simple revenge for his rejecting her? Maybe, but his gut said there was more to it than that.

His phone rang, Kade’s name appearing on the screen. “Hey, I’m a little busy right now. Our arsonist set Fanny’s dumpster on fire. Can I call you back?”

“Nick has intel on the woman that you need to hear,” Kade said.

“I’m with Tristan and Skylar, so I’m putting you on Speaker.”

“This is Nick. Chase is also with me and Kade. The shop owner in Atlanta where the knife was purchased found a name for us, and I was able to track down people who know her. Crystal Erickson, lives in Atlanta, twenty-seven years old. She has a backstory I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Not that I’m excusing what she’s doing, but it explains the person she is today.”

“We’re listening,” Parker said.

“Twelve years ago, her father was the fire chief at a station in Atlanta. For three years during his time in that position, there was an active arsonist that no one could get a bead on. The last fire he set was at an abandoned building. Unfortunately, a homeless family—parents and three children—were living in it, and all died in the fire. And unfortunately for the arsonist, a cop making rounds saw a man leaving the scene. He wasn’t able to catch him, but he was able to give a description. It was Matthew Erickson, the fire chief.”

“Whoa,” Parker said.

“Yeah, it was a shock to everyone because he was well respected. He was brought in for questioning, and he lawyered up. The detectives and arson investigator were able to link him to three of the eighteen fires he was suspected of setting. An arrest warrant was issued, but before they could pick him up, he set fire to his own house, stayed inside with his wife, and they both died. They don’t know if the wife stayed with him willingly or was forced to.”

“That’s one hell of a story,” Tristan said.

Parker nodded. “What about the daughter? She wasn’t there?”

“No, when the detectives talked to her after, she said that her father had taken her to her grandparents to spend the night. I talked to the lead detective on the case back then, and he said the daughter was inconsolable, that she was more torn up over losing her father than her mother. From the things she told him, she and her mother didn’t get along, but her father was everything to her.”

“Was she their only child?” Skylar asked.

“Yes, and after losing her parents she lived with her maternal grandparents. I called them, told them that I was doing a background check on Crystal for a job. The grandfather answered, and all he’d say was that she was a sweet girl. A few hours later, the grandmother called me back. Said she had to wait until her husband wasn’t around. She wanted to know if I knew where Crystal was. I asked her some simple questions and eased her into telling me about her granddaughter. She made excuses for Crystal, blamed the girl’s father, who she never liked, for Crystal, and I’m quoting here, ‘not being right in the head.’ She said she was afraid of the girl because Crystal was fascinated by fires. Blamed that on the father, too. She also said that Crystal has a thing for firefighters, but her relationships never ended well. She’d even had two restraining orders against her.”

“Good God,” Parker muttered. He’d never have another hookup. Ever. Crystal was beautiful and had seemed normal and fun when he’d met her in the hotel’s bar. “Remind me not to ever let you interrogate me.” It was impressive how much Nick had learned.

“My brother has skills that terrify me,” Chase said. “He’s not allowed anywhere near me and my mind.”

Before Parker could comment on that, his phone and Tristan’s beeped with an incoming call. “Anything else?”

“Crystal’s been missing for a few weeks, and her grandmother’s worried about her,” Nick said.

“Well, we know where she is, and she should be worried,” Parker said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve learned.”

Tristan snatched his phone away. “We gotta go. Our burglar alarm’s going off at home.”

“Call me back,” Kade said.

Not thirty seconds later, his, Tristan’s, and Skylar’s phones chimed an alert. “Marsville Fire Department, respond to a structure fire at 612 Dogwood Lane. Repeat. Structure fire at 612 Dogwood Lane.”

“Shit,” Tristan snarled as the three of them raced to their cars.

Their house was on fire! Parker was the first out as Tristan and Skylar had to run down the block to their SUV. He glanced in his rearview mirror to see his two engines pull out behind him. “Call home,” he told his Bluetooth. The phone rang and rang. He tried Willow next, and it was the same.

By the time he reached home, his heart was banging against his chest from worrying about Everly. Was she okay? Why wasn’t anyone answering their phone? Why had the burglar alarm gone off, and who had reported a fire?

It was a relief not to see his house on fire as he raced down his street, but that was short-lived. When he turned into his driveway, he saw the flames shooting up behind the house. His studio was on fire. He backed out of his driveway so the engines could get as close as possible to the studio. Where was Everly? Andrew?

He ran inside the house, and Ember raced in with him. “Everly! Andrew!” No answer. Maybe they were asleep. Tristan and Skylar followed him in. “I’m going to check Ev’s bed. See if you can find Andrew.”

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