Page 7 of Shadow

The spanking stopped, and he gripped her arm, turning her around. “You scared the hell out of me watching you try to run back in there.” His mouth descended on hers, and she whimpered as he kissed her for the first time in more than two years.

Two years. Fuck. His tongue swept inside her mouth just as the rage returned and she bit him. Hard. Then she shoved him away with her palms flat against his chest.

“Fuck you, Cannon. You don’t get to just sweep in here like you own me when I haven’t gotten so much as a goddamn phone call in two years. I’m going back to my bar, and I think you should leave.”

“I’m not leaving you until you’re home safe.”

She ducked under his arm and stalked toward the burning building. “Then you stand back and stay out of my fucking way.”

In the past, she would have welcomed his dominance like a comforting blanket, but not now. She’d given herself to him for the last time, and there was no way she was letting him back in. After years of waiting, she knew she couldn’t trust him not to disappear from her bed in the middle of the night. Ripley never stuck around for more than a few days at a time. Her life required more stability than that. Which is how she’d wound up married to Mario DeBarr.

That experiment in a stable relationship had ended epically bad since the man she’d chosen turned out to be a shitty human being. So, she’d given up dating all together and thrown her energy into her hobbies and growing her business. Her heart twisted at the thought of the cosplay collection that was likely lost. She’d stored it in the back room because she’d rolled into town from a convention and gone straight to work. The costumes, makeup, and props were too expensive to leave in the truck and risk having everything stolen. She had more at home, but the stuff in the bar was most of her favorites.

She glanced behind her as she reached the parking lot of Olivia’s. Ripley had stopped at Carrie’s car and leaned against it with his arms folded over his chest, glaring at her. She turned her head back toward the bar. It was a representation of all her hard work. Her first property, Liv’s Place, was paid off, and she owned it outright. It was a popular joint that sustained itself without her being there every night. But she liked to stay busy, so she bought another building and opened a second location in a different part of town, hoping to attract a new clientele.

Fire fighters shouted commands at each other as they worked to get the fire out. It wasn’t long before the flames were extinguished, and the crew moved inside to assess the damage. She wasn’t allowed in yet, so she could only stand there and wait.

She pulled her phone out of her front pocket and dialed her bar manager, Niki, who was across the street with the rest of the employees.

“You want to herd everyone back over here? They’ll need to give statements. I’m not sure if the police are getting involved or not, but I’m hoping to talk to the captain soon.”

The captain in question came out and held up her laptop. Water dripped from his hand, and she groaned. “You wouldn’t be able to get data off a soaked laptop, would you?”

Her bar manager laughed. “Not me, boss. I can barely run our POS system.”

“I can take care of that for you.”

She jerked her head and glared at Ripley who spoke from behind her. “No one asked you.”

“Sorry, boss. But you kind of did.”

She laughed but glared at Ripley. “No. Not you, Niki. My idiot ex-boyfriend.”

He shook his head. “I’m just trying to help, baby girl.”

She was going to punch him. Literally haul off and punch him right in the face. It didn’t matter that police cars had arrived at some point, and she would probably get arrested. It would be worth it. He deserved worse.

“I’ll get everyone back over there,” Niki said, helping to bring her out of her rage induced haze.

She tucked her phone back into her pocket and met the captain in the middle of the lot.

“Figured you might need this. We photographed where it was. A skilled tech can recover the data even though the motherboard is likely fried.”

She took the drenched computer and tucked it under her arm. “I appreciate it. What’s the damage?”

“Your back room is destroyed. The fire didn’t get too far into the main bar, but you’ll need to replace the back wall, and you lost a lot of inventory. You’ll likely need to replace all the furniture just because of the smoke. Can you think of anyone who wants to hurt you?”

Her eyes went wide. “You think it was arson?”

The captain nodded grimly. “Yes, ma’am. Someone started it on purpose. We found signs of an accelerant near the door. Who was in the back room last? The arson investigators just arrived, and they’ll want to talk to them first.”

She closed her eyes and did her best to recall the events just before they smelled the smoke.

“I think Jake and Angie were back there to get fresh bottles to replace empties at the front. Then… Rory? Niki can probably tell you for sure. She’s my manager. We were working on payroll when it happened.”

The captain nodded. “Let’s start with Niki then.”

“She’s bringing everyone from across the street now. I just can’t imagine anyone who would want to hurt me.”

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