Page 3 of Blood and Embers
Scott fell silent for the remainder of the ride, his mind consumed by the drop-dead gorgeous bartender.
“Thanks for getting Daemon out of there," Hugh told him while they stood guard the following morning at the back entrance of the Coven House. The Master was not taking any chances on whether the Bagwell Pack knew of their location. Security would be tight and obvious for a while now.
“Is he okay?” Pike remembered him being unconscious when he picked him up off the main floor. He wasn’t sure at that time as to his injuries; he just wanted to get him outside and to safety.
“Yeah, he’ll sleep it off. It was just a slight concussion.”
"That's the perks of being a vampire," Pike spoke up, and Hugh nodded. "The humans didn't fare so well, unfortunately.”
"No one died, thank God, but some needed hospitalization."
“It’s not good for business when patrons die.” Pike through in another comment.
“Not good at all.” Hugh agreed.
It was near noon when Pike noticed movement at the club and alerted Hugh. They approached quietly, not sure who it was and whether they had the right to be there. The police had visited the place repeatedly, as had the fire department, but they were under the impression that the investigation had been completed.
Pike entered through the burned-out section of the side wall and took his steps carefully to avoid alerting whoever was inside. Hugh circled to the front and entered from there. The scent of ash and fire was still prominent, but another scent was also present. It was sweet cotton candy and not a scent that should be inside the charred remains of the club.
“Do you smell that?” He asked Hugh as they met on the remains of the dance floor.
“What do you smell?”
“Cotton candy.”
“All I smell is the ruins of the fire and the sour stench of the wolves who set this fire.” Hugh was very clear. Then they heard someone walking toward them from the back hall, an area that was damaged but wasn’t completely destroyed. They stood still and quiet, waiting for the person to approach them.
Pike took a deep breath when the smell of cotton candy assailed him. The man walking toward them was Lieutenant Scott Jones, and he was Pike's beloved. The suit, the helmet, and the fire must have obscured his scent last night. There was a reason Pike felt so drawn to the guy and enjoyed his company so much.
“Scott.” He called out. “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought the investigation had concluded.”
"Hey, Pike." He responded and walked up to them. "It's pretty much concluded, but we're still checking out a few things." He sounded casual, but Pike sensed a seriousness in his demeanor.
"This is Hugh, he works security at the club." Pike introduced them, and then Hugh excused himself to return to his post, assuming Pike had this, whatever it was, in hand.
“I just wanted to give the place another walk-through to see if we’d missed anything.” He said as he scanned the area. “It could have been so much worse if you and your people hadn’t acted so quickly or if the club had been fuller.” Pike had a feeling that Scott was figuring things out.
Scott looked at him directly, holding his gaze and studying his reactions. "This attack was meant to kill, and honestly, considering the amount of gasoline used, it's a miracle no one died.”
“We were lucky, and we’ll be more careful in the future.” Pike neither supported nor commented on his statement. He turned and started walking to the back door, and Scott followed him. Once outside, they stood in the alley and looked back at the building.
“This isn’t the first fire like this, Pike. I've responded to two others that were very similar." He said, and then after a pause, explained. “A club to the east was burned, and didn't come out of it as well as you. That fire was two weeks ago, and it was tragic.” Pike remembered hearing about it during their meetings on the Bagwell Pack.
"There was another just ten days ago, which occurred in a small bar not far from here. They didn't do so well either. There were no deaths, but the business was a complete loss.”
“What are you getting at?” Pike asked. He knew what was going on, who was doing it, and why, but he couldn’t share that information with Scott. His beloved was an intelligent man with a logical mind, and he wished he could discuss this case openly with him. Things needed to be said, and information shared, before trust could be given. For now, he would listen and take the opportunity to learn about his beloved.
"Something is going on here, and I think you know more than you're telling me," Scott stated. “You were targeted, and your boss didn't seem surprised by it, nor did anyone."
“We’re letting the police do their job.” Pike defended. Scott arched his eyebrow and smiled.
“Yeah." He said in a skeptical tone. “Just a law-abiding citizen. I can see that.” He continued to smile and shot him several side eyes. “You were hit with five large gasoline bombs.” He paused and continued to stare at Pike, who gave nothing away.
“They wanted to kill, and since they failed, they will try again and probably come at you with more than five bombs.” Another pause. “At this time, I would normally implore you to tell us what’s happening so that you can be protected, but I can recognize a company man when I see one.”
“I’m just a cog in the wheel around here. I do as I’m told.” Pike diverted, but Scott was clearly not convinced.
“Yeah, just a cog.” He let out a long breath. “You and Hugh on guard duty?”
