Bonnie

As soon as they were back inside, she threw her bag by the door and sat on the bed. Bonnie sighed. Better clear up the little white lies I told first, she thought.

“There really was a fire, but it wasn’t started by an ex-boyfriend.”

Dylan nodded at the confession, but didn’t seem fazed by the fact that she had told a little white lie.

“When I got there, I knew it was a message. And the message wasn’t for me, it was for my little brother,” she said.

“Your brother? The security guard?”

Bonnie nodded. “He witnessed a murder. Unfortunately, the murder was a professional hit by a crime family called the Trio. They’re a small organized crime group, but they’re growing. He’s in Witness Protection now.”

Dylan frowned. “So what led you to here?”

Bonnie sighed again, then began to tell the story.

* * *

She told Dylan everything that happened in her dream. The fire. The man in the crowd. The gesture he made. The overwhelming feeling of dread that she felt.

She looked around, trying to figure out where the man with the scar could have gone. There was a large crowd of people, but he wasn't with them. She searched the crowd. They were all watching her townhouse burn. No other houses were on fire yet, and she hoped they wouldn't catch. At least her brother wasn't here. He was safe somewhere with the police watching him.

“Are you okay, Bonnie?”

She nearly threw a punch at the person touching her shoulder. Luckily, Detective Patton ducked and pulled away before she had the chance to hit him. She felt bad about nearly clocking her neighbor. He was probably upset that his townhouse was nearly on fire too.

“Sorry, Mike.” She pulled her arm into her chest. “I'm just spooked. Did you see the guy over there?”

Detective Mike Patton followed her gaze to the edge of the parking lot. “Who exactly are you looking for? There's plenty of people over there. I see Mrs. Gonzales, Frank, Joe...”

“No, he has this scar on his cheek.” She drew her finger just along her cheekbone. “I swear I saw him at my house the night Brett reported the murder. He gave me the creeps.”

Patton's face darkened. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “The scar is pretty distinctive.”

“Dark hair? And you said the scar was across his right cheek? Not the left?” Detective Patton asked, putting both his hands on her shoulders. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Do you know who he is?”

Detective Patton swallowed hard. “He's the Trio's hitman. Are you sure you saw a scar?”

The Trio. They were the up-and-coming organized crime syndicate. They were the ones that Brett had witnessed and was going to testify against.

She hated that she had to nod. “Yeah.”

"I want you to go stay next to the fire truck," he said, taking her arm and guiding toward the large red vehicle. Police officers and firefighters were everywhere. "Do you have your bags packed in the car like I told you to?"

“Of course. I put everything in there the first night just like you said.”

"Good." He paused and looked her in the eye. She'd known him as her neighbor for the past two years, but she'd never seen this expression on his face. His face was stoic and stern, but she could see a flicker of fear in the back of his eyes. He was worried about her.

“What's going on, Mike?” Her voice came out as a whisper.

“If I'm right, you're going to need to get out of town for a while,” he said quietly. He looked over at the fire. “God, I hope I'm wrong.”

* * *

“He wasn’t wrong, was he?” Dylan asked.

Bonnie shook her head. “It gets worse, though.”

* * *

She remembered the fire chief saying that the cause of the fire was her stove. He said that she'd placed a book too close to the gas cook-top and it had caught fire. She said that was impossible, but the fire investigator was adamant. She had put the book there.

According to his report, she'd set the paperback copy of a book called, “You're Next” on the stove. It was a crime thriller by an author she'd never even heard of. She had told the police it wasn't her book, but there was no way to prove it.

The investigator made sure the cops said the fire was an accident. It was his signature on the report that said this fire had nothing to do with the Trio. Since the police had no evidence of a threat against her, they couldn't protect her. They didn't have the manpower or money to protect her without proof that the Trio was after her to get to Brett.

She was on her own.

Except, Detective Patton believed her. He didn't believe that the fire was an accident for even a minute. He knew the fire was a warning to both her and her brother, even if he couldn't prove it. The Trio crime organization didn't want her brother to testify.

He was the one who told her to run. He helped her as much as he could.

She was just glad she'd already put her important belongings in her car the night of the murder. Detective Patton had told her to do it as a precaution. She was still packed the day of the fire, so she had enough clothes for a couple of weeks and all of her legal papers. She'd nearly left her photo albums in the house, but had tucked them in at the last minute. She knew she was lucky in that regard.

* * *

Dylan sat there for a moment, then whistled. “Sounds like they need a new investigator.”

Bonnie burst out laughing without meaning to. “Yeah, he’s a real piece of work.”

“Your brother’s dead set on testifying, then?”

Bonnie nodded. “He has always done the right thing, and there’s no guarantee the Trio would leave us alone even if he decided to back down now. But they’re still going to try. And the police apparently don’t have the funds or enough evidence to prove I’m in danger, so I’m on my own. That’s why I have to leave.”

She stomped over to where she had kept her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Before Dylan had a chance to say anything, she was out the door again. She knew that he was going to try to get her to stay, and she knew she had to keep her resolve. For Dylan, and Tyson, and Mia, and all the residents of this ranch.

She didn’t hear anyone coming, and she was so revved up that she screamed a little when he put his hand on her shoulder. The emotion of the moment was too much, and she buried her head in Dylan’s chest as the rain came down all around them.

He wrapped his arms around her, and for a brief moment, she felt safe.