On Fire

DARCY LIFTED HER gaze from the barrel of the gun and looked into Jim’s eyes. Fear slithered through her veins like ice water, chilling her to the bone. She flinched when he stepped closer.



“Scream and I’ll shoot you.” He released the ball gag with one hand.



Flexing her aching jaw, she asked, “What are you doing, Jim? Where’s Chris?”



“Thinking about taking up with him again? After he blew you off like a whore?”



She frowned. Chris hadn’t broken it off with her; she’d ended their relationship, as gently as possible. That was common knowledge. “We’re in his house, right? I figured he’d be around.”



“He’s around.”



Her chest expanded on a sharp inhalation. “Can you take the handcuffs off, too? Please.”



“Don’t be sweet now. You fucked everything up by sending for the Marshals Service. If you’d left things alone, none of this would have happened.”



“None of what? The fires?” Her lower lip quivered violently. “Dani?”



“The fires were bringing us closer together again. You were staying the night at my place…We were working the case during the day…”



A choked noise escaped her as her chest tightened painfully. “You targeted places that meant something to me. You wanted me vulnerable, so I’d turn to you.”



“Cameron had no right to come in and push me out of the picture.” Jim leaned into the dresser, looking totally relaxed. His easy demeanor was scarier than if he’d been a raving lunatic.



“The people who owned those businesses you torched are our friends. They trusted you to keep them safe. You’ve ruined their lives, stolen their livelihoods—”



“No, I didn’t. I know exactly what kind of hazard insurance covered each of those properties. They can rebuild better than before.”



She gaped at the man with whom she’d shared her body but didn’t know at all. “You’re insane.”



His jaw hardened. “If I am, you’ve made me that way. I gave you everything, I was committed to you, and you got pregnant with someone else’s baby. Who the fuck do you think you are, playing with people like that? After the way Miller treated you, you of all people should know how it feels.”



“I’ve never been pregnant in my life,” she shot back, anger slowly chasing away the terror. “I’m not Danielle. Did you kill my sister, Jim? Did you cut her up and do those horrible things to her?”



“I know who you are,” he snapped, his free hand waving with agitation. “And Dani killed herself. She was screwing everyone, most especially anyone who had a tie of some kind to you. When I found out she was banging Mitch, I confronted her. We had a relationship. I expected you to be faithful, damn you. I was.”



Darcy pushed slowly to her feet, alarmed by his shifting perceptions of who she was.



He straightened, tension stiffening his frame. “If you hadn’t tried to leave, I wouldn’t have reached for you. You shouldn’t have pulled away. If you’d stayed where you were, you’d never have fallen. You’d never have hit your head.”



Unsure of what to do, whether it would be wiser to play into his delusions or keep reminding him of reality, she asked, “So what now?”



He exhaled harshly. “I hate that you’re making me do this. We were happy together. I don’t understand why that couldn’t be enough for you.”



“It’s this place.” She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry. “It’s Lion’s Bay. I can’t take it here, Jim. That’s the reason I spent time with Deputy Cameron—he’s going to leave and take me with him. But maybe you’d take me instead? We can be happy anywhere, and with the fires…it’s better if we leave.”



“I’m not stupid. Don’t try to play me.”



“I’m being practical, for once. I know you can make me happy. I don’t know Cameron at all.”



Jim’s mouth thinned grimly. “It’s too late for that. I don’t trust you anymore. You’ve whored around one too many times.”



“You’re digging yourself a hole you won’t be able to crawl out of,” she warned, hoping he had some sense of self-preservation left.



“No one’s looking at me, Dani.” His finger twitched on the trigger. “And when they find your body with Miller’s and pin the fires on Quinn, this will all go away and I can get on with my life.”



Thinking her time was just about up, Darcy took a risk and launched herself into him.



* * *



“STOP THE CAR,” Jared said.



Trish braked to a halt. “What?”



He hopped out. “We don’t both need to check out Ralston’s. I’m heading back to Miller’s. If you catch Darcy, tell her to fucking call me. Now.”



“Be careful,” she called out, then she drove off.



Jared headed the two miles back at a brisk pace, spurred by a sense of urgency he couldn’t qualify. He was still two blocks away when he heard a gunshot. He broke into a run. The house came into sight and he drew his weapon, racing past curious neighbors who straggled onto the sidewalk.



“Get back in your homes,” he shouted. “Call nine-one-one.”



He’d just reached the lawn when the door to Miller’s house burst open and Darcy stumbled out, her wrists handcuffed in front of her. Relief burst through him, followed immediately by blood-chilling fear.



He darted forward, catching her and pulling her to the side of the house, out of the line of fire. “Are you hurt?”



“N-No…no, I’m okay.”



“Where’s Miller?”



“I don’t know.” Her lower lip quivered. “It’s Jim. He did it all. Everything.”



Peering around the corner, he eyed the porch. “Where is he?”



“I tackled him into the closet in a bedroom on the right side of the hallway.”



He glanced at her, his heart finally slowing from its frantic pounding. “A fucking crazy thing to do.”



She sucked in a rasping, shaky breath. “God, I’m glad to see you.”



Another shot rent the quiet.



“Oh, no…” she breathed. “Columbo.”



He stood in a rush. “Someone else is in there?”



“Yes. No. It’s Jim’s dog. I tripped on a runner in the hall and Jim was behind me with the gun…Columbo took him down. The gun went off and shot into the wall, but Columbo had his arm and he was snarling—”



Cupping her nape, he gave her a quick hard kiss. “Stay down.”



Jared moved quickly and silently down the side of the house, looking in each window. The silence was brutal. When he saw blood and gray matter spattered on a paned window, he knew what the crime scene unit would find inside.



The dog was fine. It was his owner they’d have to scrape off the walls.



DARCY WATCHED THE frenzy in the police station with an odd detachment. Jared was bent over a desk, talking with the federal agents who’d arrived just a few minutes before. Outside, night had fallen and she was cold, but she suspected that came more from the inside than out.



“Coffee?” Deputy Morales sank into the seat beside her and held out a paper cup filled halfway with steaming java.



“Thank you.”



“I checked with the hospital. Sheriff Miller’s fine. He has a nasty concussion, so they’re going to keep him overnight, but he’ll be good as new after a little time off.”



Exhaling in a rush, Darcy’s eyes stung with grateful tears. “I’m glad.”



“Cameron’s going to drive you home in a bit.” Morales studied her. “Are you all right? I mean, as much as you can be under the circumstances?”



It took Darcy a moment to gather her thoughts into something coherent. “I don’t know how I feel about what Jim did…today.”



“It was pretty much inevitable that he’d self-destruct. I don’t know if that’s any comfort or not. There’s nothing you could have done differently. You’re alive, that’s what matters.”



Darcy rolled the warm cup between her bloodless hands. “I expected to feel a sense of justice when I found Dani’s killer. Instead I still can’t believe it was Jim. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand it. And Columbo…That dog loved Jim, but he turned on him like he was a stranger.”



“Dogs are smarter than we are. They sense things we can’t.”



“Dani used to say that she couldn’t trust people who didn’t like animals, but more than that, she couldn’t trust people that animals didn’t like.”



Morales patted her knee, then excused herself, getting back to work.



A few minutes later, Jared walked over. He crouched beside her chair and caught her free hand, his thumb stroking over the minor cuts and bruising left by Chris’s handcuffs. “Let me take you home.”



Her gaze met his and her heart warmed. “Are you done?”



“I’ll have to come back, but you need a hot bath and your bed. I’ll hurry and get back to you as quick as I can.”



Her mouth curved. “Don’t rush for me. I understand the job.”



“I know you do, just like I’ll understand yours when it takes you away from me. It’s one of the reasons why we fit so well.”



“Is that what it is?” Her widening smile betrayed the sexual undercurrent of her thoughts.



He blew out his breath, looking relieved. “You’re going to be all right.”



She realized then how worried he’d been that she wouldn’t be. “Yes. I’ll be fine.” Standing, she said, “Take me home so I can get out of your hair.”



Jared linked his fingers with hers and started toward the door. “Won’t matter. You’ll still be under my skin.”



“Good. That’s right where I want to be.”



Epilogue



The closing of the rolling metal door on the back of the moving truck was loud in the otherwise quiet afternoon. Darcy leaned into Jared as he draped his arm around her shoulders and they watched the truck drive away.