The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(83)

And Jake had just stood there watching Serena, feeling his whole soul falling apart. He had to figure out how to reach her. No matter what happened, he couldn’t let her go. He knew that now. Even after all the shit he’d gone through, he couldn’t let Serena get away. He hadn’t been in love before, and it was so much more important than his own pride.

Chitwood frowned and leaned forward in his seat. “Yes, I think I understand that now. I, for one, don’t think Miss Brooks would go so far as to burn down her own home to get a small amount of publicity. Speaking of publicity, the press is asking questions. It will be on the news this evening.”

“Keep her name out of it,” Jake said. The last thing he wanted was for the story to break. It might have been Lara’s plan, but Serena herself had made it fail by refusing to play along. She’d called the cops and ignored the press. She’d guarded her privacy. It was the only damn thing she had left.

“At this point we’re simply saying it was a fire. I wish we had a witness, but apparently there was a big block party going on at the other end of the street.” Chitwood looked down at his report. “Tell me something, Mr. Miles, did you get anything off the CCTV tapes?”

Adam sighed and gave the cop a regretful shake of his head. “No. I’m still looking. It can be so hard to tell. Did your experts find anything?”

Their experts hadn’t met Lara Anderson. She would look like just another woman walking out of the library, talking on her phone. Jake had found her on the other library’s CCTV tape, but she’d had her face down in that tape, a scarf wrapped around her head. Adam had only identified her from her hand bag. There weren’t many suburbanites walking around carrying Chanel. He and Adam had decided to not let the cops in on this piece of their investigation. They had the same tapes. If they didn’t reach the same conclusions, it was their damn fault. Besides, it would only muddy the waters since Lara didn’t have anything to do with this. He’d called Ian, and Lara had been with him all afternoon, crying and trying to figure out how to help her client. If she was still working an angle, Jake couldn’t see it.

“No. I think that’s a dead end.” Chitwood closed his folder and looked at Serena with now sympathetic eyes.

Jake wanted nothing more than to reach over and thread his fingers through hers. “Has the fire marshal determined how the fire was started?”

Chitwood sighed. “Well, we’re sure it’s arson, but there are protocols. He’ll file his report in the next few weeks. We have a lot of evidence to sort through.”

“Of course.” Serena sat back, her eyes vacant. “I understand. Do you know how long it will be before the insurance adjusters can get in?”

Hernandez walked up behind his partner, his eyes narrowing. “It could be a while, Miss Brooks. Your insurance agent is going to want a full report. They don’t just pay out because the house burns down. They need to make sure you have a legitimate claim.”

Oh, Jake really wanted to punch Hernandez in the face. Asshole. He wasn’t going to give an inch. “You know where to find her. If you have any other questions, call me. She’s not going to be answering her cell phone any longer.”

Chitwood nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. It’s very clear this person isn’t going to go away. He seems to have a point to make. Tell me something, Miss Brooks. Have you thought about pulling back from work for a while? Maybe putting off the release of this new book? It might quiet him down.”

Now Jake wanted to punch the shit out of Chitwood. “She’s not putting off the release of her damn book. She hasn’t done a goddamn thing wrong. She’s trying to work in a legal profession, and she’s not going to give in to someone who is trying to intimidate her.”

Chitwood held up his hands. “It was just a suggestion.”

Hernandez frowned. “It was a good suggestion. He’s just trying to keep her alive. But, hey, if her little books are more important than her life, then she should go for it.”

“Hernandez!” Brighton yelled from his office, his face red. “My office. Now.”

Hernandez stiffened and then turned and walked to his boss’ office.

Chitwood leaned forward. “Forgive him. He’s very conservative. He’s Catholic. He thinks your books are pushing the Mormon faith. I’ve tried to explain to him that your books have nothing to do with religion.”

It was time to get Serena away from these people. He stood. “Thank you. Please keep in touch.”

Adam stood as well, his entire body stiff. He looked like he was ready to throw a punch, but he seemed to contain it. “We should get our charge home. And her book is coming out on time. She’ll be signing at the opening day party. I have some friends in the press who would love to know if the Dallas Police Department cares about stalking victims. I suspect I’ll see you there.”

Chitwood gave them the fakest of fake smiles. “We wouldn’t be anywhere else. We are taking this seriously, gentleman.”

“Serena.” Jake turned and waited for Serena to stand. She did it, but she moved in a way that worried him. She moved, but there was no spark of life, no animation. She was like a zombie, shuffling along, going where he told her to go, doing what he told her to do. She’d completely shut down, and that was a problem.

She looked up at him. “I know I shouldn’t, but could I go to the bathroom, please? I didn’t actually make it to the one at the restaurant.”