CHAPTER THIRTY

 

Selene admired her husband from the office door as he worked almost effortlessly on his latest novel. Her mouth curved into a gentle smile, even as some thoughts weighed heavily on her mind.

It had been a few days since the fire at S.A.W. House, which had pretty much destroyed everything in the basement, including old records and some of the residents’ personal belongings. Fortunately, the firefighters had succeeded in preventing the fire from spreading beyond the basement, and there was no damage to the structural integrity of the building. Aside from limited smoke damage upstairs, S.A.W. House had dodged a fiery bullet.

Authorities had confirmed that it was arson, though no arrests had been made yet and no clear-cut motive had been established.

Michel was still out there, and at the top of Selene’s list of suspects who could have set the fire. What better way for him to intimidate her than by striking at the very core of her passion to protect women from the kind of domestic violence she’d experienced firsthand? She’d even decided that he was also the anonymous caller who had tried to convince her that Quinn was the man strangling the women in The Woods. Selene was sure it was all part of Michel’s master plan to somehow frighten and disillusion her enough so that she would end up back with him.

Well, it wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t about to let Michel Giovanni ruin what she had with Quinn. She would not turn her back on the man she loved dearly.

Selene smiled again as she watched her husband work.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

Quinn stopped typing and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Come to think of it, my stomach is empty.”

She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “That’s good because lunch is ready.”

Quinn grinned. “Say no more!” He rose to his feet. “That’s enough writing for now. Let’s eat.”

He slipped his arm around Selene’s waist and they headed for the kitchen.

* * *

“Any more news on the fire?” Quinn asked as they sat in the breakfast nook.

“None that I’ve heard,” Selene said.

“And you really think your ex is responsible for starting it?”

“At this point, I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

“Then I hope the police don’t either,” Quinn said. “If he did set the fire, there’s no telling what else he might be involved in.”

“There are plenty of others who could’ve set the fire,” Selene offered. “After all, there are more than a few abusive men who resent what S.A.W. House represents.”

“Yeah, but only one man who seems willing to do just about anything to get you back. No matter how reckless—”

“I just don’t know what to think,” she said. “Chances are whoever set the fire is probably not the same person who’s killing local women.”

“Are you willing to bet the house on that?” Quinn asked. “I’m sure as hell not.”

Selene wondered if he was going to bring up the gun issue again. She hoped not. She was still very much against it.

“Why don’t we just let the police sort it out?” Selene said. “That’s what they get paid for.”

Quinn remained mute on the subject and continued to eat.

She tried to downplay any personal threat they faced. “Didn’t we spend a small fortune on the security system that Marvin installed? He promised that it would keep the bad guys out and have the police at our doorstep practically in seconds if we had an intruder.”

When Quinn finally opened his mouth, he said, “You’re right. There’s no reason to believe you’re in any imminent danger in here. It’s out there that has me concerned. As long as there are arsonists and serial killers on the loose, along with batterers, I’ll be worried. What man wouldn’t be if he were in my shoes?”

“I’m a little worried, too,” Selene admitted. “Maybe even more than a little. But we can’t control everything in our lives no matter how much we want to, especially when there are evil people out there with their own agenda. We just have to be careful and use common sense to stay safe.”

Selene doubted that was what he wanted to hear, but she believed wholeheartedly that it was better than living in an armed fortress.

* * *

Quinn didn’t argue the points Selene had made, particularly when she was right to some degree. He couldn’t guarantee her safety any more than he could his, no matter what steps were taken to protect them. He’d learned that the hard way. His decision-making under duress had been questionable at best and downright gut wrenching at worst.

But he had come away from his past experiences with a greater resolve to keep from repeating mistakes that would forever haunt him. There were times when a man had to be a man. And this was such a time. He would do everything in his power to protect Selene. That included getting Michel Giovanni out of her life for good—one way or the other.

* * *

An hour later, while Quinn was out running, Selene loaded the dishwasher and then spent the next twenty minutes at the kitchen table paying bills. She had just written her last check, when the power suddenly went out.

Oh no, don’t do this to me now.

Selene knew wishing it away wouldn’t change a thing. All she could think of was that now she would have to reset all the clocks. And the dishes wouldn’t be washed right away. Fortunately it was late afternoon, so she had no trouble seeing what she was doing.

She got up and looked out the window at the Bonet’s house. She could see their TV was on, indicating that it wasn’t a street-wide power failure. She’d have to head to the basement and check out the circuit breaker.

Selene grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen drawer and headed down the darkened steps. She shone the light around the walls and moved across the tile floor past the custom-made pool table.

She heard a noise and whipped the flashlight around so the beam lit the stairs. There was no one there.

She breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded through the basement, past the washer and dryer, to the circuit breaker box.

Selene shone the light inside and saw that a couple of the breakers had tripped. She turned them back on.

Like magic, she heard the dishwasher start running again.

“You go, girl,” she said aloud, pleased it was such a simple fix.

When Selene turned around, she realized it was anything but simple. She screamed when the beam of her flashlight shone right into the smug face of Michel Giovanni.