Chapter Eighteen

As soon as the words left Deanna’s mouth, Melody dashed to her office to find Grant. She burst through the door without knocking. In hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest thing to do to former military men. He and Mason were on their feet in a heartbeat, the barrel of two guns pointing directly at her. They both lowered their weapons immediately and Grant reached her in two steps.

“Melody, what is it? What’s wrong?”

She was breathing heavily, possibly on the verge of hyperventilating. “My…house…fire.”

Grant and Mason wasted no time hustling her to Mason’s SUV parked outside on the street. She didn’t remember climbing inside or buckling her belt. Grant must have done it for her. She was numb.

Her house was small and nothing fancy, but it was all hers. She purchased it outright with the inheritance her parents left for her when they passed away. The neighborhood was safe and friendly, with a community playground, shelter house and pool, though she never used it. She knew most of her neighbors, albeit not well. She was close to her brother’s house and she could ride her bike there in the summer.

They reached her street minutes later. Two police cars blocked access and several fire trucks were clustered in front of her house. Mason parked and they headed for her home until a cop tried to stop them. She let the men deal with him and she kept on going, dodging thick hoses and firemen decked out in turnout gear. Several of her neighbors had gathered on the sidewalk across the street. The police or firemen, she wasn’t sure who, set up barricades to keep the crowd away. She weaved through them and stopped when she came upon her burning home. A column of thick black smoke wafted skyward and the acrid smell of charred wood hung heavy in the air. Her entire garage was gone, a pile of smoldering ash, but it looked like the firemen had saved most of the main structure. There were a couple of gaping holes in the roof where the firemen had vented it, and most of the windows were blown out, but the walls were still standing. She knew inside it would be heavily damaged with smoke and water.

She hadn’t had much time to decorate, but she did stock a lab with the latest equipment. Of course, that was before they were destroyed in the break-in last night. Though she’d mourn the loss of her possessions, she kept the important things in her fireproof safe, including pictures of her parents that were priceless to her. She had copies in frames around her house, but the originals would be saved. All her important papers and documents were securely locked up in a fireproof safe. She had an antique curio cabinet that had belonged to her great grandmother and a chair her grandfather had made. Hopefully they survived the flames. The rest of her furniture was nothing special.

Two big hands clamped on her shoulders, anchoring her. She leaned back against Grant. “I’m so sorry, babe.”

She swiped at an errant tear. “They’re only possessions. They’re replaceable.”

“We should’ve gone ahead and set up the security system.”

“I’m the one who asked that you wait, so it’s not your fault.” She’d been trying to save a little money, waiting to have them install it until she moved out of Grant’s apartment. If she’d listened to him, they might’ve caught the person…“Grant!”

“What?”

“I just thought of something. Both Raine and Deanna were at the office. They couldn’t be responsible for the fire. They’re not the ones causing problems.” Relief weakened her knees. She hated doubting her employees. They were both important to her.

“Mel, there are any number of ways to delay the start of the fire.”

“And Raine was gone all morning.” Her shoulders slumped and he caressed them, his thick fingers massaging the knots with skill.

A fireman approached them, his thick jacket unbuttoned. “Are you the homeowner?”

She nodded.

“Looks like gasoline was used as an accelerant. It was concentrated at the back of the garage, which is a total loss. We were able to save most of the house. One of your neighbors spotted the flames early and called it in. We got here minutes later. There will be extensive smoke and water damage.”

“When can I go in and get some things out?”

“Not for a while. We want to keep an eye on it, make sure there are no flare-ups. We’ll do a complete investigation, though I’m ninety-percent sure arson is the cause. However, we were a little concerned when we encountered a laboratory downstairs. I thought we might be dealing with a meth house.”

“I’m a scientist. Nothing illegal.”

“We deduced that. None of the equipment survived, but I don’t think it was the result of the fire.”

“It wasn’t. Someone broke in last night and destroyed everything.”

The fireman whistled. “It sounds like someone is trying to get to you. The cops know about it?”

“Yes.”

“And she has protection,” Grant added.

“Good. Sorry about your house, ma’am. We’ll keep you posted on the investigation.”

“Do you want to stay?” Grant asked gently after the fireman walked away to confer with his colleagues. She shook her head. There was nothing she could do now. They had a vandal to catch. The sooner this nightmare was over, the better.

#

Grant settled closer to Melody, as they waited in the darkness. They’d set a trap to hopefully catch the person or persons responsible for sabotaging Melody’s business. A cop was stationed nearby to arrest the perp as soon as they made a move.

When they’d returned from the scene of the fire, both Raine and Deanna had surrounded Melody, offering their support. It was hard to believe one or both would betray her.

They’d held a meeting with both women, not letting on that they suspected either one, and told them that tomorrow, his company would be installing cameras throughout the interior of the building, hoping to catch whoever was tampering with the products. Tonight would be the last time they could cause any harm without being caught…or so they thought.

They waited until both women left for the evening and then they made a show of leaving as well, in case the building was being watched. Then they reentered through the back door while Noah Addison drove Grant’s SUV away, giving the appearance that they had truly departed.

Mason and Ethan were nearby, keeping an eye on the building and Noah had doubled back to cover the rear.

With the help of their technical department, Mason had checked the alibi for Elliot Kingman during the attempts on Melody’s life. He’d been at the Chem-Co offices both times. His keycard showed that he hadn’t left until after the attacks and the video feeds proved it.

Grant had really been hoping the man was guilty. Now it appeared one of her employees was the culprit.

They’d done background checks on both women and no red flags popped up. Raine didn’t have so much as a speeding ticket. Deanna had two. Nothing else to indicate that one or both women would resort to violence.

An alert popped up on Grant’s phone. “Show time.” Melody gripped his arm and moved closer to watch the feed from the camera.

She sucked in a breath. “Oh, no, it’s Raine.”

Sure enough, Raine Vickers was unlocking the door and punching in the code on the alarm. He felt bad for Melody. He knew she didn’t want it to be either of her friends, but if she had to choose, she would have rather Deanna be guilty. She and Raine had so much in common.

He’d set up cameras throughout the building and he followed Raine’s progress as she used a flashlight to reach the lab. She opened the door and he felt Melody tense. He grabbed her hand and squeezed, conveying for her to wait before she said or did anything. His phone had just beeped another alert. He switched back to the main door and they watched as Deanna entered. They were in on it together.

Raine heard the noise and spun around. “Hello? Who’s there?”

“Raine? Is that you?”

“Yes. Deanna?” Raine let out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness. I was afraid it was someone breaking in to vandalize the shop again or something.”

“What are you doing here this late?” Deanna’s tone was pleasant, but Grant understood the unspoken accusation.

“I lost my cell phone. I hope I left it here. Watch your eyes, I’m going to turn on the lights.” She flipped on the overhead lights. Grant and Melody were concealed so they wouldn’t be seen but they could see the two women perfectly.

“Here, I’ll call it.” Deanna punched in numbers and a ringing could be heard nearby. Raine shifted papers on a table and lifted it up in victory. “Thank goodness. I thought it was gone for good.” Then her brows narrowed. “What are you doing here this late?”

“I wanted to get a head start on new brochures that Melody asked me to create. I left all the information here, so I wanted to gather it up and look it over.”

Melody squeezed his hand, indicating that she had never asked the woman to create any brochure.

“Do you want me to stay with you? I was just going to hit a drive-thru and head back home.”

“No! Uh, I mean, I won’t be here long, so it’s not necessary. I just wanted to pick up a few materials to include.”

“Okay, well, don’t stay too late.” With a wave, Raine left.

Deanna watched until she was gone and then she waited a few minutes more, probably making sure she didn’t return. When it remained quiet, she slid a backpack off her shoulders. Alarm bells sounded in Grant’s head, and when he spotted a wire sticking out, they shrieked. “Stay here,” he told Melody.

Deanna’s back was to him, so he whispered out of hiding and grabbed her before she could so much as twitch. In seconds, he’d zip-tied her hands behind her back.

“Ahh! What the hell?” Deanna spun around but Grant had his gun out. Her eyes widened.

Ignoring his instructions to stay put, Melody was practically Velcroed to his back.

“Grant, is the gun necessary?”

He chose not to answer Melody’s question. “What are you doing here, Deanna?”

Her eyes darted around the room. “I was, uh, looking for Raine’s phone. She thought she left it here.”

“Oh, she did. We watched her walk out with it minutes ago.”

“Fine, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay after the scare today.” She turned sideways and indicated her bound arms. “What the hell?”

“What’s in the backpack?” Grant demanded.

Deanna’s eyes narrowed. “That’s none of your business.”

“You won’t mind if I take a look?”

“You touch that and I’ll sue you. That’s private property.”

Grant reached for the bag and she lunged with a feral scream. He caught her easily and forced her to the ground, binding her feet.

“Let me up. I swear to God, I will sue you for brutality. Or assault.”

“Shut up, Deanna,” Melody ordered.

He ignored her threats and carefully peeled the sides of her backpack open. It was just as he feared.

“Oh my God,” Melody cried, looking over his shoulder. “It’s a bomb.”

#

Grant concentrated on not jarring the bag. He didn’t know what kind of trigger was attached to the device and he didn’t want to take chances. “Melody, I need you to get out of here right now. Go.”

Melody glanced from the pipes wrapped with wire to Grant. “I’m not leaving without you.”

“I’m right behind you.”

“You can’t leave me here,” Deanna wailed.

He wanted to ask her why she was doing this, but there would be time for that once they were safely outside.

Melody rushed into the hall but turned and waited for him. Using his knife, he cut the tie around Deanna’s feet and jerked her upright.

“Hey, be careful,” Deanna complained.

Grant ignored her and towed her down the hallway. Just as they entered the showroom, a flash caught his eye. He shoved Deanna down behind the counter and she cried out in surprise. He dove for Melody, tackling her to the ground and covering her body with his as rapid-fire shots rang out and all the front windows shattered into a million tiny pieces. He ducked his head as shards rained down on them.

Tires squealed as the shooter fled and almost instantly, a siren kicked on. The cop they had on standby. He was going after the perp.

Grant eased off Melody. “Honey, are you okay? Melody?”

“Catching…breath.”

He shook off chunks of glass and then brushed the strays from her back before carefully rolling her to her side.

“Does anything feel broken?”

“No. Just had the wind knocked out of me. I’m okay. I think the vest helped.”

“Good.” Grant had insisted she wear a bullet-proof vest any time she left the house after the first attempt on her life. They’d saved many of his coworkers and he wasn’t taking chances with Melody’s life.

Mason dropped down beside them. “Is everyone okay in here?”

“We’re good.”

“Noah got hit. He was coming in to help with the bomb.”

“How bad?”

“Conscious. That’s all I know. Ethan’s with him. I came to check on you two.”

Grant jerked his head towards the counter as he helped Melody to her feet. “Deanna is back there. We need to get out of here.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake,” Deanna huffed, pushing to her feet, her hands still bound behind her back. “You should be more worried about the shooter returning. I’m not a threat. It’s not even a real bom—”

Before she could get the word out, the ground shook and then the world exploded.