FireStarter (3 page)

"Fuck! What the
hell?"

I glared as he wiped the
blood from his wounded lip with his thumb. Fury boiled my blood, and I was too
mad to speak. I didn't even care I'd drawn his blood, something I'd never
normally do.

Marshall squeezed his eyes
shut and took a deep breath before he zeroed his hard gaze in on me again.

"There was no need to
bite me like that. I wasn't hurting you."

"And if I'd let you
keep going how far would you have gone? Would you have raped me if I didn't
stop you?"

His body jerked, and his
eyes widened. "I'd never rape a woman. If that kiss had led to other
things, it would only be if you were into it, too. And it would never have led
to sex."

I winced as pain knifed my
heart. So he didn’t want me? He’d only kissed me to shut me up? The hurt fueled
my anger even more. I tried again to get my hands free to push him off me. I
hated that I was attracted to him while he was apparently just trying to keep
me quiet.

"Marshall, it may have
escaped your notice, but I'm being held against my will here. Three days I've
been locked in this room with no clean clothes, barely enough food and water.
Now you come barging in, sniff me like you’re some kind of animal, which I’m
guessing you may well be, then kiss me silly. Apparently for the sole purpose
of shutting me up. How exactly did you think I’d react?"

He frowned and ran his
tongue over his reddened lower lip. "If I let go of your hands can you
promise to not attempt to escape?"

"As Clayton has shut
the door and is leaning against it, I wouldn't get far now would I?"

He sighed. "I need a
yes or a no."

I growled and tugged my
arms. "No, I won't run for the door if you release me."

In one fluid move he let go
and stepped back. He looked almost feline the way he moved so smoothly…

“
Can you turn into a cat,
too?”

Marshall raised an eyebrow
as he glanced to Clayton, and I rubbed my palms over my arms as a shiver passed
through me. Marshall's body had felt good against me. He'd been so warm that I
was cold now he wasn't close, but I took a deep breath and pushed all those
feelings aside. He didn’t want me. Never had, never would.

"Yes, I can. Take a
shower, Penny. I'll find you some clean clothes and leave them in here for when
you're finished. I promise neither of us will disturb you. I'll be back here in
an hour with some real food for you. After you eat, we’ll have chat about some
things. You’ve misunderstood what I said, but until you’re more comfortable,
and feel more stable, I won’t go into it."

I shook my head a little.
Oh, I understood all too well. Inside, I was still a stupid love-struck
teenager and he was still the bad boy that had no time for me. And Clayton
apparently shouldn’t have shown me his cat. Tears threatened to well, but I
forced them down. These bastards didn’t deserve my tears now, just as they
hadn’t deserved my infatuation back in school.

"I have a duffle bag
in my car with clothes. If you could grab that I'll have everything I need. And
I'll wait for you to return with it before I go have my shower."

I didn't want to risk being
naked when he came back with my stuff. I didn’t need him to reject me again. Or
even worse, pretend to like me.

****

Clayton

This whole thing was such a cluster-fuck situation.
Every angle had a landmine I needed to keep from blowing up, and my head was
beginning to pound trying to keep such big secrets from those I shouldn’t have
any from. Maybe I shouldn’t have hidden my feelings toward Penny from Marshall
all these years. With a sigh I followed Marshall from Penny’s room down and
waited in the lounge room while he went out to her car to retrieve her bag. It
didn’t take him long before he was back looking even angrier than he’d been
before. I hadn’t thought that was possible.

“
This is a fucking mess,
Clay. How did you
think this was going to
end? Lighting fires is fucked up, but kidnapping a woman is a whole new level.
You're going to end up jail at the end of this, you know that right?"

Marshall unzipped the bag
and pulled free her toiletries bag and proceeded to go through it, taking out
the scissors and nail clippers before returning it. He snagged her laptop case
out too. I didn’t know what to say. This was my brother, the one who’d always
protected me. Even now, with him furious at me, he was covering for me by
taking away all Penny’s options for escape. I’d been desperate to tell him what
I was doing from the very beginning, but I’d sworn an oath to the Alpha. I
couldn’t break it without the Alpha’s express permission.

“
I swear to you, I didn’t
light any fires.”

After zipping the bag he
placed his palms on the table and leaned into them, allowing his head to hang
down which meant his expression was obscured from my sight.

"So what were you
doing out there? Penny has a rather valid point. The police find out you were
out there, acting suspicious? You’ll get put away for it regardless of if you
did it or not.”

Well, actually no, they
wouldn’t. They knew what the badge in my wallet meant, but sadly, I couldn’t
tell Marshall that. So, I allowed shock to show on my face as I continued the
charade. “You planning on turning me in, brother?”

“
It may have been a long
time ago, but I promised you I'd protect you. I will continue to keep my word.
I really don't want to be the one who is responsible for getting you locked
up." Marshall rose to his full height and turned toward me. I could
clearly read determination glittering in his gaze. "But if you hurt Penny
I will in a heartbeat. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

I wouldn’t hurt Penny any
more than Marshall would, but I couldn’t tell him that either. Not without
revealing things better left hidden. Fuck, I was so sick of all these secrets!
I stayed silent, and Marshall huffed before he snatched Penny’s bag and spun
away from me.

Once the sound of Marshall
stomping up the stairs faded, I pulled out my secure phone and dialed.

“
What’s up?”

“
Alpha, I need to talk to
you about this whole secrecy thing.”

Chapter Three

Marshall

Not sure what the hell to
say to Clay, I stayed silent as I snatched up the bag to take up to Penny.
She'd feel better after a shower and a change of clothes. Then I needed to work
out what the fuck I was going to do. I couldn't think of a solution at the
moment that's for sure. Hell, I wasn’t even sure what that situation was
exactly, let alone how to deal with it! Had Clay lit the fire or not?

I knocked lightly.
"Penny?"

"Yeah."

After freeing the lock, I
opened the door in one fast move before I slid in and closed it behind me. She
stood leaning against the wall near the small window, looking lost and
heartbreakingly alone. But I crushed the urge to go to her. My lip still stung
from her bite. If she did something like that again, I wasn't sure I'd be able
to resist showing her a flash of my dark side.

"Here's your bag.
You'll understand I had to take out anything sharp and your computer. They're
downstairs and safe. Nothing will happen to them, I just can't risk you
alerting the authorities."

"So you're in with him
then? You light fires, too?"

I couldn't hold back the
wince. She had every right to think badly of me. Well, of both of us.

"No, Penny, I haven’t
ever had anything to do with any fire. And I honestly have no idea what Clayton
is up to, but he’s never lied to me before, so if he says he didn’t light
it…"

“
That you know of. He’s
never lied to you that you know of. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t.”

I scrubbed a hand over my
face. She had a point, and I wished she’d quit pointing out shit like that. I
was having enough trouble working all this out.

"Now you know, what
are you going to do about it?"

Her tone held a challenge,
and with a huff I tossed her bag on the bed, then rested my fists on my hips
and stared at her.

"I have no bloody clue
what I'm supposed to do."

Her cheeks reddened, and my
blood heated and pooled in my groin at seeing her feisty side. She marched to
stand in front me, where she stabbed a finger into my chest.

"You're supposed to
free the victim and report the criminal. It’s pretty simple."

I grabbed her finger and
lifted it to my mouth so I could lay a kiss on the back of her hand. I’d love
nothing more than to let her out of this room. Of course, she didn’t realize
that I’d do it only so I could take her to my home where I could claim her for
my mate. I may have had the intention of never claiming her, but now I’d
touched and kissed her my jag wasn’t going to let me walk away from her. Not
ever.

"He's my brother,
Penny. One I promised to protect always. So it's not that simple. And I don’t
know for sure what he’s even done. Can you give me a little time to work out
what the hell is going on? And I can't let you go yet. I know you well enough
to know you'll go straight to the police and have Clay picked up. I can't
abandon him to the system without a damn good reason. His biological parents
already did that. Our adoptive parents are gone, so it's just the two of us. He
wouldn't be able to handle the betrayal if I turned him in, or let you
loose
to do it."

I lifted my other hand to
press a finger over her mouth when she opened it to speak. My gut churned with
guilt and worry.

"Give me a little time
okay? I promise you won't come to any harm and will be released as soon as
possible. And I'll personally take care of you while you're here. Now, go take
your shower, and I'll be up in about an hour with some food. Real
food, that
I'll cook from scratch just for you."

Unable to stand the unshed
tears filling her eyes another moment, I spun on my heel and left her alone.
Reluctantly I relocked the door with a sigh. My brother's stupidity had forced
me to change how I’d wanted to live my life, and set me and Penny on a new
course that couldn’t be altered now. Despite her wanting to have nothing to do
with me at the moment, I’d never let her go.

I sighed as I forced myself
further away from her door. I was still positive I didn’t deserve her, but
considering how hard it was to leave her just now when I knew she was upset and
needing comfort, there was no doubt that I’d be unable to leave her alone
permanently. I calmed myself with the knowledge that she’d feel better after a
shower and clean clothes. My jag wanted me in there helping her wash, but I
knew that would only serve to get us in a whole heap of trouble at this point.
But it wouldn’t always be that way. I’d win her over and then I’d have the
right and privilege to shower with her every damn day.

I heard Clay talking on the
phone out the back and decided to leave confronting him until later. I had no
idea who he’d be talking to, but I hoped it was a step in the direction of
being able to free Penny. Focusing back on my task, I made my way to the
kitchen I started pulling things out of the fridge and before I knew it I was
nearly done with Penny’s dinner. Cooking calms me, and time always seems to fly
when I’m in the kitchen. Even knowing that, I was surprised to see nearly an
hour had passed since I started when I checked the time as I finished up with
Penny’s dinner. I was plating up when I felt Clayton's gaze on me. Time for our
talk.

"You can't keep her
locked up here. You have to let her go, and soon."

"I can't do that. It’s
for her own protection."

"What? Do you even
hear yourself?"

I tossed the pan into the
sink and turned on him. "What is your plan here? And you can't keep
lighting fires. Have you forgotten Penny's parents died in a fire? Any you
light could easily kill someone. As it is they're taking property and
livelihoods from hardworking people. That's not okay. Why do you do even do
it?"

Clay folded his arms over
his chest and stared at the floor while he frowned. "It’s complicated and
involves secrets I can’t yet tell you.” He looked up and held my gaze. “But you
can believe me when I say I’ve never lit a wildfire. I understand the evidence
doesn’t look great at the moment, and that’s because I can’t explain the whys to
you. Yet.” He paused again before he shook his head. “I need to go out.
Hopefully, when I return I’ll be able to tell you more.”

I hated all this secrecy
crap Clay was pulling, but I knew him well enough to be certain there was
nothing I could say to make him change is mind.

“
Guess I’ll just stay here
and take care of Penny then.”

I knew my tone was nasty,
but I didn’t care. I hated the position he’d put me in with my mate.

Clayton moved toward the
door but stopped and turned back to face me.

“
Please don’t let her go
while I’m gone. I’m serious about her being safer here. And, ah, you’re not
planning on claiming her today are you?”

I sucked in a shocked
breath. “She’s my mate, Clayton. Before, I’d intended to stay away from her,
but now that you’ve forced us together? That’s no longer an option. I literally
can’t leave her now. But I sure as fuck am not going to attempt to get her to
agree to me claiming her while she’s scared and being held captive. It needs to
be her choice, completely. I’ll not risk her believing the only way she can get
free is to agree to be mine. That is no way to start the rest of our lives. I
won’t do it.”

Clayton’s shoulders relaxed
after I spoke and with a nod he left me alone with Penny’s rapidly cooling
dinner. What the hell was that about? Since when did Clay care about what
happened with Penny?

****

Penny

Frustrated and bored, I
paced the length of my cell. It might technically be a bedroom, but the lock on
the door keeping me trapped inside made it a cell in my mind. I had risked
trusting Marshall to keep his word and not barge in on me in the shower. It had
been totally worth it. The hot water had felt divine. I’d taken longer than I
normally would, making sure all the soot, ash, and grime were gone. But now I
was all clean and so bloody bored! I eyed my bag wishing they’d left me my
laptop. I could be searching for that damn
firestarter
.
Assuming Clayton was telling the truth that it wasn’t him. Or I could be
putting together the proof I’d need to prove without a doubt that it was him.
Get him put away for his crimes. But apparently that was going to have to wait
until I got free from here. However, it didn’t mean I couldn’t start thinking
over it all. Getting it all sorted out in my mind.

I’d definitely found the
ignition site. It had to be where Clayton was crouched when I stumbled upon
him. What clues had the
firestarter
left? With a deep
inhale I closed my eyes and put myself back there.

I’d always had the ability
to delve into my memories like this. It had helped me on many occasions, from
remembering answers for tests at school, to reanalyzing evidence I needed to
put away
firestarters
. To reliving the good times
with my parents. My chest ached at remembering them, but I pushed the emotions
aside. I needed to focus on the task of making sure justice was served on their
killer. That had to be my first priority.

Taking another breath, I
refocused on the memory, in particular, the ground, discounting the many
bootprints
. The
firies
had been
through this area so there were way too many to separate them out. I looked for
a small unburned patch near where I’d found Clayton. If there had been a device
and he’d collected it, there would be a small patch of
unblackened
dirt where it had been laid. Well, depending on what he’d used.

Moving through the
remembered landscape, my nose began to tingle. There’d been a scent on the air.
Something other than that of burning gums and shrub. I inhaled a deep long
breath trying to recall more of the smell. What was it?

“
Penny? Are you oka
y
?”

My whole body jerked, and I
jolted free from the past. I opened my eyes and drew back with a frown when all
I saw was the wall about an inch away from my nose. I’d obviously continued my
pacing as I searched my memories and had ended up one step from head-butting
the wall. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d crashed into something while I
traveled through my memories. But it would have been the first time someone had
seen it.

“
Ah, yeah. I’m fine. I was
just—” I cut myself short, Marshall’s loyalties were still unproven, and I
didn’t want to give away that I was trying to think up how to nail his brother
to the wall. “I was just lost in thought, that’s all. Is all of that for me?”

He held a tray with a
couple of plates piled high with steaming food that smelled so good, along with
all the food was a glass of juice and a bottle of water. All together it was
more than I typically ate in an entire day. No way could I put it all away in
one sitting. But, man, I wanted to. It all looked and smelled delicious. I'd
heard on the grapevine that Marshall had trained as a chef after he left
school, but I hadn't ever had the pleasure of tasting his skills before as he’d
gone down to
Ceduna
for work. Yeah, the fact he was
down in
Ceduna
had
nothing
to do with why I’d gone looking for work there last year.
Damn, I was such a fool. He didn’t give me a second glance in high school, so
why I’d thought he would out in the real world I wasn’t sure. But for some
stupid reason, I’d had to try. I’d had to see if he’d like the adult me, despite
not having liked the teenager version.

Marshall laid the tray on
the mattress before nervously rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

“
Ah, yeah. I wasn’t sure
what you liked so I made a few different things. Hopefully it’s all still hot
enough. I kind of got distracted having a go at Clay on my way up.”

I couldn’t help but grin.
He was completely adorable in his awkwardness. I slipped onto the bed and sat
crossed legged next to the tray.

“
It all looks amazing!”

Closing my eyes, I inhaled
all the aromas.
Hmmm.
I heard
Marshall
growl
low a moment before the mattress
dipped. My heart stuttered, and my eyes flew open to see what he was doing. How
could I have forgotten I was at his mercy? That he was a wild cat in a human
body. One that was helping to hold me captive in this room. I clenched my jaw
as Marshall moved to sit on the opposite side of the tray. Suddenly I wasn’t
hungry at all. I just wanted to go home. With a sigh, I pushed myself away from
the food toward the top of the bed where I could rest my back against the
headrest.

“
What’s wrong? Do you want
something else? Just tell me and I’ll get it for you. I promise it’s not
poisoned or anything. I’d never do anything to hurt you, baby.”

I really looked at him. His
features were creased with concern, and he looked genuinely worried.

“
I want to be set free. I
want to go home, sleep in my own bed. I want to not worry about what’s going to
be done to me next.”