Four-Alarm Blaze [Southern Heat 4]
Southern Heat 4
Four-Alarm Blaze
Years after losing her boyfriend in a tragic house fire, Los Angeles native Nina Taylor becomes a driven, dedicated arson investigator. Accepting a position with the Melville County Police Department, she moves to Louisiana to leave the past behind and further her career. A few months later, a demented arsonist decides to transform Melville into his own personal playground.
With leads running cold, the fire investigation suddenly turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse for the beautiful, accomplished Nina, prompting her to enlist the help of two drop-dead gorgeous firefighters, Logan Brock and Kyle Rogers. The instant attraction between the threesome grows ever hotter as Logan and Kyle assist Nina in slowly unraveling the mystery behind the destructive fires, but the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the game becomes.
Will the love that Logan and Kyle possess for Nina be strong enough to save her from the clutches of a vengeful pyromaniac? Witness passion burning white-hot in a four-alarm blaze!
Genre:
Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Romantic Suspense
Length:
31,311 words
Southern Heat 4
Alexa Aaby
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
FOUR-ALARM BLAZE
Copyright © 2014 by Alexa Aaby
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-694-0
First E-book Publication: December 2014
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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Four-Alarm Blaze
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As always, here’s to you, my readers. Enjoy the continuing journey, and thank you for all of your support.
FOUR-ALARM BLAZE
Southern Heat 4
ALEXA AABY
Copyright © 2014
It was 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 22 when Arson Investigator Nina Taylor pulled her storm-blue Nissan Altima up to the scene of the latest house fire in the county of Melville, Louisiana. On what would have been an otherwise typically peaceful night, everything about the latest blaze made it eerily untypical. Over the past five weeks, the county had been hit with a half-dozen suspicious fires. This was number seven.
Nina’s work hadn’t kept her this busy since she’d relocated from the west coast. Because Melville was literally becoming a hot spot for arson activity, the crime spree demanded her full attention. And although she was up for the challenge, the case was keeping her working into the wee hours of the night.
Melville was a small town, with a population of just over ten thousand residents. There had never been such an outbreak of unsolved fires in the town’s 450 year history. All evidence pointed to an arsonist who had chosen the county as his playground. It was up to Nina to bring his playtime to an end.
After seizing the opportunity to interview some of the surrounding neighbors and a few curious bystanders, she headed over to examine the burned down property. As soon as she stepped onto the pavement in front of the gutted three-story home on Peyton Lane, the five-foot-six-inch twenty-eight-year-old was met by the town’s fire chief, authoritative, burly Harold Moore. He wasted no time tearing into her with his no-nonsense attitude and thick Louisiana accent.
“Ms. Taylor, pardon my French, but the asshole responsible for this shit has got to be caught. Thank God the Archers are out of town visiting family in Baton Rouge.” Pointing his sausage-like index finger in her direction, he asked, “Did you know there were three children living in that house with their parents? Five lives were at stake tonight. How many more will be up for grabs before we catch this maniac? These fires are unprecedented. What the hell is going on around here?”
Tossing her long, shiny black hair to her back, Nina felt her temperature begin to rise. It was nothing new. The chief had had that effect on her since the second blaze broke out in town. As annoying as it was for her to hear his impassioned complaints, she knew he was right in steering his frustration her way.
It was her job to put an end to the mayhem that had managed to infectiously penetrate the normally tranquil southern town. She knew it was only a matter of time before the arsonist would claim his first victim. The responsibility rested upon her shoulders to find him and put him away. In spite of that, the chief’s persistence was making her feel quite agitated. It caused her mind to slip into the past.
Nina was all too familiar with the type of personal tragedy arson often brought with it. It was the reason she still bore the deep, second-degree burn on her left upper forearm. Still, she was the lucky one. The career she had chosen stemmed from the loss of her fiancé and soul mate, Justin Clark, seven years ago.
The fire, which broke out in the Los Angeles County apartment complex where they lived, had ultimately cost him his life. On the day of the tragedy, Nina arrived home after working a half-day shift at her job as a supervisor for a local telecommunications company.
Justin had not gone into work that day. Instead, he called out. Getting some additional rest that morning, he awaited Nina’s return. The couple had planned on spending a romantic, leisurely day at home in bed before going out for dinner later that night.
When Nina pulled into the complex, she saw smoke pouring from the roof of their building. Filled with unspeakable panic, she quickly made her way inside and reached Justin just as the roof of their top-floor apartment collapsed, bringing a flaming slab of wood down onto her arm. She was terrified, but fearing for their lives, Nina managed to drag his limp body down four flights of stairs and out of the building to the grounds below. She immediately administered CPR to Justin, but it was too late. Just as the fire crew and paramedics arrived, he managed to whisper “I love you” to her a second before he succumbed to smoke inhalation, cradled in her loving arms.
On that day, a piece of Nina died, too. Slipping deeply into a state of perpetual depression, she quickly lost her zest for life. Closing herself off from the outside world ultimately forced her employer to terminate her. After five months of living on unemployment benefits, Nina began to yearn for her old self to return. Regaining her inner strength, she realized that while she couldn’t save Justin, she had to make an earnest effort to save herself. She knew it was what he would have wanted her to do.
Because she had lost the love of her life to arson, she became determined to honor Justin’s memory in the most productive way that she could. Over the next several weeks, Nina became determined to turn tragedy into action. Submerging herself into the study of fire forensics, she ultimately landed a job with the San Diego Police Department. Later, when the call came for an arson investigator to join the Melville County Police Department, she wasted no time in applying for the position. Eager to leave her old life behind, when the job was offered to her, she accepted it.
Reliving the event opened old wounds, but Nina maintained control of her emotions. She responded to the chief’s questions in a reassuring tone. “The arson unit is close to cracking this one. Believe me, I understand your frustration. It’s been a nightmare of an investigation, but hopefully, it’s one that will be coming to a close real soon.”
Chief Moore began grinding his teeth. He stared into her light-brown eyes with a distinct frown covering his forehead. “Listen, this is my town to protect. While you and the other investigators are running around chasing down leads, my men and I are putting out these damned fires, hoping that nobody gets gravely injured or killed. This is bullshit, Nina. You need to find this jerk, and find him now!”
“Harold, we are doing everything within our power to find the person or persons responsible,” Nina replied calmly. “You know we’re short-staffed. We’re working as fast and thoroughly as we possibly can.”
“It’s not enough!” the chief shouted. “We’ve got to end this shit now!”