Trial by Fire (Southern Heat Book 4) Read online

  Her eyes dropped to the table. “It wasn’t. But I need to get used to it.”

  Seth’s hand moved across the table top, coming to rest lightly on hers. “Will you tell me why?”

  She looked up, meeting his eyes. They were brown, warm. How hadn’t she noticed them before? “I owe him. Jesse. I can’t let everyone else just go on with their lives thinking he . . . there’s no way he killed that man, Seth. There’s no way he killed anyone.”

  He squeezed her hand. “He was FBI, Maya.”

  She withdrew her hand, placing it in her lap. “Anyone who didn’t deserve it.” The thought rattled around in her mind. Had she been looking at this wrong? Maybe it wasn’t that her brother hadn’t killed the judge. Maybe something the judge had been doing . . .

  “Do you know what your brother was investigating?”

  “No.” Jesse had kept most of the details of his work from her, and the FBI hadn’t exactly been forthcoming.

  “I don’t know what to say, Maya. As far as I knew, the judge was a stand-up guy.”

  Her gazed nearly burned into his. “So was my brother.”

  He didn’t look away. “Then I’ll help you.”

  7

  Maya

  “You know, if you’re sticking around in town for a while, I could help you find a job.”

  Maya’s eyebrows shot up. She had planned to be here for a few days, a week at most, find out what she could and then motor it back home, stopping by Atlanta on her way to take another run at her brother’s SAC—Special Agent in Charge—and see if she could shake anything loose with her newfound evidence. Evidence that clearly was going to take a hell of a lot more work to find. “What kind of work?”

  “There’s a shelter in town, Promise House. Meg does a great thing for the community, but she’s been looking a little tired lately. Maybe she could do with some help.” He picked up her hand again. “It would help you get to know people around here, too.” He smiled. “We’re not a bad bunch, when you get to know us.”

  His hand felt warm on hers, and this time she didn’t want to take it away. But that wasn’t why she was there. She let herself linger for just a few more seconds, then withdrew her hand. That didn’t mean she couldn’t take him up on his offer. Like it or not, she needed the cash if she was going to see this through. “Sure. I’d appreciate it.”

  Sarah arrived with their burgers and Maya practically drooled at the sight. Until then, she hadn’t realized how starving she was. Seth had already taken a big bite, a dab of sauce left on his lower lip. She forced her gaze away before she could reach out a finger and clean him up. Instead, she took a bite of her burger, closing her eyes in appreciation. “So good.”

  Seth chuckled. “Pretty amazing, huh?” He licked his fingers and Maya found herself smiling again, even as a heat rose within her at the sight. Maybe sticking around town for a while wouldn’t be such a bad thing, after all.

  The ride over to Promise House after their early lunch was quick, Seth pointing out a few landmarks on the way. The grocery store, a park that had a good walking track. He pulled up in front of an old house, walked around to her side of the car, and opened her door. He’d done the same thing at the cafe, she realized, holding the door open for her, then waiting for her to sit before taking his own chair. No, she was imagining things. That was just simple Southern hospitality. Wasn’t it? The thought left her mind when Seth was tackled by a small woman who flew into his arms. He laughed, wrapping his hands around her waist, catching her. “Now Meg, don’t let Liam catch us in such a compromising position.” His eyes sparkled and Meg slapped him across the chest. Maya couldn’t help but smile, too. It was obviously an ongoing joke between them.

  “Liam’s around the back, hauling in this week’s deliveries.” She batted her eyes at Seth. “You don’t mind helping, do you? I was hoping to get everything in and away before lunch.”

  Seth grinned. “Not at all. The old man’ll need some help if he’s going to make your strict deadlines.” His hand wrapped around Maya’s, tugging her forward. “Meg, this is Maya. She’s going to be around town awhile. You’ll make her feel at home for me?”

  Another slap to his chest, and this time Maya giggled, the last remaining stress of the morning washing away. “Of course!” Meg looped her arm through Maya’s, tugging her forward. “Leave the boys alone to do the heavy lifting. You and I can enjoy the spoils. I told Liam to bring the cookies in first.” She leaned forward, her arm slipping free of Maya’s. “Unless, Seth, that’s a box from Cobb’s in the back seat there.” She batted her eyes. “I promise I won’t tell Sloane if you won’t.”

  Seth shook his head. “No way, Meg. Besides, if I know you, there’s something delicious already brewing inside. We ate already, but you’ll let us stay for dessert if I do all my chores?”

  Meg chuckled, poking him in the shoulder. “We’ll see how fast you work, Fireman.”

  Seth walked away still grinning, and Meg turned back to Maya. “Don’t mind me.” A shadow crossed her face. “The boys were there for me during a very tough time in my life. They all helped me get back on my feet, and I love them to pieces.”

  Maya was curious. The woman in front of her was happy, outgoing, and practically had sunshine glowing from her pores. What could have happened to someone like that? “Who’s Liam?”

  “Only the most gorgeous hunk of man you’ll ever lay your eyes on,” Meg said. “Oh, and a fire investigator for the county. I wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for him.”

  Fire investigator. Maya’s smile dropped off her face as her feet froze. Meg looked back at her, frowning. “Maya, you okay?”

  “I’m in town because of a fire,” she blurted out.

  Meg’s face was a picture of compassion. “Oh, Sweetheart. It’s okay.” She gestured toward Promise House. It was a grand old structure, clearly well maintained. The trim was freshly painted, along with the weather boards covering the house. She looked up. Come to think of it, the roof looked new, too. Meg spoke again, breaking Maya out of her thoughts. “See that window, right up there? That was my bedroom. I woke up there trapped, in a room filled with smoke. Dean—one of the guys from Seth’s engine company—carried me out the window in my pajamas. I was so damn sure I was going to fall, and then Liam tells me that he’s there because they suspect the entire thing was deliberate.” Meg shook her head. “If I hadn’t already been in shock, I think I would have fallen over right there on the lawn. What followed after that was the worst couple of weeks of my life. Half the GBI—and probably Liam, too, at first, I think—thought I’d set the fire myself and when I started digging into things, the next thing I know someone was taking pot shots at me down at the creek.”

  Maya’s eyes were wide. She could only imagine what Jesse had been through, but Meg had been right in the line of fire herself, literally. How had she found the courage to keep going? If someone took a shot at her, Maya figured she’d probably run around in circles screaming. “What happened?”

  “My ex-husband.” Meg’s face darkened. “Bastard had been pretending he’d moved away and gotten a new life, for years. Turns out his gambling debts had gotten a hold of him, and he blamed me for his life falling apart. He took out an insurance policy on the shelter, and then tried to burn it to the ground, then tried to kill me when it didn’t work.”

  Maya slapped a hand over her mouth as a gasp escaped. “They got him?”

  Meg nodded. “When he was caught red-handed, trying to strangle me. Liam stopped him,” she paused, then spoke again. “Nearly killed him,” she said quietly. Meg looked up, forcing a smile on her face again. “No less than the bastard deserved, but yes, he’s in jail now, where he’ll stay for the rest of his life, God willing.”

  “It was my brother,” Maya said. Meg made a tsk-ing sound and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, walking her up the path leading to the front door. She couldn’t be more than a few years older than Maya, but there was something about her that made Maya want to talk to her,
to tell Meg her story—Jesse’s story. Out of everyone, after hearing Meg’s story, Maya had a feeling she’d understand.

  “The judge’s house,” Meg said. “Liam told me this morning,” she added when Maya looked up at her.

  “He didn’t do it.”

  “Oh, Sweetheart. He was your brother. If you believe that, then that’s all that matters.”

  “But it’s not enough,” Maya said. “Everyone else still believes he’s guilty. I need to prove it. I need to do that for him . . .” her words trailed off as they walked in the front door.

  Meg led her to a couch sitting under a bay window. “But?”

  Maya looked down at her hands, folding them in her lap to stop them from fidgeting, or trembling. She wasn’t sure which. “But I don’t have the first clue where to begin.” She looked up, meeting Meg’s gaze. Her eyes were full of compassion, and a little concern. “Seth took me through the scene this morning, and it took me all of ten minutes to figure out that I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. How am I going to prove Jesse’s innocence when I don’t even have enough cash to see me through the month?”

  Meg touched her upper arm, squeezing and then smiled at her. “By working with me. If I know Seth, that’s why he brought you here in the first place.”

  Maya’s lips tilted up in a half smile. “He might have mentioned something about that.”

  “Liam’s been at me to find some help around here. I can’t afford to pay much, but I can give you somewhere to stay, if you want it. The man’s been complaining he never gets to see me. Our hours can be pretty crazy, both of us.” Meg looked at her. “Just don’t let this take you over. It’s important to honor the person your brother was just as much as the way he died.”

  A thought occurred to Maya and she frowned. “Would Liam even want me here, though? I mean, if he was the one who decided my brother’s case?”

  Meg waved her hand. “Liam would never let his work get in the way of his personal relationships. Besides, from what I heard that was all taken over by the FBI?” Maya nodded. “No problem, then. He might even be able to help you, if you want.”

  Was that even possible? An arson investigator on her side would be invaluable, might even find the missing piece she’d been looking for. So far both Seth and Meg had believed her story, or believed that she did, at least. Was it too much to hope for that someone else would as well?

  A crash sounded down the hall, and Meg chuckled. “It was only a matter of time before one of them broke something. We better go help them before they destroy the entire kitchen.”

  She stood, jogging down the hall, but Maya just stared after her. She couldn’t make her feet move. Beyond that door was a man who could potentially blow the case wide open, or crush her with her brother’s guilt. Which one was it going to be?

  8

  Seth

  Seth hefted up another box and carried it into the storeroom attached to the kitchen. He knew the shelter’s operations had expanded since Meg had reopened, including feeding most of the neighborhood in a social and fund-raising event once a month, but the amount of supplies they went through each week still surprised him. Liam walked past him, going back to the truck for another box of his own. Seth continued into the house and put his box down in the stack, waiting for Liam to catch up. He needed to ask him a few things, out of earshot of Maya. He didn’t want to be responsible for hurting her any more than he already had. He was still cursing himself for the idiotic things he’d said back at the judge’s house that morning. “So tell me,” he said. “This morning, you said there was something weird about the fire. Was the position of the bodies all it was?”

  Liam put down his box and then walked into the kitchen, leaning up against the large work bench that sat in the center of the room. “No. Well, not just where the bodies were found. The accelerant also bothered me. There were pour patterns down the steps, all the way to the front door. Why would he lay down a trail all the way to the front door and then not just leave?”

  “Did you find anything upstairs to explain it?”

  Liam shook his head. “Nope, but then maybe I’m wrong on the accelerant. Pour patterns can be wrong, and I never got to test it. The FBI took over the investigation before I could even get samples off to the lab.”

  Seth crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowed. “They were there that quickly?”

  Liam nodded. “The cops on the scene said the SAC showed up that morning. He was in town, maybe Maya’s brother wasn’t working solo, who knows.” Liam spread his arms, shrugging. “Federal judge, federal agent . . . that was it. I was shut down.”

  He didn’t like it, any of it. Seth wasn’t an expert like Liam, but he knew enough. Multiple points of origin, accelerant, the fire would have certainly burned hot enough to destroy any evidence. That didn’t mean that you could just assume there had been some. Still, the bodies had been burned badly, charred beyond recognition. It had taken dental records to identify them both, he’d read in the newspaper. It was an easy point to argue that anything proving why Jesse had returned upstairs had been burned away with his body. The body. “What about the bodies? Was any accelerant found on Jesse’s remains?”

  Liam lifted an eyebrow. “On a first-name basis with the deceased now, are you?”

  Seth frowned. “It’s not like that. It’s just . . . Maya. She paints a very convincing case.” He looked over at Liam. “You should have heard her, Man. She’s hurting, but she’s absolutely convinced that her brother didn’t do it. There is no doubt in her mind. None.”

  “That doesn’t mean she’s right. We all want to believe the best of our loved ones.”

  Seth could understand that, too. But then he thought of Meg, and of how Liam had believed her when all evidence pointed to the contrary. He said he’d just known. Did Maya, too? “What about Meg? Sometimes it isn’t as straightforward as people want us to believe. You know that, Liam.”

  Liam nodded, his mouth thinning into a line. He likely didn’t like being reminded of that time any more than Maya had liked visiting the house that morning. “I’m sorry,” Seth said. “But she could be right.”

  “She could,” he said. “But she’s going to have a hell of a time proving any of it.”

  Seth’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

  “I was tossed off the case quicker than you could blink. That’s not normal. I only got a copy of the official results months later, too, and I had to get HQ to make an official request. That’s not normal, either.” He looked at Seth. “Someone is very territorial about this case. Maybe they knew the judge, maybe it’s more, but if Maya hasn’t already been told to steer clear, then I’d be very surprised. It’ll happen as soon as she starts digging around in the FBI’s business.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s already happened. Hasn’t stopped her.”

  Liam shifted, glancing at the kitchen door. It stayed closed, the women still busy at the front of the house. “I already told you something about this case is off. I get that Maya wants to clear her brother’s name . . .” Seth opened his mouth, but Liam kept talking. “Trust me, I really do understand. But I’m worried, too. I don’t want what happened to Meg to even be remotely possible here.”

  “But that was her ex, one crazy guy. Liam, we’re talking about the FBI here.”

  Liam nodded. “A whole bunch of type-A personalities with guns. And apparently a reason to keep as much of this case to themselves as they can. I have to ask why, and what’s going to happen to someone who wants to force their hand.”

  Seth flinched, his hand jerking backward and knocking a tea cup and saucer off the bench. It hit the floor and shattered, the spoon that had been inside the cup tinkering on the floor seconds after. He looked at Liam, eyes wide. “You think someone could come after Maya if she pursues this?”

  Before Liam could answer, Meg pushed through the door. “There you boys are!” She smiled, gesturing behind her, and a few seconds later Maya followed her. “Liam, you can help Maya with a few questions, right? I
already told her you’d help. She needs someone in her corner if she’s going to make this stick.”

  9

  Maya

  Maya looked at Seth and Liam. Liam’s mouth opened, and then shut again and Seth avoided looking at her at all, a hand rubbing over the back of his neck. Just what had she and Meg walked in on? Meg was obviously wondering the same. “Liam?” she said. Her eyes were wary, and Maya hated that she’d managed to do that to such a vibrant, cheery woman. She’d been putting on her own facade for weeks now, alternating between restlessness, anger, and grief. Sometimes it felt like all three—and more—cycled in mere minutes. But it wasn’t fair of her to drag anyone else down to that level with her. Jesse deserved justice, but it was hers to get and her sacrifice to make. She’d already made Seth spend nearly his entire day off helping her. She wasn’t going to end it by making Meg upset, too. From what she’d heard of Meg’s story, she’d been through enough already. Maya didn’t want to dredge up any memories of the fire at Promise House by involving her any more than she already had.

  Maybe she shouldn’t be so worried. In the few seconds that Liam had taken to not answer, Meg had moved beyond wariness and to the same directness she’d greeted Maya with when she’d first arrived. “Liam Cohen. What the hell is going on?” Meg said.

  Liam stepped forward, enfolding Meg in his arms. He was large and muscular, her new friend nearly disappearing in his embrace. She bet Meg always felt safe in that embrace. She looked over at Seth. He wasn’t as broad as Liam, but was no less strong, his frame wiry but well toned. Had to be for the job, she supposed. Still, his biceps pushing against his T-shirt sleeves did something to her that she’d rather pretend wasn’t happening.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d felt it that morning, and the last thing she needed was another complication. She studied him. Seth could help. He had the knowledge and connections that could be invaluable if she was ever going to do this, but he had the potential to be incredibly distracting, too. And distractions could be dangerous. Already sparks buzzed between them, like a low-level hum—quiet, but always there. When he looked her way, or touched his hand to her bare skin, the spark became a physical thing she could feel arcing between them. Seth seemed to feel it too, maybe. He’d flirted with her more than once that morning, but every time it had been subtle enough that it could also be completely innocent. It would be so much easier if a man would just come right out and tell you what he thought. Maya suppressed an eye roll at her thoughts. She’d only known the man for a matter of hours, for God’s sake. He didn’t owe her a damn thing. And yet here he was, helping her with her investigation, taking her out to lunch, even helping her find a job so she could afford to stick around in town long enough to see this whole thing through. If he wasn’t interested, then at least he was a genuinely nice guy, and one that she could do with having on her side.