Trial by Fire (Southern Heat Book 4) Read online

  Liam took a deep breath, pulling Maya’s attentions back. He squeezed Meg one more time, kissing the top of her head, before relaxing his arms. He didn’t let her get far, though, pulling her into his side and wrapping one arm around her waist. Meg narrowed her eyes and his gaze moved from her to Maya. “I can’t say much,” Liam began. “Mostly because I’ve only heard rumors.” He glanced at Seth and then looked back at her. “Maya, I get that you want to clear your brother’s name. I really do. I’m not sure how much Meg has told you about her story?”

  Maya’s gaze hardened. She didn’t like where this conversation was going. Earlier, Seth had seemed to accept that she couldn’t be talked out of what she was doing, and then Meg had been happy to help. It seemed like things were finally falling into place, after so many months of what felt like pushing through mud and getting nowhere. Was the man who had perhaps the best knowledge and resources to help her going to end it all before she’d even began? And if Liam said no, would Meg change her mind, too? She looked between the two. No, Maya had a feeling Meg would help her no matter what. She might be small, but she could already tell that Meg had courage a mile wide. She’d refused to give in, even when the police thought she was guilty of burning down her own home. Even when there’d been a threat against her life, she hadn’t stopped helping other people. Maya just had to hope that Meg would continue to help her, even if Liam wouldn’t. “Enough,” she said. “I know Meg had to prove that she was innocent. I was hoping you’d help me do the same for my brother.”

  “Did she tell you someone tried to kill her because of it?”

  She met his gaze head-on. If she was going to be strong enough to get justice for Jesse, then she had to be strong enough to stare down anyone trying to get in her way. That’s all this was, a test. “And I know she fought back. That she didn’t let them win.”

  Liam smiled, but it was grim. “And I love her spunk, but God, I nearly had a heart attack five times over.” He pulled Meg closer, his hand caressing her, running up and down her arm. Meg tucked her head against Liam’s chest, smiling sadly at Maya. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through that, Maya. Not if I can help it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “And you can help, by helping me prove my brother’s innocent.”

  Liam took a deep breath and glanced over at Seth, who pushed off the counter and took Maya’s hand, leading her to a small kitchen table. He pulled out a chair and she sat, Seth picking up her hand again when he pulled up a chair next to her. His touch was warm, but she was too worried about what Liam was getting at to pay any attention to her body’s response. It was amazing how quickly everything could go up in smoke. Perhaps it was hopeless.

  Liam and Meg sat across from her, Liam mirroring Seth’s actions and picking up Meg’s hand. She watched them. Liam was always touching Meg in some way, even if it was just standing by her side or holding her hand. He was quieter than Meg, and from what she could tell far more reserved, but Maya had a feeling that didn’t mean he felt any less deeply. The man was head over heels with Meg. That much was obvious to anyone with eyes. Perhaps there was something to what he was saying. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would cast her aside just for the hell of it. There was no way someone so warm and open as Meg could have fallen in love with him if he would, Maya realized. Seth squeezed her hand and she took a deep breath. She’d had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what Liam had to say, and now she’d gotten over her first reaction and really thought it through, she had to listen.

  “Maya, I can’t offer you any proof, because I was blocked from looking into the case. The SAC in charge of your brother’s field office was on the scene within an hour and he barred any non-federal law enforcement from the site.”

  Her hand tightened around Seth’s and he squeezed back. She looked over at him. He was steady, but clearly not surprised. This wasn’t news to him. Was that what they’d been discussing when she and Meg had walked into the kitchen? Maya wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She’d gotten Seth involved, but this was her responsibility. She was the one who had to get justice for her brother.

  Why does it matter where it comes from?

  The thought surprised her and she was ashamed at her reaction. It shouldn’t matter. It didn’t. What mattered here was Jesse. How she got there was irrelevant. Maya steeled herself and looked up at Liam. She was ready to listen, to take whatever he could tell her. “Can he even do that? Force locals to not investigate?”

  Liam shook his head. “Usually not. But he was on the scene so fast, and well”—Liam shrugged—“the murder of a federal judge in his own home. A judge who was outspoken about organized crime who was instrumental in several of the recent cases that dismantled parts of the Dixie Mafia. Add on that one of their own agents was somehow involved, and no one was going to argue with him.”

  “So he knew my brother was there from the get-go?” Something about that sounded off to Maya, but she couldn’t figure out why. Her brother’s supervisor would know where he was working, wouldn’t he? Of course he would.

  “I only knew about the positive identification when it hit the papers,” Liam said. “I got a couple of samples from the ground floor of the house before the FBI techs took over, but that was it. I didn’t get as far as viewing the bodies.” He took a deep breath. “That’s why I can’t tell you anything for sure. Anything I know has come from the reports HQ was finally given, but that only happened when they started to make a public fuss about it.” He shifted in his seat, then looked straight at her. Something in Liam’s eyes made her shiver. “There’s something off about this case, Maya. I thought it myself before I even met you, and hearing what Seth said about your own investigations, and your brother. But someone’s already gone to a lot of effort to keep this under wraps.” He moved from holding Meg’s hand to pulling her body close to him again. “I don’t like to think about what could happen if you try to force that secret to come out. And Maya, it takes a lot to scare me.”

  Maya shifted in her chair. Liam kept his eyes on her but didn’t say anything more. She looked over at Seth. He was frowning, but didn’t let go of her hand. “I’ll help you no matter what you decide,” he said, his voice low. “But you should listen to what Liam’s saying. Take some precautions, at least.” His hand tugged at hers until she turned, facing him. “And take me with you.”

  Her cheeks heated, his words throwing her off balance. “Why would you want to do that? I only just met you this morning.” Damn, she didn’t like how shakily her voice came out.

  Seth frowned. “Because I can see how much this means to you. I don’t need more than a day to tell what sort of person you are, Maya. Your family doesn’t deserve what happened to you—you don’t deserve it. If I can help, I will.”

  Whoa. That went way above opening a door for her, or holding out her chair. There was something between them, if she wasn’t imagining the whole thing. Maya had never believed in love at first sight—lust at first sight, sure. Her eyes roamed Seth. Tall, broad shouldered, blond hair, and brown eyes burning into her. What was she doing? She didn’t fall for guys she’d just met. She barely agreed to a date unless she already knew the guy. Playing it safe—that was the smart thing to do.

  And look where that had gotten her. Maya had changed since the day her whole life was upended a few months ago. Before then, she’d been an office girl from North Carolina. Wake up, go to work, go to the gym, maybe drinks out with the girls—that was her life. She had a routine now. Eat, sleep, and read—newspaper articles, research papers, conspiracy theory blogs, it didn’t matter. Her official contacts had quickly dried up when she’d debated their findings, requested that someone re-investigate. Any information was way too new to be available via The Vault—the FBI’s publicly available database—and her Freedom of Information Act request had been paper shuffled back and forth, largely ignored. First, they’d requested she provide proof of death for the person’s information she was requesting. Given the circumstances, Maya had thought that woul
d have been obvious. They’d been the ones to declare him dead, for fuck’s sake! She’d replied with his death certificate, and been placed back into a long line. Any scraps of information she’d managed to get her hands on had been heavily redacted anyway. She could probably forget that line of investigation all together.

  If she was going to get anywhere with proving Jesse didn’t kill someone, then it was going to have to be by sheer grit and all the backdoor channels she could find. And here was one staring her in the face. Liam and Seth might be pointing out obstacles in her way, but it wasn’t as if they didn’t already exist. Having someone who knew the inside track would be more useful in the end. Maya took a deep breath. She was just going to have to accept that she’d be sticking around for a while. She took a deep breath. “Okay. What’s the first step?”

  Meg clicked on her cell, looked at the screen, and then pocketed it. “Lunch. I know you’ve already eaten, but Maya, you look like you could do with a good feed and I know Seth won’t turn down a meal.”

  He grinned. “You know me so well.”

  She looked over to Maya, holding up a hand to her mouth and stage-whispered. “Let’s deal with the men’s stomachs, then we’ll work out where to go from here. Liam will be far more agreeable after a sandwich.”

  Liam chuckled, sweeping Meg up in his arms and kissing her. “Don’t go giving away all my secrets, Love.”

  They wandered out of the kitchen, leaving Maya and Seth alone. She pushed to her feet, but then stood still, suddenly awkward. She pressed her lips together, looking for the right words. She had no idea what to say next. Was he a new friend, a colleague in a way, or a potential date? Maybe all of the above. Right now, he was a companion at lunch. She’d deal with the rest later.

  Seth smiled, pushing back from his chair and moving over next to her. “We better get there before Liam’s eaten everything. If I know Meg, she’s invited half the firehouse over, too.”

  Sure enough, when Maya walked out to the backyard, there were at least five new faces. She recognized them from early that morning, but because they were out of uniform, it was hard to tell if she’d spoken to them already. Seth introduced her around before sitting her down in the middle of the table, a plate piled high with more food than she thought she’d eat in a week, let alone when she’d already had lunch. “Save room for dessert,” he said. “Meg made pie.”

  Maya clicked her seatbelt into place and sat back, smiling. What had been a pretty shitty start to the day had turned out to be a good afternoon. Seth and Meg both seemed to have taken her under their wing, introducing her around. She’d met the famous Sloane, who’d grabbed her cupcakes out of Seth’s hand with a grin and a kiss to his cheek, then Mason, Dean and his girlfriend Amy, then Shane, Connor, Matt, Jeremy. She’d forgotten names after awhile and had just sat back and taken it all in. They were like one giant family. No, they were family. She could tell that even from just one afternoon. With Jesse gone, it was just her and her parents. She had cousins, somewhere, but they weren’t particularly close. She hadn’t seen them since they were kids and they hadn’t even shown up for the funeral. What would it be like to belong to a large family like that? Where there was always someone to look out for you, someone to talk to, or just have fun with. Her mind wandered until a car door’s slam pulled her out of her head. She looked up. The sky was darkening, the last of the sunlight sending warm tones over Seth’s hair as he climbed in the truck.

  “Almost dropped them,” Seth said, holding out a large bag. Maya took it, placing it on her lap. Whatever was inside was still warm. “Leftovers,” he said. “Meg wasn’t sending you home without making sure you were properly fed.”

  Maya laughed. “I’m bursting already.”

  “For tomorrow, then. Speaking of which, I work one on two off. I could pick you up again for breakfast tomorrow? The cafe we went to has a killer breakfast platter. Then we could go down to Central Records, whatever you want.”

  Something bubbled inside her, warming her. She’d like that. Maya wasn’t going to forget what she was in town for, but she wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity, either. Ever since that day when the men arrived and changed her life forever, she’d been in a dark place. That afternoon, for the first time, a little bit of light had gotten in. It had reminded her that she was still alive, and she wasn’t ready to let that go.

  “Sure, that’d be great.”

  Seth pulled up in front of her motel, parked in the spot outside her room, and then walked around to her door again. She was going to have to get used to that. “I’ll wait here until you get inside. Nine a.m. tomorrow? You can catch up on a bit of sleep and we can eat then head down to the town hall when they open.”

  She smiled. “See you then.” Maya hopped out of the car, and Seth reached behind her, picking up the bag of Meg’s amazing cooking.

  “Don’t forget that, or she’ll have my head.” He leaned to pass it to her, and as her fingers brushed with his to take the bag, Seth leaned in and his lips brushed her cheek.

  “Tomorrow, then,” he said.

  Meg raised her hand, touching the spot where his mouth had been only seconds before. Yes, life was still worth it. Seth was making sure to remind her of that. She turned and walked toward her room door, turning back as she slid the key into the lock. He was still there, inside the truck and behind the wheel now, his hand raised in a wave. She smiled and waved back, then pulled the door closed behind her.

  Maya draped her coat over the back of a chair, and walked over to the small fridge in the room, spending several minutes moving things around to fit Meg’s containers inside. It wasn’t until she shut the refrigerator door and stood that she noticed the piece of paper on the floor. It was folded, lying near the door. It must have been pushed under. She frowned. Had the manager needed to get in touch with her so soon?

  She walked over and picked up the paper, unfolding it. A gasp escaped her and she grabbed at the door jamb as her knees suddenly gave way beneath her. The paper was mostly blank, with only a single line scrawled quickly in black pen in large, block letters.

  Stay away. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave now.

  Maya grappled with the door handle and pushed it open, her breath missing in action. Nothing greeted her except a dark, empty parking lot. Seth was gone.

  10

  Seth

  Seth sat watching Maya’s closed motel room door for a few moments. What was he doing? It had taken everything he’d had to not kiss her. At the last moment, he’d moved his lips to brush against her cheek, rather than to take her mouth. He wanted to feel her soft lips against his, to nip, suck, and then thrust his tongue into her mouth, tangling with hers. He wanted to know what she tasted like. His dick twitched at the thought, growing hard. He shifted, adjusting himself. He was sitting in a parking lot in the dark, for fuck’s sake. Now was neither the time nor the place. But her lips, her laugh, her curves, God, her everything. Maya sparked every protective instinct he had, but it was more than that. She’d been through more in just a few months than he could imagine dealing with in a lifetime, and yet she was still standing. No, Maya wasn’t just standing, she was thriving. She’d taken control of a truly shitty situation, refusing to give in when she’d been told something she couldn’t believe. Now, she was out on the road, all on her own, finding justice for her brother. She wasn’t going to be on her own anymore.

  Seth’s jaw clenched. He would have helped Maya no matter what, but she was right. There was something damn suspicious with the fire. It had bothered him from the moment he’d stepped back in the scene, and he wasn’t the only one. Liam had already drawn his own conclusions during his investigations. There was something going on at that house. He hadn’t figured out exactly what that morning, his mind occupied with keeping Maya safe and not messing everything up completely. Now, though, it was dark, quiet, and he was on his own. He could take his time and look through everything fully, and with the perfect excuse if someone questioned why he was there. He h
adn’t forgotten Liam’s warning. At that time of day he’d need to use lighting, and if the wrong person noticed Seth was nosing around the crime scene—because that’s exactly what it was, even if the tape had been long removed—then he could point them back to Chief Stone, telling them he was just following orders. Alex had already intervened once in the investigation to get the reports sent to HQ from the FBI, and he was sure the man was smart enough to think on his feet if Seth needed to use him as an excuse on the fly. He wasn’t opening his mouth for a second about the real reason. There was no way Seth was letting anyone know he was checking out that house for Maya, and the chief would figure that out, too, pretty quickly. Maya was staying a secret. He’d take the heat, if there was any, but he wasn’t telling a soul why he was really looking around the burned-out house after sundown.