Adrian’s lips quirked. ‘A little late for me. Thanks.’
‘Late? We’re only just getting started.’
‘Good luck with that. I’m just off home to a good night’s sleep.’
‘Nine-to-fivers,’ Mason acknowledged. ‘Bloody lucky.’
Still half asleep, Adrian raised his chin before turning his back to stick another pod in the Tassimo.
To distract Mason from his obvious attempt to wind Adrian up, Jenna nudged at him. ‘I didn’t know you were here.’
Mason ducked his head, his backside hit the floor as Domino swiped a long tongue over his ear and stomped on him. The dog’s attention didn’t even put a hitch in Mason’s voice as he continued to rough him up. ‘Fliss and I just got back from the cinema.’
With a grateful smile, Jenna took the second coffee Adrian handed to her and grabbed a swift sip. ‘I just got called in.’
‘Major fire.’ Mason pushed himself up from the floor, held one hand up in a stop motion at the overexcited Domino. ‘Wait.’
The command had Domino slapping his backside on the floor. He stretched his long elegant neck full length, chin up and sent an adoring gaze at Mason without even a twitch. Jenna wasn’t sure which one of them she should kick. Not that she’d dream of kicking the dog. Mason, possibly… but the dog was never that obedient for her.
Instead, she ground her teeth and turned to Mason, hoping her expression wasn’t as intent as Domino’s. ‘You’ve been called too?’
‘Yep.’ He took a long gulp of her coffee. ‘I’ll meet you at the station. I’ll grab the keys for the vehicle when I get there.’ He paused and narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Who’s driving?’
Jenna swiped her bag from the back of one of the kitchen chairs and swung it over her shoulder. ‘Me. Always me, Mason.’
Mason scrubbed the top of Domino’s head. ‘Go back to your mum, lad.’
Jenna’s jaw dropped as the spotted dog turned tail, trotted out of the door and thundered up the stairs back to Fliss. Used to Jenna’s on-call schedule, she’d not rouse herself from a comfortable, warm bed. There was no reason. And she’d be having a bloody sleep-in the following morning.
‘How the hell do you get him to do that?’
Mason gulped the rest of her coffee and slipped the empty travel mug into the sink. ‘Personality, boss. Personality.’ He raised a hand. ‘Good to see you, Adrian.’ As he swung on his heel and headed for the door, Jenna couldn’t resist a quick glance at the offending travel mug he’d stuck in the sink. Her pet hate. No one should ever leave crockery in a sink. There would be a little re-alignment of his attitude next time he stepped foot in her house.
She chewed her bottom lip, torn between washing it up and putting it away, or slipping out of the door and leaving it for Fliss to deal with. She caught Adrian’s gaze.
‘I see your demon in there. I’ve got it.’ He moved to the sink and swiped up the mug, bringing a fast grin to her face. The man was a minor miracle.
She stepped into his space and grabbed a quick kiss. ‘Thank you. I’ll see you later.’
‘Possibly not. I need to be back in London on Monday morning for a few days, it depends what you end up working.’
‘Oh.’ Disappointment curdled her stomach, but until he’d finished with the major drugs case he was working, life would continue in this vein. That just had to be accepted.
As she turned to go, he snaked an arm around her waist and whipped her back around to face him. ‘If you can dovetail something in later, let me know. I’ll let myself out.’ He grabbed another kiss and then released her, but not before he trailed his knuckles down her cheek and softened her heart.
‘There’s no need, you can stay.’ Her voice came out in a breathless rush.
‘No, it’s okay. I’ll get off now. Somehow it won’t be the same without you in that bed.’
The warmth in her stomach spread to her chest as she backed out of the kitchen, a vague confusion rolling through her system. He made it simple.
Before she turned to go, she had to check. ‘Make sure you lock the door behind you. It’s important to Fliss.’
His small nod accompanied an understanding smile. ‘Important to you too. I’ll see you soon. I’ll be back full-time once the courts call me for Fliss’s case.’
‘It could be weeks.’
His gaze held hers.
‘It won’t be weeks before I return. I’ll call you later.’
Flustered, she ducked her head. ‘Bye.’
She slipped out of the door and down the pathway with confusion uppermost. Her chest reeling between warm excitement and anxious anticipation. No one had ever treated her the way he did. There was respect and care. It was the care that all her previous relationships had lacked. Her boyfriends may have respected her, but she’d always been the stronger one, the one to reassure, to nurture, to care. Now it was mutual.
It left her strangely shaken.
She slipped into the car and glanced back at her house. It may take some getting used to, but it felt good to have him there.
5
Saturday 18 April 2355 hours
He pulled off the road and bumped his Jeep Wrangler through deep ruts into the treeline before he cut the engine.
All the best laid plans could take a turn for the worse. He needed to know this one hadn’t. The only way he could make sure was to check for himself.
He made his way through the thick forest of trees and kept the beam from the flashlight trained on the ground, aware anyone could see it. If they were looking. There was no reason for anyone to look.
Yet.
Satisfaction warmed his stomach as the glow of light flickered to reach gnarled fingers through the gaps in the trees.
He slowed his footsteps, aware of the precipice not far in front. The steep drop into the valley below.
Way above the fifteenth-century stone building, he stared down, satisfied the plan was initiated.
A rolling stone. There was no stopping it now.
He turned his head to the right to scan the long driveway. As yet, devoid of any traffic. It wouldn’t be for long.
Movement caught his attention and he narrowed his eyes. Twin lights of a vehicle approached from the direction of Much Wenlock. Not following the road as he would have imagined, but surprising him by crashing across the fields in a direct line towards the old house.
As it tore through the sparse treeline and made for the middle of the long driveway, a number of upstairs windows blew out from the house in an explosion of ferocious golden flames and black smoke in amongst what he could only imagine a profusion of tiny shards of glass.
Hypnotised, his gaze lingered on the flames licking their way up the outside of the house, consuming the place as though it was a living, breathing being sent to scorch and destroy.
Destroy is what it needed to do.
Sirens sounded in the dead of the clear night. Stars, normally clearly visible without the light pollution towns and cities had, petered out, overpowered by the strength of the flames dancing to their own tune.
The car slewed to a halt and he squinted to get a better view as the two front doors were flung open. Black silhouettes, intermittently illuminated stumbled towards the house, hands held up in defence.