Burn (Elemental Series Book 4) Read online

  Dean paused and glanced down at her before replying, “Plenty, actually.”

  Barely resisting the urge to lean her head into his shoulder, Arianna teased, “Like the nice, toasty temperature after sundown?”

  He shook with a rumbling chuckle as he came to a stop beside the driver’s side door of her Mustang. “For starters, yeah,” he said. The laughter faded from his eyes and he added, “The full list will have to wait, though. I can’t leave Angie waiting on the side of the road.”

  Arianna waved a hand at him dismissively, her other hand already holding the keys to her car. “Don’t even worry about me. I promise I won’t get lost. Go take care of your sister.” She hated the way her throat always swelled, just a little, when she said those kinds of things.

  Hesitation flickered in his eyes, but he nodded nonetheless and stepped back, out of her reach. He opened his mouth, paused, and finally said, “Good night, then. Be careful.”

  She silently instructed her heart not to flutter over such simple words as she returned his sentiments. Then she promptly turned and ducked into her car. Her stare was glued to her side mirror before she’d even settled, watching Dean swing into his Camaro. She swore his door couldn’t have been completely shut by the time the headlights switched on, but she took his cue and rolled her own engine over. He expected her to follow him back out the dirt road, and for the moment she was in the mood to find the thought purely endearing. She supposed someone probably got turned around when the sun disappeared. He didn’t know she wasn’t one of those girls.

  Her heartrate was mostly back under control by the time he peeled off in the opposite direction of town at the interstate. Mostly, but not entirely. The man had an inhuman effect on her and she still felt a bit restless. How hard was it to get one freaking kiss? Yeah, you’re doing a great job of keeping it slow, Arianna. Hadn’t she just been telling herself not to rush into anything earlier that very day? Yet as soon as the moment had presented itself, she’d practically jumped into his arms. If his sister hadn’t called—well, that was a pointless reflection.

  Another breath rushed from her lungs on a deep exhale and a smile tipped her lips. It said a lot about a man’s character, in her opinion, when he prioritized his baby sister over a clearly willing woman. While that meant she obviously needed to work on her self-control, she couldn’t help but like him a bit more, too.

  I hope his sister realizes how lucky she is…

  Chapter Five

  Dean eased to a stop in front of the darkened, familiar Chrysler and released a breath. It had taken him closer to twenty minutes than his estimated fifteen, but he had a reputation for being late so he supposed Angela wouldn’t be too surprised by that. His bigger concern was that he hadn’t seen her since she’d stormed off in a fit of rage the day before. Getting into an argument he didn’t even understand with his sister, at night and on the side of the busy interstate, seemed like a bad idea. But it’s not like I’m gonna leave her here.

  Hoping he was worrying over nothing, Dean swung out of his car at the same time as the girls popped their respective doors open. He detoured to his trunk, extracted the necessary cables, then made his way to the pair of eighteen-year-olds now standing between the vehicles.

  “Thanks, Dean,” Angela offered as soon as he was near enough. “I was kind of afraid you’d still be at the station.”

  Dean shrugged. “Slow day.” He tilted his chin toward the car and asked, “What happened?”

  “I have no idea,” Hilary admitted on a sigh. “It was running fine when we left this morning, but it made a funny sound when I turned it on to come home, and the electric started acting weird a few miles back.”

  Dean frowned as his paranoia flared. The car was several years old, it was always possible something wasn’t working right on the inside. But that nagging voice at the back of his head insisted he look deeper.

  “I’m hoping all it needs is a jump,” Hilary added as she crossed her arms and cut a frustrated glare toward the car.

  Shoving his baseless suspicions aside for the moment, Dean said, “Well, let’s find out. Pop the hood for me.”

  Hilary obediently returned to the car, Angela stepped out of the way, and Dean held his breath as he hefted the hood to its full height. Nothing immediately jumped out at him, so he leaned in for a better look.

  “Do you, like, need a flashlight or something?” Hilary asked awkwardly from the other side of the hood.

  “Nope,” Dean replied as his eyes alighted on what he was looking for.

  “Oh, right,” Hilary mumbled.

  Dean glared into the wiring, barely hearing Hilary. It was times like this when he thought his power would be more useful if he could unburn things. “Damn it all.”

  “Dean…?” Angela asked hesitantly, suspicion beginning to weigh her voice.

  He reached up, grabbed the hood, and slammed it back down with a bit more force than was probably warranted. He at least had his tone under control when he looked over at a wide-eyed Hilary and said, “Sorry, but a jump’s not the solution. It’s gonna need a tow.”

  Hilary groaned, her head falling back, and said, “I knew I should have put Denny’s number in my phone.”

  “I’ll call him for you,” Dean offered. “Grab whatever you wanna keep with you. You can both catch a ride with me.” He tugged his phone from his pocket, already turning to put away the useless cables in his other hand. After he got off the phone with the town’s towing company, he was going to have to find a way to explain the electrical burn around the engine. There was no way to prove it, of course, but every instinct he possessed insisted it wasn’t normal.

  Forty minutes later, Dean eased his Camaro out of Denny’s auto yard with his sister in the passenger seat. They’d followed Denny back, with Hilary’s car, and waited until Hilary’s father arrived, but at this point there was no need for Dean or Angela to stay. And with Hilary’s car out of commission, Dean was Angela’s ride home. Something he suspected bothered her more than him.

  “Please don’t say it,” Angela whispered as the Camaro slipped into the nighttime traffic.

  “Say what?” Dean asked, knowing full well what she meant. He couldn’t give her the answer she wanted, and he wouldn’t be doing her any favors to keep her in the dark.

  Angela shifted in her seat. “That you smell foul play or something. That you think it was a Matthews.”

  Dean frowned at the street before them. The exasperation in his sister’s voice was blatant and he hated it. He hated that there wasn’t anything he could do about it. So he took the next best option, since not reassuring her unspoken question would be answer enough, and teased, “‘Foul play’? Someone’s been watching too many procedurals.”

  Angela turned, undoubtedly offering him a dirty look, and said, “You’re hilarious.”

  “It’s natural,” he assured her with a faint, half-hearted grin. He said nothing more for a long minute before offering, “I’m sorry, Angie.”

  The silence held so long Dean was starting to contemplate turning the radio on low, just for something to listen to, when Angela finally said, “Me, too.”

  He wasn’t sure entirely how to interpret that, but it was clear she didn’t intend to say more. So he decided not to push it, released a slow breath, and tuned the radio on to her favorite station.

  ****

  Arianna let herself into the house awkwardly, her arms full of paper bags. Grocery shopping was not her favorite domestic chore—though she couldn’t honestly say what was—but it was her turn, and fair was fair. At least we didn’t need too much this week. As soon as she could, she set the bags down on the counter between the fridge and stove, and her eyes immediately alighted on the two envelopes resting on the counter beside the bags. The portion of the logo she could see on the bottom envelope ensured her it was her cell phone bill, but it was the other envelope that caught her attention. She recognized it immediately, though she hadn’t been expecting it.

  That was her father’s
handwriting.

  A conflicted breath rushed from her lungs and her hands curled into fists. She knew exactly what was in that unassuming white envelope. Deal with it later. The groceries needed to be put away, and then she could sit down with her father’s latest guilt-inspired note. If she didn’t find something else to do first.

  The last of the perishables were only barely put away when someone knocked on the front door. Arianna paused, somewhat startled, and flicked a glance toward the untouched envelopes. It seemed the universe had heard her. Still, she didn’t want whoever it was to get snoopy, so she quickly swept them into her purse before turning to answer the door. They were knocking for a second time when she reached it, but a few years of living in less than awesome neighborhoods reminded her to pause and glance out the peephole first.

  I know I asked for a distraction, but what’d I do to deserve this?

  Doing her best to wipe the cringe from her face, Arianna pulled in a breath and opened the door. “Jay,” she greeted with an entirely fake smile. “What’s up?”

  Jay Judd grinned back at her and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Hey, Ari,” he began, “I had a revelation. You have the day off, I have the rest of the day off, it seemed like a sign.”

  Yes, a sign that I need more of a social life. Or a less recognizable car. There was no way she’d give up her baby, so she was just going to have to work on her social life. And, heaven help her, Dean’s was the first face that flashed through her mind. “A sign?” she repeated out loud, hoping her voice didn’t betray her. “And what would you have done if I wasn’t home?”

  He shrugged and replied, “Kept driving.” His eyes slipped past her, toward the living room he could surely see over her shoulder, then returned to hers as he asked, “So, can I come in? I figure we should totally hang out for a while, you know, off the clock. Get to know each other some more.”

  Stomach clenching uncomfortably, Arianna heard herself saying, “Ah, actually, I … only have a few minutes free.” Crap. What do I say when he asks for details? Why did she never think things through before she opened her mouth?

  “No biggie,” Jay assured her. “I can at least keep you company until whatever it is you have to do.” He was already moving forward as he spoke and the only way to keep him out of the house would have been to let him walk straight into her. It was instinct to move out of his way. Then it was too late. “You know,” Jay said as he moved toward the couch, “I haven’t been in this house since Greg moved out.”

  Swallowing her sigh, Arianna shut the door and declared, “You’d better be careful. His name is a four-letter word around here. If Georgia comes home and hears you saying it, she’ll throw you out.” Greg, whom Arianna knew better as ‘The Slob,’ was Georgia’s ex-boyfriend. He and Georgia had lived together for over a year, and the longer they were together, the lazier he became. When she’d finally decided she’d had enough, and he refused to pick up after himself, she kicked him out. At least, that was the way Georgia told it.

  Jay laughed and flopped down in the center of the couch, arms stretched over the back and knees apart. “Yeah, I heard their break-up was loud and messy.”

  “Me, too,” Arianna replied for lack of anything better to say. She didn’t want to be talking about a relationship she’d never witnessed, but then she didn’t want to be dealing with Jay at all. She needed a way out, fast. And that was when a stupid, childish idea struck and she couldn’t stop herself from gesturing down the hall and saying, “Could you keep yourself company for a minute? I only just got home and I need to use the restroom.”

  Laughing again, Jay waved a hand toward her and said, “Yeah, of course. Go do what you need to!”

  So generous. “Thanks,” Arianna said with another fake smile. She turned without adding anything else and tried not to dwell on the slimy feeling creeping down her spine, knowing he was watching her. She was sure to click the lock into place on the bathroom doorknob. Not that it would really hold up if he actually tried anything. Then she pulled her phone from her pocket, switched the volume to vibrate, and typed in her text before she could think better of it.

  Please tell me you’re free. I need a rescue.

  Only after she’d sent it did it occur to her that Dean could very well misinterpret her request. Idiot. But it was out of her hands now, so all she could do was wait, and hope he replied quickly.

  He did. And she felt that much guiltier as she opened his response. It was a simple inquiry, but she heard it in a tight, worried voice, so she hurried to explain her situation. As she found herself waiting again for a response she felt like a complete moron. Not that there was anything she could do about it now, so she sighed and reached over, flushing the toilet just in case Jay had wandered down the hall.

  She’d turned on the sink faucet, figuring she ought to play up her charade since she’d already gone this far, when her phone buzzed again in her hand. This time, when she read Dean’s text, she could only smile.

  I’ll be there in five.

  Arianna thanked him, dropped the phone back into her pocket, shut off the water, and forced herself from the room. It would be even more suspicious if she stayed locked inside until her impromptu hero arrived. I definitely owe him. Not that she was sure how she could properly repay him, but she had time to figure that out.

  Jay was still sprawled out on her couch, though he had his phone in one hand. He looked over, his grin automatic, and let the phone fall to his lap carelessly. “So I was thinking,” he began easily, “maybe you could call your friend and ask for, like, an extra hour? I feel like I haven’t gotten any quality time with you since you graduated your training.”

  Uh-huh. “Sorry,” Arianna offered instead. “I can’t. In fact, he’ll probably be here any minute. I guess I sort of lost track of time while I was putting the groceries away.” How did I never make it big in Hollywood? It was way too easy to let that lie roll off her tongue. Probably she ought to be concerned for what that said about her, but in the moment she couldn’t bring herself to care. Especially not when Jay picked up on exactly what she’d just said.

  “He?” Jay repeated, eyes widening a little. His expression was more surprised than anything, and, frankly, it was insulting.

  “Yes, he,” she replied, suddenly having difficulty keeping her irritation hidden. Does he think I’m not capable of getting someone’s attention? Or, worse, did he have some crazy notion in his head that she was actually holding out for him? The very thought made her shudder, so she did her best to disguise the movement by turning toward the kitchen in order to grab her purse. For this to work properly, after all, she would need to actually leave the house. With Dean. Yeah, it was going to be real difficult to pull off.

  The sofa groaned, indicating that Jay had stood, and he asked, “Who’re you meeting up with?”

  Unsurprised by his question, she slid the purse onto her shoulder and turned back to face him calmly. “Dean.”

  Jay blinked at her slowly. “Dean? Dean Hawke?” He was clearly surprised, but he didn’t pause long enough for her to actually answer. “I didn’t know you two knew each other. How’d you meet?”

  How’s it any of your business? She was spared from having to decide whether or not to lie about that, fortunately, because even as she opened her mouth someone knocked—loudly—on the door. And her stupid heart jumped with anticipation, because she didn’t need to look to know who it was. Her smile was easier this time as she said, “That’s probably him.” She didn’t wait for Jay to respond before she angled carefully around him and strode to the door.

  Dean was already smirking when she pulled the door open. “I’m not too early, am I?”

  Doing her best to contain her relief, Arianna smiled and replied, “Not at all.” She paused, then, making a show of turning to the side and glancing toward Jay, who was still standing in the living room. Gesturing toward Dean, she said, “I sort of need to get going now, Jay … sorry you came all the way out here for nothing.”

  J
ay paused for a beat before his grin returned, smaller this time, and he moved toward them. “No worries,” he promised. He glanced between them and added, “Guess I’ll catch you guys later. Don’t have too much fun without me.” He threw in a wink before slipping past Dean and continuing toward his car.

  Dean met Arianna’s gaze as Jay rolled his engine over. “Thank you,” she breathed.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” Dean returned lightly, “you don’t know where we’re going.”

  Intrigued, Arianna stepped properly from the house and pulled the door shut as she asked, “You actually have something in mind?”

  “I always have something in mind,” Dean assured her with a rumbling chuckle. “Besides, people talk in this town. If someone sees us out separately, Jay’ll hear about it, and then so will you.”

  “I’m sure I could make up something convincing,” Arianna said as she dropped her keys into her purse and descended the single step between them. Genuine guilt flaring within her, she added, “If you were busy, it’s completely okay—”

  Dean held up his hand, cutting her off, and shook his head. “I was so not busy it was driving me mad. Really, I should be thanking you.”

  Managing to contain her own laughter, Arianna replied, “Then you’re welcome.” She paused, held his warm blue gaze for a moment longer, then turned her attention to the end of her driveway, where she could just make out the front end of Dean’s car at the curb. “So, where are we going, Mr. Hawke?”

  “You ever been shooting before?” Dean asked as he led the way down the faintly sloped drive.

  “A couple of times,” Arianna replied, “with my dad and brother when I was younger.” She’d been so young the first time, in fact, that her mother had had a fit and the whole neighborhood had probably heard the lecture her father had received. The three of them didn’t go together again for a couple of years, and then only twice, but Arianna remembered enjoying each experience.