Deadly Heat (Deadly #2)(17)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Like you want me.”

Damn straight. Now. Naked.

“Not with pity.”

What the hell?

“Or worry. Just… need.” Her tongue swiped out, pretty and pink. “I like that.”

She might as well have punched him in the stomach or given his c**k a long, slow stroke.

Lora turned away. “When you work an arson scene, you start investigating from the outside, then work in. The most damage is always around the point of origin, and from what I could determine, the origin of the fire was on the first floor, in the back room…”

The woman was a tease. Shit, when they were done with this scene—

“Gasoline was the accelerant. If you look,” her hands pointed. “You can see the scorch marks on the wall. The fire started on the floor, following the path of the gas. It snaked back here, then rose to the second floor.”

Kenton took a breath. Tasted ash and her. Focus. He’d asked her out here to pick her brain, not to fantasize about having her naked.

I like the way you look at me.

Lora Spade was very dangerous.

“Fire always wants to burn up,” she told him as her gaze scanned the scene. “So when you see the flames staying low, that’s a sign that a flammable liquid is controlling the direction of the fire.”

“The storage closet where they found Jerome…” He cleared his throat because his voice sounded too rough. By-product of the lust raging through his blood. “It’s directly above us, right?”

A grim nod.

“If the killer had gasoline, he came here, knowing he’d set the fire.”

“The guy always comes prepared,” Lora said, cocking her head to watch him. “Or at least, he has been on the last few fires.”

Because the guy had evolved with the kills. Standard behavior for a serial. Those killers who weren’t caught learned to get smarter. Their arsonist had learned to prepare.

Time to reveal a bit more to her. “Jerome was an informant. His handler delivered a message to the SSD. Said Jerome had some info on the Skofield arson.”

Her lips parted. “And you didn’t tell me this right away?” She marched toward him. “You knew I wasn’t sure if this fire was connected. He never kills his victims first—”

“He did this time.” Kenton was certain of it. “Because he wanted to make sure Jerome never had the chance to talk.”

“The chance to talk… to you. That’s why you were here—you were coming to find out everything Jerome knew.”

He remembered the sight of the dancing flames. “I just got here too late.”

The floor above them creaked. Hell, the whole place seemed to be creaking and groaning.

“What did you hope to see here?” Lora asked, narrowing those sexy eyes. “Seth has been all over this place, and he didn’t—”

“He didn’t find the drugs at the last scene.”

“No, he didn’t.” She glanced behind her.

A car horn blared in the distance.

“Why’d he start the fire here, Lora? Why this spot?”

“The trail he set gave him easy access out. Toss and burn, that’s all he had to do here.”

“After he killed Jerome.” Just in case, huh, bastard? Just in case the firefighters beat you at your sick game, you didn’t want to take any chances.

Ash trickled down onto Lora’s shoulder. A small dusting, almost like a mist. Her fingers lifted, rubbing the darkness.

Another soft groan rose from those blackened walls.

Her gaze darted to the left, then up. She stared at the black lines above them. “I want you to move real fast, Kent, okay?”

Her voice was calm, but her eyes, when they slowly lowered to his, were glowing bright.

“Get to the door,” she told him as another groan burst from above them, louder this time. Much louder. Lora lunged toward him. “Get to the door!” A stark whisper.

Not without her. No way.

Kenton caught her arm and they shot forward. Not groans from the ceiling anymore. Screams.

Darkness, all around—no, ash. Falling. Covering him.

His fingers dug into her flesh, and he shoved her through the doorframe, slamming into her as he stumbled out on her heels.

They hit the cement. Hard. At the impact, the skin tore on his palms, and his chest rammed into her back.

But they got out—just before what was left of the second story crashed down on them.

Kenton choked on the dirt and dust filling his lungs. “Fuck.” He pushed up, feeling the cuts in his palm tear deeper. “Lora, you okay?” All he could see was the back of that silky hair. She rolled a bit, wincing as she turned toward him. Long red scratches marred her right cheek. Her face must have hit the cement.

“Yeah, I’m—” Lora coughed a bit. “I’m all right.”

He wanted to kiss her then because his heart was racing, and he was so damn glad they’d gotten out of there. He wanted to—

Kenton crashed his mouth onto hers and drove his tongue deep. He tasted. He took. And he wanted a hell of a lot more.

More he’d be getting, very, very soon.

Lora moaned into his mouth, a sweet, tempting little sound that had his c**k twitching. She felt soft beneath him. Smooth muscles, silken flesh. And her mouth…

Her tongue swiped against his. Her lips pressed tight against his mouth. The woman knew how to make a man weak. And very, very hungry.

His mouth hardened on hers, and his tongue thrust deeper. Her fingers were against him, pressing lightly. Her body soft and close and—

More.

The demand echoed in his mind, but…

Not the f**king time.

Forcing his head to lift and his mouth to free hers, Kenton sucked in a hard breath. Lust and fury beat in his veins. “What the hell just happened? I thought that building had been cleared! The search teams had the okay to go in, it should have been stable—”

“It was stable.” Her lips were red from his mouth. Trembling.

They could have f**king died in there.

His heart slammed into his ribs.

“This place was checked, double-checked. It was secure.”

A rivulet of blood dripped down her cheek.

“Then what happened?” But the ice in his gut told him. Before she spoke, he knew—

“Someone had to come back and damage the structure. There was no reason for the upper floor to fall. It shouldn’t have given way.”

Unless someone had given the collapse a hand. Someone who knew the building’s weak spots.