Burning Truth (Lost and Found Columbus #3)

Chapter 4

4

B y the time they left the scene, all of the injured had been transported. Luckily, no one had died, not even the guy in the BMW.

Once they got back to the Channel 4 building, Addie signed Severn in as a visitor at the front desk. Then she led him into the depths of the studio. Severn had never been in one before, so it was interesting to see all the working parts that went into the newscasts.

As soon as they entered, a voice came over an intercom. “Team 3, my office.”

Addie sighed, her head hanging for just a moment, before she turned to her left. “Come on,” she said, glancing at Severn. “You might as well meet him now.”

“He’s going to kill me,” Jake said, carrying a black bag that had the parts of the broken camera in it.

They tromped up a set of stairs to a glass box office that looked out over the studio. A heavy set older man sat at a broad desk, his chair turned to look out over the space.

“You must be the bodyguard the police were telling me about,” the big man said, voice booming.

Severn didn’t appreciate being outed for anyone in the studio to hear. Pointedly, he motioned Jake, then Addie into the office, and closed the door behind them. “Yes, I am. My name is Severn Moran. You have to be Ron Hutchison. This is supposed to be covert, so I would appreciate it if you would keep that information to yourself.”

Addie’s boss grimaced and shook his head. “I think it’s a little ridiculous myself.”

“The safety of your investigative reporter is ridiculous?”

Ron frowned, obviously not enjoying being challenged. “I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about. The on-air girls always get followers that get a little friendly, but they’re harmless.”

Severn crossed his arms and glared at Ron. “The fact that he dropped a human bone outside her car is a little more than a harmless follower.”

Ron’s expression soured. “You’re right,” he said, and he glanced at Addie. “Addie, I don’t mean to dismiss your concerns, but you have to admit, it seems like a stretch that someone is setting these fires for you. And it’s even more of a stretch to engage in this... romantic farce.”

Addie’s jaw clamped, and Severn thought he saw the glimmer of glassiness in her eyes. That really pissed him off. The man had no business hurting her feelings.

“Whether you think it’s a waste of time or not,” Severn said, stepping behind Addie, “I’m going to be here until we find the guy. And you’re going to cooperate with my investigation.”

“I get it, big man,” Ron said, arms crossing over his chest. He turned his focus to Jake. “What happened to my camera? Did you think I wouldn’t notice the film quality changed?”

Severn watched as Jake set the bag on his boss’s desk and admitted that he hadn’t been able to protect it. Ron’s face mottled with anger, and he opened his mouth to probably yell, but Addie interrupted. “It’s not our fault, Ron. A rubbernecker almost took us all out. If Severn hadn’t gotten us out of the way, we would have been dead or seriously injured and on our way to the hospital with the rest of the people in the crash.”

Ron didn’t look appeased, but he looked a little less angry. “Fine. Take that down to Phil and see if he can do anything with it. And file an incident report.” His glanced roved over them all for the first time, his glance lingering on Severn’s bloody shoulder and her dirty dress and tennis-shoed feet. “You people look like shit. Go home and get cleaned up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They trooped out of the office. At the bottom of the steps, Jake gave her a one-armed hug. “It’s all good, Addie. Thanks for stepping in, but I could have handled him.”

“I know, but you shouldn’t have to defend what we did,” she said, and Severn could hear the aggravation in her voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jake.”

With a final wave at Severn, Jake headed deeper into the studio, bag in hand. “Will Phil be able to fix the camera?”

Addie gave him a lop-sided smile. “I don’t know. The guy’s been working on equipment since the stone-age, so maybe. Let’s get out of here before Ron remembers he wants me to do something else.”

Severn followed her out of the studio, through a back door. He took the lead through the parking lot, taking the time to go around her vehicle. “Give me your keys.”

Addie handed him the key fob, and Severn unlocked the door and climbed into the car. Nothing seemed to be amiss, so he slipped out and encouraged her to get in. “I’ll follow you to your place.”

Addie looked startled. “What?”

Severn gave her a dark smile. “I’m your boyfriend now. You didn’t think that ended here at the station, did you?”

She looked flummoxed for a minute. “No, I suppose I didn’t give it a lot of thought.”

“I’ll follow you,” he repeated, then headed to his truck. It was just a few spaces away, and he watched the area as she settled into her vehicle and pulled out of her spot. It was well after midnight and though there were a good many cars in the lot, no one was moving around other than them.

Severn had looked up Addie’s basic info when he was getting ready, and he hadn’t seen a significant other on her social media. He hoped that was the case. Surely, she would have said something if she was involved with someone.

Actually, she seemed a little shellshocked by the whole situation. It had blown up quicker than she’d expected, and she was still trying to catch up.

Severn watched the rear-view mirror for tails, but he saw nothing. Addie was a good driver, not too fast and not too slow. She drove intelligently, which he appreciated. Columbus drivers weren’t always the most polite or competent. She headed toward the west side, and when she finally pulled up in front of a small split level, he was pleasantly surprised. For some reason, he thought she’d be in an apartment or condo somewhere downtown, with a bunch of people around. It was dark, but the house looked well kept, with summer flowers swaying in the flower beds out front.

Unfortunately, there was zero security. The garage door rolled up, and she pulled inside. Grabbing his bag, he locked his truck in the driveway and slipped into the garage before she could close the overhead garage door. She looked surprised, then a little put off that he’d followed her in. Grabbing her items from the passenger seat, she bumped the car door shut with her hip, then padded in tennis shoes to the door leading into the kitchen. Severn watched as she pushed it open. It hadn’t even been locked.

They were going to have to talk about security.

“I, uh, guess you can take the guest room,” she said, glancing at him as he came into the kitchen behind her. “There are towels in the linen closet in the bathroom. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I’m going to go shower off and change.”

Severn didn’t mind that she’d been short with him. They were in an awkward situation, and she was being forced to accept a stranger in her home, in addition to everything else that was going on.

He listened as she headed upstairs, where he assumed the bedrooms were, then he started snooping. It was his nature to familiarize himself with the area he was in, and he did that thoroughly in her home. By the time he was done, he’d found her favorite place to sit on the couch, where she paid her bills and banked her money, and where she kept her treasured items. The only place he hadn’t explored was her bedroom, because she was in there.

Probably naked.

He shook his head, aggravated at himself. Yes, the woman was beautiful and kind and had a voice that made him think of sex, but he had a job to do.

Severn dropped his bag in the room next to hers. It had the spare bed in it. The third bedroom had been made into an office, and he took a moment to glance through the pics she had on her wall. There were several of Addie on a collage board with black ribbons strung across the surface diagonally. They all looked to be college pictures. There were a few old concert tickets. There was another collage board that seemed to be family. From what he could tell, she had two sisters and a brother, as well as parents that seemed to be still deeply in love. There was a large family portrait on one wall, and they were all making funny faces or doing something strange. One little boy had his glasses on upside down. It made him smile in response, and ache for something he’d never experienced before.

“What are you doing in here?”

Severn cringed a little at the angry voice. She’d managed to sneak up on him. Maybe he had overstepped his bounds. As soon as he turned, though, he lost track of what he was saying. Addie Kingston was a true beauty. It was one thing to see her dressed and made up on screen. Makeup could do wonders with the proper application. Without makeup, though... that was when you really could see the innate beauty of a woman.

Addie had the most beautiful skin he thought he’d ever seen on a woman. It was one thing he noticed about people, their skin, because his was so terrible anymore. Hers was smooth, incredibly pale and damned near flawless. Her nose was completely straight, tipping up slightly at the end. And her shining eyes looked huge in her freshly washed face. She reminded him of the storybook pictures of Snow White.

Right now, though, Snow White was more than a little angry. Her deep pink lips were pursed with annoyance.

“I was exploring. It’s what I do.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just do whatever you want to,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her ZZ Top t-shirt.

Heavy metal? Really?

“This has been a lot to take in, and I’m not used to people in my house, let alone in my private areas. And now you’re snooping through my stuff?”

Severn felt a twinge of remorse. She really had been through a lot recently, and no matter what her manager said, he thought there was danger around her. And she would know that. She would feel that, instinctively. “I apologize. I actually did need to know the specifics of your house, but I was caught by the pictures in here.”

Her delicate jaw was still clamped, her arms crossed protectively across her chest.

“It looks like you come from a large family,” he said, trying to draw her out.

“I do.”

“You’re very lucky,” he said, and he realized he meant it. Not everyone had that.

“I know I am,” she said, her voice softening just a little. “Did you find your room?”

“I did. Thank you.” He took a step toward her. “Addie, I know this is an awkward situation, and I’ll do my best to make it as painless as possible, but it won’t always be.”

“I know,” she sighed, looking down at her bare toes. Her hair fell forward, shielding her face, and he wanted to reach out and tuck the dark curls behind her ears. “It’s awkward as fuck,” she laughed.

Since he’d carried her and felt her lush form against his chest, he’d wanted to touch her more, to see if he responded the same way again. He had no business even thinking about getting involved with someone.

Involved. He never got ‘involved’. He had hookups to satisfy his base urges. And then they went their own way. Nobody would want to stay with him for any length of time.

The inclination to touch her was there, though, and he needed to not want to touch her. He was just about to turn away when she reached out and plucked at the shoulder of his shirt. “We should really look at this.”

“It’s fine,” he said, voice rough. He didn’t want her fingers on him if he could avoid it.

Her bright eyes flashed and she planted her hands on her hips. “If you’re going to be sitting on my furniture and moving around my house, the blood needs to be gone. Go shower and I’ll look at it when you come out.”

Severn stared, surprised at the tone of her voice. He debated arguing, but there was a cute pugnaciousness to the tilt of her chin. “Let me go shower, then, boss.”

She gave him a single nod and moved to sit in her office chair. “I’ll be here when you get out.”

Severn wanted to shake his head as he walked down the hallway, first to his temporary room for a change of clothes, then to the bathroom. He stripped off his ruined shirts and turned to look at the scrape in the mirror. Okay, yeah, it was kind of bad. He’d landed on the point of his shoulder, and there was a decent gash, there. Then a long scrape down his side. No wonder his shirts had been shredded. The shower was going to burn like a motherfucker, but he could see black specks of dirt and road debris in the skin. It edged into the top part of one of his tattoos. It would be a shame if it scarred, he thought sarcastically.

Once the water heated, he stepped into the tiled shower stall. It was nice and roomy and had a pretty cool oversized shower head that could be adjusted. He turned it to the irritating power spray setting, and leaned against the side of the stall, head resting on his forearm.

This had better be enough to clean the gunk out of the scrape. He didn’t want her looking at him with no shirt on any longer than she had to. Most of his scarring was on the front of his body, but along the right side, it did creep around his side. Opening his eyes, blinking through the water, he looked down at his damaged body.

It was no prettier in the soft light of the shower, that was for sure.

In an effort to minimize the look of the scars, he’d slowly but surely built a chest piece tattoo to incorporate them. When the IED had gone off, he hadn’t been wearing all of his gear. Hell, he’d barely been dressed. Closing his eyes, he heard the click of the detonator going off, and then the percussive whoomph of sound as the bomb sucked the air in and exploded.

They’d been in a building, taking a breather from their last run. It had only been about four stories tall, but it still had running water, so they’d been taking advantage of the shower. The Brits had turned them onto it. They always seemed to find the best places to camp.

After being in the desert for three weeks, going from call to call, it had been nice to get their gear off, one by one, and take advantage of the shower. He’d been heading back downstairs to his team after his own shower when he heard his buddy Mike greet their thirteen year old guide, Ali. Mike, Blaze, yelled ‘no’, and that had been the last word he’d ever said.

The bomb Ali had brought into their makeshift camp had destroyed the lower floor of the building, as well as everyone in it. The fire had raced up the stairway where Severn stood, setting him on fire before he could even blink.

So, the fire had gotten the left side of his face, down his neck and most of his chest. He’d been carrying his flak jacket and gear in front of him, and that was the only thing that protected his lower extremities. He’d dropped to the stairs and flung himself into another room, rolling on the floor to try to put the fire out.

He’d apparently been in shock, though, because he hadn’t gotten out of the building quick enough to avoid the ceiling falling in on top of him.

None of the men in his team had survived, and it had taken a group of Marines to dig him out of the rubble and get him to the nearest hospital base.

Severn shook his head at the memory. That had been the worst three weeks of his life, waking up and realizing that the men he’d worked with, lived with, joked with, his entire team, had been killed by a kid they’d trusted. A kid they’d worked with for months.

The water had cooled. With a last rinse, he turned the tap off and stepped out of the stall. The towel was long and soft, and he dried off before he wrapped it around his hips. Then he stepped in front of the mirror.

He knew from other women’s reactions that his body wasn’t too bad to look at from a distance, but they didn’t like the scars. The Japanese koi tattoo that stretched from shoulder to shoulder helped mask most of the imperfections, but not all. There was no helping the marks on his neck and face.

The thought of parading in front of Addie Kingston did not fill him with happiness. The woman was a natural beauty, and she didn’t even seem to be aware of it. No, she was aware of it, but she didn’t dwell on it.

The thought of exposing himself to her... well, it wasn’t sitting well with him. He was the exact opposite of beautiful.

Fuck it. She was a client and it didn’t matter what she thought of his scars. Maybe this would put the distance he needed between them.

Slipping into the bedroom, he dug some clothes out of his bag and half dressed, pulling on another pair of dark BDUs. Casually, he draped the towel around his neck. Then discarded it. Then draped it around his neck again.

“Fucking insecure idiot,” he grumbled to himself. But he couldn’t resist leaving the towel draped around his neck, hiding some of the scarring. Then, trying to control his racing heartbeat, he padded down the hallway to the office and walked in.

Addie turned when she heard Severn enter the office, and she caught her breath. It had been a long time since there’s been a man in her house, and Severn wasn’t just any man. He was imposing, glowering, with his shuttered, beautiful eyes and blank face, but something about the way he looked at her made her heart flutter.

Like it was doing right now. Oh my goodness...

Was it because he’d saved her life a few hours ago? Was this some kind of stupid hero worship?

No, she’d reacted to him before he’d saved her. Hell, the first time she’d seen him at the fire, something had tripped inside her. At first she’d thought it was fear, but looking back, it had to have been some feminine reaction to seeing him there, and the fear in his eyes.

If she was reading him right, there was a touch of fear in his eyes now. Was he waiting for her to run screaming at the sight of his naked torso? He’d lifted his chin, as if waiting for her to metaphorically punch him, or something. His gaze had gone stone cold, his jaw clenched, and there was no give to him.

She glanced down. Nothing about his body was a turnoff to her. And she felt like she needed to let him know that.

An intricate web of burn scars crisscrossed his broad, hairless chest, reaching shoulder to shoulder and over in parts. More amazing, though, was the incredibly detailed koi tattoo that took advantage of that texture, using it to delineate the scales of the fish. It made her heart ache at the thought of what had happened to him. She could sense his tension, the way he stilled, as if bracing for a reaction.

His eyes locked onto hers, and she could see the building defiance in them. He was expecting her to say something scathing, to look away in disgust. How often had women done that to him?

Instead, she took a deep breath, summoning a playful smile as she stepped closer. “Well,” she said, her voice light and teasing, “who knew that underneath all that mystery and brooding, you were hiding something this... interesting?”

Severn blinked, clearly taken aback by her response. “Excuse me?”

She nodded, her smile growing more genuine. “Yeah, interesting. Those scars tell a story, Severn. And I’ve always been a sucker for a good story.”

He surveyed her for a long moment, the defiance giving way to something more vulnerable. “You don’t have to pretend. I know they’re...hard to look at.”

Addie shook her head, closing the distance between them. “I’m not pretending. They don’t bother me. Now, let me see your back.”

He continued to look at her for a long moment, as if waiting for her cringe or something, but they really didn’t bother her.

She twirled her finger in the air, trying to get him to turn around. When he did, she winced. “Damn, dude. This is bigger than I thought it was.”

Addie cringed at the words, and wondered if he’d make a suggestive joke.

He still had said nothing, and she was wondering if he was trying to come to terms with what she’d said, or what. Or maybe how she hadn’t reacted.

Popping the lid open on the first aid kit she’d retrieved from the kitchen, she tried to decide what to do next. “I think a lot of this is going to have to be left open to the air. Road rash is really hard to patch up. This spot higher up, though... Can you sit in the chair?”

Saying nothing, he moved to her office chair and sank down into it, giving her access to the heavier scrape at the top of his left shoulder. “This one could almost take a few stitches. And it looks like it still has some road junk in it.”

Severn cleared his throat and turned his head toward her a little. “Can you clean it out? I stood under the shower spray hoping it would get most of it.”

Addie retrieved a pair of tiny tipped tweezers from the kit, and ripped open a piece of gauze. “This may hurt.”

He grunted, but didn’t make another sound as she cleaned the deepest wound. Addie cringed at some of the digging she had to do, but it had to be done. She pulled several pieces of gravel from his skin. If they’d been left in, they probably would have caused an infection. Severn didn’t move, though.

“I’m going to flush it with Bactine.”

He nodded, and Addie reached for the towel he’d tossed aside. Holding it against his muscled back, she squirted the Bactine across the wound, letting it flush down his back. When she thought it was as clean as it was going to get, she blotted around the wound. It would need to air dry before she could affix a bandage to that one cut.

She was distracted by the feel of his warm skin beneath her fingers. She wanted to run her fingers down through the short dark hair on the back of his head and down the nape of his neck, but that would definitely not be smart. The freshly washed scent of him swirled up, mixed with his own masculine scent, and she wanted to lean down and inhale him.

“Where did you get experience cleaning up road rash,” he asked, voice gruff.

Addie folded her hands in front of herself and laughed shortly. “Well, when you grow up with two tomboy sisters who are worse about getting into stuff than your brother, you tend to learn things. Mom and Dad didn’t always need to know what we got into, if you know what I mean, so we usually took care of our own wounds. And I had my fair share, as well.”

He turned his head toward her. “You don’t seem the type to get road rash.”

Addie snorted. “You think I’m the Barbie doll type? Because I wear dresses and makeup on TV? I’ll have you know I hate dresses, and if I could wear my blue jeans on air, I would.”

That actually made him chuckle, and Addie smiled in response. It was almost one a.m., and she should have been heading to bed by now, but there was a little bubble of intimacy building between them. Unless he was a really good actor, she no longer thought he was the arsonist. She certainly didn’t feel like she was in danger from him. At least not physically. He’d literally risked his life for her tonight.

Touching his skin, though, even with the excuse of cleaning his injury, was tantalizing. Severn had an allure to him that Addie hadn’t experienced before. She’d dated plenty of men, and gone to bed with a few, but she hadn’t been as on-edge with them as she was with Severn. At first it may have been concern about his motives, but now it was an awareness of his masculinity. Awareness of him. And there was an intensity to his expression when he looked at her.

It probably wasn’t a good idea to want him. He didn’t seem the type to be in a long-term relationship.

Or maybe that was just what he projected, the whole man-against-the-world act.

Reaching for another gauze pad, she layered it with anti-bacterial cream, then positioned it over the length of the cut. The pad was big enough that the tape wouldn’t be attached to any of the road rash around the cut. But the area below would be open to the air.

“I’m going to spread some antibacterial on the rest of the road rash, so you may get it on your t-shirt,” she warned.

“Okay,” he said, but he didn’t move as she very carefully spread the cream down the length of the scrape. Man, there was not an inch of spare flesh on this dude...

“Your tattoos are beautiful, by the way.” She brushed a finger over the wing of the stylized eagle angled across his back.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“What branch of the military were you in? I can’t tell by your tats.”

“I was a Navy EOD technician for seven years.”

The words were spoken softly, almost reverently.

“That’s impressive.”

He shook his head and pushed up from the chair. “Not that impressive. Are we done?”

Addie tried to catch his eye, but he wouldn’t look at her. “Yeah, we’re done.”