Burning Truth (Lost and Found Columbus #3)

Chapter 5

5

T urning, Severn left the too-close office and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She’d said he could help himself to anything in the fridge, and it had been a while since he’d eaten.

Besides, he had to get out of there. Too much emotion swirling in the air, and he needed to get a grip.

Despite what she’d said, he pulled on a t-shirt. He had a few spares, and he didn’t want to expose himself anymore than he had to. Yes, she’d reacted better than he’d expected, but still.

He pulled the door of the fridge open and stared. A bag of cheese, some juice that had settled into layers, and a takeout container of something he wasn’t even going to look inside of. Addie entered the room behind him, and he glanced at her. “What do you eat?”

She shrugged lightly. “Sometimes I order takeout. There’s a good pizza place that delivers late.”

She motioned to the rectangular magnet on the fridge. Severn dialed the number and ordered three extra-large pizzas, as well as drinks and a salad. When he hung up, she was staring at him, open-mouthed. He shrugged. “What? More than likely, it will be breakfast tomorrow, too.”

She snorted a laugh and turned toward the living room. He heard her settle to the couch in the corner she liked, and he followed her in. She was already on her phone, swiping through screens. He glanced at her position, and the front window with the curtains drawn back. It would be obvious to anyone on the street where and when she sat there.

They really needed to talk about security. There was none here, and it was going to drive him nuts. Yes, she was aware of her stalker, but she wasn’t doing much to curb the behavior.

There was a gasp from the couch, and he looked at Addie. She had her hand over her mouth, and she was staring at the screen.

“What,” he said, moving close with his hand out.

She handed over the phone, then sat back in the corner, her expression dazed.

On the display, there was a picture of himself, grabbing Addie to sweep her away from the oncoming collision. He didn’t remember that exact moment, but she was staring him directly in the face, her eyes terrified, and his expression was fierce as he picked her up to save her. This was obviously a clip from Jake’s footage, because the lighting was bright enough to highlight every single damn imperfection in his skin. The scene was very dramatic and kind of romantic, he supposed.

He dragged his eyes from the picture and down to the comments. Most of them were complimentary, or they let Addie know they were thankful she was okay. Some of them were directed toward him. ‘Who’s the hunk?’ one asked, and ‘he can rescue me any day!’

Then there was the one that had made her gasp.

“Why are his arms around you, bitch?” BrickBrak342.

“This is the same guy that’s been sending you stuff?”

She nodded, her lips clamped together.

The post had only been up for a little while, and there were several angry reactions to the man’s statement, as well as a few statements supporting Severn’s actions.

Severn handed the phone back to her. “I want you to respond to his comment. I want you to respond to a bunch of the others, too, though. Just start working your way down. Let me know when you get to his.”

Addie did as he suggested, while he thought about how to respond. When she looked up at him, her eyes huge in her pale face, her fingers poised over the keyboard, he knew there was no backing out.

“Type in ‘Because he’s my boyfriend, TikTak, and he was protecting me’.”

Addie’s eyes widened before she typed in the message. She glanced at him before she hit the send button, and he understood why she was hesitant. She was outing for the entire populace that she now had a boyfriend, even if only the two of them knew it was a pretend situation. And he was making fun of the man they thought was the arsonist. There was a very strong possibility that this would motivate the man to do something, burn something, possibly even kill someone. Again.

But, if he acted recklessly, there was a chance he would make a mistake and they would catch him.

Addie felt sick as she hit the send button on the message, because she knew there would be repercussions. This firebomber was a dick, and he wouldn’t appreciate having a new guy flaunted in his face.

Not that they were flaunting, exactly, but...

She hadn’t had a serious boyfriend since she’d been on the air. This was all new territory.

“You know he’s going to retaliate,” she said as she eventually hit the little arrow. “If he starts another fire because of this...”

“Maybe, maybe not. If he does, I’m hoping he does something reckless enough to get himself caught.”

Addie looked over at him, trying to draw strength from his calm demeanor. He stood in the shadows of the room, as if even here he didn’t want her to look at him fully. The scars were pale in the soft light of her living room. Despite his gruff exterior, there was something inherently comforting about him, something that made her feel safe even amid the chaos.

“You really think we can catch him?” she asked, her voice tinged with doubt. “This guy’s been a step ahead of us the whole time. I’m literally going around and documenting his exploits. I’m feeding his ego.”

Severn’s gaze was intense, filled with a determination that left no room for uncertainty. “We’ll catch him. We have to. You bring up an interesting point, though. Has he struck when any of the other teams are on duty?”

Addie cocked her head as she thought through the past few months. “Without looking at the schedules to be sure, I think he just does it when Jake and I are on.”

Severn nodded, his arms crossed over his strong chest. “He’s putting a show on for you. Specifically. So, the more pressure we put on him, the more likely he is to slip up.”

She nodded, trying to absorb some of his confidence. “Alright. What’s our next move?”

Severn leaned forward, his gaze holding hers. Addie tried not to look away from the strength of his stare. “We need to keep up the pretense. Go out together, be seen together. He needs to believe you’re serious about this relationship. It’s the only way to draw him out.”

Addie swallowed hard. “And if he does retaliate?”

“Then we’ll be ready.” Severn’s voice was firm, his resolve unshakable. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Addie. We’ll catch this guy.”

His words hung in the air, a promise that felt both reassuring and terrifying. Addie forced a smile, grateful for his support even as her mind raced with the possible outcomes of their plan. She was fearful, definitely. The thought of people burning because of her was absolutely abhorrent. She understood antagonizing him could be for the better good, but it was still hard to think about doing.

The doorbell rang, and Severn headed to the front with a black pistol in hand. She hadn’t even noticed he’d had it on him. Within a few minutes, he brought back a stack of food. Addie went into the kitchen and retrieved plates and cups of ice. When she got back to the living room, Severn had moved her decorative things off the coffee table to the floor underneath.

“You mind if we eat in here?”

She shook her head, setting the plates and cups on the table as well. She wasn’t sure she could eat anything, but Severn plopped a piece of pizza on a plate and set it in front of her. “You need to get something in your stomach.”

Yeah, he was probably right. They dug into the pizza, and Addie had to admit it was pretty good. Severn poured her a glass of soda.

“I’m not going to sleep for hours,” she said, biting into her second piece.

“You will,” Severn said. “It’s been a traumatic day, and your body will need some recovery time soon.”

Feeling restless, she flicked the TV on. Her DVR was set to record the news every night at 11, and she queued up the broadcast, then hit play. They watched the news together, and when it came to her segment, she set down her pizza. Ron could be a dick, but he was also a hell of an editor. With the way he clipped the piece together, it looked dangerous as hell.

And Severn looked like a true hero, coming out of nowhere to save the damsel in distress.

She huffed out a breath when the segment was over and gave him an amused look. “If you’re on social media, you’re about to be inundated.” They watched the rest of the broadcast, then she turned it off. Now that her belly was full, her eyelids were getting heavy. “I think you’re right about the need for sleep. I’m going to go lay down.”

She cleaned up the pizza mess and stored the pizza boxes in the fridge. Tomorrow she would seal them in bags to keep them fresher.

She stopped at the doorway to look at Severn. “Is there anything you need before I go to bed?”

He shook his head and she started to turn away.

“Addie.”

She paused. “Yes?”

He shifted on the couch, not looking at her. “Thanks for not making a big deal about my scars.”

Her heart lurched, and she nodded her head once before heading up the stairs. Good thing he hadn’t required a response because her throat was too tight to say anything.