The Super Jerk Trilogy (Now 3-in-1)

14. House On Fire

{Cameron}

It takes me a second to process that news. A bomb? How the hell did the Red Knight get a bomb in here without us seeing him? We'd been home the entire time.

   "A bomb?" I repeat. "But...how?"

   Sarah looks like she's about to fire back a snappy retort, but suddenly comprehension dawns on her face. "I'll bet you anything it was Dom who planted it. Mayor Green or your dad or somebody from HECKL paid him to do it."

   That makes perfect sense, actually. He'd completely been able to avoid suspicion as Ettie's boyfriend, and Mom probably would've let him wander through the house unsupervised. And considering he'd beaten me home, there was no way to know where the hell he might have hidden it.

   "Hey, guys?" says a male voice from behind, and I spin around. It's Sarah's brother Victor, his eyes moving between us with growing curiosity. "Everything okay in here?"

   "Yeah. Victor, listen, there's something I need to explain to you." Sarah motions him into the room and they begin to talk quietly. I almost consider asking Ettie to join us, but she's probably had enough of me already for one week.

   "So Victor's agreed to help us," Sarah says after they've finished, coming over to me. "I hope you don't mind."

   "No, of course not." The more help the better, actually, which is why when we go back out into the dining room trying to act like nothing's wrong, Ettie gets up and follows us out into the hall. We must have not been doing a very good job.

   "What's wrong?" she says, glancing first at me, then at Sarah for some explanation.

   "We're looking for a bomb, Ets," I say, and her expression becomes alarmed. "We'll tell you everything later. Just...go with Sarah. You two look upstairs, and Victor and me'll start downstairs and work our way up."

   "Okay," Ettie says, but I can tell she's reluctant to even move without some context.

   "It's Dad again, if that helps," I say.

   "I'll fill her in." Sarah waves us on. "Go. We've wasted enough time already."

   We do. I lead the way to the back of the house, towards the basement stairs. They're narrow and never really got finished, just slats of wood with no real treads. Victor switches on the light, and we descend in single-file without a word. I turn on the second light switch when we reach the bottom, revealing a half-finished room with just the skeleton of a wall dividing it roughly in half. I immediately head for the back, leaving Victor to the front. We begin searching, and it's quiet except for the sound of us shifting things around for a while.

   "So I saw you staring at my sister," I say, and Victor drops something with a loud clang. Clearly he wasn't expecting the head-on attack.

   "I wasn't staring..." he starts, but I cut him off.

   "Yes, you were. She's coming off a bad break-up, Victor, and I don't think she's ready for another relationship this soon."

   "Whoa, Cam, just hold on a second." He holds up both hands, shaking his head. "Who said anything about getting into a relationship? I just think she's very attractive, that's all."

   "You know attraction always leads to something else." Deep down I know it's not fair, what I'm doing. It's evident Victor's actions are completely harmless, unlike Dom's. "Just give her some space."

   "Look, I wasn't going to try anything, okay? Honest. I'm not good when it comes to girls. I've never even had a girlfriend before. She just seemed so...shaken up, you know?"