Caught in the Flames

Chapter One Hundred Three

As always, none of this is mine. I'm just the perv who want to make our beloved Twilight characters swear, drink, and go at it like horny rabbits. This story will be a combination of love, suspense, some violence and steamy, sweaty sex.

On with it!

Chapter 103

BPOV

It had been a week since Clear Water's burnt down. The insurance adjuster came out and wrote Leah and Seth a check for half of what the building was worth. They barely had enough to cover the remaining amount on their loan from the bank. Any thoughts of reopening were quashed by that disheartening moment. Leah was heartbroken. The light in her eyes had dimmed and she just went through the motions of life.

Seth had to find an additional job. Thankfully, Emmett hired him to do some construction work in his contracting side business. Jacob was hired by me to help out with the books for my office. He was a bit of a mathematical prodigy, balancing my books within an hour of receiving them. He also streamlined my payroll. I would have been stupid not to hire him. He had done the same for Clear Water's.

Leah just drifted. While the building was a physical place with a set dollar amount describing its worth, its sentimental value was richer than anyone could imagine. The loss of it shook Leah to the core.

I was working in my office, finalizing some updates for Alice's shop for their Semi-Annual sale that was going to kick off the day after Christmas. Jacob strolled in, looking upset. "What's up, Jake?" I asked, saving my work.

"They found out the identity of the victim at Clear Water's," he said, his face pale as a sheet.

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"A friend in ME's office," he shrugged. "Does the name Xavier Daniels mean anything to you?"

The name did sound familiar. I furrowed my brow. "A little bit. How is he connected to Clear Water's?"

"He was the head contractor of the renovations," Jacob said, sitting down, thrusting his hands into his hair. "He got free beer for life at the bar since he resurrected the dump we bought. He also did repairs and such for us that we couldn't handle in house."

I snapped my fingers, my eyes widening. "He was the same contractor I used for the renovations of my brownstone," I said. Then my stomach churned...Is this all connected to me? I shook my head. "Why was Xavier there?"

"We don't know. Clear Water's was closed. It wasn't supposed to open until Friday at three, after we got off shift," Jacob explained. He gulped, looking up at me. "The ME said that Xavier was the accelerant or something. He was burnt from the inside out."

Edward knocked on my door and he poked his head in my office. "Hey Jake," he said, his voice rough. "Are you filling in Bella with the ME's report?"

"Yeah. I just got the call while I was signing paychecks," Jacob said, giving me a smirk.

"Well, I just got off the phone with Garrett and he said that they are now saying that the Gold Coast Realty fire and Clear Water's blaze are linked, possibly the beginnings of a serial arsonist," Edward grimaced. "There are too many similarities."

"What happens now?" I asked. "Do they have a suspect?"

"There was no forensic evidence at either location," Edward answered, walking to my desk, carrying a bag from a nearby deli for lunch. I got up, pushing him into the chair so I could sit on his lap. "The only information we have to go on are the victims and the accelerant."

"They did have some security footage of the back of the guy's head at the realty place," Jacob shrugged. "Not that it helped much."

"Aren't there cameras near Clear Water's?" I questioned.

"A red light camera on the corner and some shoddy security cameras next door, but they didn't capture anything that night," Edward explained. He turned and looked at me. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

I bit my lip, nodding slowly. It had been a regular occurrence. Edward, when he wasn't working, was staying with me, but he always asked. He was scared, honestly. I could see the fear in his eyes. I definitely could feel it in my stomach and the nagging voice in the back of my head. I was tempted to ask him to just move in, but he had his own condo to worry about. Though, it was nice to see his clothes mixed in with mine.

"Well, before you two start doing the horizontal mambo on the desk, I'm going to finish with those paychecks," Jacob sang, getting up from his seat.

"Shut up, Jake," Edward grumbled, giving him the finger. "We have yet to christen this office, perv-boy."

"Let's keep it that way," Jacob snorted, leaving us in my office.

A/N: Up next...a new POV...whoever could it be? And the drama will be kicking it up into high gear, too. Leave me some.