Paws off the Boss - Casey Griffin (best books under 200 pages .TXT) 📗

shortness of breath, dizziness, and labored breathing,” she told Piper. “You’ll cough. A lot. But if you cough up anything strange, get it checked out. If you have any doubt at all, please get yourself to a hospital.”

Piper popped out a lozenge and thanked Willow. She crawled out of the back, where the other attendant helped her down to the pavement. The night air blew up her police shorts, and cool drops of rain fell on her shoulders. At least it had slowed to a mere sprinkle.

Piper shivered. She’d forgotten she was still in costume.

Willow leaned out the doors with a freshly warmed blanket. “And you might need this.” Her mouth quirked up, but she made no comment about Piper’s choice of firefighting gear.

Too tired to explain the costume, Piper gratefully took the blanket and wrapped it around herself. “Thanks, Mollim. I mean, Willow.”

Utter disorder surrounded her. Police, firefighters, news vans, squad cars, fire trucks. Beyond the police tape, the street spilled over with locals who had nothing better to do at almost ten at night than gawk at someone else’s misfortune. And that was where she spotted Holly Hart and her cameraman, Hey You, shoving their way to the front of the crowd.

Holly scanned the crime scene and spotted Piper right away. Not that it was hard to spot a drenched half-naked girl covered in dog hair and soot. Holly waved like Piper was the bouncer of a nightclub—the worst one ever—and Holly desperately wanted to skip the line.

Piper waved back but had no intention of doing an interview. She would do enough talking to the investigators. Ignoring Holly’s frantic shouts, she carried on, weaving through the officials, over fire hoses, and under police tape.

All around her, people moved with less urgency now. The danger had passed. It was about containment and finding out the who, what, where, when, and—most important—why. Why would someone do this?

Was it someone helping Laura? But if that was the case, surely she wouldn’t want to hurt the dogs. Or was it a disgruntled neighbor? The night a car nearly flattened her in the alley came rushing back. They’d been targeting her, not Aiden. The car had driven right by him. Was Piper to blame somehow? Then again, maybe it had something to do with Aiden.

Her spinning head felt heavy from all these thoughts. Pain pulsated at her temples. She squinted against the flashing lights that shot daggers through her eyes and to the back of her skull.

Finally, she spotted another ambulance, its doors agape. The EMTs worked in the back, fetching and organizing supplies. She scanned the area, her eyes darting over the chaos, but she couldn’t see Aiden.

Maybe they’d taken him to the hospital. Maybe his condition was worse since he’d been closer to the fire for longer. Anxious to find him, she half-jogged toward the vehicle. When she rounded another cop car and squeezed between two officers, she saw him.

The head of his stretcher was inclined, so he saw her immediately. He sat forward as she approached, pulling the mask away from his face to talk.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” He reached out to take her hand. “How are you?”

“Safe and sound, despite sounding like I smoke a hundred packs a day.” She tried to laugh it off, but it sounded less cute and more true.

“No. No. It’s sexy.”

“Laryngitis is sexy? I gotta tell you, I don’t think I want to role-play that one.”

He laughed. “You sound like a smoky hotel-lounge singer.”

“It could be the start of a whole new career for me. Forget that veterinarian nonsense.”

“That’s the spirit.”

It felt good to be joking with him, acting lighthearted. But they pawed each other, holding hands, gripping arms, like they were each other’s anchors. Like if they let go, one of them might fall away.

“What are you even doing here?” she asked.

“I came to see you. To apologize for this afternoon at the office.”

She shook her head. Her silly insecurities all seemed so unimportant now. He’d saved her freaking life. Her hero. “No apology necessary.”

“I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“We’re okay.”

Piper watched a firefighter roll up a water hose. The metal nozzle smacked the glass door in passing, and the pane shattered. She cringed.

“I’ll call the insurance company tonight,” Aiden said. “Get the ball rolling.”

“That would be great, thanks.” Piper shook her head. “There’s so much damage.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve had a lot of dealings with insurance companies through my investment properties. They won’t take long for a case like this.”

“So, we renovate and repair the damage. Then what? If we don’t find this guy, he’ll just keep coming at us.”

She stared at the building, the broken glass, the smoke damage, and had a hard time imagining where they would begin. She wondered how Marilyn would have dealt with everything, had she been there. Heck, if Marilyn were still in charge, maybe none of it would have happened in the first place.

Maybe Piper could have done more to prevent it, something different. She remembered Aiden’s check. If she’d cashed it, she could have gotten a security system right away instead of having to wait for the donations to roll in. Would the fire have happened at all? She felt sick that her refusal to accept help might have caused this.

Aiden brought a hand up to her cheek and turned her worried gaze toward him. He gave her an even stare. “Everything will be all right.”

“Wishful thinking.”

He opened his mouth to speak but then grimaced, like whatever he wanted to say caused him pain. He seemed to think a moment longer before asking her, “Do you trust me?”

She looked him in the eye and considered all he’d done for her so far, how he’d been there. After knowing him for only a couple of weeks, the answer surprised her. “Yes. I do.”

“Then everything will be okay.”

As overwhelmed as she was, deep down she knew it would be. No one, and no dog, was hurt. Except, of course, for the goldfish. Her heart hurt when she thought about their tragic end, but at least all the dogs survived.

“You’re right.” She took a deep breath. “Now, if only the guests could put themselves to bed.”

Aiden pushed the ambulance blanket aside and swung his legs over the stretcher. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”

She opened her mouth to say she would be fine, but he seemed to read her mind. Reaching out, he held her face in his hands, his eyebrows drawing together to form a stern line. “Piper. I’m not going anywhere.”

She bit her lip, battling her instincts to turn him down. If there was ever a time she should accept help, it was that night. “That would be great. Thanks.” But she couldn’t stop herself from adding, “I owe you one.”

Aiden focused over her shoulder at someone approaching. She turned to find a man in his late fifties headed their way with a determined walk. He was in plain clothes—a pair of dark jeans and a tucked-in collared shirt under a light rain jacket.

There were going to be a lot of questions to answer. Some that she didn’t want to explore, moments she didn’t want to relive. She wanted to block it all out. To go shower, stuff Colin with treats, crawl into bed, and snuggle with Mr. Wiggles, the stuffed bear she hadn’t slept with since her father died. But something told her the night was far from over.

When the man got closer, he flashed a badge. “Inspector Samuels,” he said. “Are you Piper Summers?”

“Yes, I am.”

He tucked away the badge and replaced it with a notepad. “I hope you’re feeling up to answering a few questions.”

Did she have a choice?

“Are the dogs okay?” she asked.

“Yes. They’re all still in the courtyard.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to move them back into their kennels tonight if we don’t go into the front of the building?”

“Not possible, I’m afraid. The fire inspector and I will need to do our independent investigations. It will be tomorrow at the earliest before it’s handed back to the building owner, who is, I believe …” He flipped a couple pages back in his notepad. “A Mr. Aiden Caldwell.”

“That’s me,” Aiden said.

“Oh.” Inspector Samuels’s bushy eyebrows twitched. “Well, that’s convenient. And rather unfortunate for you.”

“What happens when it’s released to him?” Piper asked.

“Then it’s the insurance company’s call. They’ll perform their own separate investigation. I suspect the damage is severe enough that Health and Safety will have to get involved. Then you’re looking at claims adjusters, contractors—”

“How long?” Piper interrupted. “I can’t keep the dogs cooped up out there forever.”

“A few days, at least.”

“Right, the neighbors are going to love that.” Not that she cared at the moment.

“Is there nowhere else they can go?” the inspector asked.

“Why do you think they’re here?” Her shoulders slumped. “Need a pet dog?”

He chuckled. “No, I don’t. I bring my job home enough as it is. Sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” She shook her head. “I’ll figure something out.”

“You know, you’re very lucky you got out of there alive, not to mention all the dogs.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. I had help.” She glanced at Aiden, who squeezed her hand in