The Wedding Rescue, Book Five (An Alpha Billionaire Club BBW Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

hand to prevent us from going any further.
    “They’ve blocked the street from the other side,” he said, “We can wait here. They’ll need to talk to you, Leigha.”
    “What do you know?” Dylan asked, taking my hand and pulling me close to his side.
    I leaned into him, needing his strength. My eyes were riveted to the flames shooting through the roof of my little house. I didn’t need to ask, I already knew it was a total loss. My heart squeezed with grief, and my stomach rolled from the acrid scent of my life burning to the ground.
    I’d never been particularly materialistic. Maybe it was the accountant in me, always saving money instead of spending it on things I didn’t really need. But this wasn’t a new sweater or a big TV. It was my home. The first I’d ever bought and one I’d expected to have for years to come. It was the first place that was all mine, a haven where I’d felt free to be myself. I’d painted the walls myself, had chosen each pillow and curtain to fit my vision of a cozy refuge. Now it was well on its way to being a pile of ash.
    I was so distracted by the fire, I almost missed hearing the word, ‘arson’. My head popped up, and my mind came back into focus. Arson? I didn’t have to work hard to come up with the one person who might have burned down my house.
    “Are you sure?” I asked, interrupting Axel and Dylan’s quiet, intense conversation. Axel turned his sharp eyes to me.
    “There’s an empty gas can in the back yard. The police have it, hopefully he was stupid enough to leave prints. They could smell the gas he spilled on his way in. They’ll have to complete their investigation, but that this point they’re sure it’s arson.”
    Dark rage welled in my chest. My brain was screaming, ‘why?’. It was a stupid question. There was never a ‘why’ for something like this. Steven was a stupid, greedy asshole, and I’d been naive and blind enough to let him into my life. My breath came in choppy waves, my lungs tight with emotion and the caustic smoke clouding the air. Dylan turned me into his chest. Over my head, I heard him say,
    “We fucked up. We should have taken him in last night.”
    “Not your call, man. This is on me,” Axel responded, his voice heavy with regret.
    “No. You knew what I would have said, and you did it. Fuck.”
    Dylan rubbed a hand over my back, I think soothing himself as much as me. He was right, if Axel had called the police the night before, Steven would probably be in jail right now instead of running free and torching houses. I didn’t have it in me to be pissed at them. Maybe later. Just then I was too grateful for Dylan’s arms around me to be mad at him.
    “Any idea how he got away from Tsepov?”
    “No. I called a guy I know who’s in with Tsepov, but he’s not talking. I did get the feeling that Steven will be lucky if the cops pick him up before Tsepov does.”
    “Do they need her for anything? I need to take her home,” Dylan asked.
    “No, take her home. I let the lieutenant know she was on her way, but he won’t be able to get to her for a while. He can talk to her later. She’ll be with you?”
    “Yes. Just give him my number and we’ll make ourselves available.”
    “She up for pressing charges about last night? I gave his name as the likely suspect - I told the lieutenant I was working security for her as a client’s girlfriend and gave him what we know about Steven - but this will all go faster if she makes a statement herself. They can’t hold him on anything related to last night without Leigha,” Axel said.
    Reminded that they were talking about me, and I could speak for myself, I lifted my head from where I’d burrowed into Dylan’s chest and said, “Let’s go now, before it gets too late. I have to start getting ready for Christy’s wedding in a few hours.”
    “I think your Mom would understand if you missed the wedding, sweetheart,” Dylan said, looking down to meet my eyes.
    “I’m not