Page 160 of Daddy’s Fortitude

The sheriff glared at them all. “Your boss will be hearing about this,” he told Branson as he stormed out of the room.

“Good luck there,” Branson said dryly. “My boss hates him more than I do. Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault,” Aimee said.

Ammo stared at the special agent for a moment before taking a seat. “Aimee needs to rest. She can’t say much.”

“Understood,” Branson said, “I’ve spoken to your doctor. He said you’re all right to talk to me, but not for long, and that you need to rest your voice because of the smoke inhalation damage.”

Aimee nodded.

“Was the sheriff right?” Ammo asked. “Does the fire look like it was deliberately lit? It was an old place with old wiring.” Ammo frowned. “I should have had someone out to check the wiring over.”

“Look, I can’t answer with certainty, but there are definitely signs that it was lit on purpose. Did you see anything, hear anything, Aimee? I understand it was just you in the house at the time, correct? And you are the man that pulled her out. Could I have your full name?” he asked Ammo.

Ammo just shot him a look. “It’s Pierce Grayson.”

Wow. His name was Pierce?

Oh, that was a nice name. Sexy.

Both Ammo and Branson stared at her.

“Oops, did I say that out loud?” She let out a small cough. She was definitely going to play the sick card here.

The special agent gave her a concerned look, but Ammo’s gaze narrowed as though he knew what she was up to.

Darn it.

“I’ve been staying with Aimee. I went out for a late-night run last night. When I came back, I saw the house was on fire and people were just standing around watching. No one had seen Aimee, so I thought she must be still in the house.”

“And you rushed in to rescue her?” Branson asked.

“Wasn’t going to stand there and let her fucking die. I ran around to her bedroom window. It was the only part of the house not yet lit with flames. I smashed the window, climbed in, found her, threw her out, then jumped out myself, all within a matter of a few seconds.”

“You’re lucky the smoke inhalation didn’t kill you,” Branson said to Aimee.

She nodded.

“She was lying on the floor,” Ammo explained. “It likely kept her safer. Who the hell would light a house on fire with someone inside?”

“Well, that’s what I’m hoping you might be able to help with. Aimee, is there anyone that you could think of that might do this? Did you see anything?”

Oh, hell. What was she going to do now?

44

Ammo could tell by the look on her face that there was something she wasn’t telling them.

He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled down at her. She knew something more than she was letting on. Did she know who might have set the house on fire?

“I was in bed when I heard a smashing sound,” she told Bransom. “I thought maybe it was Ammo returning home, so I got up and rushed out of the bedroom only to find that the kitchen was already on fire. Maybe I should have tried to put it out?”

She looked over at Ammo, who shook his head. “No, you always get out.”

“I rushed back into the bedroom to get Kevin and some other important things.” He knew that she was talking about Owly McOwlFace, and he wanted to reprimand her for trying to rescue them when she should have just got herself out, but he knew he wouldn’t have been able to leave Kevin behind.

“Then I heard another smash, glass breaking, and I’m pretty sure somebody threw something through the living room window.”