He stared through the binoculars again. He watched as they climbed the stairs after their evening out with friends. They would see the poster, the advertisement for the club back in North Carolina on the bed.
Sweat dripped from his brow. He’d worked a miracle tonight rigging their place. Undetected, in and out like a ghost of fire. He licked his lips, was practically drooling while he watched them.
Look at the bed. Look at the poster, and remember and know that life is over. The master has the higher power, not you, not those who fight against his weapon.
He blinked his eyes, the sweat dripping into them, when the couple embraced and began kissing. He could see the man’s hands caress over the woman’s body, then under her dress. This was killing him, but the longer he watched, the more clothes they removed, he found himself reacting like never before. He was aroused, interested, and then they fell to the bed, landing on the poster. He shook his sexually deviant thoughts from his mind and watched as the woman pulled the poster from underneath her. The guy looked, she covered her mouth, and Denis smiled, knowing in that moment they realized their fate. The fear was apparent on their faces as they looked around the room.
Denis slid his thumb over the red button. “The master always wins.”
* * * *
Arson investigator Trent Landers was looking over the reports of a house explosion in Pennsylvania. As he read the detail of the blaze, something about the couple’s story grabbed his attention. In the article it mentioned that the couple had survived a club fire out in North Carolina nearly ten months ago. They had moved after the incident to be closer to family. As he clicked on the details and noted the investigative team in charge of the case, he went back to a series of articles on small fires occurring in their own county.
He had been doing this job for years, just like his old man had done. Rest his soul. When their cousin Marco was killed two years ago in a fire set by someone who appeared to be a serial arsonist, he had become obsessed with finding him. And he knew that the arsonist was a man. Someone who either lived in New Jersey or traveled here. Trent connected the crimes of other arson fires to this same individual. It was the guy’s use of explosive devices, and the leftover materials Trent and other arson investigators found at the crime scene. Arson investigation was tedious work. It entailed having a keen eye for detail and even the tiniest of evidence. Like the way burn marks landed on walls, along trim work and how deep the charring was. There was a lot involved and he had the ability to, so far, be good at his job.
Looking over the file, he noticed that last week another explosion occurred in New York. A bit further digging and he could confirm if the victim who died was also a survivor of that fire in North Carolina. Could the arsonist who killed his cousin Marco be the same one responsible for the North Carolina fire and these recent victims?
He never turned his back on a hunch. Left no rock unturned. He promised himself and his cousins Ace, Ice, and Bull that he would catch the guy responsible for killing Marco. If this was the connection he was waiting for, then he could be getting closer to making his promise a reality.
* * * *
Serefina hadn’t laughed this hard in a while. Tasha, Mel, Catalina, and three other friends surprised her by getting tickets to a local theatre comedy production. They got all dressed up, and went to the show. Now they were on their way to the Station, which Serefina wasn’t sure was a great idea considering they were decked out in strapless sexy dresses and heels. She worried about her bruise and finding the right dress, but after trying on many with straps that lay over the damaged skin, she had no choice but to go for the strapless black one. Her large breasts barely fit into the top, but she couldn’t go a size up because it kept coming down and also was too loose on her waist.
Her friends had picked out their dresses in colors. Tasha in green, Mel in red, and Catalina in purple. When the seven of them arrived, they drew in the immediate attention of the guys in the place and the three other girls went on the prowl for their men. Serefina, Tasha, Mel, and Catalina headed toward the bar for some drinks.
They were standing there for a second when they were surrounded by guys from Engine 19. She felt the hand on her waist several times as one of the guys she didn’t know but could tell had been drinking kept touching her there.
“Cool it,” she said to him. When she looked in his eyes, she could tell he was plastered. They were glossy, and he focused on her breasts again and the deep cleavage the strapless thing caused.
She was getting annoyed every few seconds as the hands landed on her waist.
She wondered if other members of Engine 19 were there. Curious, she looked around as she absorbed the atmosphere of the bar. There was firefighting memorabilia everywhere she looked. Pictures on the wall, old uniforms, and retired gear, plus even the pole the firefighters used to drop down from the upper floor. The building was the original fire station and as more homes were added to the community and the boardwalk was expanded to allow more businesses, the fire station was moved to a more central location.
This place was cool. She was shocked at the disappointed feeling she had when she didn’t see Ace, Ice, or Bull. The other guys greeted her and welcomed her back home and talked to her about work and life in North Carolina. They didn’t even ask about her bruised shoulder. It was like they all knew how she sustained it and she wasn’t certain if that embarrassed her or gave her more confidence. Most firefighters were not jerks to women. At least none she had ever encountered in her life.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up right before a large warm hand pressed against her waist from behind. She had had enough from Mr. Octopus, and he was ruining her time at the bar with her friends. She raised her hand ready to give the guy a piece her of her mind when she locked gazes with Ice.
Obviously having quick reflexes, he snagged her wrist and gently blocked her ability to strike him.
“Hi, Serefina. Is that how you greet people in North Carolina?” he asked. She turned to face him, and he kept his hand in a possessive manner against her hip. His eyes trailed over the cleavage of her breasts and those damn sensations nearly overwhelmed her. Her pussy throbbed, and her nipples hardened. “Only the guys who try to dip me over chairs or who don’t understand the words ‘not interested.’”
“I don’t fall into that category, do I?”
She looked him over, feeling the effects of the man’s magnificent physique straight to her core, and she smiled. “That has yet to be determined.”
He chuckled. “How is the shoulder? It looks pretty painful.”
“Naw, it’s better now.”
“And the hand?” he asked, pulling it up toward him. His blue eyes seemed to darken as he focused on the discoloration.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s bruised,” he said with a scowl on his face, and she swallowed hard. But then he lifted it to his mouth and gently kissed the palm. Serefina thought she was going to faint.
“Hey, big guy, I want to go check out the prospects, can you keep an eye on my girl?” Tasha asked.
“Tasha,” Serefina reprimanded her.
Tasha smiled. “Sorry, Serefina, but I like Ice and his brothers. They’ll take good care of you.”
Tasha walked away as Ice took her hand. “We don’t bite. Why don’t you come over to our table? There’s no place else to sit.”
She looked around and he was right. The place was packed and all the tables were filled. He led her through the crowd with a possessive hand at her back and the other on her waist and people smiled, guys checked her out, and she felt Ice squeeze her waist a little snugger. When they approached the table in the corner, sure enough Bull and Ace were there along with some other guys. They all looked at her, and she felt a bit insecure as she shyly looked away and around the bar.
Ice kept his hand on her waist. “Want to sit down?” he asked, and she declined. He took the seat, but kept his hand on her waist.
“You ever been here before, Serefina?” one of the other guys asked.
“No. But my friends have. We went to see a show at the local theatre. That’s why we’re all dressed up,” she added.
“Well, you look mighty fine in that dress,” the guy stated, and she felt Ice tug her between his thighs. She looked at him and he smiled.
“Come sit down, you’re making me nervous.” She lowered her ass to his thigh, and holy shit, she nearly sprung up off of him.
How could a man have such thick, hard thighs that felt like steel? Her ass cheeks warmed as well as that small gap between them where her pussy was positioned. She didn’t know what to do. So she crossed her legs, which seemed to make matters worse as the men around her stared. She had the urge to wiggle her ass so that her pussy could feel the steel thigh, too. It was ludicrous.
“So, how was the show?” Ace asked her. The other guys at the table started talking about something entirely different while looking around the bar. She turned toward Ace and Bull.
“It was fun. I don’t remember the last time I laughed so much.”
“They do a lot of shows at that theatre,” Bull added.
She looked at him, as he stared at her lips, and she wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by him, by them.