All Mine by Parker Avrile

Author:Parker Avrile
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary gay romance, gay dog owners
Publisher: Paris April Press
Published: 2017-01-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

ASH WEDNESDAY IS ALWAYS a solemn day. They were quiet on the drive back, Spirit sprawled across the entire back seat with a sock puppet to keep her busy. About half an hour out of town, Corey thought to turn on his phone. Immediately the cab of Justin's SUV filled up with the sound of notifications.

Corey checked the text messages first. He might as well know what he was getting into before he started talking to anybody. A lot of them were from Dale, although many of them were from other relatives, including Dale's mom, Aunt Jodie.

“What's up?” Justin asked.

“I'm not sure. It sounds like there was a fire at Dale's place.”

“Does he smoke?”

Corey gave him the side-eye. Dale liked to have a good time, but he wasn't going to do so much Mardi Gras he burned the place down. “No, he doesn't smoke. Anyway, it wasn't an accident. They're saying it's arson.”

He tried to call Dale. No answer. He called Aunt Jodie, who said he was being questioned again by the police. It turned out Dale's truck had been set on fire too.

Fuck. Lionel's behind this.

This was bad, really bad. Corey hadn't really thought Lionel would go so far. The dog thing, that was shitty, but Lionel wouldn't have really let them kill his dog. He'd have come back for her or called Corey at the last minute or...

No. He wouldn't. He hadn't. Justin picked up Spirit when she had only forty-eight hours left on the clock. Lionel had pulled his punches three years ago with Butler's dog, but he'd gotten harder. More extreme. Losing Corey had done something to him.

This is my fault. If I never stayed at Dale's, Lionel never would have done this.

“And you're next,” Corey said. “When he finds out about you... Shit.”

“I'm not afraid of Lionel Sundersen.” Justin drove as carefully as Corey, but faster, his athlete's quick reactions allowing him to judge time and distance more precisely than most drivers. Sensing Corey's need to get back as soon as possible, Justin zipped around a couple of eighteen-wheelers that were driving right at five miles an hour over the speed limit. His voice, the one Corey thought of as Justin's teacher's voice, remained calm and in control. “You're jumping to a lot of conclusions here. There's a lot of things that can happen to start a fire at Mardi Gras. Electrical stuff, people drinking and smoking.”

“Yeah, but this was two fires. What are the odds?” Corey thought about Dale's deadbolt. His cousin must have been away for Mardi Gras too. Otherwise, Lionel couldn't have gotten inside the apartment.

Justin kept both hands on the wheel and his voice level. “Well, yes, it does sound like it must be arson. On the positive side, if it was Lionel, he's just put himself in prison, and you're free of him. Let's give the police a chance to do the right thing before we panic.”

That sounded reasonable, although Corey didn't have much confidence in the police. Lionel had been getting away with his shit a long time.

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