"Where?" Carina used her hand to swipe around her lips. I lowered my head and glided my tongue over her chin, then her mouth. Licking away the sticky sweetness left over from her ice cream cone, then lingered a little longer to savor the feel of her skin. I finished with sucking on her lower lip then released it. She moaned, and my dick twitched as she came back for more. Our mouths met again and again. I would never get tired of kissing her. It didn't matter that we were standing in the middle of the boardwalk with people passing by on either side of us. My phone buzzed in my pocket, the vibration strong enough that Carina felt it too.
"Ooh." She wiggled her eyebrows, her beautiful face shining in the glow of the setting sun.
"Hold that thought." I pecked her on the lips one last time, then held up my phone. I still didn't know how to use the damn thing. I never did find my old phone from the morning Rosie was in my room, so I had to buy another one.
"Yeah?" I answered, not recognizing the number.
"Brando?" A female voice I also didn't recognize said my name.
"Who is this?" I shot a glance at Carina, who had returned to her ice cream cone.
"It's Rosie."
I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen. It wasn't her number. I made sure to have my new phone programmed with all my contacts.
"Whose number is this and why do you sound like shit?" Those words caught Carina's attention, and she looked up curiously, her brows furrowed.
"I've wanted to tell you...I just couldn't...he said it wasn't going to hurt anything..." Rosie rambled on, none of it making sense.
"Hang on. What are you talking about?"
"He's going to burn down the shop. Tonight."
"What? Who?" I shouted into the phone, and the line went dead.
"What's going on?" Carina asked, clutching my arm tightly. "What happened?" I didn't have time to explain it. I just grabbed her hand and ran to my car. She tossed the ice cream cone in the trash along the way.
There was traffic on East Street. The roads were narrow, and groups of people walking had taken up most of the space for cars. I honked my horn and yelled for people to get out of the way. Carina had stopped asking me what was wrong and just clutched the door handle in silence. As soon as I reached the shop, I looked up at the sky and didn't detect any smoke.
"Stay here," I said to Carina when she moved to get out.
"Brando, please. Tell me what's going on!" The panic in her eyes reminded me of her story about Miguel and the way he mistreated her and forced her into dangerous situations. I sat back down and pulled her into my arms.
"Baby, come here. I'm sorry." I kissed her lips and both cheeks. "I got a call that someone was planning to burn the shop down."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know, but I have to go in and check on the place."
"I'm coming with you."
"No. No way. I don't want you getting hurt."
"But—"
"Baby, please. I need you safe. Stay here and lock the doors." She glared at me for a few seconds then nodded.
"If I don't hear from you in five minutes, I'm calling the police, Brandon."
"Deal." I grinned, then pecked a quick kiss on her lips.
I used my key to open the front door then glanced around. The last of the sun had left the sky, and in the dim light, nothing seemed out of place. Everything looked as it did the night before. I didn't smell smoke or see any indication of fire. Then a light flipped on in the back office, and it startled me. I reached to the holster at my back for my gun, realizing I'd locked it up before we flew to Tennessee and never got it back out.
"Fuck," I whispered to myself, then it occurred to me that I might have walked into an ambush. I had no reason to trust anything Rosie said. There was rustling coming from the back followed by the sounds of items scattering all over the floor. I moved forward cautiously and quietly. I wasn't sure what I would find when I opened the door. I also couldn't just run away. My hand shook as I reached for the handle and for the first time, I realized I had something to lose. I had Carina. The thought of dying—leaving her—scared the shit out of me.
The door pulled open, jerking me along with it. I looked up to see Todd, the surprise on his face matching my own.
"Brando," he said, his voice a little higher than normal. "What are you doing here?" Then he shoved something behind his back.