Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

Harrington had a few secrets of his own. Lev remained still, allowing the man to make up his mind.
    “You’re a cold-blooded bastard, Prakenskii. We’ve got a man in town.
    He says he’s investigating the death of a Russian citizen, but it’s damned easy to tell that he’s an exterminator. He finds out you’re here, he’s going to put a bullet in your head.”
    Lev’s smile held no humor. “He’ll find it isn’t all that easy to manage.”
    Still he waited. Jonas didn’t seem to understand the danger he was in and right now, with this threat, he was skirting very close to the edge of the precipice. The horrible accident was all planned out, step-by-step in Lev’s mind. Not now of course, the torn knuckles and bruises would point right to him, but Harrington was in a high-risk job. Easy enough to lure him out to a deserted area, so many of them in the forested lands, and the man would meet with an accident.
    Jonas studied his face for a long time. “Your brother makes his home here.”
    Lev didn’t like the flutter of anticipation he couldn’t quite suppress.
    Emotions were difficult to control once let loose. “Is that supposed to be some kind of a threat?” He kept his voice mild. “My brother was trained the same way I was. He’ll understand.”
    “Your brother is married to Joley Drake. He might not be as understanding as you think,” Jonas warned.
    Lev shrugged. “He can take his best shot.”
    “He’s not the one you’re going to have to worry about. Jackson and Elle are on their honeymoon, but Jackson may have a few words to say to you.”
    Lev spread out his hands, so they encompassed the farm. “This is it for me. This is where I’m making my stand. They can all take their shot.”
    “Why here? Move on.”
    “This is Rikki’s home. She has a life here and she’s worked hard to get it. I’m not leaving her behind and I’m not taking her away from all of this.”
    “Do you expect me to believe that you’ve fallen in love with Rikki Sitmore?”
    “I don’t particularly give a damn what you believe.”
    268

    Jonas shook his head and turned away, presenting his back. His stance told Lev the sheriff was on alert in case Lev attacked him. Lev crouched down beside the blackened ground. Most of the water had slowly seeped into the ground, so that only an inch remained in places and most of it had disappeared, leaving behind muddy, blackened grass. It reeked of a mixture of gas and smoke.
    Jonas took his time, thoroughly examining the area, taking a series of photographs, collecting the water in several places into small tubes and then taking bits of the burned grass.
    “You said you saw him?” Jonas prompted, crouching beside Lev to touch his fingers to the water once again.
    “He was tall but fairly slight. His tracks indicate maybe one-sixty or one-seventy. He moved fast though, and he’s strong. He had a flamethrower on his back and he must have packed in the gasoline. He’s had a lot of practice. By the time I was aware of him, he’d run around the house.” And that meant the owls had gone hunting and hadn’t discovered the arsonist until they’d returned. That had been his mistake and it could have cost all of them their lives. He couldn’t allow himself to get so lost in Rikki that he put aside his survival instincts.
    “How did he get the fire going so fast? The ground had to have been soaked from the previous storms. Even with an accelerant...” Jonas broke off, shaking his head.
    “You’re married to a Drake. I have to presume you know about manipulating energy.”
    Jonas stood up and paced away from Lev, using his flashlight to pick up the smashed grass where the arsonist had run through on his way back to the ridge. “Keep talking.”
    “He’s an element. He manipulates fire.”
    Jonas stiffened but he didn’t reply, following the tracks up toward the ridge. The slope was slippery and several puddles of water stood full and unexpected. Jonas walked back and forth, taking in the longer strides, and the sudden halt, where the assailant had whirled to fire his weapon. The sheriff spent a great deal of time taking more pictures and locating the spent shell casings, carefully collecting them as well.
    “Looks like a dam broke,” Jonas commented as he skirted around two of the larger puddles. “Where did all this water come from?”
    “We were lucky. It rained.”
    Jonas glanced at the clouds. “It didn’t rain in Sea Haven or at our house, just a