Free Fire Beach: Lei Crime Book 8 (Lei Crime Series) by Toby Neal

poker.”
    “Partying? You should see the nasty dump I’m in. Nah, you have fun. I’ll try to wrap this up as soon as possible. Then we can continue where we left off.”
    “Where we left off? You mean arguing?”
    “No. In the bedroom.” Her voice had gone husky. “I liked that thing you were doing…in the dark. I want to be the boss next time.”
    “Damn you, woman.” He felt himself tightening in response to her voice, to the memory of the other night when he’d decided to get a little creative. Knowing they’d have the rest of their lives to explore every nuance of the pleasure their bodies could give each other still felt unreal to him. “I gotta go. Ferreira’s waiting.”
    “And now you have a boner. My work here is done.” She hung up with a laugh.
    Stevens shook his head, smiling—but a little part of him wondered, as he slid the phone into his pocket, if he’d just been played.
     
    The doorbell of his apartment rang, an unfamiliar buzz, and the Fireman woke up, heart thundering. No one rang his doorbell.
    He hurried to the door, alarmed. He applied an eye to the peephole and spotted the brown of a UPS uniform. He opened the door and signed for the package, carrying it inside after he’d relocked the dead bolt, thumb lock, and lever security bar behind him.
    There was no return address, but the Fireman knew who it was from.
    He got a knife and cut the tape on the package, peeling back the flaps. Inside, wrapped in bubble wrap, were several items and a printed-out letter.
    To the Fireman: Here are the items you will need to breach the security of the house. This package is being delivered by one p.m. You have two hours to prep. You must be at the address at three p.m. , when the man who stays in the house during the day leaves. You will have approximately ninety minutes from three p.m . to deactivate the alarm at the gate (code enclosed) neutralize the dog with the tranquilizer gun included, breach the house if needed (additional code enclosed), and set your fire. Best time to fire the house for optimal impact will be late at night. We will be watching the news tomorrow for results.
    We have kept surveillance on the house for some time to detect traffic patterns and have included some footage of the interior of the house so you can plan your ignition.
    Place the enclosed cloth where it will be found after the fire.
    We expect results, and we will reward them—we’ve included a bonus for being prompt. You can also expect consequences if you fail.
    The Fireman felt his heart thumping an uneven tattoo as he set the written instructions and codes aside. This wasn’t the same kind of excitement he got planning a cane burn. This was a family in their home. And he was going to try to kill them. For money.
    The Fireman took out an object and unwrapped the bubble wrap. It was a sturdy black pistol with a box of tranquilizer darts taped to it. Another square packet turned out to be five thousand dollars in cash. Finally, there was a long length of loosely woven white linen cloth. He held it up, frowning, wondering what the significance was.
    He took out another, smaller object. It was a thumb drive with a decal of flames decorating the side.
    The blackmailer had a sense of humor.
    The Fireman plugged the flash drive into his computer. In all his poverty, even in the worst months, he hadn’t sold his computer. It was his only contact with the world. His entire social life was on the firebug forums, where he got to interact with other people obsessed with fire.
    He clicked on the drop-down menu that opened and hit view files .
    He clicked on exterior security first and got a bird’s-eye view off the corner of the house of several vehicles coming and going: a silver Tacoma truck, an aging brown Bronco, and a huge black Ford F-150. That was the vehicle at the house most often, but as the instructions had said, a tall, silver-haired man came out of the house at three p.m. , according to the time stamp on the