Fan the Flames Read Online Free

his easygoing expression hardened into a look she’d rarely seen on him. Her stomach twisted as she steeled herself for his request. She hated the high-risk orders. If she could have made a living off the front of the shop, she would’ve been happy to close the back room for good.
    â€œI need information, actually,” he said.
    Rory stared at him. That…wasn’t what she’d been expecting. “Okay,” she said slowly. “About what?”
    â€œJulius. Has he been in here recently?”
    Propping a hip onto the stool behind the counter, she eyed him thoughtfully. “I don’t like reporting on my customers—even to their own families. Maybe especially to their own families.”
    Ian grimaced. “I know. I don’t like asking. But he’s been acting squirrelly lately, ever since…” He swallowed, anguish peeking through before his expression smoothed into granite. “I need to know what kind of firepower he’s tucking away.”
    â€œIan. His wife died six weeks ago. Give him a little time.” As soon as the words passed her lips, she felt like an insensitive idiot. Of course Ian knew exactly how long it had been since his own mother lost her long-fought battle with cancer.
    When he stalked a few steps away from her, Rory thought for a moment that she’d offended him enough to make him follow Zup’s example and slam out of the shop. Instead, he pivoted around and paced back to where she was half-perched on her stool. “I’m trying to keep him from doing something stupid while he’s not thinking straight,” he growled, scowling. “I took his key to the armory and cleared all the weapons out of his house.”
    â€œIf he wants to kill himself,” Rory warned, “he’ll find a way to do it, no matter what you take away from him.”
    â€œI know that.” His voice was a snap. “I’m just trying to make it hard enough that he’ll have time to think about it first.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. When they reopened, he looked calmer. “C’mon, Rory. Help me out here. I just need to get him through the next couple of months. With this whole pendant-and-murder thing, I just want one part of my life not to be dissolving into sh—I mean, crap.”
    She was silent for a second, unsure if she’d heard him correctly. “Murder?”
    â€œLong story. One you’ll hear as soon as I figure out what’s going on. Right now, though, I’m more concerned with keeping Julius alive.”
    Frowning, she tapped her fingers on the counter. Her brain was still focused on the mention of murder. It wasn’t something he could just throw into conversation and then ask her to forget. He seemed honestly tortured about Julius’s mental state, though, so she decided not to press him for an explanation…for now, at least. “Fine. But just this once. I’m not going to become your informant about who’s packing what.”
    Ian looked relieved as he echoed her words. “Just this once.”
    â€œGood.” At his expectant look, she continued, “Julius has been in twice since January. The first time was three days after Suze died, and I told him to get his grieving butt out of here—nicer than that, of course.” A little nicer, at least. “The second time was last week. He wanted a handgun, and he wasn’t too choosy what kind. That raised all kinds of red flags, even more than were already up and flying. Before Suze got sick, Julius would come in here and talk guns for hours.” She met Ian’s somber eyes. By the look in them, she could tell she wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t already suspected. “I know he wouldn’t pass the background check at any legitimate dealer, but I didn’t want him to start hunting around for a private sale. So I told him I’d already