Dark Angel (Sequel to White Raven)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Where There's Smoke, There's Usually a Harper

Warning: Strong Language and Sexual References!

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When they got to Haven two hours later things seemed to have calmed down a bit. The fires had been put out and now it was just the deputies and volunteer fire department combing the area for clues. The house was still mostly intact, besides for a huge hole in the side, where the kitchen used to be. There were burn marks going up the side of the house and you could see that the inside was charred up a bit. Soot had mixed with the snow on the ground. The blackness of it made the scene look all the more eerie.

Thankfully, Ary's Aunt Charlotte wasn't at the scene. She hated Ary on normal days. There was no telling how much anger she would be feeling after her home had been completely destroyed. Even if it wasn't Ary's fault, everything was Ary's fault. Ary didn't blame the poor woman. She did have a bad habit of showing up when shit hit the fan. It was one of her least charming qualities.

The only family members that were there were her dad and Maddie. Things had been okay with her dad. They'd mostly just ignored everything that had happened with Garrett and she was perfectly okay with that. Admittedly, things were still awkward between them. Neither of them were big talkers and neither knew what to say to the other so most of their time was spent just mentioning the weather and what sports teams were doing well.

"Hey," Ary went up to Maddie.

Maddie turned around and immediately hugged Ary. Ary would like to say that she was capable of behaving like an adult, but that wasn't entirely the case. She didn't know how to return a hug to her sister so she just gave her an awkward pat on the back and let her arms drop to her sides. Maddie didn't seem to notice the awkwardness.  

"Our family isn't bad, right?" Maddie sobbed on her shoulder.

"Um..." Ary didn't know how to respond to this.

"I mean. What did we do to deserve all of this? People are trying to kill us!" Her voice rose an octave as her last sentence turned into a hearty sob.

Ary still didn't know what to say. She could tell her sister that it was probably all Luke's fault for getting involved with a gang and then hooking up with their leader, but that probably wouldn't go over well. She could also make a snide little comment about their mother and aunt being nutcases, but somehow now just didn't feel like the appropriate time to be slandering her own family.

"Everything will be fine," Ary assured her. "I promise. We have everyone working on this."

"You do?" she sniffled, wiping at her nose.

"Yup. Sure do." Ary shot her a big smile, hoping Maddie wouldn't notice that she was lying.

It was believable that Chicago cops could be working on a bombing case in the middle of nowhere, right? It did pertain to gang related cases back in Chicago, didn't it? She honestly didn't know. She just didn't want her sister to cry all over her anymore.

"So, do we know anything at all?" she asked her dad.

In all honesty she would have liked to have avoided talking to him, but Maddie was too distraught to get any answers out of her.

"Same type of bomb as used at the Sheriff's Office," her dad answered. "Your uncle was the only one home at the time. He inhaled some smoke." It was all formal and efficient relaying of information. She appreciated that, even if she did wonder if it was because he didn't like talking to her.

"Poor Aunt Charlotte," Ary said and she meant it. Kinda.

The woman was already a high strung, nervous basket case. Then she had to deal with her son getting shot, her little brother being blown up, and now her husband. She didn't like the woman on good days, but she wouldn't wish this kind of stress on anyone.