Page 7 of Wild Fires

“I asked if you want me to drive.”

“What?” I said a little sharper than I meant to.

“Is she okay?” he asked my boss.

“What? I thought we agreed I'd take Andrew or Dan along instead.”

“Are you okay, Gracie?” Chief asked me.

“I'm fine,” I snapped.

“Well, we just had an entire conversation and agreed Ryan will be the best partner for you on this. He has the day free, and I want the boys to get some sleep so they can be on alert for the next incident.”

“You really think there is only one person behind all these fires?”

I didn't have it in me to admit I'd completely zoned out of that conversation and probably needed sleep myself. Though, since I was benched from active duty, I supposed I'd be getting plenty of that tonight.

“I do,” Clarence confessed.

If the Chief was that certain, then I had to believe there was something there. I may not be putting out fires in my foreseeable future, but if this truly was one arsonist and I could crack the case, it would look really good and give me a bit more leverage around here.

I'd served my time but in some ways was still treated like a rookie. Or at least that's how it felt. Would the Chief finally see some value in me if I did this?

Excited and feeling challenged, I walked to the door before turning back to Ryan.

“Are you coming or not?”

Ryan

Chapter 3

The last thing I wanted to do was spend the day with Gracie, but I couldn't deny I was intrigued. It had been a long time since I dusted off my forensic skills. With nothing pressing in my schedule for the day, I liked the idea of a new challenge.

“I'll drive,” I offered.

“No. You don't even know where we're going. I'll drive.”

My jaw locked, but I didn't argue as we headed for her Jeep Wrangler and climbed in. With the top off, it was just us in a roll cage, and we soon were going a hundred miles an hour down a windy back road just outside of town limits.

“Slow down,” I yelled.

The wind was rustling through my hair, and it gave me the urge to shift. I was sure it was going to be a mess by the time we stopped, though I wasn't convinced we were going to survive this trip.

Oh God, this was the end. I was going to die a horrible broken mess when she crashed this hunk of metal.

This wasn't how I was supposed to die. Okay, I didn't really know how I was supposed to die, but this couldn't possibly be it.

The woman was a menace hellbent on killing us both.

Before I could go into a full-blown panic attack, the Jeep came to a sudden hard stop, jerking me forward against the seatbelt as my eyes closed, bracing for the end.

I heard someone scream and it took a second to realize it was me.

“You okay?” Gracie asked.

I didn't appreciate the way her voice was laced with sarcasm.

Staring at her, I realized she was actually insane. I always suspected as much, but damn, she was certifiably crazy.

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