Page 64 of Up In Smoke

Luke sped up to the barn, bumping his way along the gravel as he raced ahead to where the engines were parked.

They brought the water tanker, thank God.Because there were no hydrants out this way, they would need the water trucked in. Luckily, there was a pond just beyond the barn. Luke watched as B-shift unfurled the hose, ready to connect to the water if the tank got low.

He was out of the car and running before he even realized what he was doing. He’d heard them call in Ivy’s car and he’d managed to speed even faster after that.

As one of the firefighters came toward him, Luke looked beyond the man in the turnout gear. He would have recognized his brother but he didn't have the brain space for it. “Ivy is in there!”

But the man physically held him back. His large yellow turnout jacket enveloping Luke and his own standard winter coat. The snow was coming down heavier and Luke stepped back as the man held him away. Looking at him now, Luke recognized Jory Buckland.

Jory’s mask hung to the side, because he was dealing with Luke and not the fire. Luke understood.

“We know. We're going in to get her.”

But Luke knew they weren't. This was a “surround and drown.” The brittle old wood of the barn went up like kindling. The only thing that might have slowed it was the snow.Ifthe water seeped into the wood, it might hinder the burn. But they couldn’t go in for Ivy until it was safe.

And that would be too late.

B-shift ringed the old building as best they could, wetting everything. The accelerant at the base of the barn continued to burn. Luke watched his fellow firefighters handle it all expertly.

But no one went in to save Ivy.

Had Mario planned this? Had he known that Luke was off shift, that he wouldn't be in his gear and wouldn't be able to go in and search this time?

Saving Ivy from her own house fire had been both Luke’s greatest triumph and his biggest source of guilt. Now only the guilt remained.

Ivy was targeted because of him. It washis brothercoming after them and here he stood, no gear, no ability to help. All he could do was wait and watch.

“Stay here,” Jory told him firmly and Luke nodded. He did understand that if he made a move, he would hinder their efforts and slow their ability to get to Ivy. So he stood as if planted and watched, unable to do anything but feel his heart in his throat.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket and—needing something to do—he reached for it. Maybe it was Ivy. Maybe she wasn't inside. In fact, maybe she was outside of the barn. Without answering the phone, he took off, following his train of thought.

The firefighters had to concentrate on the fire. But Luke began walking the perimeter of the scene. He made a wide ring, hoping he could see something, find Ivy having escaped the barn, standing back, and watching.

He ran and scanned the landscape. Luke was a quarter of the way around the barn before he remembered his phone had buzzed. He pulled it out and looked. There was no name, only a number with the text message.

— This is Orlando Tavares. Have you seen Ivy?

Shit.Everyone was beginning to realize that Ivy was missing. Which meant no one had seen her and no on had heard from her. He was messaging back when his phone rang from the same number.

Luke answered. He was opening his mouth to say,I'm at an old barn that’s been lit. Ivy’s car is here.But Tavares beat him to the punch.

“Hey, Luke. Orlando here. Sorry to bother you, but Ivy messaged me an odd message just over an hour ago. I've been messaging her and she hasn't replied. I just called and it went straight to voicemail.”

“Me too.” Luke hated that he had to answer that way. He was halfway around the barn. One of the firefighters had caught sight of him and again motioned him to stay back. He moved a few feet further back out of respect, but continued on his loop.

“Is Ivy still at work?” Tavares asked, clearly trying to put all the pieces together.

“No. She left at six.” Luke was grateful for a simple question he could answer.

“This text came in over thirty minutes after that.”

Luke stopped still in his tracks. Ivy had messaged Tavaresaftershe left work. Something strange? “What did it say?”

He stood at the edge of the pond, staring blindly at the water that might be the only thing that would save Ivy's life.

“It said,it's various. Does that mean anything to you?”

“No.” Luke replied quickly. “Why would Ivy have texted that? What time did it come in?”

---