Page 11 of Rescued Duty

Zack jerked his head and stumbled out of his chair, which crashed to the floor. He turned around right when Izan walked into the firehouse kitchen with a pile of pizza boxes.

“You good, man?” Izan raised an eyebrow.

Zack blinked and righted the chair. “You bet. Just testing your reflex skills. You might want to work on those.” He slapped Izan on the shoulder, then checked his watch. Time to go.

“You better save some of the mushroom toppings for me.” Amelia strode in, Eddie and Bryce right behind her.

Zack grabbed two slices of pepperoni pizza and chowed down. The lack of regular meals today had him starving. Never mind it was still too early to be considered dinnertime.

“That’s all yours.” Eddie wrinkled his nose and grabbed a plate. “Give me all the meat.”

Zack laughed. “There’s enough here to feed the whole town.” He grabbed a napkin next to the six pizza boxes piled high on the counter. He wiped the grease off his fingers, then tossed his plate in the trash. “I’m clocking out. See y’all later.” He brushed pastthe crew, but Eddie gave him a side-eye. The guy never missed a beat.

Zack tossed his duffel bag on the passenger car seat and opened up the report file again that Bryce had given him.

All the memories flooded back, disorienting Zack like being in a smoke house without the proper training gear.

The fire had snuffed out Zack’s former existence and taken all traces of the life he’d once known with it.

Screams berated his mind, and the flashes of first-responder cars filled his vision.

They turned into the development and drew closer to Zack’s house and where several emergency vehicles were parked.

“Grandma, what’s going on?” He smashed his face against the cool glass. “Those are flames in our house.”

The commotion that greeted him upon arrival at his house became his worst nightmare.

“It’s all your fault. What were you thinking?”The fire chief’s shouts pelted the air. Tears gathered in Zack’s eyes, and his lips quivered. “You did this.” The man bent down to Zack’s height and pointed at the ashen house.

“Zack?” Eddie rapped on the window.

Zack’s hand jerked, and he snatched at the file to keep the papers from falling. He opened up the door and braced one foot on the floorboard.

Eddie leaned a hand against the car. “You’re quite jumpy tonight.”

Zack’s stomach twisted, and he swallowed. Eating that pizza so fast had been a bad idea. “Bryce gave me a case to investigate for hazmat training.”

“That’s awesome, dude.”

He sighed. “Except it’s my parents’ case.” Policy stated if a conflict of interest arose, it should be handed off to someoneelse. Each case required astuteness and a clear mind. Emotions could not get in the way of doing one’s job.

“He wouldn’t put you in that kind of predicament.”

“He doesn’t know my parents had a different last name than me.” Theirs was Nelson. His was Stephens.

“How’d you manage that?” Eddie raised an eyebrow.

“After they died, it hurt to be known as the Nelsons’ kid. The one who didn’t have parents anymore. So my grandma suggested I use Stephens. My mom’s maiden name.” It still tied him to his family, but soon people had stopped realizing whose kid he was, and the looks of pity had faded.

“You gonna tell him?”

“I don’t know. Technically it’s not an active case.” Zack flipped through the papers, and his eyes landed on the name of a witness.

Ricky Powells. Former fire chief on the other side of town, and one of his dad’s best friends. The man’s phone number was listed on the line below.

Zack had been on his way home with his grandma after staying late at school to finish homework he’d missed and not turned in on time. He had been desperate not to fail third grade and get held back, especially when he’d miss the chance to be with all his friends.

“Hurry up, kiddo. I need to get you home before my bingo game night.” His grandma ushered him into the back seat.

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