Page 20 of Rescued Duty

If only.

His grandma had told him it was an accident, but it’d done nothing to save him from the night terrors that had woken him up whenever he’d tried to sleep. Ones that still knocked on his subconscious on occasion.

Arson.

R, son.

Just remember the most important word in your vocabulary. So important I had to tell other people about it. R, son.

Zack’s throat tightened and he blinked. A few tears trailed down his cheek.

Zack pulled in a shaky breath thanks to the memory. His dad had been the most patient teacher, assuring his son he wouldn’t have a speech impediment forever. That Zack would eventually be able to say hisr’s properly.

R, son. It’s important. There’s a lot of sentences you can make with r-words. Like this one: rats only go empty’n rivers.

Zack would wrinkle his nose and giggle at his dad. Tell him it was the silliest thing ever.

Wats don’t go to the bathwoom in wivers, Daddy.

Even though the sentence never made sense, his dad’s goofiness regarding the matter had helped Zack master hisr’s.

Zack just wished his dad had been around to witness it.

He had helped Zack in countless ways in the few short years they’d had together. And now, Zack would do everything he could to help his dad get the justice he deserved. Both of his parents deserved it.

The alarm blared through the intercom system, and the dispatcher stated the details. “Rescue 5, Truck 14. Vehicle entrapment. Gasoline leak.” Zack bolted from the couch and dropped the file in his bag and threw the bag in the bunk room before racing to the truck.

“Let’s go, people,” Bryce hollered, and the door slammed shut behind him.

Eddie jogged over and hopped into the back of the engine. Ridge hit the gas and they peeled out. He tossed Zack a water bottle. “I have a feeling this is going to be a long one.”

Actually, it was going to be a long couple of days. Because Zack didn’t see how he could rest until he solved his parents’ case.

Lord, why did this happen? I don’t understand.Zack cracked his fingers. God had seen fit to bring challenges of many sorts into his life. And he didn’t have all the answers. But who was he to question God?

Zack sighed.

It was his job to trust the Lord to work—even when it didn’t make sense.

Right now, he needed to stay focused on the call at hand.

Then he would get in touch with his dad’s friend, the former fire chief, across town. Find out why Powells had hidden the truth and made Zack the scapegoat.

Part of Zack wanted to ask Naya to do some digging of her own. But could he risk the outcome of Naya getting caught in the crosshairs? She already had enough on her plate.

How could he add one more troubling find to her load?

He couldn’t.

Not if his request would stir the coals of a fire that a killer thought they’d snuffed out long ago.

SEVEN

Naya hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of being watched, and she’d spent the night tossing and turning. A caffeine jolt had become her friend this morning, and now that she’d finished lunch, Naya was already getting the afternoon slump. Good thing she and Ingram were going for a hike.

After a quick change into more comfortable athletic wear, Naya gathered her belongings and closed her office door, then headed out to the parking lot. No one else loitered in the lot as she made her way to her car, keys in hand.

She’d considered calling Officer Tazwell to do a drive by her place, but Naya didn’t have any evidence that someone was indeed tracking her whereabouts. The last thing Naya wanted was to take advantage of the contacts she had at the station. Tazwell and the other officers had better things to do than worry about her and chase dead ends.

---