Page 71 of Rescued Duty

“Great. So we know there haven’t been any incidents at your house.” Naya rattled off details of her attack, his car, the fire truck, and her oven.

He hadn’t had any attacks when he’d been by himself aside from the truck incident at the parade.

“All this makes me think maybe I was wrong and the two cases aren’t related,” Naya continued.

“It could be.”

Naya’s sleuthing skills were top notch.

He didn’t want to tell her what route to investigate, but the incident at the parade made it all feel confusing. “Although, my boys didn’t like that our booth setup would be so close to the Green Warriors. Said they were afraid of getting caught up in the turmoil.”

“Hmmm.” Naya typed a few notes. She had a gleam in her eye.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” She dismissed the question with a hand wave. “If itisthe environmental group, why all of a sudden target you?”

“Beats me.” Zack cleared his plate and started a sink of soapy water.

“If we can nail down who our mountain man and mysterious letter guy is, we could have something more to go on.”

“Find evidence on that hat to nab our guy, and I’ll get Basuto to lead the arrest.” Zack scrubbed the skillet. The sooner the person behind this mayhem was in jail, the better.

The alarm intercom blared. “Rescue 5. Ambo 21. Entrapment at Ethos Fire Solutions. Number of victims unknown.”

Zack tossed the pan on the drying rack. “Will you be okay?” He put a hand on Naya’s shoulder, knowing there could be no time to lose. “Truck will still be here.”

“Yeah. Go do your thing.” Naya placed her hand on top of his. “Be careful, please.”

He read between the lines. She was just as curious about the callout to Ethos.

Zack bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. A peppermint scent wafted from her hair and provided a comforting feeling, but he couldn’t linger right now. “I’ll be back.” He raced out of the room and down the hall, then grabbed his gear from the cubby.

Zack hopped in next to Eddie, and Bryce took the front seat with Ridge at the wheel. “Rescue 5 is en route. Seven minutes out. What’s the status?” Bryce released the radio button.

They took the turn onto the street so hard Zack had to grab the handle at the top of the door. They all swayed, and Eddie bumped his shoulder. “You think Green Warriors has upped their antics?”

“If that’s the case, I hope the police catch whoever is responsible.” Zack braced one boot against the front seat to keep from being jostled along with the truck.

The dispatcher’s information crackled over the radio intercom. “Forklift drove into an office wall. Unknown number of people trapped in the room.”

Bryce pulled into the fire lane at the front of the building, and the guys grabbed their equipment.

Trace and Kianna parked the ambulance behind them and followed the crew inside.

A young woman with a pencil skirt and heels waved them through. “I was working at my computer when I heard a crash.” She scurried down the hall with them and wiggled a doorknob, but it wouldn’t open. “And I came to find this.”

Cries echoed from the space. “Get us out!” A man in a suit banged on the window.

“She’s bleeding.” An older man in a polo pointed to a woman curled up on the ground.

“Please hurry.” More cries came from the room.

Zack was surprised to see so many employees here on a Sunday. Didn’t they realize taking a day off work never killed anyone?

Eddie stepped up to the door and knocked. “Rescue 5 is here. We’re going to get you all out soon.”

Dust coated the carpet floor. Zack peered through the window into the room. “The wall on the left is collapsed in.”

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