Page 389 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Zach hesitated a second as though Jacob had surprised him. Then he shook his head.

Jacob winced. “Sorry, man. That’s rough.”

“Um, you guys wanna get out of there?” Zach glanced between them.

“Yes, we do.” Jacob felt Addie’s hand on his back.

Zach spoke over his shoulder. “Let’s get them out!”

He gave a couple of orders to his firefighters, and they all started to move. Like coordinated actions they’d rehearsed until each strike of a tool was anticipated and each man—and the woman Jacob spotted—knew exactly what to anticipate.

They pried the boards away and cut the rest. Made a hole big enough for him and Addie to get out.

“The cops showed up, too, right?” Addie glanced around. “We believe there might be an armed man around here. He’s the one we think set the fire.”

“A shooter?” Zach asked.

Jacob motioned to her. “This is Special Agent Adelyn Franklin. FBI.”

Zach’s eyebrows rose.

“Yeah.”

Addie turned to Jacob. “What does that mean?”

All he could think to say was, “Zach and I are in the same Bible study. It happens online, so we can call in from wherever.”

“Like the firehouse.” Zach held out a hand and helped Addie out.

Jacob left after her.

Zach motioned to the front of the building. “Let’s get you two to the EMTs, get you checked out.”

Jacob nodded, though aside from the smoke inhalation, the rest of their issues were internal. In the sense that, as much as they might want to believe it, they weren’t as past what had happened as either of them thought.

Before she got back, he’d have said he put it behind him a long time ago. Now it was clear he hadn’t. The moment Addie showed up it was like everything he did to convince himself it wasn’t a factor seemed to shatter and their shared history came back in full force.

Hank rushed around the corner. “Jake! Addie!” The detective jogged over and the three of them hugged as a group. “You guys!”

Jacob winced at the volume of Hank’s voice right by his ear and pulled back. Hank tugged Addie under his arm so that her shoulder was wedged right by his duty weapon holstered there.

“We’re okay,” Jacob held out his hand for Addie. “But we need to get checked out by the EMTs. Make sure we aren’t hurt.”

Addie took it, and something inside him slid into place. Hank walked with them so, Jacob reiterated everything to his friend. They were given oxygen masks and told to sit. Hank kept him talking about everything. When the detective started to ask the same questions in different ways, Jacob said, “Is this an interrogation?”

Addie shifted beside him, sat on the back step of the ambulance.

Hank ran his hand over his head and back. “Sorry. I just can’t believe this.” He motioned to the side and looked at Addie. “Your car? You could have died. Both of you could have died in there. Your livelihood is ruined.”

Jacob shrugged.

Addie tipped her head to one side. “Aren’t you upset?”

“Neither of us is hurt badly. It’s just a building.” But he knew for sure when he renovated after the smoke cleared, he’d be upgrading the safety features—and security. “I’d rather focus on who that was, and why they did this.”

She said, “Is there a plate on the pickup?”

“Reported stolen yesterday.”

---