Page 63 of Chasing the Sun
Sirens wailed in the distance, flashing red and blue cutting through the firelight. The cavalry had arrived, but it was too late to save the barn. The fire had already claimed it, the roof groaning as it collapsed inward, sending another plume of embers rising into the night.
Elodie flinched, tears welling in her eyes as she stared at the blazing inferno. I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached.
The fire department took over, shouting orders and dragging hoses across the field. The air was thick with smoke, the scent of burning wood and charred metal heavy in my throat. I stood frozen, staring at what was left of the barn, feeling the weight of what Levi had done settle like lead in my chest.
A figure stepped toward us. Brody came into view, hisbadge glinting in the firelight. His expression was grim. “I need to ask some questions.”
Levi’s whole body stiffened beside me. His breath came in short, choppy bursts, his face pale beneath the layer of soot streaking his skin. He looked up at me, then at Brody, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.
I could feel the weight of his panic, the way it sat on his chest like a stone, but that didn’t matter. He had to explain.
Brody shifted his weight, his expression unreadable, but there was something in his stance—something that wasn’t just a cop doing his job. It was the same thing I felt clawing at the inside of my ribs—the fear of what could have happened.
“Levi.” My voice came out rough, too sharp, but I didn’t have the patience to soften it. “Tell us exactly what the hell happened.”
Levi flinched but didn’t look away. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides. “We didn’t mean to—” He exhaled hard, his voice shaking. “We weren’t trying to start a fire. We just—” His hands lifted, then dropped helplessly. “We were just messing around.”
I felt my stomach drop. “Messing around?”
Levi nodded quickly, words tumbling out, desperate now. “We were just hanging out in the barn. Me, Jamie, and a couple of the guys. They—they brought some beer, but I didn’t—” His voice cracked. “I wasn’t drinking. I swear. I was just there.”
Brody sighed, shifting his weight. “Levi, just tell us exactly what happened. How did the fire start?”
Levi’s jaw tightened, his gaze darting toward the wreckage, the collapsed beams still hissing where the fire hoses had drenched them. He looked sick. “Jamie found some old fireworks in his brother’s truck. Just stupid Roman candlesand bottle rockets. He lit one, but it tipped over, and—and it hit a pile of old papers or something in the back of the barn. The fire caught so fast. We tried to stomp it out, but the wood—” He shook his head, his voice rising in panic. “It spread too fast. I told them we needed to call someone, but the others ran. Jamie was scared. He froze. I was trying to get him out when you—” His voice wobbled, and he sucked in a breath. “When you got there.”
I didn’t realize my hands were clenched until I felt my nails biting into my palms.
Fireworks.
Fucking fireworks.
The kind of mistake that was so fucking stupid, so reckless, so easily avoided—but still one that could have cost my son his life.
I scraped a hand down my face, trying to get a grip on my own temper. Yelling at him wouldn’t fix this. But damn it, I wanted to shake him.
I wouldn’t survive losing you.
Brody let out a long breath, his expression carefully neutral as he turned to me. “The other kids?”
“Gone,” Levi muttered, looking at his feet. “They bolted as soon as the fire caught.”
Of course they had. Bad-influence kids never stuck around to deal with the fallout.
Brody nodded like he expected that answer, his fingers tapping against his belt. Then he turned to Elodie, who had been silent, her lips rolled tight as she fought back whatever emotion was rising in her throat.
“Elodie,” Brody said gently. “Would you like to press charges?”
Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
Elodie’s gaze locked onto Levi’s, her expressionunreadable. He looked so damn young in that moment. Just a kid who’d made a bad call, who had lost control of a situation he thought he could handle.
But that didn’t change the fact that something was gone now.
Something special that she couldn’t get back.
The fire had taken more than just an old barn.
It had taken her trust.
