Page 117 of Ink and Ashes
I smile sadly, then walk forward and wrap my arms around his shoulders. I let my eyes fall shut as he pulls me close, sighing into my hair.
Things have been really good between us since we got together, and I’ll be honest, he feels like the one good thing to come out of this mess for me right now. I can only hope I’ve done the same for him.
He’s been tense all day, but with his arms wrapped around me, he relaxes a touch. But I can tell his mind isn’t fully with me, and I know exactly why.
He kept a low profile all day, sticking off to the side to watcheveryone on the off chance the arsonist is in fact Joseph Welland, and he decided to grace us with his presence.
It’s tough though, because if the note Will received was true, there’d obviously be a reason Joseph Welland faked his death. And if that’s the case, it’s also likely that he looks nothing like he did when he was fifteen years old. He’d be in his mid-forties now, which narrows down the suspect pool, but for all we know, Joseph Welland could be any guy in town.
Over the past week, I’ve been trying to dive deeper into what happened to Joey in that decade after he left Ember Grove, to see if there’s anything or anyonewho sticks out in his past who could be responsible for these. But like with everything else lately, I’ve gotten the same results.
Absolutely nothing.
I’ve worked on cases for over a year before, but none have made me feel as defeated as this one. Maybe it’s because the only thing at stake in all the others was money. Here though, people’s livelihoods, not to mention their actuallives, are at risk. There’s a lot of pressure on me to catch this guy, and I’m not sure I’m cut out to do it.
At the very least, we know that these fires have something to do with the Welland Ranch fire, but it’s seemingly impossible to figure outwhy. There has to be more to this. The only other fire that resulted in a death that Ember Grove has seen was at Colson’s apartment building five years ago, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other fires that have been set by the arsonist over the years. Maybe if I can figure that out, I’ll figure out why the Welland Ranch fire is so important to them.
That’s when a thought hits me. My eyes flash open, and I freeze.
What if the fire at the apartments on High Street wasalsostarted by the arsonist?
CHAPTER 41
Colson
The past few days have been absolute hell on Earth in this town, and today it’s only going to get worse. I haven’t been home in nearly a week, too preoccupied with battling the few holdover fires that have popped up as well as the decoy fires the arsonist has us chasing around town. We’ve had seven of them in the past four days, and considering today is day eighteen, we’re not expecting things to get easier anytime soon.
Whatever the arsonist is planning for today, it’s going to be big. He’s been running all over town, setting random fires anywhere he can to keep us busy and distracted while he plans out his endgame. No one will admit it, but we’re all terrified about what’s coming, and it makes me feel guilty as fuck that I’ve kept them all in the dark for so long. But until I know more, it’s not safe to tell anyone the things we’ve found. Not when any of them could be the one behind these.
Which means I have to keep it to myself for at least a little while longer.
A knock sounds on the door to my quarters, and before I havea chance to respond, it swings open.
“Hi, Lieutenant,” Holland says with a smile.
I spin around in my chair, my smile growing at the sound of her voice. My anxiety might be through the roof today, but being around Holland always brings me a small measure of relief. “Hi, Red.”
I stand, taking her hand and pulling her inside. The door shuts behind her, and I grasp her waist. She tilts her head back to look up at me, and I don’t waste another minute before pressing my lips to hers.
It’s been almost two weeks since we got together, and though we’ve spent more of that time apart than together due to the ongoing fires, I can say with utmost certainty I’ve never been as sure about someone as I am about Holland. She’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and despite how harsh I was on her in the beginning, I can easily admit I’m an absolute goner for her.
Every time we’ve been alone over the past few weeks, I’ve barely been able to keep my hands to myself. And now that the crew knows we’re together, that desperate feeling ofneedis extending to when we’re in public too.
Our tongues tangle in a slow, erotic dance that has me instantly growing hard. She pushes herself against me while my hands roam her body, and it takes everything in me not to throw her on the bed and fuck her right here, right now.
But she—thankfully—stops it before we get to that point. With the next fire expected to happen today, now is not the time or place for that. No matter how badly I may want her.
I press one last quick peck against her mouth before opening my eyes. As my gaze connects with hers, I ask, “How’d you know that was exactly what I needed?”
Her cheeks flush pink. “Because it’s what I needed too.” She pushes up on her tiptoes to kiss me again, but it only lasts for a minute before she pulls away, adding, “But I also want to talk to you about something.”
Those words cause every alarm in my mind to go off, but I take a seat on the edge of the bed anyway. I pull her down to straddle me, her chest rising and falling steadily as she does. Normally, thisposition would be all it takes to get me going, but the look on her face suggests I’m not going to like what she’s about to say.
Holland has spent the past two weeks doing as much digging as she can into the Welland Ranch fire, trying to figure out its connection to these. But we haven’t talked a ton about her findings recently, partially because I’ve been gone so much, and also because when I do see her, the last thing we do is talk about the case. We’ve hardly done anytalkingat all.
I haven’t let it bother me because it’s been nice to let myself drown in her and forget everything for a while, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she finds something, she’ll tell me.
With the serious tone she’s using now, I’m guessing that time has finally come.
