Page 123 of Ink and Ashes
“Pierce, you don’t have to do this.”
“I know I don’t have to, Colson. I want to.” I can almost hearhis lips curl into a smirk. “I’m going down either way. May as well take someone with me, right?”
I close my eyes, rubbing my fingers into them as I say, “We’re going to find you. You won’t get away with this.”
He laughs. “You can’t chase both of us at once. Better hope you can find her in time. Good luck, boy.”
With that, he hangs up.
“Fuck!” I shout, tossing my phone at the wall. It shatters, and when I turn back around to face the group, I meet Beau’s gaze.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” he asks, a worried look on his face. “I found this in his office.”
He passes me the note, and I rush to read.
If I burn, we all burn
My stomach drops even further when I realize it’s the same handwriting as the one that was left on Holland’s car when all this started.
It’s been him all along.
I clench my jaw. “Pierce Whitlock is the arsonist.” Exhaling deeply, I add, “And he has Holland.”
CHAPTER 44
Colson
It’s happening all over again.
After Ellie died, I vowed to never let someone I love die in a fire again. Yet here I stand, losing the one person who’s made me feel anything since her the exact same way.
And I have no idea what to do to stop it.
I pace back and forth while everyone chats around me, trying to come up with a plan. But Whitlock gave me nothing—I have no clue where she could be.
When Dom runs back into the bay, everyone stops talking. I freeze, turning to look at him. On an exhale, he says, “We’re getting calls for three separate wildfires that have popped up in the past hour on the outskirts of town.” Shifting his gaze to me, he adds, “He’s fucking with you.”
I swallow, my jaw clenched together. “Holland has to be trapped in one of them.” I blow out a breath as I run my fingers through my hair, cursing myself for leaving her here alone. For letting her out of my sight for even a moment when I knew it was a firefighter who was responsible. I shouldn’t have trusted anyone.
Better yet, I should’ve known it was Whitlock from the start.
“Fuck!” I shout, feeling myself losing control. I can’t gather my thoughts, and the last thing Holland needs right now is for me to be unfocused and distracted.
She needs me to save her.
Ineed to save her.
“Col, take a breath. We’re going to find her,” Beau mutters, gripping my shoulder. “Here’s what we’re going to do?—”
He cuts himself off as his gaze shifts to something over my shoulder. Looking up, I see Ollie standing there, his arm still in a sling.
My eyes widen. It’s only been a month since Ollie was released from the hospital, and he hasn’t been permitted to return to work yet.
“Cass texted me,” Ollie says when he notices the question in my eyes.
I turn to my sister.
“Don’t give me that look,” she says simply. “We need all the help we can get, and we don’t have time to call in neighbouring crews.”
