Page 30 of Fire Fight
I pursed my lips. “I’m already involved, bro. I’ve respondedto two of these scenes now.” Rising to my feet, I got in his face. “AndImade the save that got you your only living witness.”
My brother merely blinked at me, not saying anything. Recognizing that there was more going on here if I was getting this worked up about it.
Wisely, he didn’t press the issue. Only sat across from me and pulled out his phone to record our conversation.
“Sheriff Lane Lawless,” he started. “Going on record with Dusk Valley Fire Department captain Crew Lawless regarding the events of prom night auto shop fire.”
He rattled off the date of the incident, case number, and a few other identifying details before he said to me, “Walk me through what happened.”
I’d done this enough times over the years that I was downright emotionless as I gave Lane the rundown. He’d have my formal incident report to supplement this interview, but he liked to get his information straight from the horse’s mouth.
When I finished a half hour later after Lane asked seemingly incessant probing questions, he let me go and asked me to send Tuck in. For the rest of the morning, we sat around the common room shooting the shit.
Honestly, that was a normal day at the firehouse. Small towns weren’t exactly notorious for being busy in general, and the same could be said for the fire department. There had been talk for years of downsizing us to a volunteer outfit, but with the constant threat of forest fires that could travel miles in a blink, the town voted against it every time it came up on a ballot, and for that I was thankful.
I wasn’t meant to do anything else with my life but this: fight fires and save people. I wouldn’tsurvivedoing anything else. And really, what else was there? Join Trey’s security firm? Pass. Work on the ranch for Finn or West? Double pass.
No, I wasn’t meant for that shit. I was right where I needed to be.
Finally, Lane wrapped up his interview with the last of the crew that had been at the fire, which wound up being Sutton, and followed her out of the meeting room.
“You boys feel like taking a ride to the scene?” he asked, jerking his head at me, Tuck, Childers, and Burns.
The other three men were on their feet before I could even agree. We were all going a bit stir crazy without any calls; the fresh air and doing something useful would be good for us.
We piled into the truck, gear and equipment ready to go in case a call came through while we were out, then followed Lane’s sheriff’s SUV to the other side of town.
I’d thought the building looked bad that night after we’d knocked down the flames, turning it into nothing more than a smoking husk of its former self against the starry, Idahoan sky.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for seeing it in the daylight.
“Jesus Christ,” Tuck breathed when he pulled the truck to a stop on the curb. “How the fuck did we get out of there alive?”
He’d stolen the words right out of my mouth.
The structure had completely collapsed, imploding in the center, taking the entire roof and the tops of the exterior walls with it. Nothing living could’ve survived the roof coming down, and considering how close Tuck, Aspen, and I had come to never walking out was terrifying.
But we were alive, and what was even better was knowing that Aspen, the initial target, also still drew breath. For the first time since this killer became active, law enforcement had a witness. I could understand why Lane wanted me to stay out of this—or rather, what he’d really been saying when he warned me off:stay away from her.
I’d be damned if I could do that. There was no logical way to explain it except to say there was some larger force at work. While I’d been interested in the outcome of this case before, both because I’d already pulled a dead body out of a fire as a result ofthis sicko’s actions, and because I wanted him to stop terrorizing my town, things felt…different now.
Aspenwas different.
But how did I tell that to my brother? I barely knew the girl. Flirting over chicken and waffles then saving her life didn’t make me an expert on her—nor did it explain my fascination.
“Alright,” Lane said as we exited our vehicles and stood on the concrete drive in front of the building. “Time for a reenactment.”
Even though we’d already been through this all with my verbal statement, showing Lane exactly what had gone down by walking him around the property was much easier. My brother was a hands-on kind of guy. Entering the structure was a nonstarter, mainly because the roof now rested on the concrete floors. So we walked the perimeter, and the guys and I pointed exactly where we’d gone and when.
“And where did you find Miss McKay?” my brother asked.
I led him around the side toward where the offices had once been. “She was in this office here,” I said, gesturing to the badly damaged half of a wall that remained standing. “Tied up and gagged.” Fuck, that reminded me… “Hold that thought.”
I raced for the truck and my gear. Before reaching into the pocket, I put one of my gloves on then withdrew the cloth and zipties I’d found on Aspen.
Holding them out to Lane when I returned, I said, “Here.”
Lane quirked a brow. “The fuck is this?”
