Movement nearby startled him, and he shifted, finding Felicia still watching him, a suspicious grin on her face.
“She’s involved with someone if that’s what you’re wondering. Me, too.” She pointed to her wedding band. “Though this is marriage No. 2 for me.”
Mick’s face heated as he stuck his hands in his coat pockets.
Felicia threw back her head and laughed. “Lighten up, boss. We all got the memos about this being a romance-free zone.”
“Good.” He coughed into his jacket sleeve, wishing she would stop watching him. Even if the former chief’s sister didn’t count in any bans on same-shift dating—Rachel and he weren’t involved, either—he had to plant his boots on the floor to keep from shifting his feet. “Glad I won’t have to write up another memo on Monday.”
His chuckle probably sounded strained, but it was the best he could do.
“We all know you’re just trying to figure us out, Chief. We’re doing the same thing with you.” Felicia grinned, then shrugged. “Outsiders. You get it.”
Mick nodded, trying to ignore the shiver that slithered through him.
Just as Felicia retrieved the thermal imaging camera and rounded the end of the truck to store it in a different compartment, David List exited the same door through which Emily had disappeared only moments before. The firefighter wore street clothes and carried a gym bag along with his coat. His neatly combed hair was still wet.
“Hey, Chief.” David tilted his head. “Isn’t this your—”
“I know. It’s my day off. Just checking in.”
“About the fire last night, huh?”
They both knew the answer to that, so Mick didn’t bother making up something. “You the last one going off shift?”
“Yeah, Garritt told me to get out so she could clean the locker room.” He widened his eyes. “That girl is intense.”
At Mick’s hard look, the younger man stared at the floor. “Sorry, boss. I mean woman. And…hardworking?”
Since the firefighter offered the last as a question, Mick shook his head. Emily probably had reasons to be resentful about her situation in the department that had nothing to do with Mick’s arrival or Riley’s firing. And some of her fellow crew had to be some of them. But that would have to be a discussion for another day.
“You headed home?” he asked David instead.
His shoulders visibly relaxed. “Drive-through breakfast and then bed.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
“Sure, boss.” His gaze remained cautious as he slid on his coat.
Once outside, Mick had to force himself not to pounce as they walked together toward the other man’s mini SUV. “So, last night’s call…?”
“Really, it wasn’t much different than any of the other ones lately.” David pursed his lips and moved his head back and forth as though considering. “Except that it was another abandoned house. Though, of course, we didn’t know that going in. As Chief Hoffman always said, ‘There’s no such thing as an abandoned building—’”
“Until you search it,” Mick finished for him. “We all say that.”
“Yeah. Sorry for bringing him up.”
“Park gave me most of the details last night.” Mick lied smoothly while changing the subject. In truth, the captain had provided only basic details. “Anything else interesting about the call?”
He shook his head. “Burn patterns that suggest the fire was intentionally set. That’s about it. We took photos of the crowd. Just the neighbors. It’s kind of becoming routine.”
“We can’t ever think like that, List,” Mick said. “If we do, we’ll get sloppy, and someone will get hurt.”
“You’re right. We’ve been lucky so far.” David pulled out his key fob and hit the button. With a wave, the firefighter climbed in his vehicle and drove from the parking lot.
As Mick watched him until his taillights disappeared, a question repeated in his head: Was it luck? Or was whoever had been setting these fires just playing with them until they became complacent? Would they then escalate to something bigger and more tragic than the loss of garages full of possessions or vacant property? The hard lump in his gut and the sour taste in his mouth told him he knew that answer.
* * *
