“Clay and Evan said they might show up later. Couple medics were here when I came in, but they left.”
“The Shack would probably close down during the winter without the fire department,” Jess said as she slid a glass of amber liquid perfection in front of him.
“You’re an angel, Jess. Thanks.” He downed a third of it in one go, the sharpness on his tongue making his taste buds weep with joy.
Jess smiled at him, and then her eyes veered covertly to Dylan, making Nate suspect — not for the first time — that she had a thing for his colleague. Dylan was either blind, gay, or dumb to not notice it. Maybe all three. He hung out at the bar plenty when she was working. They talked a lot and seemed to be buddies but nothing more. Jess might be a few years younger, but she was pretty, had a superb rack, and was one hell of a bartender.
“I know,” she said. “Angel of beer. Heard it before.”
She disappeared into the back room, where the food was prepared. Seconds later, Macey Severson, owner of the Shell Shack and wife of Derek, one of the other firefighters, peeked her head around the corner. Nate lifted his chin and smiled in greeting. She came out, wiping her hands on the apron at her waist.
“Hey, Mr. Hero. Heard you had quite the night.” Macey came around the end of the bar and hugged him. “Congrats on the rescue.”
Nate grinned, deciding to go along with all the to-do. “Dylan’s got my dinner, Jess picked up this beautiful cup of hops and barley … you gonna treat me to a gourmet dessert or what?”
“Or what. How ’bout if I cook your food?” Macey said.
“Guess I’ll take it. What are you doing here tonight anyway?” Nate asked. “Thought you were giving most of your time to your nonprofit.”
“Just here for the dinner hour,” she said. “Mike hurt his back and couldn’t make it in, so I’m covering.”
“Who’s got the princess? Big Daddy?” Dylan asked, referring to their daughter and Macey’s husband.
“Derek and Maddy went to a movie. A special showing of some My Little Pony feature.” Macey pursed her lips to hide her amusement.
“Excellent,” Dylan said. “Derek will be right in his element with the rainbows and stars.”
“He’s a good daddy,” Macey said with a wide grin. She straightened the salt and pepper and napkin holder on the bar and became serious. “He said they suspect arson?”
Nate’s empty stomach twisted into a knot. “In the office building fire? I hadn’t heard.”
“Where you been all day, man?” Dylan asked. “They think it was started right outside of the end unit where you found the woman.”
“Outside of Sophie’s office? What the fuck?” Nate clenched his fist, and rage boiled up inside him at the thought of some worthless piece of shit intentionally starting a fire.
“Sophie?” Dylan raised one brow as if Nate was one taco short of a combo plate.
“The woman. Sophie Alexander.”
“Didn’t realize you were on a first-name basis with her. How’s she doing?”
“Concussion and smoke inhalation. They’ll keep her for a couple days max. Is Grif on the case?” The arsonist bastard needed to be caught. Like, yesterday. Penn Griffin might be one of the newer investigators, but he wasn’t new to the fire service, and Nate trusted him implicitly.
“Yep.”
“Derek said she was lucky the wind carried the fire away from her office,” Macey said. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”
“I think she’d fallen before I found her,” Nate said. “That’d explain the head injury. The fire stayed just south of her suite. Had her office been more directly involved … yeah.” A spark of cold fear went down his spine. “Bad news. Suspects yet?”
Dylan shook his head, a grim expression on his face.
“Not the last I heard,” Macey confirmed. “It’s early though.”
Until they caught him, there was always the fear that he’d strike again. Nate couldn’t help but wonder if Sophie had been the target or it’d been a random hit. And there she was … alone in that hospital bed.
Jess came out of the kitchen with a basket of food and set it in front of him.
“Thanks, Jess. Guess I’m slacking in my duties,” Macey said.
