Before he could even reply, both of our radios crackled to life as the alarm throughout the station rang.
Structure Fire. Miller’s Hardware. Detached barn.
“Son of a bitch,” Elliot muttered, already on his feet as I jogged away with a pointed look.
I didn’t want to be right, I didn’t want to see the cute little town I now called home fall victim to the same scheme as Duncan Mills, but as I stomped into my fire boots and fastened my turnout gear on, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
My crew loaded up in our engines, tearing from the firehouse, and as soon as we turned toward town, the black smoke header was visible in the crystal-clear spring air. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but the black smoke curled toward the sun like black lace.
We worked on autopilot, like a well-oiled machine, to break down the fire in the storage barn in the stockyard behind the hardware store. All of their lumber was stored there, and their lumber was their biggest source of revenue.
We were able to keep the fire contained in the main barn before it could spread to the other outbuildings behind the main store. It was a total loss, but it could have been far worse if the rest of the property had gone up in flames.
“Secondary structure,” Elliot said, coming to my side with his helmet and fire pants on, watching as the shell of a building sat with charred posts and beams the only thing left standing. “Looks electrical on the surface.”
Except I’d bet my last paycheck that it wasn’t.
I watched on as the Sergeant on scene, directing my crew to rake out the hot coals and extinguish any hot spots left when I found a familiar pair of eyes in the crowd.
Tanner stood in front of his cruiser, frowning at the rubble before he started my way.
“Something isn’t right here, Rhea.” He said, crossing his arms over his wide chest.
I nodded, “Goldie’s wasn’t an accident. This one probably wasn’t either.”
“How do you know?” He asked, and it felt like he was asking me as an equal, not like I was supposed to prove it to him.
“I found a pipe in her sprinkler system that had been tampered with. Tampered with when she had all the plumbing and electrical replaced just last year when she renovated the building.”
He mulled that over, staring off at the dying embers of the fire. I tried to look away from him, but there was something magnetizing about him, all tall and broad, standing in the late afternoon sun wearing his black police uniformand determination on his face. Maybe it was because that determination was caused by a common interest. Goldie.
Or maybe it was something else entirely.
“Someone’s targeting small businesses. Driving good folks out of town.” He said finally, looking down at me.
“Just like at Duncan Mills.” I sighed, “But I can’t prove it yet.”
Tanner nodded, watching Eli as he walked through the rubble, picking up pieces of wood and examining them, marking things down on his clipboard and taking pictures.
“Then let’s find out who’s playing the cards.”
I scoffed good-heartedly, “Who invited you along for the ride?” I glared at him, and he barely glanced back down at me. “I’ve got this all under control. And I work better alone.”
Turning to face me, with his arms still crossed, he raised one eyebrow at me with that weirdly authoritative air he had about himself.
The one I hated.
Also, the one I melted for when he wasn’t looking.
“Those things may be true,” He stated plainly, “But this affects more than just you now, it affects Goldie. Which affects me. And you might have worked better alone in the past, but I think we can both agree that there's a new dynamic here where she’s concerned, and this solo thing you’re used to just became a team effort. Either get on board with it or walk off.”
I squinted up at him. “Are we talking about the flooding anymore?”
He rolled his eyes and huffed, looking back out over the fire scene. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
I laughed, a noise that sounded really fucking merry actually, instead of condescending like I planned. “Yeah, I know. Get used to it.”
