The fire was almost out, and she could see that the walls of the room were still intact, as was the ceiling. Apparently they had stopped this fire from traveling very far. The building’s sprinklers may have helped slightly. She suspected that the fire was meant to cover the crime scene—and that the location of the bodies would prove to be where the fire was set…deliberately.
Even in New York, this was unusual. Not that fires weren’t accidents—faulty wiring, an unattended cigarette, deep-fried turkeys—oh yeah, plenty of accidents. They had their fair share of arson too, but it was usually to defraud an insurance company. Not to cover up decapitations.
As the smoke and steam cleared, she glanced around the room, casually looking for a couple of male heads. The other two firefighters seemed blissfully unaware of the unusual circumstances. Just thinking about it, bile rose to her throat. She didn’t envy the cops their jobs, especially after something like this.
She couldn’t help wondering if this sort of stuff happened in Boston too. It probably did, but maybe on a smaller scale.
Boston again.When would she stop thinking about what it would be like to be a firefighter in Boston, working with a particular sexy firefighter she couldn’t seem to get off her mind? She loved New York. It made every other city she’d ever visited pale by comparison.
* * *
Two months later, Jayce and Gabe were back at the Back Bay firehouse on Boylston Street, filling in for the firefighters who were marching in the big South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
As the two sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee, Jayce couldn’t help feeling guilty because his whole family had avoided Chloe. Any one of them could have given away Ryan’s secret in a moment of compassionate weakness. But now she was right there in the building—somewhere. Maybe she was avoiding them too.
That girl had loved his brother so much. He’d heard that she looked like a zombie ever since the funeral. According to his sources, she was going through the motions at work and keeping to herself. Avoiding her any longer seemed cruel.
“C’mon, Gabe. Let’s find Chloe and at least say hello.”
“I know we were supposed to leave her be, but you’re right. Enough is enough.”
At that moment one of the station’s regular firefighters walked into the kitchen and headed for the coffeepot. “Hey, guys. Thanks for filling in. I’m Lieutenant Streeter, by the way.”
The Fierros stood and shook the lieutenant’s hand as they introduced themselves.
“Uh, we’d like to give Chloe our respects. I understand she’s working today. Do you know where we might find her?”
“She’s probably in her room. Second floor, toward the front. Next to the bathroom with ‘ladies’ written on it with Magic Marker.”
“Thanks, Lieutenant,” Gabe said.
Jayce and Gabe headed up the stairs and found the room. They knocked, and something thudded, as if a heavy object had hit the floor. Jayce glanced over at Gabe, who gazed back, eyebrows raised. Just then the door whooshed open and Chloe smiled at them.
“Hi.”
“Hey there, Chloe. We just thought we’d say hello since we’re working here today.”
“Jayce? And Gabe, is it?”
“Yep. Two of the famous Fierros,” Gabe said, trying to sound chipper.
“I think I heard something heavy fall on the floor,” Jayce said. “Is everything all right?”
She smirked and hesitated. She almost seemed to be thinking about how to answer the question. Jayce remembered she could be a bit of a smart-ass.
“Oh, quite. I just dropped me dictionary,” she said with her lilting Irish accent.
“I’ll get it,” Jayce said as he started inside, his gaze searching for a book on the floor and not finding one.
“Leave it. I’ll get it later.” She opened the door wider. “Come in, come in. I don’t have much room to sit, but there’s a comfortable armchair in the corner for one of you, and I can bring over the desk chair for the other.”
“I’ll get it, Chloe,” Gabe said.
“Don’t be silly. I’m closest to it,” she said. “Besides, I don’t want to be treated any differently. Certainly not because I was in love with your brother and you think I’m a fragile little girl.”
The brothers laughed nervously. “No. There’s no danger of anyone thinking that, Chloe,” Jayce said.
She stopped on her way to the chair and turned slowly. “There’s not? Why not? I’m a girl, and I’ve been in a terrible state since your brother died.”
