Page 26 of Burning For You

The guy lifted a hand and slipped past the police line.

“What are you doing out?” Ash asked.

Alan. A firefighter on a different shift. “I took my daughter trick-or-treating. We were a block over when I heard the sirens. I dropped her off, checked the scanner and came by.”

“You walked?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t far.” Alan glanced toward the blackened truck. “What do you think? Same thing again?”

He studied the smoking vehicle. “Hard to say. The fire in the bed makes me lean no. Looks more like kids drinking back there. There are empty cans everywhere.”

“So something that got out of control?” Alan asked, shaking his head.

“That’s my guess. We’ll know more soon.” He nodded toward the engine. “I’ve got to get back. See you in the morning.”

“I’ll relieve you. Hopefully, the rest of your night’s quiet.”

He huffed. “From your mouth to God’s ears.”

He crossed back to his captain. “Same as the others?”

Christian scrubbed a hand over his face. “Who the fuck knows? I hope not. But I’m not holding my breath. If we’re lucky, the cans will give us something. The fire in the bed never spread.”

He had noticed that too. If the metal hadn’t been cold, it might have burned itself out before the front fire met it.

Temperatures dropped hard at night this time of year.

But the last couple of fires?

Paper shoved into grills. Accelerant sprayed inside. Fires that caught fast and burned hot, mixed with the oil and other shit on an engine.

This one didn’t fit. Unless it was being staged differently.

He wasn’t sure why his mind went that way. And that bothered him more than he wanted to let on.

His eyes were still scanning while he climbed back into the truck, looking for one person.

He found her right away. She was looking around, moving toward the officers on duty and talking, but they were shaking their heads.

Then Skye turned to look toward the truck, as if she might be searching him out.

Or it was his wishful thinking.

The firetruck pulled out and turned the corner, Skye standing there looking toward his captain who was waiting on the fire inspector to show up. She’d get her story, most likely, because she was determined enough.

It was the one thing he remembered about her. How she muscled her way through so much in life.

That was probably the only way she could get through.

And when the truck was pulling back into the fire station, the alarms went off again.

Another car fire. This one an electric car.

“Fuck me,” he yelled.

“Don’t you know it,” Bruce said next to him. “This one is going to be much harder than the last.”

Lithium batteries were fueled by chemicals, not oxygen and they were racing toward the next fire, praying that it wasn’t in a crowded area.