Page 96

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Allen rubbed his face.
“Is any of the information in the article true?” Bryce steepled his fingers.
Zack clamped his mouth shut. How could they accuse him of any ofthat? Surely they knew him better. Did they really doubt his integrity?
The walls in Bryce’s office closed in around him. Like interrogators, the three men waited in silence for the accused to fess up and admit his guilt.
Except Zack was innocent. It was all a lie.
Well, not the fact that his dad was a former chemist who’d known information about the fire foam. Or how Zack helped with the foster kids. But the truth had been twisted, given a wicked ending. Designed to degrade his credibility.
“You really think I’d do something like this?” Zack rubbed the base of his neck.
He didn’t know what else to say. How could he? This crew was supposed to have his back. He thought they were family. And family stuck up for each other. Believed the best until proven otherwise. He’d been trying to prove himself for a long time.
And for what?
“We’re simply covering all our bases. We want to get all the details we can. And hear your side of things.” Macon leaned back in his chair.
Zack turned to Bryce. “I thought you’d know my character by now. But if I need to defend myself…” Zack took a sharp inhale. “Yes, my dad was a chemist.”
Bryce blinked but didn’t say anything.
“Thanks to the cold case you gave me, Lieutenant, I recently found out he had information about a chemical in firefighting foam and extinguishers that could pose a hazard. He tried to stop it from going to the market and was murdered because of it. Given the recent events and near-death experiences I’ve had, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance someone wants me and Naya out of the picture too.”
Zack paused, searching for any kind of regret or apology on the men’s faces. Instead, they sat there with blank expressions, waiting for him to continue. “I mentor some of the boys that friends of mine are fostering, but I can assure you I want to see them succeed in life as upstanding citizens. They’ve been to the firehouse several times.” He turned to Bryce. “You’ve seen how I interact with them.”
Zack pointed to the screen. “Whoever wrote this story took defaming liberty on the other details, which are far from the truth.”
“I see.” Allen jotted something down on a notepad. “Thank you for those details.”
“Did you call the Tribune?” Surely someone had to have authorized the article going live on their site. They had to know who’d written it.
“That was the first contact we made,” Bryce said. “But they seemed clueless about the origin of the piece.”
“Well, something needs to be done about this bunch of lies.” Zack flexed his fingers to release the tension. These three men could throw around a lot of weight if they were so inclined. They had influence in town.
The sooner someone got to the bottom of this, the better.
“We already told the Tribune they needed to pull the article until facts could be verified and a proper statement made,” Allen said. “We do not want any allegations made prematurely.”
Bryce propped his arms on the desk and frowned. “I wish you had told me the case was your parents’.”
Zack swallowed. “I considered it. But I wanted to follow through on the task you gave me. Given it was a cold case, there wasn’t any conflict of interest.”
“Since we need time to sift through the information to get to the bottom of things, we’re giving you a two-day leave of absence.” Bryce pinched his lips.
“What?” Zack shot out of his seat.
“Don’t take it personally.” Macon rose from his chair.
How else was he supposed to view it? Zack had worked so hard to fit in with this team. To not be a hothead that caused trouble but a team player whose skills were needed.
Allen turned his wheelchair to face Zack. “It’s to protect all of us. And to give time for the rumors to die down.”
“Let us do our jobs and get to the bottom of this.” Bryce stood up and opened the office door. “We will see you in two days.”
Zack blinked. The flames of this fire threatened to set him ablaze. What was he supposed to say? Zack gave a curt nod, then shut the door. His footsteps pounded down the corridor, echoing in the empty space.