Page 89 of Fire Fight

“The guest room at first, and then after the second time I heard it, I went to Crew’s room.”

“Because it’s furthest from the doors,” Lane said with a nod, as though that explained everything.

Crew and I shared a secret smile, neither of us correcting him.

Whatever was happening between us wasn’t anyone’s business but our own, especially not while we were still figuring it all out.

Lane continued to scribble as Crew paced away, pulling one of the firefighters aside. After a moment, the firefighter walked back to my car, which was recognizable as nothing other than a melted and blackened frame. He got on his hands and knees, using the metal tool in his hand to sweep underneath, both along the undercarriage and the ground, brushing any debris out into the gathering light.

The second the little black square appeared, and Crew swore loud enough to be heard from thirty feet away, I knew.

I’d known before, of course, but now I had confirmation.

The fire had been set intentionally.

Another deputy produced an evidence bag, dropped the square inside, and handed it off to Crew, who walked it back to us.

“You ever seen anything like this?” he asked Trey.

Trey took it from him, pressing the plastic tight to the device to get a better look at it, running his fingers over the surface through the bag.

“It’s an incendiary device controlled by a remote,” he confirmed. “One this size would cover a relatively small area, but combined with the gas and oil in the car, we got—that.”

Thatbeing my totaled vehicle with a blast radius several feet wide around it.

Fuck, I was stranded here.

The thought made my skin prickle with anxiety, that desire to run taking over. My breaths came quicker, my sight going a little hazy around the edges.

“Aspen?”

My name barely registered, but then warm hands were on my upper arms, a handsome face ducking into my field of vision.

“Breathe, little phoenix.”

That nickname penetrated the roaring in my ears, bringing me back to the surface enough to gulp down air.

“Is she okay?” another one of the guys asked.

A female voice piped in. “She’s having a panic attack.”

“Jesus Christ,” someone else swore.

“Aspen,” the voice attached to that gorgeous face I was coming to adore so much said softly. “Breathe with me.”

I matched the cadence of his inhales and exhales, and gradually, my breathing returned to normal, heart rate lowering considerably.

In the aftermath, when the excess adrenaline vacated my system, I was shaky and drained. Crew’s arms wrapped around me, and I was too weak to protest as he swept me into his arms. I buried my face in his neck, keeping my eyes closed and letting his scent soothe me.

“I’m going to take her inside. You guys do what you need to do out here, and I’ll touch base with you later. I’m on shift today, so maybe swing by the station later.”

“I’ll need to get inside to check the system,” Trey said.

“You know the code,” Crew said. Then, quieter, added, “You set the damn thing.”

Even in my exhaustion, I chuckled softly into Crew’s shirt.

Once we were inside and the blissful quiet of the house converged around us, Crew brought us back to his room and once again settled us in the center of his bed. For a long while, we were content to sit in the silence, both of us working through the events of the morning in our own way.