Page 97 of Fire Fight

“This is Parker Abrams,” Lane said. “Parker, this is Captain Lawless with the Dusk Valley Fire Department.”

The kid may have been young, probably fifteen or sixteen by my guestimation, but he wasn’t dumb, and he easily put the pieces together.

“Lawless?” he asked. “Like…”

“The captain is my brother, yes,” Lane conceded. “But that’s not why he’s here. Our departments frequently work together on arson cases, and we understand you’ve got some information for us regarding last week’s dumpster fire.”

Parker leaned his elbows on the table and bent over them, steepling his fingers under his chin. “First, I want some assurances.”

With Parker’s advance, Lane reclined into his chair, and I pulled up one next to him, flipping it backward so I could rest my arms across the back.

“What kind of assurances?” my brother asked.

“That I won’t be charged for this.”

Lane snorted. “You know that’s not possible, Parker. You deserve some sort of consequences for your actions.”

“Then give me community service. Just…not juvie. My mom and sister won’t survive if I’m sent away. Not with…him,” he spat.

There was true fear in the kid’s eyes, and I had to wonder what kind of life he’d been living if he was concerned about leaving his mom and sister with this man.

“Tell you what,” Lane said, matching Parker’s body language. “I’ll let you off with a warning if you tell us everything you know.”

“Done.”

I snorted, and Lane cut me with a glare. Beneath the tattoos and the gruffness, the man was a fucking softy. Always had been.

“Tell us what happened then,” I urged.

“I was walking home from school the other day. Normally I cut through the park down on Elm because sometimes I like to go there and chill before I gotta head to the house.” His expression remained impassive as he added, “My stepdad is a prick.”

Ahh, the infamoushim.

Parker didn’t elaborate, but I could guess “prick” encompassed a whole lot of shit that would get the authorities involved in Parker’s life in a way he clearly didn’t want.

“I was sitting on the swings, minding my own business, when this person approached me. Dressed head to toe in bulky, black with one of those ski mask things covering their face.”

“What did they want? Could you tell if they were a man or a woman? Height? Weight? Age?”

Lane was practically vibrating, and his little notebook made its appearance. I settled on hand on his shoulder, silently urging him to chill the fuck out.

“Easy, Sheriff,” Parker said with a grin. “I’m getting there.”

“Thenget there,” Lane gritted out.

“Bro,” I hissed. “Get it together.”

Lane exhaled sharply through his nose and gestured for Parker to proceed.

“They asked me if I wanted to make five hundred bucks. And I don’t know about you guys, but five hundred bucks? That’s life changing money for someone like me. I’ve been working hard at saving up so I can get the fuck out of here after graduation, and that money would go a long way.”

“So you said yes.”

Parker raised a brow, eyes darting between us. “Wouldn’t you?”

I shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“I asked what I had to do, and they told me all they needed was for me to set fire to the dumpster behind Mozzy’s that night.They gave me two fifty then, and I’d get the rest when the job was done.”