Page 54 of Ink and Ashes

Colson

T he past few days have been absolute hell on Earth in this town, and today it’s only going to get worse.

I haven’t been home in nearly a week, too preoccupied with battling the few holdover fires that have popped up as well as the decoy fires the arsonist has us chasing around town.

We’ve had seven of them in the past four days, and considering today is day eighteen, we’re not expecting things to get easier anytime soon.

Whatever the arsonist is planning for today, it’s going to be big.

He’s been running all over town, setting random fires anywhere he can to keep us busy and distracted while he plans out his endgame.

No one will admit it, but we’re all terrified about what’s coming, and it makes me feel guilty as fuck that I’ve kept them all in the dark for so long.

But until I know more, it’s not safe to tell anyone the things we’ve found.

Not when any of them could be the one behind these.

Which means I have to keep it to myself for at least a little while longer.

A knock sounds on the door to my quarters, and before I have a chance to respond, it swings open.

“Hi, Lieutenant,” Holland says with a smile.

I spin around in my chair, my smile growing at the sound of her voice. My anxiety might be through the roof today, but being around Holland always brings me a small measure of relief. “Hi, Red.”

I stand, taking her hand and pulling her inside. The door shuts behind her, and I grasp her waist. She tilts her head back to look up at me, and I don’t waste another minute before pressing my lips to hers.

It’s been almost two weeks since we got together, and though we’ve spent more of that time apart than together due to the ongoing fires, I can say with utmost certainty I’ve never been as sure about someone as I am about Holland.

She’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and despite how harsh I was on her in the beginning, I can easily admit I’m an absolute goner for her.

Every time we’ve been alone over the past few weeks, I’ve barely been able to keep my hands to myself. And now that the crew knows we’re together, that desperate feeling of need is extending to when we’re in public too.

Our tongues tangle in a slow, erotic dance that has me instantly growing hard. She pushes herself against me while my hands roam her body, and it takes everything in me not to throw her on the bed and fuck her right here, right now.

But she—thankfully—stops it before we get to that point. With the next fire expected to happen today, now is not the time or place for that. No matter how badly I may want her.

I press one last quick peck against her mouth before opening my eyes. As my gaze connects with hers, I ask, “How’d you know that was exactly what I needed?”

Her cheeks flush pink. “Because it’s what I needed too.” She pushes up on her tiptoes to kiss me again, but it only lasts for a minute before she pulls away, adding, “But I also want to talk to you about something.”

Those words cause every alarm in my mind to go off, but I take a seat on the edge of the bed anyway.

I pull her down to straddle me, her chest rising and falling steadily as she does.

Normally, this position would be all it takes to get me going, but the look on her face suggests I’m not going to like what she’s about to say.

Holland has spent the past two weeks doing as much digging as she can into the Welland Ranch fire, trying to figure out its connection to these.

But we haven’t talked a ton about her findings recently, partially because I’ve been gone so much, and also because when I do see her, the last thing we do is talk about the case. We’ve hardly done any talking at all.

I haven’t let it bother me because it’s been nice to let myself drown in her and forget everything for a while, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she finds something, she’ll tell me.

With the serious tone she’s using now, I’m guessing that time has finally come.

“What’s up, baby?”

“I hate to bring this up, but I have to ask…” She rolls her lips together, pausing for a moment. I stroke my thumb along her waist, waiting patiently for her to spit it out. After a beat, she exhales and asks, “What was the official cause of the fire at your apartment building?”

My brows pull together, my hand freezing in place. “It was an electrical fire.” I swallow roughly. “Why do you ask?”

Holland clears her throat. “Because…I think it’s possible it was related to the arsonist.”

I stop breathing. Everything I was feeling a few minutes ago vanishes as the edges of my vision go blurry, my mind racing with the suggestion that the arsonist might be the reason Ellie is dead.

I feel like I’m going to be sick.

Quickly but carefully, I lift Holland off of my lap then rush to the garbage can in the corner of the room. I empty the contents of my stomach into it, feeling Holland’s soft touch on my back as she comforts me through it. When I’m done, I let out a sigh and fall back against the wall.

The cold tile floor feels nice against my clammy skin, and Holland’s voice slowly cuts through the ringing in my ears. My vision clears, her face becoming my focal point as she says, “God, Colson. I’m sorry. Are you okay? ”

“Yeah, I think so.” I blow out a breath, leaning my head against the wall as Holland stands, grabbing my bottle of water off the desk and passing it to me. “Thanks.” I take a quick swig, then meet her gaze. “What the hell do you mean you think the apartment fire was related?”

She lets out a breath. “Ever since your dad got that note, I’ve been trying to figure out what the importance of the Welland Ranch fire is, and it got me thinking about whether there were other fires here that the arsonist could’ve set over the years. As it turns out?—”

She’s interrupted by the sound of the klaxons, and I tense. I wait for the announcer to tell us what it’s for, and when they say it’s a dumpster fire, I drop my head between my knees.

I’m relieved this isn’t anything big, but considering today is day eighteen, I also hate that it isn’t.

I wish this guy would quit pulling us in every direction and just get on with what we all know is coming.

With each call we receive that isn’t for that, the sinking feeling in my stomach drops even lower.

I blow out a breath as Holland reaches her hand down to help me up. I still feel lightheaded as I rise to my feet, and she braces her hand on my shoulder to help me keep my balance.

“Are you gonna be okay? I can go tell Beau you can’t make it to this call if you need.”

I swallow roughly, shaking my head. “No. No, I need to go. I’m okay.” I swipe my tongue over my lips as I look up at her. “We’ll finish this later, okay?”

She jerks her head, looking up at me with sadness in her big, brown eyes. “Okay. I’m sorry again.”

“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong.” I press a kiss to her forehead, then pull back to meet her eyes. “We shouldn’t be long. You gonna hangout here?”

Holland nods again.

“I’ll see you when we get back then.”

“See you when you get back.” She rolls her lips together. “Be safe, Lieutenant.”

“I will be, Red.”