Page 56 of Ink and Ashes

Colson

I t doesn’t take long for us to get the fire put out. Like the last few calls we’ve received, this one was small and contained, as if it was called in right after it was set. Which means it was likely called in by the arsonist, trying to throw us off their path.

I blow out a breath as we make our way back to the trucks. I still haven’t told the rest of my crew apart from Beau, Dom, Liv, and Cass that it’s a firefighter, but considering this is our seventh decoy call in the past four days, I think is time they learn all the details.

“Alright, good work, guys. When we get back to the station, I want to meet with you all. We have some things to discuss,” I tell them as we finish loading up the trucks, locking eyes with Beau and Dom as I do. Beau nods in my direction, assuring me that I’m doing the right thing.

“Everything okay, Lieutenant?” Ace asks as he loads up a hose.

I grit my teeth. “Let’s talk when we get back to the station.”

“You got it. ”

The crew finishes packing up and we all pile back into the trucks. Once inside, I dig my phone out of my pocket to send Holland a text letting her know we’re on our way back, only to find a voicemail from her already waiting.

Putting my phone to my ear, I give it a listen.

And my stomach drops as I do.

Because after months of fighting these fires and four potential suspects so far, that wasn’t an I think it might be so-and-so call; that was an I’m certain it’s this person call.

Holland has figured it out.

Holland knows who the arsonist is.

I spot Dom glance at me out of the corner of my eye. “You good?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I finish typing out a text to Holland. “Just drive faster.”

He nods, picking up speed. I keep my eyes trained on my phone the entire drive back, waiting for her to give me something.

But nothing comes.

We’re back at the station four minutes later, pulling into our spot.

“Holland!” I call out the moment I hop off the truck. I notice that the light is still on in the conference room, so I head up there. “Hol!”

“Lieutenant! We gonna talk?” Langley calls after me.

“In a minute!” I respond as I race up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I reach the door at the end of the hall and swing it open. “Hol,” I say, only to find the room empty.

All her stuff is still here, so I walk inside and round the conference table, glancing at the pages spread across it.

I’ll admit, as resistant as I was when Holland first started showing her face around here, she’s damn good at what she does, and I’m relieved that soon, hopefully, this will all be over with.

Though, I’m still not sure what that means for Holland and me once it is.

I wasn’t messing with her when I said I wouldn’t let her walk away. But we haven’t exactly talked about what’s going to happen between us once this is all said and done.

Will she go back to Toronto? I’m sure this will be enough to redeem herself with the Foundation, and she’s never going to find the same level of cases here that she would there.

We haven’t talked about it yet, but I don’t see myself ever leaving Ember Grove either—especially not for a city as big as Toronto.

I guess that’s a bridge we’ll have to cross when we get to it.

“Hey, Col?” Beau says, knocking on the door.

“Yeah.” I look up from the pages on the table. “What’s up?”

“The guys are getting antsy.” He jerks his chin toward the table. “Where’s Holland?”

I shrug, my brows pulling together. “I’m…not sure?” I look back down at her things. Pulling out my phone, I find that my last text is still unseen and unanswered. I walk toward Beau, shaking my head as worry begins to wash over me. “I think something’s wrong.”

“Hold on a minute. How do you know?” Beau asks, trying to keep me from jumping to the worst conclusion I can think of.

I type out another text, my heart rate skyrocketing. This can’t be happening.

When that message goes unseen too, I look up at Beau, keeping my voice low as I say, “She left me a message while we were on that call. She found the arsonist.”

“Whoa, what?” Dom says from behind Beau. “Holland figured it out?”

I grit my teeth, nodding as I pray that the typing symbol will pop up on the screen. It doesn’t. “Yeah. But I think it might’ve been too late.”

Dom blows out a breath as Beau comes closer. “We need to fill everyone else in.”

I dial Holland’s number, putting the phone to my ear.

Voicemail.

Inhaling deeply, I say, “Yeah. Yeah, where’s Cass? Dom, find Cass and tell her to call Holland and keep calling until she picks up.”

“On it,” Dom says as he takes off back downstairs .

I shift my gaze to Beau. “Who’s not here? All I know is that it’s a firefighter—she kept her suspicions of who private because she didn’t want me to start mistrusting the crew like I did with Ollie.”

His brows pull together. “Morgan, McAllistar, Carver, Turner, Chambers, and Sharpe are all off shift today.”

“We know it’s not Sharpe, so it’s gotta be one of the others. Call them all in. Whoever doesn’t make it must be the arsonist.”

“I can do that, but are you sure about this?”

I stare down at the papers scattered across the table, hoping some type of clue pops out at me. “No. But I don’t have any other options right now.” I look back up at him. “Can you find Chief and let him know too? I’ll go fill everyone else in.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He takes a step closer and places a hand on my shoulder. “Are you good?”

I shake my head, checking my phone again. Still nothing.

Fuck . This can’t be good.

“No. But I’m trying not to worry until I know something’s really wrong.” I shake my head, clenching my jaw. “Let’s go.”

We make our way back downstairs to the bay, finding today’s crew sitting at the table. Beau continues through to the lobby toward Chief’s office.

“What’s going on, Lieutenant?” Adler asks, a nervous tick in his jaw. They’ve suspected something for weeks, and I feel guilty for keeping it from them until now. Especially since it might have prevented us from reaching this point in the first place.

I blow out a breath, cracking my knuckles. “So, you know that Holland’s theory of arson has been circulating for the past couple months?—”

“Yeah, what’s going on with that? She have proof of it yet?”

“Yes. And she has evidence to support that”—I clear my throat—“that the arsonist is a firefighter.”

Chaos erupts in the bay, just like I suspected it would.

“Guys, quiet!” I call out over them, but they all continue talking. At least until Beau runs back into the bay, a concerned look on his face.

“Lieutenant?” Liv asks as she looks at Beau, who stares at me .

“What is it?”

“Chief wasn’t in his office.” He takes a step forward, his concern growing, though I’m not sure why. It’s not unusual for Chief Whitlock to cut out during the day. He’s on-call every day, so he doesn’t spend time at the station unless he has to.

“Okay, no problem. Try calling him.”

Beau exhales. “I will, but?—”

He’s cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I hold up a hand, pulling it out of my pocket. When I see the name Holland lighting up my screen, every ounce of worry I felt a moment ago fades away.

I can’t answer the phone fast enough.

“Hol? God, you have me worried sick. Are you okay?” I’m met with nothing but heavy breathing. “Holland, where are you?”

“She’s with me,” a man’s voice states.

A voice I’d recognize anywhere.

“Whitlock?” My brows pull together as a collective gasp is heard from behind me. “What are you—” I cut myself off as realization hits me.

Holy fuck.

His resounding chuckle sends a shiver up my spine. “Looks like your girl finally figured it out, eh, Caldwell? Too bad she was too late.”

My voice is an octave lower from the anger coursing through my bloodstream as I ask, “Where is she?”

“Oh, don’t worry. She’s safe—for now, anyway. She’s taking a nice nap.”

“Don’t you dare?—”

“What, hurt her?” He clicks his tongue. “You know, Caldwell, I’d really hate to be the reason another one of your girlfriends dies, but she just knows too much. She’s left me no choice.”

His mention of Ellie only confirms that Holland was right about the apartment fire. A sharp pain stabs me in the chest, but I force myself to focus on the present. On the woman I can still save .

“Pierce, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don’t have to, Colson. I want to.” I can almost hear his lips curl into a smirk. “I’m going down either way. May as well take someone with me, right?”

I close my eyes, rubbing my fingers into them as I say, “We’re going to find you. You won’t get away with this.”

He laughs. “You can’t chase both of us at once. Better hope you can find her in time. Good luck, boy.”

With that, he hangs up.

“Fuck!” I shout, tossing my phone at the wall. It shatters, and when I turn back around to face the group, I meet Beau’s gaze.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” he asks, a worried look on his face. “I found this in his office.”

He passes me the note, and I rush to read.

If I burn, we all burn

My stomach drops even further when I realize it’s the same handwriting as the one that was left on Holland’s car when all this started.

It’s been him all along.

I clench my jaw. “Pierce Whitlock is the arsonist.” Exhaling deeply, I add, “And he has Holland.”