“Unfortunately yes. Chief wants two of us on this program for the time being. The old, four eyes can see better than two, train of thought.”
“I still don’t like it.” Mark stated flatly. “If anyone should be working with you on this, in all fairness, it should be me.” Resentment shone from the green gaze that locked on hers. “Not the hotshot newcomer that everyone seems to have fallen in love with.” He spat. “That’s bullshit.”
“Believe me, Mark, I understand your being upset.” It wasn’t a total untruth. The depth of his ire surprised Annie though. It was a side of Mark she’d never witnessed before. “It’s just a temporary situation.”
“What the hell does anyone know about this guy?” Mark continued his tirade as if Annie hadn’t spoken. “For all we know, he could be the one responsible for setting these damn fires.”
What would make Mark throw Mason under the bus? Usually Mark was the one guy who sided with anyone new to the department. Annie had always assumed it was a trait he’d gotten from his father. This side of Mark was a new one to Annie, and one that was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable.
“What makes you say that?” Annie put voice to her thoughts. “What do you know about Mason Ramsay that the rest of us don’t?”
Though she knew the real reason why Mason was here, she held her breath, waiting to hear if Mark shared the knowledge.
He turned back forward and stared off into the distance. An uncomfortable silence filled the truck.
“Hell, I don’t know, Annie.” His gaze came around to study her face. “Maybe I just don’t like the way this guy has gotten so close to everyone, so quick. More truthfully, how close he’s gotten to you.” The admission stunned Annie, but before she could muster a response, he continued. “I worry about you.”
Mason’s earlier words played over and over in her head. Someone might want to tell Mr. Flynn that. Was it possible that Mark had feelings for her and she’d never noticed them before?
“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you, Annie.”
“No,” She laughed, a tinny sound to her own ears. “I appreciate your worry, Mark,” She laid a soothing hand on his forearm, “but there’s really no need for it.”
“If you say so.” His hard gaze drilled into hers. “All the same, I’ll be keeping my eyes on, Ramsay.”
A shiver of alarm tingled through Annie as she exited the SUV. She fought the urge to run to the safety the apparatus bay offered.
~*~
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the second time in an eight hour period, Annie found herself concealed in a small space with a brooding male.
Mason hadn’t uttered a single word since they’d left the station. Now, as they headed south on M50, Annie couldn’t take the strain any longer.
“What the hell’s the problem, Mason?” She did nothing to hide the annoyance in her tone. “The silent treatment is getting old.”
“Just chalk it up to jealousy.” He gave her an exaggerated wink.
“Jealousy?” She asked, her tone incredulous. “What, or who, do you have to be jealous over, Mason?”
“I don’t like the way Mark watches you.”
“Well the feeling seems to be mutual.” She laughed. “In fact, I was on the receiving end of that lecture on the drive back to the station.”
“What lecture?” His eyes blazed with sudden anger.
“Oh you know the old, ‘What do you know about this guy anyway? How do we know he’s not the one responsible for setting these fires?’ lecture.” She cocked her head to the side in thought. “Come to think of it, he may be on to something there.”
She screamed as the truck veered off of the road. Mason slammed on the brakes, cranking the steering wheel in the direction of the shoulder. Gravel flew from beneath the tires pinging against the metal under carriage.
“Are you freaking crazy?” she yelled, yanking at the seat belt tight from the sudden braking. “You could have killed us.”
“If I was trying to kill anyone, Annette,” he snarled the words through a clenched jaw, “it most certainly wouldn’t be either of us.”
She blinked, feeling lightheaded. What in the world was happening? A week ago her life had been normal, mundane maybe, but normal. Today things were much different. She’d been warned, not once, but twice about the men in her life. The bit of irony Annie found in the whole situation was the fact that the ones doing the warning were the men in question. How did she get stuck in the middle of a testosterone war? Her eyes shot back to Mason’s face. The war between concern and anger tugged at her heart.
“My parents are the only people allowed to call me Annette.”
His tight expression relaxed a bit. Annie’s pulse pounded in her chest. How was it that she could be so angry with this man one minute, and totally enraptured by him the next?
“Duly noted.” He stared into the brush beyond her shoulder for several seconds before his eyes met hers again. The anger from moments ago had disappeared. “Do you really believe that I may be involved in these fires?”
Annie’s gaze swept over his features searching for any sign of deceit. Satisfied he had nothing to hide she met his gaze again.
“No.” She puffed out a breath, and flopped back against the seat, irritation evident in every movement. “Truth be told, I don’t know what to believe anymore, Mason.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to believe that anyone I know could be responsible for this, but it’s looking more and more like someone is.”
Annie stared out the side window at the beautiful green foliage. In a few more weeks, brilliant hues of gold, orange, and red would replace the green. She loved everything about autumn. This year would be different. She might not ever feel the same about the fall season. A shudder ripped through her.
Her stomach turned to think she could have trusted this person, worked side-by-side with him day after day for the past five years, and he was capable of such devastating crimes. Why hadn’t she seen signs before that something was wrong?
“Stop beating yourself up, Annie.”
Mason’s words drew her out of her thoughts. Turning in her seat, she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Do you have any suspicions about who might be involved, Mason?”
Although she didn’t want to hear his answer, she voiced the question all the same. She’d never been one to play ostrich. Burying your head in the sand doesn’t make the problem go away. In fact, when you finally decide to surface again, it will probably be worse than before.
Her dad's words bounced around in her head. They were words she’d lived by up until now. Today, it was damned tempting to just bury her head and leave it.
A work roughened finger brought her chin up until her gaze met the dark, brooding stare of her companion.
“I have my suspicions, Sugar.” The finger fell across her lips, halting her denial before it could begin. “But I don’t have enough evidence to voice them outloud.” He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Regret flashed across his features so fast, Annie wondered if she’d imagined the emotion. “Yet.”
“Damn it.” Annie slumped forward in the seat, her head falling into her hands. “So what? We sit around and wait?”
She didn’t bother to deny that Mark had been her number one suspect as well. Tears burned the backs of her eyes as she scrubbed her hands over her downturned face in frustration. “I don’t like sitting idle and waiting. Why would someone do this? There’s so much to lose.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek. She dabbed at it with the sleeve of the red tee shirt she wore.
“The people that perpetrate these types of crimes don’t think about how they are going to affect anyone else, Annie.” His big hand gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “They’re only concerned with whatever hidden agenda they may have.”
She dropped her hands from her face.
“You mean like ‘My mommy was so mean to me when I was a kid so that’s why I kill prostitutes’? That sort of thing?”
“Something like that. Sometimes it’s as simple as the fact that they like to watch how fires burn. You know a lot of arsonist’s are firefighters when they commit the crimes, or are retired and miss the thrill of the job. There are also cases where the suspect tried out for the career but was denied for some reason or another.”
“Well those are bullshit reasons in my opinion.” Fury bubbled in her chest. “I understand the rush of the job. We’re all human, we all feel that adrenaline kick in when those tones drop for a fully involved structure fire. But there are lots of other things a person can do to become involved, or stay involved in the field if they really want to.” She sat up straight. “You don’t have to become a criminal.”
“I agree with you, Annie.” His tone held a soothing quality that made her want to lean into him. “Unfortunately the mental makeup of some of these characters doesn’t allow them to process those ideas. They see the refusal as a complete shun by the entire fire-EMS field if they are turned away.”
“It’s still a lousy excuse.” She wrinkled her brow in confusion. “And I don’t understand how anyone on our department falls into this category.” None of this made any sense. “I feel like we’re missing something here, Mason.”
“That’s part of the reason we’re making this trip, Annie.” He cranked the ignition over. The gentle rumbling of the powerful engine soothed her frazzled nerves a bit. “I think before we make any accusations, we need to dig a little deeper into Mark’s background.” His thumb flicked in the direction of the back seat. “And we need to get these to the lab. Hopefully they’ll be able to tell us something about the identity of the person responsible.”
“That could take weeks.” She chewed nervously on her bottom lip. “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”
~&~
He thumbed through the stacks of pictures spread across the table top. Immense pleasure rushed through his body as he eyed the results of his work. All it took was one well-placed match and he could bring down any building he wanted. They were powerless to stop him. Over the years he’d learned ways to conceal the fire until it got burning nice and hot. By the time the fire department could get there, the destruction would be total.
He slid the photo with the white sheet closer. So there’d been that much of Tommy Harper left huh? What a shame. A rumble of excited laughter escaped him. This particular fire had brought back the excitement that had begun to fade over the past weeks. It was so similar to the first fire he’d ever set in so many ways. It had been kind of like going home.
He threw his head back and laughed out loud. He’d made sure that all the nosy neighbors were at work before coming in. With Annie and her new boy toy on their little road trip, it would be hours before he’d have to worry about anyone interrupting him here. He could spot a law enforcement officer from a mile away. He pegged Mason Ramsay as either ATF or FBI. He had too much field experience to be from anywhere else. Besides, he knew all the sheriff's deputies in the surrounding counties as well as in this one. One of the perks of growing up here.
The temptation to follow them and find out exactly what branch Mason was with had been strong. He decided to stay close instead and take advantage of Annie and Mason’s absence.
He shuffled through the remainder of the pictures stacking his selection into a pile. Once he had selected the ones he wanted, he slipped them into the pocket of his flannel shirt. He sauntered his way through the living room and down the hall toward the bedrooms. The layout of the tiny ranch hadn’t changed one iota in all the years he’d visited here as an invited guest.
The first stop on his self-guided tour was Annie’s bedroom. He stood in the open doorway and inhaled deep. The soft scent of her perfume still lingered in the air. His gaze strayed to the rumpled bed and a smile broke over his face. So, the neat and tidy Annie from the station let her guard drop at home, huh?
He stepped into the room, and a wave of awe washed over him. Though he’d been in her house often, he’d never been invited into her inter-sanctum. Of course he wasn’t here by invitation this time either now was he?
Fingertips drug across the foot of the bed as he passed it on his way to the dresser. What kind of secrets would he find hidden in the dark, wooden depths? Anticipation churned in his stomach. He slid open a top drawer, revealing a cache of her frilly undergarments. His cock hardened against the confines of his denim jeans. Anticipation turned to lust. He pulled out a pair of red, lacy panties, and rubbed the silky material between his fingers. Red was his favorite color. He swelled to near bursting. Did she wear these under her uniform? Now every time he looked at her he was going to wonder which of the seductive pair she had on.
He stuffed the delicate garment into the same pocket as the pictures, and continued his search.
He moved to the next space. It held bras to match. Surely she’d miss one of those if he helped himself to it. His fingers tingled with temptation. No, he didn’t want to do anything to bring attention to the fact that he’d been here. At least not yet.
He pawed through the remainder of the drawers. They held the usual pants and tee shirts. Until he reached the back corner of the bottom drawer. There, tucked between an old pair of jeans and a tee shirt bearing the department logo, was a jewelry box.
Gathering the case, he straightened. What was its significance? Was it something important to Annie? Or simply a discarded piece of costume jewelry?
With trembling fingers, he slid the black case from inside the white cardboard sleeve. He had the same excited feeling he’d felt as a child, opening his Christmas gifts. Before his life had turned upside down.
Anger replaced the giddiness from moments before as he ripped open the lid revealing a sterling silver star of life pendant inside.
Now this is interesting. He snickered, turning the piece over in his hand. Who does this belong to, my Annie?
He thumbed the box closed, and slid it into the pocket opposite the other trophies. He made his way back through the house to the rear sliding door. Deft fingers removed the clear tape covering the door latch, allowing it to effectively secure the door once again.
With one final look, he stepped through the opening, and slid the door closed. The snick of the latch as it snapped into place brought a smile to his face. No one would be the wiser that he’d been here.
~&~
Overall it had been a rather interesting day. Annie had learned lots about her new co-worker as she’d watched him work side-by-side with his real partner, Trey Williams. Mason’s ATF partner, had seemed more than willing to share the skinny on his friend with her.
She had a lot to digest and in a few short minutes she’d be left alone to start the process.
Mason hadn’t said a single word in the last ten minutes. She’d half-expected him to drop her at the curb and drive off into the night. When he shut the engine off, Annie had to admit, a frisson of excitement had run through her body. They walked up the short sidewalk to her front porch. Sadness that their day together was about to end, inundated her.
“You didn’t have to walk me to the door, Mason.” She stated, pivoting on her heel to face him. He stood less than a foot away from her. The sudden closeness ratcheted up the need that had been building in her all day.
“I know I didn’t, Annie.” His dark eyes locked on hers. “I’m not ready to leave you yet.” Her heart flipped at his admission. The dark gaze, bold and assessing, traveled over her face and searched her eyes. “Tell me that you don’t want me here and I’ll leave.”
Annie swallowed hard. How could she tell him something she didn’t feel? Licking dry lips, she felt a warm glow flow through her. “How about a beer?”
The tenderness of his expression amazed her. A soft gasp escaped her as he lowered his head, and gave her a chaste kiss. “A beer sounds great.” The twinkle of amusement in his gaze surprised her. “We’ll play it by ear from there.”
Before Annie could think better of the route her evening was traveling down, she turned bac
k toward the door. She turned the key in the lock and pushed the door wide.
“I’m not sure what you’re expecting to play by ear, Mason.” Her dark brows slanted in a frown. “I’m offering you a drink not my bed.”
“Of course you are. That’s all I meant.”
The feigned innocence in his tone had Annie rolling her eyes skyward.
“Oh brother.” She couldn’t control the peal of laughter. “You’re a piece of work. Do you know that, Mason?”
“Well, I have been told a time or two that I’m one of a kind.”
She stared at the serious expression on his face for a matter of seconds. When he threw his head back and roared with laughter, Annie couldn’t help but join in.
“I’m in so much trouble.” She murmured, swiping at the tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard.
“Hey, there are worse partners you could have.”
“That’s so true.” Her jovial mindset vanished with the reality of his words. She had known first hand just how bad partners could be. She dried her cheeks with the back of her hand. “How about that drink now?”
“Annie, are you okay?” The concern in Mason’s voice threatened to make her cry, but not tears of laughter this time.
“Yeah,” she sniffed, fighting back the tears. “It’s been an incredibly long week.”
She crossed the distance to the dining room table covered by the reminders of just how long the week had been for them all.
The hairs at the nape of her neck stood on end. Something was wrong. She scanned the pictures.
“Mason, did you take any other pictures besides the ones we had with us?”
“No. Why?” He was at her side in an instant.
“If I’m not mistaken, there’s some missing.” With trembling fingers, Annie moved the prints around the table top. “We only took one of the pictures with the remains in it today correct?”
“Yeah.” He shuffled the images around himself. “We left the other for our files here.”
“Well I sure don’t see it.” She turned a worried expression on him. “Do you?”
Where There's Smoke: The Heroes of Hammonds Bend(Romantic Suspense) Page 8