Up in Flames [The Heroes of Silver Springs 10] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (22 page)

You’re falling in deep, dude.

Yeah, in keeping with the whole honesty thing, he’d have to admit that, too. He was falling helmet over fire boots in love with the woman and couldn’t think of a single thing to do about it but to roll with the flow.

“Hey, Max. You got a minute?”

Max turned at the voice and saw Ford making his way through the crowd. “Will you excuse me, Timmy?” he asked the boy.

“Time for man talk, huh?”

Max winced. He didn’t want to insult the kid by putting it that way even though the boy was only ten years old.

“It’s okay. I know I’m not a man yet, but I will be one day.”

Max chuckled as the boy bounded off the deck to the backyard where a few other children along with Dean Wolcott and Ryan Magee appeared to be setting up for a game of soccer. “That’s one hell of kid. Magee’s done a great job at stepping in for the boy,” he commented as Ford reached him.

“Magee doesn’t see that kid as his stepson.” Ford’s gaze followed the boy. “Hell, from what I hear, Timmy’s had Wolcott around for most of his life before and after Magee became his stepfather. Between the two of them, Timmy will grow up to be a better man than either of us.”

Max sipped from his beer as he nodded. “I don’t doubt it. What’s the buzz going on over there?” He gestured with his head in the direction Ford had come from where Thaddeus Carter and his boyfriends, along with Rayne and Cory Nox, appeared to be in an interesting conversation with Kyle Shannon and David Karlston.

“We were talking about Silver Island. You’ve heard what they’re doing with the land, right?”

Max wrinkled his forehead as he thought back. “Seems like I caught the tail end of a commercial about it the other day, but I didn’t see the whole thing. Something about a resort opening in a few months?”

“It’s in the final stages of development. As a matter of fact, the entire island is. Think of a city on the water complete with its own law enforcement, fire department, and all that jazz with a vacation resort to bring in visitors.” Ford paused to take a swig from his beer. “They’re paying a hefty chunk to the city of Silver Springs to lease part of the dock for daily excursions out to the island.”

“Which will also bring more visitors to Silver Springs,” Max concluded. “Doesn’t sound like a bad thing from where I’m standing.”

“Here’s the part that’s ruffling some feathers, the resort is being advertised as a ménage vacation paradise.”

Max blinked at Ford. “No shit?”

Ford chuckled. “No shit, and that’s still not all. The island is privately owned. It’s part of the US and will abide by all US laws. However, ménage marriages will be legal.”

“I’ll be damned.” No wonder the conversation going on a few feet away seemed to be so intense. What was being done on Silver Island would open doors for ménage couples like Thaddeus and his boyfriends and Rayne and hers that were closed to them in the States.

A heavy weight settled in Max’s gut as he studied Ford. “This’ll be great for the three of you.”

“It will be great for all couples who chose to live as we do.” The corner of Ford’s lips inched up in a comforting smile. “I know what you’re thinking, man. We’re not taking your sister away. Cory and I are set in our careers here. We would be stupid to leave. And Rayne loves it here, too. That doesn’t mean we won’t take a vacation to the island now and then. Hell, if the three of us ever decide we want that certificate, we’ll hop on a boat, get married on the island, and come back. It won’t be legal anywhere else, but it’ll be legal to us.”

The weight lifted in Max’s gut and he smiled. “I like the way you think.”

Ford chuckled again. “Yeah, I was pretty sure you would.”

“I’m guessing the island isn’t what you wanted to talk to me about, though. So, what’s up?”

Ford pulled a folded piece of paper from the back pocket of his jeans and handed it to Max. “You were right to have me look so far back into Ethan Zimmer’s background.”

Max lifted a brow as he unfolded the paper and quickly scanned the information. It was handwritten, likely by Ford, and each sentence was concise, but clearly understandable.

Ford leaned closer and dropped his voice so no one but Max would hear him. “One of the first cases Ethan Zimmer investigated in his career happened on March 26, 1985. It was a structure fire, single-family home in a quiet residential neighborhood in Kingsford. A widowed mother and her daughter lived in the home. The mother was killed in the fire, burned to a crisp, but firefighters were able to get the daughter out alive. Zimmer closed the case, deeming it to be an accident.”

Max looked up from the paper and met Ford’s gaze. “You think he was wrong?”

Ford shrugged. “I’m not a fire investigator, but here’s the thing. Zimmer determined the cause of that fire was an accidental spill of a lit citronella oil lamp. Apparently, the mother was filling the lamp in the kitchen. Why the hell she was doing it with the wick lit is beyond me, but she must have knocked it over. Maybe the girl startled her or something. Anyway, the citronella splashed all over the counter and onto her. The fire followed the path, and the woman went up in flames.”

“Christ,” Max breathed. “And the girl saw this happen?”

“I haven’t read the actual report.” Ford tapped the paper in Max’s hand. “That’s what I wrote down when my buddy at the KPD called me with what he’d pulled up. We’d have to go through the fire investigation office in Kingsford to get whole story. I don’t have the cause or authority to request that.”

“And when someone does, it’s likely to get to Ethan and trickle down to Regina,” Max concluded.

“You need to handle this, man. Tell her about this and let her take it from here. It could be nothing, but it’s the only thing I saw in Zimmer’s background that has even a remote link.”

Max nodded slowly. “Citronella being the cause of the fire.”

“My guess is, if this is the link you’ve been looking for, it wasn’t found before because the others weren’t determined to be an accidental fire. Zimmer would’ve put this one out of his mind. Hell, it happened twenty-eight years ago. My buddy at the KPD said the girl was seven years old. That would make her thirty-five now. He doesn’t know what happened to her, and I didn’t ask him to look into it, but Regina can easily run a background check and find out.”

Movement out of the corner of Max’s eye caught his attention, and he glanced toward the house to see the women making their way onto the back deck. “Thanks for doing this, Ford.” He quickly folded the paper and shoved it in his back pocket. “I’ll tell her after we leave here today.”

* * * *

Terri knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She held back as the women dispersed from the baby-shower party inside the house, all filing out to the back deck to join the men outside, and fell into step beside Regina Zimmer.

“Is it just me or do these baby things make you feel a little funky inside?” she asked, making conversation.

Regina shot her a smile. “I don’t know. I’m nowhere near ready to become a mommy myself, mind you, but I enjoy watching other women get so starry-eyed over their little ones. It’s great to see Veronica so happy and excited about having a baby. Dean, too. He’s so ready for that baby to be born, I think he’s about to burst.”

“That doesn’t bother you?” Terri dared to ask.

Regina stopped walking. They’d made it to the kitchen and nearly to the sliding door. The rest of the women had already stepped outside. “Why would it bother me?”

Terri took a deep breath and started to shrug it off, but her concern for her captain wouldn’t let her. “What did I walk in on in Wolcott’s office the other day, Regina?” Temper sparked in the fire investigator’s eyes, and Terri prepared herself to be blasted with it.

“You think I’m having an affair with Dean, don’t you?” Despite the obvious flaring of her temper, Regina’s voice sounded calm with a hint of disbelief.

“Truthfully, I’m not sure what to think. There’s been some talk around the firehouse.” She lifted a shoulder. “People have noticed how much time you’ve been spending with the captain in his office and well…”

Regina’s eyes closed briefly, and her shoulders rose and fell in an obvious deep breath. “Dean is a friend and absolutely nothing more. I’ve had some…personal issues I’ve been dealing with, and he’s been there to listen, to offer some advice, and help me through it. We connected as
friends
”—she stressed the word—“almost the moment we met. I’ve said this to a couple of other people, and I’ll say it to you now. He reminds me a lot of my father. He puts the same values on his career and family is of the utmost importance to him. I believe you’ve worked under his command long enough to know that yourself.”

Terri nodded. “I do.”

“Then I see no need to explain myself any further.” The woman turned and started to walk out the door, but stopped again, turning back to face Terri. “I do see the need, however, to go tit for tat. You brought Gage with you today. I’m assuming the two of you are considering it a sort of date.”

Terri bit back a smile as her admiration for the fire investigator grew. She liked a woman who didn’t take shit or feel the need to jump to her own defense when she knew she hadn’t stepped out of line. That was exactly what Regina had done. She’d given Terri enough explanation to pacify her, while not divulging much and certainly not going on the defensive. Sure, she could be lying, but Terri didn’t think so. Not after the way she’d seen the fire investigator kissing the lieutenant before the women had separated from the men to throw the baby shower shortly after everyone had arrived.

“I suppose you could call it that.” Terri had been on two dates with Gage so far, and they’d talked on the phone a few times. During one of their conversations, the subject of Veronica’s and Dean’s cookout shower had come up, and Terri had gone with her gut, asking Gage if he wanted to tag along.

She’d gotten all guilty inside again, too. Gage wasn’t the only man she’d been spending time with talking on the phone. Owen had decided to return her phone calls, apologizing for practically going AWOL on her the last few weeks, and wanting to set up a time they could get together. Her first instinct had been to invite him today, but she’d remembered she’d already asked Gage.

Jiminy Cricket. She used to be far better at juggling two men than this. Was she losing her touch already?

“Gage is a friend of mine, just as Dean is yours.” Regina’s lips curved into a knowing smile that dripped with sweetness. “All that time I’ve been spending at the station has made me privy to some of the firehouse talk, too. It seems to me I heard something about you dating a doctor lately.”

Terri chewed her lip and held the woman’s gaze. Had Regina told Gage about Owen?

“I haven’t shared that bit of information with Gage,” Regina said as if she’d read Terri’s thoughts. “Knowing Gage the way I do, it probably wouldn’t mean a hill of beans to him at this point. It’s not like the two of you are exclusive. I’m not saying you should tell him, either. I
am
saying don’t hurt my friend. Okay?”

Terri felt herself bristle, but did her best not to let it show. She kept calm just as Regina had done when her temper had flared. Tit for tat. Yeah, the woman had definitely dealt a good one with that.

“Yes, ma’am,” Terri finally said calmly, and then laughed when Regina started to giggle.

“Come on.” Regina playfully slapped Terri’s shoulder. “We both have guys out there waiting for us. What do you say we go out there and enjoy our time with them?”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.” Terri followed Regina out the door, immediately spotting Gage talking with Max at the edge of the deck. Yeah, she was enjoying her time with him. Maybe a little too much.

Juggling him and Owen hadn’t been her intention. They were both handsome, fun men in their own ways. Hell, as far as she knew, Gage could’ve already lumped her in the friend category just as Owen had. Just because he’d kissed her and hadn’t yet dealt the card didn’t mean it might not come eventually.

You should’ve never changed, girl.

Yeah, life had been so much easier before she’d taken off her fling-queen crown. But, damn, now that she’d taken it off, she wasn’t sure it would actually fit anymore if she tried to put it back on.

* * * *

Regina’s belly fluttered as her gaze met Max’s and she saw the spark of heat in his eyes. God, the way he was looking at her as she walked toward him made her think he planned to throw her over his shoulder, race out of the party, and toss her down onto the closest available bed.

Down, girl. It’s not like you weren’t just in his bed a few hours ago.

He’d tried to talk her into spending the night with him. They’d spent all of Saturday together. He’d ended his rotation at the firehouse at seven the previous morning, called to see what she was up to, and she’d been unable to resist going to him. They hadn’t spent the entire day having sex, but it had been close. They’d taken breaks to talk, eat, and discuss the Flame Jumper case.

She pushed the last thought aside as she reached him. His arm immediately snaked around her waist, and he pulled her close to his side. She wasn’t any closer today to catching the Flame Jumper than she’d been yesterday or the day before. She’d enlisted help from the SSPD in contacting every physical therapist office in the city, putting them on alert to anything suspicious without setting off the alarm that they believed one of the offices was the future intended target of an arsonist. Without a solid link or an idea to the Flame Jumper’s identity, it was the best she could do for now.