Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102016 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Birdie starts to cry, and it breaks my heart, and then suddenly, she leans forward and throws up.
“Oh, gosh. Okay, we’ve got this.”
When it seems there’s a break, I rush her to the toilet so she can continue to throw up there, and then I realize that she managed to get it all over herself, so when she’s finished, I simply help her strip down and put her in the shower.
“Just a quick one,” I assure her. “We need to get you cleaned up, okay?”
“I want Daddy,” she cries, knuckling the tears in her eyes as I help her get washed. I feel awful for her, and if I could take away how horrible she feels, I would do it in a heartbeat.
“I know you do, sweet girl. I do, too, if I’m being honest. But we can handle this. We’ve got this. Come on, let’s get you dry and in some clean pajamas, and then you can get back in bed.”
“Can I sleep in Daddy’s bed?”
“You bet. You can sleep with me in your daddy’s bed.”
I manage to avoid the mess in the hallway and grab the little girl some clean clothes, get her dressed, and snuggled down in the bed. Then I clean up the vomit, make sure there’s nothing she missed in the bathroom, and slide under the covers with her. She curls up to my side, snuggling me.
“You sleep.” I kiss her forehead and push her hair off her face. “No more sickies, okay?”
“No more sickies.”
Chapter Thirteen
BRIDGER
Goddamn, I’d like to punch the motherfucker who’s decided to torch my town. The cabin was a complete loss by the time we got on the scene, so our main concern now is protecting the hundreds of evergreens from the sparks coming off the structure.
“Continue soaking that side,” I tell my guys. “And get those walls pushed in.”
As the structure collapses, we want it to fall inside of itself so the flames don’t spread any farther. Our primary goal here is to keep it all contained.
“Where are the owners?” I ask Jones. We’ve worked together for years, and he’s the best at pulling information.
“They live in Texas,” he says. “I have a call out to them, but had to leave a message.”
“Whoever did this didn’t want us to find it quickly. He could have lit this whole fucking mountain on fire, and there are homes just over that ridge.”
Jones nods grimly as we watch the team use long poles to push the outside walls toward the inside of the house. There’s a big plume of smoke, and flames dance high into the sky and then calm down again as the fire continues to smolder. Ash and smoke hang heavy in the air.
“He uses the same accelerant every time,” Jones reminds me. “Always gas, always around the front door. He leaves the cans, for Christ’s sake. He’s not being exactly stealthy about it.”
“No, but the fire is burning away any prints he might have left. I know we have to leave the investigation to the experts, but it’s fucking annoying to be on the outside, cleaning up this asshole’s messes.”
“That’s all we can do,” Jones reminds me, patting me on the shoulder. “We need to make a statement to the media, Chief. Residents need to be vigilant because he’s hit homes with people inside.”
“I know.” I pull my hand down my face. “We’ll make a statement in the morning and make sure it’s in all the media and on our socials. I want this asshole caught.”
I can tell that the fire is losing its edge. It’s calming down, and I don’t have any more concerns about the surrounding trees and woods, but we’ll keep dousing it to make sure no remaining embers creep away and start another fiasco.
This many fires in less than two weeks is unheard of in this town. We may have calls for small fires, but not usually a complete loss like this, not this many in such a short period of time. We take way more ambulance and accident calls than we do house fires.
Not that we can’t handle them, but our community doesn’t usually have to deal with it. I like keeping it that way. Who the fuck is this guy? Why is he doing this? How do I catch him?
When I turn, I see that Chase Wild’s finishing up with his guys, bagging the gas cans that were left at the front door, taking down information.
There isn’t much more they can do until the fire is cold.
“That fucker,” Chase grumbles when I join him.
“My thoughts exactly. Any leads?”
He shakes his head, his mouth set in grim lines, as he watches the destroyed building. “He thought he was sly with this one.”
“Keep an eye out at the ranch,” I tell him, and his cold eyes turn to me. “I’ll be telling Holden and my brother the same things. Obviously, this guy isn’t sticking just to town, and this is the fourth fire in two weeks.”