Page 17 of Playing with Fire

“What?”

“When they were having so many issues with the older lady being unreliable, I suggested he ask you. I think he felt bad firing her.”

Zack made a noise, almost like a scoff, before he started coughing. “Sorry. I think a bug flew in my mouth or something.”

Gross. Bugs in general didn't freak me out as long as they weren't on my skin or in my hair. And definitely not in my mouth.

Jay raised a brow at him. “You're acting strange, dude.”

“More than my normal?” Zack smirked.

My brother sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, focusing back on the field. I tried to keep my gaze from roaming to Logan, but when I thought I caught him looking my way, I glanced back down the line.

And damn, I wished I hadn't. His lips lifted into a smile as he stared back at me, and my pulse took off into a sprint. If I thought his growliness was sexy, it held nothing to the smile that graced his face.

Or maybe I just enjoyed that it was directed at me this time. .

LOGAN

Watching my girls play soccer was the highlight of my week. The smiles they both wore as they chased the ball, the excitement they had the whole time, was nothing short of perfect. And it was all thanks to Izzy. Having someone who was willing and able to take them to practices and even games on weekends was huge.

Both girls barreled into me.

“Daddy, you came.” Alice looked up.

“Did you see us?” Nikki added.

I smiled down at them. “I sure did. You guys did great.”

The piercing tones of a call sounded from the truck, the muted alarms from the station a few blocks away following them a second later. Jay had already turned and was heading to the parking lot.

I squeezed both of my girls one last time. “Gotta go. See you at home.” I gave Izzy a clipped nod and mouthedthank youbefore turning and jogging toward the truck.

Ten minutes later, when I pulled the rig up to a run down building engulfed in flames, I was praying it wasn't the fucking arsonist again. It had been almost two weeks since the last fire, but none of us were hopeful that meant he’d stopped.

Chief Thompson, Owen, and Seth were already on the scene. If both the chief and Owen were there, that meant they had the same concern. We grabbed our gear and piled out in front of the building. It used to be a small BBQ joint, but closed down over a year ago.

“Murray, Ricktor,” the Chief boomed, “primary search. Mitchell and Stoer, take the new guy and get us a supply line going.”

I nodded at Adam and we finished putting on our gear. I secured my mask in place and tipped my head toward the building, indicating Adam to take the lead. Having a slightly smaller build allowed him to squeeze easily in and out of tight spaces if needed. Luckily, the building was unoccupied, and we were able to get the fire out pretty quickly. The Chief didn't need to tell us he was calling this one in. We all saw the signs—forced entry at the back, multiple points of origin, inconsistent burn patterns. It was obvious. This was arson.

But before we could even get the scene cleaned up and secured, the tones for another call sounded. This one was a car accident involving multiple vehicles.

“Mckinley,” the chief addressed Owen. “You go. I'll wait here for the agents.”

Owen hesitated. None of us wanted to leave our chief here. What if the arsonist liked to hang around and watch his work?

Jay swirled his finger in the air, silently telling us to get in the truck. We had to trust the chief. And that MVC needed our quick response.

As we were pulling away, Owen and Seth following in one of the utility trucks, an unmarked cop car pulled up. Dylan got out, and I could feel everyone in the truck sharing my relief.

* * *

It had been almostfour hours since we left soccer practice, and to say I was exhausted was an understatement. My quick shower at the station probably did very little to scrub away the smell of the fire from earlier. Some calls made it harder to wash the day away before heading home, and I knew I’d still need another one before climbing into my bed tonight.

Walking into the house and hearing my girls laughing upstairs had me smiling and relaxing for the first time since I left them earlier at the field.

I set my stuff down and climbed the stairs two at a time, excited to see them before they went to bed. As I made it to the top, a vision in long blonde curls stepped from the room and collided into my chest with a squeal.

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