Maya watched as Seth’s shoulders jerked, eyebrows rising. “You don’t have an autopsy report?” She shook her head. “There has to be one.” His hands gripped the coffee mug. “A suspected arson case where the Feds are involved. It would be practically impossible for an autopsy not to be done. It has to be somewhere.”

Maya slumped back in her seat, the adrenaline from moments before draining away. “I don’t know what to tell you, Seth. I’ve looked through those papers so many times I know them by heart. There’s no medical examiner report.”

His mouth firmed into a fine line. “There is. Somewhere. There has to be.” He stood, pushing away from the table. “Are you done?”

Maya nodded, frowning at the sudden change in him. He’d been attentive that morning, caring, even, although it was clear he was nervous about something by the way his thigh had jiggled up and down as he drove to the diner. She’d noticed the movement in the corner of her eye and glanced downward, only to get stuck there, her gaze roaming over his lower body. She’d forced her eyes back up when she realized she’d been staring at the rather impressive bulge between his thighs for too long. God, he was a big boy, even relaxed. She’d spent the rest of the trip looking out the window, her mind ping-ponging between fantasies of what a relationship with Seth would be like—hell, what one night with him would be, and then remembering the note shoved under her door and why any of that was a complete impossibility. It had been only minutes before that she’d decided that she was going to see where this was going, but the reality of actually trying? That scared her more than she wanted to admit.

She was still struggling to believe that the gorgeous, brave-as-hell firefighter would be interested in her, and then he’d gone and touched her again. Holding her hand, the brush against the length of his body when she’d passed by him at the cafe door, the touch of his hand lingering on her cheek. She couldn’t be imagining all of it, could she?

It didn’t seem to matter now. Seth was all back to business, a hard look on his face as he pulled out his cell phone. “Liam, hey, Man.” A pause. “Yeah, we’re fine. Listen, I had a couple of questions.” Quiet again, then Seth frowned. “That too, but something’s come up. Something I don’t like.” He glanced her way, his features softening, but the hardness still in his eyes. “Do you mind if we stop by again? Right, ten minutes, then.” Seth pushed to end the call and then slid the phone in his pocket. He held out his hand, but Maya just stared at it. What the hell was going on? “Is it okay if we go talk to Liam again?” he asked her. She nodded, still not understanding. Seth picked up her hand and drew her out of her chair, then took out his wallet and threw a few bills on the table. “He’s got contacts I don’t, and I want to make sure before we take this further.”

Something warmed in Maya’s heart. Before we take this further. Somehow, after struggling on her own for months, she’d found someone willing to help. God, Seth was so much more than that. Why he was going the extra mile for her still made no sense, but she was done questioning it. Help was help, and even if his hunch went nowhere, spending time with him still gave her something. Something she hadn’t felt in months. Hope.

* * *

When they got to Promise House, Meg answered the door, barely pausing to swing it open before running off again. “Sorry! I’ll be back in a moment. Seth, Liam’s in the office.” Seth called out his thanks, but Meg had already whirled on. He took her hand again, a warmth coalescing where their skin touched, small sparks flying across the surface. He led her down a hall, veering off at the door to the large commercial kitchen Meg had told her was installed after the fire, and down the hall to a room toward the back of the house. “If you ask me, Meg put her office right at the back on purpose,” he said, smiling. “She likes to hide out sometimes.”

“Meg? Really?” Maya said. “She seems like the life of the party to me.”

“Everyone needs their downtime,” Seth said. He grinned. “Besides, sometimes Liam likes to hide out there with her.” He chuckled. “And they think they’re being so discreet.”

Maya’s eyes widened as her cheeks heated. Seriously, why did she keep blushing around Seth? She was in her mid-twenties and she was acting like a school girl. Then again, it wasn’t hard to turn into a gibbering mess around Seth, around any of the men she’d met the other day. What the hell was in the water in Monroe? She blushed deeper and dropped her head, pretending to be fascinated by Meg’s carpet choice. If Seth hadn’t paused outside the office door, she would have run headfirst into it.

“Liam, now good?”

Maya took a deep breath, forcing her gaze up and the thoughts currently running through her mind out. Seth had made it clear in the diner that this was a business trip. It was something she’d asked for, and so it was time to get her head back in the game. She could fantasize about firefighters and their hoses later, tucked up in her motel room. Unless she got any more nocturnal visitors. A shiver ran through her body and this time, Seth wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to a chair. A look of concern covered his face, one that Liam was quickly copying as he caught sight of them.

“Maya? You okay?” He shot a sharp look at Seth. “What’s going on?”

Seth gave her another look of concern and she nodded. “I’m okay.” He raised one eyebrow, but when she turned her gaze back to Liam, he squeezed her shoulder and then moved to the other chair in front of the desk, perching on the arm. He slid his phone out of his pocket again. “I went back to the scene again, after I dropped Maya off last night.” He thumbed at the phone screen.

“And?” Liam said. He looked over to Maya, sending her a smile. “As much as I enjoyed getting to know you better yesterday, Maya, I’m guessing this isn’t a social call?”

“Not on your life,” Seth said, his expression sharp. “I’m emailing you some photos I took. There was something bothering me yesterday and I think I found something to confirm it, but I wanted your opinion.”

Liam’s eyebrows rose in question and he made his way back behind the desk, opening up his laptop. “They’re coming in now. Anything in particular you want tell me?”

“The pour patterns,” Seth said. “I think you were right.” He moved to stand behind Liam, indicating the screen. “See that? That’s the last origin point. Has to be, right?”

Liam leaned over, squinting, and then clicked the mouse. Maya stayed where she was. Going through that house yesterday was enough. She never wanted to go back there again. Who knew what the photos were that Seth had taken? She didn’t need to see. The entire trip was already burned into her mind forever. Burned. She shivered again, growing cold. Was she ever going to get through even a single day without multiple reminders?

The room was silent, save for Liam’s mouse clicking. Several long minutes passed, until Liam whispered. “You’re right. Seth, you’re fucking right.”

What the hell was he right about? The multiple points of origin, she got. If the fire was an accident, it was highly unlikely there’d be more than one ignition point. That much made sense. By why did it matter which was first or not? “I asked Maya if Jesse was injured,” Seth’s voice broke through her thoughts. “But she doesn’t know.”

Liam shut the laptop and sat back in his chair, wiping a hand over his face. “We can find that out, though. There’s gotta be something in the news, or another paper trail somewhere.”

Seth shook his head. “Not that Maya’s ever found. How the hell is there no autopsy?”

“Hell if I know,” Liam said, moving to open the laptop again. “But I’ll find out.”

Maya closed her eyes, a rushing in her ears. What the hell was going on? Maybe she should go over and see what Seth and Liam were staring at on the screen. She opened her eyes and tried to move, but her legs wouldn’t listen to her, her knees wobbling even as she tried to stand. She huffed out a breath and grabbed at the chair’s arm even as Seth raced around the desk.

“Maya! Please, sit back down before you fall down.”

She forced her knees to lock and stared up at Seth. “Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on. Right now.”

Seth’s face was still grim, but he smiled for her. “It’s okay, Sweetheart. Everything’s alright. Please, sit down and I’ll explain.”

She dropped back in the chair, what little strength she’d mustered fading. Seth kneeled in front of her so his eyes were level with hers. “Maya, there’s no way an autopsy wasn’t done. But more than that, Liam just confirmed that I was reading the signs I saw last night correctly. The fire at the front door was the last to be set.” He took a deep breath. “It would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for Jesse to make it back up the stairs after he’d set it. Fuck, the whole room would have been primed for flashover by that point.” Seth’s gaze burned into hers. “Maya, I don’t think Seth was anywhere near that door when the fire was lit. I think he was already upstairs. Whether or not he had other injuries. That’s what the non-existent autopsy would tell us.”

The blood drained from her face and Maya slumped in the chair. She heard a strange whimpering noise, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Something warm settled on her shoulders while something else warm squeezed her hand. Jesse hadn’t been the one to set the fire? A weight sat on her chest and her lungs burned.

“Breathe, Sweetheart. Can you take a deep breath, for me?”

Seth.

He’d figured it out, and he was still there with her.

They’d done it.

Jesse hadn’t set the fire.

Her vision wavered, the room wobbling dangerously.

So who the hell had?