CHAPTER 16
Days passed into weeks. The summer days were getting longer and hotter, and the babies were growing already. Jessie had spent ample time out at Pinecrest with her goddaughter, Erika, and showering her in gifts. Her latest was a pair of black, baby combat like boots and a tiny jean skirt. Morgan drew the line at temporary tattoos of little red hearts that said mom
in the center. Jessie didn’t really expect Morgan to let her tattoo her baby – it was really just for shits and giggles.
Jessie was pleased with her find, committed to being a good role model and annoying her dear friend by turning her precious girl into a diehard biker baby badass. Jessie found pink frilly bows and clothes cuter but would never admit it.
Though Jessie hadn’t had any specific encounters or those she could connect herself to, Blake was there – always. Oddly, his schedule seemed to match hers now, too. On a few occasions, she noticed Logan switching places with Blake, watching over her in Blake’s absence, but it was never longer than an hour or two. This guy needs a hobby
, she thought.
There had been several small fires around town since the incident at the House and the fire in her backyard, but nothing she could claim as related to her or anything other than high tourist season and pure coincidence. A few dumpster fires, a small prairie fire near Sugar Pine Stables, a roadside fire that was likely the result of a cigarette butt – all things that weren’t too terribly unusual and could be explained by the drier season.
There were a couple of campfires that were harder to explain but equally hard to connect to herself. The campers who were cited claimed that they hadn’t started the fires, and that certainly had her attention. But again, that’s where it began and ended.
If she didn’t give any attention to it, perhaps it would go away completely. She was starting to think that much of her fear had been for nothing. That she’d created it herself when the letter came from the State Penitentiary, stating her assailant was free and was under a no contact order and was to stay away from her…victims’ rights…yada, yada. She knew that true criminals gave zero shits about rules
and rights of others, especially their victims, hence becoming criminals to begin with. But, maybe this time, she really had imagined it.
An alarm sounded, pulling her from her thoughts. She jumped into action, gearing up for their next call, another fire. Details continued to come in as engine number five made its way to the scene – an old abandoned church at the edge of town. A forest ranger called in the smoke plume from one of the many area watch towers scattered around the Pacific Cascade Forest.
The overgrown brush and grass was dry, perfect fuel for a quick uproar of flames that would promptly turn into a forest fire if they didn’t get the structure fire under control quickly. High season meant they had to act that much faster and more diligently to keep the fires controlled – and out of the forests.
They arrived on scene within minutes and went to work, hitting it hard while they waited for a second engine, which had just arrived, to jump in. Jessie and Colton’s team went in, looking for trapped victims. Many times, fires like this were started by bored kids on summer break or vacation. Since this was a quiet, long since vacated structure, there was only one way to determine if they had rescues, and that was go in and look before it was no longer safe to.
The power had been shut off ages ago, and there hadn’t been lightning at all that day – process of elimination – the fire was man made. The structure was extremely old, built in a time when a building such as this served as a school house during the week and a church on Sunday. It was one, large, open structure, for the most part, the additional rooms consisting of a small office and coat closet with a bathroom that had been added on in more recent years, but it had outside access only.
It should have been a quick sweep, but the rows of pews felt endless, and the black smoke was thickening. The fire was moving much faster than they could, which was odd. The fire wasn’t behaving as it should have, given the circumstances, and they were called out before the roof could cave in on them.
Jessie neared the doorway, the last in the line to leave the building, when a clearing in the smoke, caused by an unusual breeze the fire itself was creating, revealed a bone chilling message. A message for her. A message that stopped her where she stood, frozen in time, unable to move.
Uproarious flames danced around her, taking her back to that place where her world crumbled and life changed forever. One of fear – sheer terror. Fixated on that which caught her attention, common sense and her years of training, notwithstanding, escaping her, she pulled off her helmet and mask in a total daze. She needed to see what he left her more clearly and make sure she wasn’t imagining it.
The water hitting the fire above came down like rain, tamping out the threatening flames and dissolving the smoke enough to see all around her for the first time since entering the building. He
left her messages everywhere. They were painted all around the building, on every wall, the same calling card slowly being eaten by the flames.
It was a symbol of evil – he
was evil. The red circle with the star centered within it, the same one he marked everyone and everything with. A mark of Satan in a burning church. How ironic
, she thought…symbolic…intended for her.
He
was taunting her, laughing at her, antagonizing her and scaring the shit out of her. They were left for her, the fire started for her, not intended for her demise. Then, it was to remind her that was coming, too. He
was going to make good on his
promise and take her down – finish what he
couldn’t all those years ago. The fire was his
reminder and his
promise – he
was reminding her of what he
did to her and his
promise to do it again.
She pictured him
bolder, stronger, and more calculated. He’d
had nearly ten years to plan, plot, and scheme. She imagined this was just the beginning. The fires around town…those were his
warm up, his
way of playing with her. It was control he
was ultimately after, and these acts gave him
plenty. He
was in complete control – of her mind, her emotions, and her town.
Flames rose around her while she heard faint cries in the distance, calling her name, barely audible behind the deafening sound of her heart pounding and her blood rushing through her veins. He
was here, maybe even in
here, she thought. It was a fiery hell, marked with the same satanic symbols he
carved in her body – marking her so he’d
be forever present, a reminder of who he
was and what he
was capable of, and that he’d
come back for her. A reminder of what he
did to her.
Her scars were always fresh, emotionally, especially when she saw the physical scars he’d
left. No matter how hard she tried to cover them, layers and layers of art weren’t enough – she could see his mark right through the ink, even if no one else could.
A loud crack pulled her from her frightened memories. She looked up just in time to see a large beam falling from above, bringing pieces of the flaming roof with it. Her name floated through the air as voices of despair yelled for her – one voice louder than the rest – Blake.
Jessie got to her feet just as large hands wrapped around her waist and tossed her over a shoulder, carrying her outside.
Once on her feet again, far from the fire, it took her a few moments to catch her breath and get her bearings before she realized she wasn’t carried out by another firefighter in full gear – but actually by someone in a blue police uniform.
“Are you okay?” Blake asked, frantically looking her over.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, slapping his hands away.
“What the hell are you
doing? You were just standing in there! Where were you hit?” he asked, feeling her head for signs of trauma.
“I wasn’t hit! I tripped on debris when I jumped out of the way. I’m fine,” Jessie said, trying to catch her breath. Bent at the waist, she leaned over with her hands on her knees in a coughing fit.
“Clarke!” Chief Morrison yelled, headed her way. “What in the hell do you think you were doing in there?”
A portly man with a booming voice, red faced, came marching toward her, spitting with each word spoken.
“Ah, shit,” she said, not ready for his incoming wrath.
“Not only did you remove your gear, but you put yourself and the crew in harm’s way for no goddamn reason,” the man shouted.
“Jesus, Chief. You done chewing my ass?” she fired back defensively. She was trying to make sense of what happened inside that church herself. She didn’t have an explanation for him.
“Excuse me?” Chief Morrison looked around, tugging at his own ear. “Am I hearing you correctly?”
With her hands on her hips, Jessie tossed him a snarked look. “Yeah! You are – hearing’s good, Chief. I was right inside that door, and the crew had cleared the building – what’s the big fucking deal?”
“The big fucking deal
is that you disobeyed an order. You would have heard it through your earpiece had you left your helmet on.”
Jessie wiped her face in dramatic fashion and squared up with the Chief. “Maybe if you spit on that fire as much as you’re spitting on me, we wouldn’t have had to go in, in the first place!”
“Jessie…” Blake warned.
“Stay out of this,” Jessie said, walking toward engine number five, Colton waiting there with a water bottle for her.
“That was
really stupid,” Colton said quietly in a scolding tone. “Why were you just standing there like that?”
Rolling her eyes, Jessie tossed her head back, taking in a large gulp of water, trying to ease the fire in her throat. “God, not you, too.”
Chief Morrison and Blake had followed her, surprised by her reaction to everyone’s concern for her safety. Colton tossed his hands up in the air and shrugged before heading back to fighting the burning church.
“Don’t you walk away from me – we aren’t done here!” the Chief chided.
“Jesus, Chief! Something caught my attention, and I stopped for a second. No one else was at risk – it was me – just
me,” she yelled, unsure why she was responding with such hostility toward him.
Blake jumped in, trying to salvage what Jessie was destroying. “Chief, I’m certain there’s a good…”
“Your girlfriend here can speak for herself, Chief Cooper.” Morrison bellied up to Blake, a bold move given the difference in their stature. “Do I ever wander over to your side of the House and involve myself in police work? No…stay out of this. It’s not your problem.”
“Well, we agree on something,” Jessie laughed, which quickly turned into a coughing fit. Though she hadn’t stood there long, unprotected, the smoke had done a number on her throat and lungs.
“I’ve had enough out of you. You’re done for the day,” Morrison yelled.
With her arms out in surprise, Jessie just couldn’t let it go. “What? Nobody was at risk! It was just
…”
Morrison held his hands up, cutting her off, and shook his head at her. “Just you. So you’ve said. Had that fallen on you or knocked you out, a team would have come in for rescue, and then they would
have been at risk – so you are wrong.”
“So, you’re sending me home?”
“No, I’m sending you to ER – protocol,” Chief said, walking away.
“Hospital? Oh, noooo. I wasn’t hurt,” Jessie rebuked, climbing onto engine number five before another coughing fit ensued.
“Off the truck, Clarke! You pulled off your helmet in the middle of a fire, and now you’re coughing. You may have a smoke injury – you’re going.”
Jessie threw her helmet as it seemed to be the Chief’s source of focus. “You’re being ridiculous!”
Morrison turned to her, toe to toe, and fired right back, “You’re being reckless, insubordinate, and difficult!”
“Well, you’re being an ass
! Stop spitting
on me!”
The Chief tossed his hands in the air. “You’re done! Suspended! One week!”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“Two weeks – should we go for three?” he challenged.
“Why don’t we go for a whole month?” Jessie’s words were dripping in sarcasm.
“Done!” Jessie tried to speak up, but the Chief cut her off. “With no pay. And if you say another word, it will be indefinite.”
Chief Morrison turned and stormed off, but not before he turned quickly and said, “And I better get an all clear from the ER, or there won’t be a spot on number five for you anymore!”
He’d just threatened her job. Standing there in disbelief, Jessie noticed all the eyes on her – her crew – obviously as surprised as she was. Deep down, though, she knew they weren’t surprised by the Chief’s response but rather hers. She was angry, fuming, and it all had little to nothing to do with Chief Morrison or being suspended.
The disappointment she saw in their faces was almost as devastating as what she saw inside that burning structure. If anyone saw what was inside and somehow knew it had to do with her…well, she didn’t know how she felt about that. The other engine crew was still at work, but she hoped they failed and that thing burned to the ground. She never once found solace when a victim was found in the rubble – but today, she hoped there was one – and that it was him.
She wondered if that made her the same kind of monster he
was – the same kind of monster as Jason Bolton.