Charlie jerked at the sight before her as she climbed out of Scott’s unmarked sedan. On the way over, she’d bitten her nails off almost entirely, her mind racing at the possibilities. Now, standing in front of the reality was far worse than anything she’d imagined. Half of the chief’s house was outright gone, the rest of it still smoldering. Two engines were parked in his street, one from their house and the other from a company a town over. Most of the guys she knew, but it was hard to spot anyone in the chaos of soot-blackened faces and equipment as orders were shouted and firefighters moved swiftly through the scene. She strained her eyes, looking for Chief Stone, but the only battalion chief she could see belonged to the other house. He was alternating between ordering both squads and talking loudly into the radio. Where the hell was Chief Stone?

Scott rested his hand on her shoulder and pointed to an ambulance sitting out on the street, away from some of the chaos. “He’s over there.” Charlie didn’t understand for a moment. Who was over there? She hadn’t realized she’d spoken her question out loud until her gaze followed Scott’s finger. There was Alex, sitting slumped over on the back of the rig, an oxygen mask over his mouth. An EMT was attaching an oximeter to his finger. His turnout jacket lay splayed across the ground, as if it had been dumped on the concrete, and his shirt was half open. His eyes were irritated, tears forming wet tracks through his blackened face. Had he been in the fire? Why hadn’t he been at the station? It was well past shift-starting time.

“He ran inside,” a voice from behind her said. Charlie jumped at the sudden sound. She turned around and saw Matt. He towered over her and was still dressed in his dirty gear, but that didn’t stop Charlie from throwing her arms around his waist. Everything from the morning caught up with her in a rush and she buried her face against his jacket.

Matt’s arms went around her, leading her to sit over on the curb. “Hey, Charlie. You okay?” His face creased in concern, and guilt swamped her. None of this was about her! Even Scranton didn’t matter at that moment. She was sitting in a field of first responders—firefighters, plus what seemed like every cop Monroe had. This was about the chief, and nailing the arsonist. She looked back over to the blackened building, unable to suppress a shiver. “Do they know yet if it was the same guy?”

“As the factory fire? We found another incendiary device inside, but it was different. I’d bet on it, though.” Matt’s face was grim. “Don’t you worry, this is his last fire. The boys are all out for blood, especially after Laura and Owen.”

The coolness of the morning suddenly felt like the air was encased with ice. Despite the cold, a sweat broke out over her skin, making her feel even colder. Laura—Alex’s wife—and his son. “They were home?”

Matt nodded. “Yeah. They already left in another rig. Chief was going to go with them, but there was no room in back, and he needs treatment himself.” He gestured toward the ambulance still sitting in the street. “Even if he won’t admit it. Stubborn bastard.”

A dizziness came over her, and the world felt like it was tilting. Matt grabbed her elbow, steadying her, but her heart rate still raced. “Charlie. You sure you’re okay? Maybe I should find Shane.”

“I’m right here.” Shane stepped up from the chief’s driveway. He still wore his street clothes, but his arm was out of his sling. He looked at her, his gaze critically assessing her. She’d seen him do it a thousand times before with patients, but it still made her squirm. First Shane, attacked by Scranton after his apartment had nearly burned down, and now the chief. No one else seemed to be putting the pieces together, but the more Charlie stared at the crowd of first responders, mixing with neighbors, news reporters, and general nosy bastards, the more her skin crawled. It had to be Scranton. All of it.

She craned her neck, trying to look past Matt and Shane without standing up. The area was crawling with people she didn’t recognize. “What are you guys even doing here?”

Matt’s face was grim. “B shift caught the call, but as soon as they realized what the address was, their lieutenant hauled us in. No way were we not attending this one.”

Charlie nodded, but nerves skittered across her spine. If there was one thing that even the general public knew about arsonists, it was that they nearly always returned to watch the fires they set burn. The aftermath—the flashing lights and the chaos of the scene—appealed to them. Over one hundred firefighters a year were convicted of setting fires themselves every year in the USA alone. Her stomach lurched. How anyone could get off watching something burn made her feel sick. He could be anywhere, watching them. Watching her. Charlie’s skin crawled. She needed to get out of there.

She stood on jerky legs, pulling her thin hoodie around her, ignoring the look Matt shot Shane. Revenge, to make her suffer, who the hell knew, but this was all Scranton. He was taking down those she cared about, one by one, and if she stayed with Shane, then he’d be back to finish the job. There wasn’t anything more she could do for the chief—and that guilt was going to stay with her forever—but there was something she could do for Shane. She could get the hell away and stay there. “I’m going to ride with Chief Stone,” she said, stepping toward the rig. She knew the paramedic on duty. If she asked to ride with them as a favor, Charlie was sure the answer would be yes.

“Charlie?” Shane called after her, but he didn’t follow. Still, she could feel his gaze burning into her back as she walked the short distance to where the chief sat. He was going to be watching her the entire time. The realization only firmed her decision in her mind. Her relationship with Shane had been incredible, amazing, but it was also new. New enough that maybe if she distanced herself, she could convince Scranton that it had just been a fling. When she was sure that Shane was safe, she’d request a transfer to another house, maybe one even in another county.

It might not keep them safe forever, but it would be enough distance to give Scott and Jesse and the rest of the cops time to track him down. She appreciated all the guys at Engine 81 more than she could say, but if she stayed there, then all she’d be doing is risking more “accidents,” more fires, and more chances of one of them dying. They’d been lucky so far, but today had been far, far too close. She wasn’t giving him another chance.

Charlie had faced off against Scranton once before, that cold night in the forest back in Oklahoma. She couldn’t do it again. This time, she knew what was coming, and this time, she’d disappear properly.

As she got closer, each footstep got heavier, until she could barely look Alex in the eye when she finally managed to make herself stand in front of her boss. When she caught his gaze, she almost turned around. Climbing in that rig with him was the only way she was getting out of there without Shane, but looking at the chief, she didn’t know if she could do it. The man looked half heartbroken and half like he wanted to commit murder. His face almost made her turn around again and run in the other direction. She could find a way to get out of there before Jesse put her in some sort of lockdown without talking to the chief, right?

Alex looked up, and his face softened when he caught sight of her. She didn’t move, stuck between the chief and Shane like a scared rabbit. Charlie hated herself for that—for putting everyone she cared about in danger.

“Come here,” Alex said, gesturing to the empty spot behind him on the back of the ambulance. The corner of a foil rescue blanket slipped off his shoulder, and before she’d made a conscious decision to move, her feet had carried her to his side, tucking it back around him. If the chief was in shock—and how could he not be—then she needed to keep him warm. One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile as she adjusted the blanket. He tracked her movement as she tightened the strap on his oxygen mask and then moved to check his vitals. Her hands moved with practiced ease even as her mind was racing, the motions helping calm her thoughts.

Finally, there was nothing more she could check, nothing left to adjust. Charlie raised her eyes, expecting to see condemnation on the chief’s face. Instead, all she saw there was concern. His face was harried, deeply lined, and with signs of the fire smudged over it. Taking a deep breath, she finally met his gaze.

A deep anger still burned there, but it wasn’t directed at her. It should have been. She might not have been the one to set the fuse and drop the match, but she was as much responsible for what had happened there as Scranton was. For that matter, she was responsible for why he was even there in the first place!

Maybe if her testimony had been better, hell, if she’d had the strength to do what should have been done in the first place, instead of standing there circling a killer, scared out of her mind . . .

She sat down next to the chief, shaking her head at herself. The justice system hadn’t done a damn thing back then. Why should she think for a minute it’d be any different now? People like Scott or Jesse might try, but in the end, they wouldn’t be the ones deciding whether this went to trial, or what sentence was given out. That would fall back on the old boys club just as it had back in Oklahoma.

She’d made the right decision. She would disappear, but not just to the next county. Entirely. Maybe one day, he would be caught and actually sent to jail, but until then, she wasn’t risking a single other life. If her friends couldn’t find her, then neither could Scranton. No one else had to be in danger because of her.

“Whatever’s going on in that head of yours, you can stop it right now,” the chief said, his voice harsh and wheezing from the smoke. Another wave of guilt pulsed through her at the sound. He pushed the oxygen mask down to his chin, waving off her attempt to put it back into place.

“Laura and Owen—they’re okay?”

He nodded. “They’ll be okay. They were still home when the fuse lit and caught the worst of it”—he broke out in a coughing fit and Charlie hurried to re-fix the mask, but Alex waved her off again—“so they transported them to the hospital for a few tests and breathing treatments.”

He coughed again and Charlie moved the mask back into place. This time, he let her and she frowned at the implication. “The hospital is exactly where you should be, too.” She looked around the side of the rig, catching the eye of the paramedic. He understood her glance and gesture and moved around to the back. “Time to go, Chief Stone.”

Alex shook his head. “Not until my men are clear.”

“I’ll keep watch, Chief.” Mason approached the ambulance. He too was covered in a fine layer of soot, his hair damp from water or sweat, probably both. “That’s what you’ve got us for, remember?” He looked over at Charlie. “I’ll even make sure this one keeps out of trouble.”

The chief snorted, but behind the lines of pain the action formed on his face, Charlie could see his worry. That was exactly why she needed to go. The chief was injured, his house gone, and his family in the hospital, and he was still taking the time to be concerned about her. She needed to get gone so that things could go back to normal at 81. “Actually, Mason, if it’s okay, I’ll ride with the chief.” She looked over at him and forced a smile, hoping to God she was a good-enough actress no one would suspect the plan brewing in her head.

Mason nodded. “Okay.” He jerked a thumb toward the chief, a grin on his face. “Want me to stay with the old man while you say goodbye to Shane?”

Charlie smiled back. Mason had to be pissed at the morning’s events. They all would be, but perhaps him doubly so as he’d been the one to leave Shane alone at his apartment right before the first attack. Still, he was taking charge, leading their ragtag group, and trying to make her smile. The man was pure class.

She looked over. Shane had finally stopped looking their way and was deep in conversation with Matt and the other guys from the crew. Her heart gave a little jolt taking in the sight. He was right at home. His shoulder injury wasn’t serious, and knowing how stubborn Shane was, it would likely only be a couple of days before he was back at work.

She smiled.

The chief should really consider making someone else responsible for clearing the lead paramedic for work. That wouldn’t stop him, though, any more than he’d stop trying to protect her.

The smile fell from her face.

It would be easier to just slip away. God, she wanted so badly to stay. It wouldn’t take much from Shane to get her to change her plans, and she couldn’t afford that.

She looked back to Mason, holding a fresh smile firmly on her face. She could let it go later, when she’d cleared the scene. “Tell him I’ll see him back at the firehouse later. I’ll stay and get Chief settled and then come over.”

Mason cocked his head, his eyes narrowing slightly as she spoke. Shit, there was no way he could tell, was there? She’d kept her voice light and made sure her smile didn’t wobble . . . hadn’t she? Mason’s perusal lasted a couple of seconds more before his gaze finally broke away, and Charlie expelled all the air she’d been holding on to. She turned and climbed into the rig, patting the chief on the shoulder before pulling the doors shut. She leaned forward, speaking to the paramedic driving the ambulance. “Let’s get this show on the road.”