“No. And the evidence so far very closely resembles the methods used in the fire that hurt you and killed Joe—the location is completely different, but we’re beginning to suspect the buildings were booby-trapped to injure firefighters going inside.”
Erin covered her mouth in shock, astounded. “Oh, no...someone did this on purpose? To target firefighters? And that could have been what happened to me and Joe, too?”
He was tense again, his face drawn into tight, tired lines. “Maybe. Though your fire completely demolished the building so there’s not enough evidence to make sure—this time, we had reports from the guys who were hurt and more evidence of the tampering.”
She drew her hand back and closed her eyes for a second, digesting that someone had actually planned this. That they had been targeting firefighters and had killed her colleague while nearly killing her.
“So that’s what you meant about my remembering being about more than us. I might know something that could stop this.”
“Or that could shed light on it, yes. We don’t have much to work with, and there are enough differences between the two fires that perhaps they aren’t the result of the same arsonist—and if you know that what happened to you was different, that changes things, too. Or you might know something that could help us catch a serial arsonist. A killer.”
Erin reeled, standing up from the table and starting to pace, her hands shaking. If she’d felt pressure to remember before, now it was tenfold. Hundredfold.
She was lost in her own panicked thoughts when Bo interrupted her pacing, stopping her in place.
“What if I can’t remember? What if nothing happens and more people are hurt?”
Bo shook his head resolutely. “There’s no guarantee your case is connected, or that you could remember anything that would help. It’s just a chance. I didn’t know if I should tell you—the pressure might hold you back.”
“Maybe it will, but it also makes me want to try even harder. I want you to tell me everything. We used to talk about work a lot, right? So we’ll do that. Tell me everything about the fire.”
Bo’s mouth flattened as he looked down into her face. She tipped her chin up, showing him that she was fine—and that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
He relented. “Okay, but let’s go for a walk while we talk. I could use the fresh air.”
She agreed, helping him pack up the remains of their meal before they started out on the trail. He was quiet until they got farther along the lake, and then he started telling her all of the awful details. Many that she didn’t want to hear, but she listened anyway. Erin was determined to see this through to the end, no matter what. As Bo’s hand reached out and clasped hers as they walked, it was good to know she wasn’t alone.
BO’S MOOD IMPROVED by the minute. Though he always teased Erin about her fascination with the area’s geologic origins, he always marveled at them, too.
He loved how completely smooth and undisturbed the lakes were. Absolutely mirrorlike on a perfect day, they were very deep. Ancient sediments, never disturbed through the march of time, measured as much as five hundred feet under the two hundred feet of water. Everything changed, but not these lakes, not very much. It was calming to think about, that some things stayed the same.
The fresh air and beautiful views around the lake chased away the nightmares of the past few days. Nightmares that he didn’t really want to share with Erin, though he had to.
She’d listened, asking good questions that, to him, provided more evidence that her experience and her knowledge about firefighting were just below the surface—like the ancient sediment at the bottom of the lake, buried, little bits floating up to the surface.
They paused at a spot on the east side of the lake that had a buildup of solid sediments and minerals in the form of a reef or shelf, unfortunately called Dead Man’s Point. Bo shook his head. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he was tired of death. It seemed to be everywhere. He didn’t want to be reminded of it in this beautiful place.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Erin was standing before him, her voice reflecting her concern.
“I’m more concerned about you.”
She seemed lovelier, if that was even possible, in the soft evening light. She was still physically fit, but he could tell where her face and her shape had softened slightly, away from the rigors of department work. It looked good on her.
“Why?”
“I was afraid knowing about the fire would be too much, that it might actually make your memory harder to reach. Dr. Newcomb said you needed to feel safe, not pressured.”
She took his hand, squeezed. “No. I’m glad you told me. I needed to know. And you needed to talk about it.”
He blinked, realizing that he really did. He and Erin were always each other’s confidants. Friends and workmates before they were lovers, they could share things at the end of the day with each other that civilians would have a harder time understanding.
He hadn’t known how much he’d missed that until right now.
“There’s one more thing I have to ask you.”
Her tone was apprehensive, and Bo knew she was still thinking about the fire.
“What’s that?”
“If this is a serial arsonist, and if he or she did set the fire that Joe and I were caught in, wouldn’t I be a potential threat? Do you think I could be in danger?”
Bo frowned. That had been the one thing he’d held back from her—he didn’t want to cause more anxiety than he already had, but he should have known she’d reason it out. Or was it that she had other reason to ask?
“Has anything happened? Anything specific?”
She shook her head. “No, not really. I mean, when I first came home, I felt like someone was watching me sometimes, but the doctors said that happened sometimes with amnesia. A level of anxiety or paranoia that usually fades in time, and it did. But what if someone was watching me?”
Bo didn’t like that possibility at all. He tried to approach the subject objectively, like an investigator, not like a man who wanted to hide her away and keep her safe from anything. It was more difficult than he expected. This was Erin, and he instinctively wanted to protect her.
“Well, the cases may not be related, but if they are, you’d pose a definite threat. However, your amnesia is pretty general knowledge now. It was in the paper and so forth. That would mean our arsonist probably knows, too. Since he or she risked setting another fire, I’m assuming you’ve been dismissed as a threat. But if you feel that again, like someone’s watching, or if anything makes you feel like something is wrong, you have to tell me immediately, okay?”
She nodded, her expression relaxing slightly.
“I guess you should stay as close as possible, then. For a lot of reasons.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
Tugging her forward against him, Bo kept hold of her hand and caught her jaw in his other palm, keeping her still as he took his time kissing her, letting the feel of her mouth under his erase all the dark clouds that had been plaguing his thoughts.
Erin had always been the only one who could do that.
The realization was not a comfort, given their current situation. It was too easy to forget that this was not going anywhere. But as she said, they needed to be “all-in” and deal with the fallout later. Bo wasn’t sure he had any choice in the matter, as he’d never really