Rescued Duty (Last Chance Fire and Rescue #5)

Chapter 4

FOUR

“ P izza’s here! Come and get it while it’s hot.”

Zack jerked his head and stumbled out of his chair, which crashed to the floor. He turned around right when Izan walked into the firehouse kitchen with a pile of pizza boxes.

“You good, man?” Izan raised an eyebrow.

Zack blinked and righted the chair. “You bet. Just testing your reflex skills. You might want to work on those.” He slapped Izan on the shoulder, then checked his watch. Time to go.

“You better save some of the mushroom toppings for me.” Amelia strode in, Eddie and Bryce right behind her.

Zack grabbed two slices of pepperoni pizza and chowed down. The lack of regular meals today had him starving. Never mind it was still too early to be considered dinnertime.

“That’s all yours.” Eddie wrinkled his nose and grabbed a plate. “Give me all the meat.”

Zack laughed. “There’s enough here to feed the whole town.” He grabbed a napkin next to the six pizza boxes piled high on the counter. He wiped the grease off his fingers, then tossed his plate in the trash. “I’m clocking out. See y’all later.” He brushed past the crew, but Eddie gave him a side-eye. The guy never missed a beat.

Zack tossed his duffel bag on the passenger car seat and opened up the report file again that Bryce had given him.

All the memories flooded back, disorienting Zack like being in a smoke house without the proper training gear.

The fire had snuffed out Zack’s former existence and taken all traces of the life he’d once known with it.

Screams berated his mind, and the flashes of first-responder cars filled his vision.

They turned into the development and drew closer to Zack’s house and where several emergency vehicles were parked.

“Grandma, what’s going on?” He smashed his face against the cool glass. “Those are flames in our house.”

The commotion that greeted him upon arrival at his house became his worst nightmare.

“It’s all your fault. What were you thinking?” The fire chief’s shouts pelted the air. Tears gathered in Zack’s eyes, and his lips quivered. “You did this.” The man bent down to Zack’s height and pointed at the ashen house.

“Zack?” Eddie rapped on the window.

Zack’s hand jerked, and he snatched at the file to keep the papers from falling. He opened up the door and braced one foot on the floorboard.

Eddie leaned a hand against the car. “You’re quite jumpy tonight.”

Zack’s stomach twisted, and he swallowed. Eating that pizza so fast had been a bad idea. “Bryce gave me a case to investigate for hazmat training.”

“That’s awesome, dude.”

He sighed. “Except it’s my parents’ case.” Policy stated if a conflict of interest arose, it should be handed off to someone else. Each case required astuteness and a clear mind. Emotions could not get in the way of doing one’s job.

“He wouldn’t put you in that kind of predicament.”

“He doesn’t know my parents had a different last name than me.” Theirs was Nelson. His was Stephens.

“How’d you manage that?” Eddie raised an eyebrow.

“After they died, it hurt to be known as the Nelsons’ kid. The one who didn’t have parents anymore. So my grandma suggested I use Stephens. My mom’s maiden name.” It still tied him to his family, but soon people had stopped realizing whose kid he was, and the looks of pity had faded.

“You gonna tell him?”

“I don’t know. Technically it’s not an active case.” Zack flipped through the papers, and his eyes landed on the name of a witness.

Ricky Powells. Former fire chief on the other side of town, and one of his dad’s best friends. The man’s phone number was listed on the line below.

Zack had been on his way home with his grandma after staying late at school to finish homework he’d missed and not turned in on time. He had been desperate not to fail third grade and get held back, especially when he’d miss the chance to be with all his friends.

“Hurry up, kiddo. I need to get you home before my bingo game night.” His grandma ushered him into the back seat.

“Can I come?” Zack sat up. He wanted to win a prize.

“Not tonight, buddy. This is for the old folks. You’ll be bored.”

She drove down the street with a lead foot. “Your dad should have picked you up. Now I’m gonna be late.” She’d mumbled the complaint, but Zack still heard it.

“If I turn in the file to Bryce, he might think I’m incapable of completing the task.” All Zack wanted to do was show his team he was dependable and not a liability. That he wouldn’t cause trouble but was an asset they couldn’t stand to lose.

“Nah, man. He’d see it as a sign of respect. Might even give you another case option.”

“I’ll figure out what to do.” Zack leaned over and put the file on top of his duffel on the other seat. “I’ve got some other things to take care of right now.”

He gave Eddie a wave, then shut the door. Zack rolled down the window to let the evening spring air filter into the stuffy space.

He would do what Bryce had asked of him without giving the team a reason to question whether he could do his job without stirring up more issues.

He’d worry about the file later.

First, he needed to complete some practice training for the hazmat unit he was studying. It would be a welcome distraction to keep his mind from wandering to the people and places he didn’t want to dwell on.

Pulling out of the firehouse, Zack headed toward the creek.

Fifteen minutes later, he took long strides down to the water’s edge. Zack pulled out his test kit and scanned the area. A crew of workers in orange reflector jumpsuits and tall rain boots waded in and out of the water with fishing nets. The back of their attire read County Fishing & Boating Committee.

Zack headed down the embankment to his left and knelt by the water’s edge. He put his vials together, mindful to reread all the instructions to make sure he assembled everything in the correct order. Dipping the first vial in the water, he swirled it around before capping it and placing it in the bag holder.

His grip tightened on the second vial. How he wished his dad were here now. To see his son following in his footsteps. To tell him, “Well done.”

Except that wasn’t his reality. Between his parents’ deaths and his past with Naya, Zack had already made enough mistakes in life. He couldn’t create more trouble at the station. He’d earn his way into the fold with the other crew members and show everyone at Eastside Firehouse he should be there. Should be part of their team.

“We got seventy-five down here so far.” One of the workers held up their net.

Zack couldn’t make out what was in the net, but it took two men to haul it over onto a truck bed.

Must be some kind of cleanup from the bridge collapse.

Zack took the next container and followed the instructions. When he swished the water, the cloudiness dispersed and a fish lay belly-side up against a rock.

Zack grimaced.

No wonder an outside agency was getting involved.

“I said we have no comment,” net guy said. “We’re just a cleanup crew.”

Zack glanced over at the commotion. One of the workers waved his hand like he was shooing off a pest.

A woman with long black hair held back in a ponytail shook her head. A note pad and recorder were visible in her hand.

Naya.

And he’d been doing so well not thinking about her.

“People’s lives are on the line. Lives that are more important than these fish.”

“Excuse me?” the man’s voice bellowed, and he dropped his net, taking a step toward Naya.

Zack gathered his belongings and made his way over to the two of them. Best to keep the scene civil before it had an opportunity to go south.

“Can I help you?” Zack shifted his gaze between the worker and Naya.

The guy glanced down at the firehouse emblem on Zack’s shirt. “I need to get back to my job. I don’t have time to answer questions. The last thing I need is to have my name muddled in with this mess.”

“Who can I talk to then?” Naya stepped forward, her pen poised. “Someone has to be responsible.”

“You can deal with our agency. Twenty minutes out of town.” Before giving anyone a chance to respond, he clobbered away in his boots with a dismissive hand wave.

“One failed lead, another to follow,” Naya mumbled under her breath. Still, her eyes glistened, and she tapped her finger against her bottom lip. Despite that guy being bigger than her, and grumpy, she hadn’t backed down.

Zack grinned. “More determined now, huh?”

Naya lifted her gaze and connected with his. “I suppose so.”

“You did the same thing with your finger when we were younger. Anytime you were passionate about something.” It had been cute then. Now she was a beautiful woman, who hadn’t lost the zeal for life she’d always possessed.

Zack could still picture them sitting on the floor in his grandma’s living room together, dreaming about the future. An idea would spark in Naya’s eyes, and they’d end up talking a mile a minute, solving life’s problems, until they were lying on the ground doubled over in laughter. His grandma would shush them from the other room, saying she couldn’t hear the game show on the TV, and if they didn’t quiet down, Naya would have to go back to her house.

“Right. I remember.” Naya’s tone dropped and she pursed her lips. “I’d like to say it was nice to see you again.” She left it at that and stepped back.

Zack might as well have been sprayed with toxic chemicals. “What is that supposed to mean? We were friends, weren’t we?”

“Were.” She crossed her arms. “Until you left and added more pain to my life.”

Her response ripped open the reminder of a past he’d worked hard to erase. In her eyes, he was still a troublemaking kid. The kid who got called into the principal’s office on the regular because he’d had some goofy, grand idea that backfired or because he’d gotten into a fight to protect a kid who was being bullied.

He wanted to explain himself. Tell her that the way they’d left things wasn’t how he’d meant for it to turn out. He’d never intended to hurt her. But he hadn’t had a say in it. The damage had been done. Now he’d have to work to earn her trust again. That was, if she even wanted him around. Zack rubbed his jaw.

Why did their paths have to cross again now? On top of being handed his parents’ case? It was a double whammy of the way his troublemaking streak had inflicted pain on others.

Who was he kidding? They weren’t friends anymore. They each had a life they’d built.

Separately.

Yet he wanted to hear how she was doing. How had life turned out for her since his disappearance?

Zack pointed at her shoulder. “How’s your arm doing?” The words tumbled out before he could stop them. Regardless of her view of him, she was still his sister in Christ. That was, if she’d kept her childhood faith.

“Better.” She moved her arm, but Zack caught her grimace.

“What were you testing with those?” Naya asked. Her deflection hurt, but at least she hadn’t hightailed it away from him.

“Water samples. Part of my hazmat training.” Zack lifted the litmus paper and frowned. “Interesting. It’s red.”

“What does that mean?” Naya flipped through pages in her notebook and clicked her pen.

“The water is acidic. I was going to compare it to the numbers the city released for the public.” Zack folded the strip and tucked it in his pocket.

“I’ll have to look up those stats.” Naya closed her pad then pointed behind her. “I need to get going. Time’s ticking on these leads.”

“Of course. Let me walk you to your car.” Zack fell in step next to Naya, who shrugged but didn’t protest further.

She dug out her keys, and the lights on her car blinked. A compact Impreza, a few parking spots down on the right side of the street.

“Oh no.” Naya groaned and hurried to the front windshield. She pushed her purse higher on her shoulder to keep it from falling and snatched the paper tucked under her wipers. “I can’t have a ticket right now.”

Zack stepped over to the meter and bent to check the time. “You still have thirty minutes according to this. So you can waive the charge.” Zack pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.

Silence greeted him. Naya’s fingers shook, and the piece of paper flitted in her grasp.

“You okay?” Zack put his hand on her shoulder.

Naya’s wide eyes stared up at him. “It’s a warning.”

“That’s okay, then. At least you don’t have to pay anything.” She had nothing to worry about, but his response didn’t seem to help ease her concerns.

Naya shook her head and handed him the piece of paper.

He scanned the note and clenched his teeth.

Quit investigating this story or your name will end up in the paper for a different reason.

This wasn’t a warning. It was a threat.

“Naya, what’s going on?”