Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Finn
Igave Ulysses a five-minute head start.
Damn fool man. Thought he was going somewhere without me.
After downing a couple of ibuprofens and pissing, I was out the door, in my SUV, and following him to Friesen Road.
Two miles past the dump. If my calculations were correct, that was the McFadden property.
They used to run a grow-op up there back in the day when marijuana was illegal.
When the government changed their tune and made the stuff legal, McFadden tried to go legit.
Last I heard, he’d given up. Too damn many regulations.
Old fool had never been a rule follower, and his two kids hadn’t fallen far from the rotten tree.
I’d thought they were all still in jail for the latest fraud.
Clearly I’d been mistaken.
This goes deeper than you know.
Silly man. Ulysses. Handing me his phone with the screen unlocked and the text open for me to see.
Maybe he intended you to see it.
Nah. If he’d wanted me to see it, he would’ve shown it to me. If he’d wanted my help, all he’d needed to do was ask.
Maybe he was worried about your health.
Well, shit, that might just be true.
Maybe you should be worried about your health.
I pushed that thought right out of my mind. If Ulysses was headed up to the McFadden property, then he damn well needed backup.
You realize a quick call to Colton, Dorrie, or Seth will get you that backup.
I needed to shut my inner voice right the fuck off so I could focus. What Ulysses didn’t need was me becoming a liability. I was just…watching out for him. I’d hang back. I’d—
Shit.
I nearly drove right past his parked SUV. I hit the brakes, then carefully pulled over and reversed. I eased my pickup so I was positioned just before him. Then I cut the engine.
Damn man’s smarter than you—you would’ve just driven right up to the old place.
Right. So I wouldn’t make a good reporter. Or a cop, for that matter. Yet another reason why I’d chosen firefighting as a way to give back to my community—fires scared me less than bullets.
The moon shone—for the moment, but I spotted a few wispy clouds. The weather was supposed to turn tonight. Rain or even snow.
Christ knew, it was cold enough for it.
I ducked close to the ditch with the overgrown grass. One more small hill and I’d be at the property.
Smoke.
Fuck.
More familiar to me than any other scent in the world, the smoke curled around me. I pulled the lapel of my jacket over my nose as I slowed my pace.
When I crested the rise, the McFadden property came into view.
So far, the fire appeared to only be on the second floor of the old homestead. I whipped out my phone and dialed 9-1-1.
My eyes watered as I searched for signs of life in the windows.
Is Ulysses in there? Will I be able to get to him in time? Why didn’t I just confront him at my house and demand he bring me with him? Oh, better yet—why didn’t I just call Colton?
Questions I would hopefully live to seek answers for.
A shot rang out.
I hit the ground and my phone went skittering away. Fuck. I’d lost track of it in the dark.
“I said get your fucking ass out here!” A clearly exasperated voice I recognized well. My chief, Gerald McInerny.
Goddamnit.
“I’m not coming out until you tell me who else is involved.” Another voice I recognized well. One belonging to a certain stubborn reporter whose hard head I was going to knock—once we got away from the gun. Because I would’ve laid the deed to my property on the fact Chief had the gun.
I crawled on my belly toward the blaze. The grass mostly covered my approach—and certainly no one was going to hear me over the roar of the rapidly growing fire.
A pile of pallets lay between me and the house—with several outbuildings to my left. I had to figure out whether to try to duck toward them.
Where the fuck is Ulysses?
Come to it…where the fuck is Chief?
“I’m not going to kill you. I just want to know what you know.” Gerard—attempting to sound reasonable. Hell, he couldn’t even pull that off. The desperation was clear in his tone.
“And I’ve told you that I turned just about everything over to the police. There’s nothing—”
“About everything ain’t everything. So just pony on over and—”
Another shot rang out.
Movement by the pallets caught my eye.
Yep, I’d recognize that silhouette anywhere.
Fucking hell. Well, I got myself into this mess. Maybe I can get us out of it?
I wasn’t holding my breath. Still, I crawled until I was able to grab Ulysses’s ankle.
He spun and nearly hit me.
Only at the last minute did he pull his punch. “Fucking hell.”
“Did you say something?” Chief. Bellowing.
“Nope. I didn’t say anything.” Ulysses angled himself toward the house—obviously where he thought—or knew—Gerard to be. “Just thinking I’m a damn fool idiot for coming out here. I’d have been better staying home.”
“With O’Sullivan? Don’t worry—he’s next.”
Just in case I hadn’t figured out just how fucked we truly were.
“I’d like to think he’s smarter than you.” Ulysses held my gaze. “But I’m questioning that assertion.”
“Kid’s too damn trusting for his own good.”
Ulysses arched an eyebrow.
I shrugged as I tried to play the odds in my mind.
Us getting out of here alive. Whether keeping my presence a surprise was a good idea or not.
If I could save Ulysses—even if that meant sacrificing myself.
Finally knowing, in my heart of hearts, that kind of thinking would piss him off even more than me showing up unannounced.
Nope. Either we were both surviving or we were both dying.
“How, precisely, did we get into this mess?” Ulysses poked his head over our parapet of pallets.
“Jesus, don’t do that.” He might have dark skin, but the light from the fire could easily glint off his head and make us a target.
Make him a target.
“We got into this mess because you came here without me.” We got into this mess because I love you and no way was I letting you confront my chief alone. “We have to do…something.”
Ulysses sighed. “He’s got a gun. I don’t need to remind you that we came unarmed. At least I assume you don’t have a gun in your jacket.”
“I don’t.” Said churlishly.
He yanked his phone out of his back pocket. “I need to call Colton.”
“I’ve already called emergency.”
“Right.”
The heat from the fire was intense. I worried embers would land on the pallets protecting us and catch them on fire. I’d deal with that when it happened. Right now, gun trumped everything. Then I did precisely what I’d admonished Ulysses for doing—I looked.
Gerard got off a shot.
It whizzed past my head.
Ulysses yanked me down. “I know I say you’re na?ve, but did you think he wouldn’t shoot at you?”
“We have a bigger problem.”
He snickered. “If he decides to try to shoot through the pallets then I suspect we’re dead.” He held my gaze. His dark-brown eyes were nearly black in this light.
“There’s a propane tank.”
He blinked. Then, his eyes widened. “And you think—”
“Even if it’s empty, there’ll be residual gas. So yeah, it’s going to burst and become a projectile.”
“It could come this way.”
“It could take out the chief.”
“Again, Finn, I don’t give a shit about him. I just want us to get out of this alive.”
A thunderous crack came from the burning house.
Second floor caving in. Thank Christ we weren’t in there.
“Finnegan O’Sullivan.” Chief’s voice bellowed. Even over the roaring fire, his words were clear. “I saw you. I know you’re out there.”
“We’re not coming out.” Ulysses shouted back. He glared at me.
Another gunshot rang out. This one entirely too close for comfort as it splintered the wood above our heads.
“Fuck.” Ulysses spat the word.
“Sliver?”
“Nope. Just thinking what a fuckwit he is. And that you’re going to try to save him.”
“Yeah. I am.” I raised my hands and, slowly, stood.
“For fuck’s sake.” Ulysses spat out the curse. And then followed my lead.
“Uh, Chief.” I cleared my throat.
Gerard swung the gun back and forth between Ulysses and me—clearly unable to decide who to shoot first. “What?” Another bellow.
“There’s a propane tank behind you.” With that, I dove for Ulysses, tackling him to the ground.
He landed with an oof.
Moments later, a deafening explosion rent the air and consumed the night.
A massive blast of hot air roared across my back, even as Ulysses struggled to get out from under me. “Stay the fuck down. That was the tank exploding. We’re lucky it didn’t land over here, but that fire just got major fuel.”
“Your chief?”
My breath caught. I didn’t want to look. No way he survived that blast. Hell, we shouldn’t have survived it.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
My gaze clashed with Ulysses’s.
“Colton.”
We said the name at the same time.
Finally, I rolled off him. “We need to get out of here.”
“To try to hide from the cops?”
I snickered. “Yeah, no. Colton’s going to know we were here. He’ll see my pickup truck and your SUV down the road.”
“Fuck.”
“Yep, pretty much. I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to him.” Even as I said the words, snow began to fall. “Colton needs to call the fire department.”
“If he hasn’t already. This blaze has got to be visible for at least a mile.”
More embers fell.
“These pallets are going to catch fire. We need to move.”
We ran.
When we were far enough away, Ulysses put his hands on his hips. "What the hell do you think you were doing at the scene of an active shooter? You could've gotten shot."
I blinked. "You were here!"
"And so were you!"
"So why are you upset that I was there when you were here?"
"Because I fucking love you and you scared me the fuck to death!"
"Yeah, well, I fucking love you too, so where does that leave us?"
We stared at each other as the snow began to fall in earnest.
“Hands up!” Colton’s voice rang through the air.
“It’s me. Finn. And Ulysses is here with me.” We both raised our hands in the air and slowly turned toward the end of the driveway where Colton stood.
“Jesus, Finnegan. What the hell’s going on?”
“You call in the fire?”
“Yeah, but I told them I had to secure the scene first. So…is the scene secure?”
“Chief’s dead—if that’s what you’re asking. I think he was alone.” I turned my attention to Ulysses.
He shrugged. “I think so. He said everyone else had been arrested.”
“McInerny’s here?” Colton advanced toward us.
I pointed to the massive inferno over my shoulder. “I think the fire got him. Which would be the height of irony.”
More sirens sounded from the distance.
“Hall Three, right? They’re going to need reinforcements.”
Colton merely stared for a moment before heading back the way he’d come.
“What…?” Ulysses gestured.
“He’s not in uniform. Probably doesn’t have a radio.”
“He’s got a cell phone right, though?”
“Quicker to reach dispatch through his radio.” I shrugged.
“You shouldn’t be out in the cold.”
“Uh, neither should you.” I blinked. “You said you loved me.”
“Love.” He squinted. “I love you. I still think you’re an idiot—”
“Hey, I saved your ass—”
“I would’ve found a way out.” He appeared positively indignant.
“Well, now you don’t have to. Uh, maybe we can go somewhere warmer?”
“You two can go sit in the back of the cruiser.” Colton threw blankets at us.
That we deftly caught. I unfolded mine and wrapped it around my shoulders. Wasn’t likely to keep the chill at bay—but it might keep the worst of the snow off my clothes. “Why do we have to sit in the back of the cruiser? We’re not criminals.” Now I was indignant.
Colton glared—his dark brown eyes nearly black in the night. “Because I have a dead body and arson. Technically, you two shouldn’t even be in the same vehicle.”
“We’re not suspects.” This seemed super obvious to me. Clearly Colton didn’t agree.
“Finn has only been out of the hospital three days. He should be home. Or, even better, back at the hospital being checked out.” Ulysses. Trying to plead my case.
“Being at the hospital is never better.” I attempted to look serious. The shiver wracking me really didn’t help make the argument.
“Cruiser. Now.” Colton pointed.
With Ulysses beside me, I trudged that way. “In case I forget later, I really did mean that I love you.”
He grasped my hand. “I know. Trust me, I know.”